Spatially consistent microbial biomass and future cellular carbon release from melting Northern Hemisphere glacier surfaces

Ian T. Stevens; Tristram D.L. Irvine-Fynn; Arwyn Edwards; Andrew C. Mitchell; Joseph M. Cook; Philip R. Porter; Tom O. Holt; Matthias Huss; Xavier Fettweis; Brian J. Moorman; Birgit Sattler; Andy J. Hodson

doi:10.1038/s43247-022-00609-0

Spatially consistent microbial biomass and future cellular carbon release from melting Northern Hemisphere glacier surfaces

Ian T. Stevens^*, Tristram D.L. Irvine-Fynn, Arwyn Edwards, Andrew C. Mitchell, Joseph M. Cook, Philip R. Porter, Tom O. Holt, Matthias Huss, Xavier Fettweis, Brian J. Moorman, Birgit Sattler, Andy J. Hodson

^*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Melting glacier ice surfaces host active microbial communities that enhance glacial melt, contribute to biogeochemical cycling, and nourish downstream ecosystems; but these communities remain poorly characterised. Over the coming decades, the forecast ‘peak melt’ of Earth’s glaciers necessitates an improvement in understanding the state and fate of supraglacial ecosystems to better predict the effects of climate change upon glacial surfaces and catchment biogeochemistry. Here we show a regionally consistent mean microbial abundance of 10⁴ cells mL⁻¹ in surface meltwaters from eight glaciers across Europe and North America, and two sites in western Greenland. Microbial abundance is correlated with suspended sediment concentration, but not with ice surface hydraulic properties. We forecast that release of these microbes from surfaces under a medium carbon emission scenario (RCP 4.5) will deliver 2.9 × 10²² cells yr⁻¹, equivalent to 0.65 million tonnes yr⁻¹ of cellular carbon, to downstream ecosystems over the next ~80 years.

Original language	English
Article number	275
Number of pages	10
Journal	Communications Earth & Environment
Volume	3
Issue number	1
Early online date	10 Nov 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00609-0
Publication status	Published - 01 Dec 2022

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ArticleFinal published version, 4.38 MBLicence: CC BY
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Stevens, I. T., Irvine-Fynn, T. D. L., Edwards, A., Mitchell, A. C., Cook, J. M., Porter, P. R., Holt, T. O., Huss, M., Fettweis, X., Moorman, B. J., Sattler, B., & Hodson, A. J. (2022). Spatially consistent microbial biomass and future cellular carbon release from melting Northern Hemisphere glacier surfaces. Communications Earth & Environment, 3(1), Article 275. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00609-0

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title = "Spatially consistent microbial biomass and future cellular carbon release from melting Northern Hemisphere glacier surfaces",

abstract = "Melting glacier ice surfaces host active microbial communities that enhance glacial melt, contribute to biogeochemical cycling, and nourish downstream ecosystems; but these communities remain poorly characterised. Over the coming decades, the forecast {\textquoteleft}peak melt{\textquoteright} of Earth{\textquoteright}s glaciers necessitates an improvement in understanding the state and fate of supraglacial ecosystems to better predict the effects of climate change upon glacial surfaces and catchment biogeochemistry. Here we show a regionally consistent mean microbial abundance of 104 cells mL−1 in surface meltwaters from eight glaciers across Europe and North America, and two sites in western Greenland. Microbial abundance is correlated with suspended sediment concentration, but not with ice surface hydraulic properties. We forecast that release of these microbes from surfaces under a medium carbon emission scenario (RCP 4.5) will deliver 2.9 × 1022 cells yr−1, equivalent to 0.65 million tonnes yr−1 of cellular carbon, to downstream ecosystems over the next ~80 years.",

author = "Stevens, {Ian T.} and Irvine-Fynn, {Tristram D.L.} and Arwyn Edwards and Mitchell, {Andrew C.} and Cook, {Joseph M.} and Porter, {Philip R.} and Holt, {Tom O.} and Matthias Huss and Xavier Fettweis and Moorman, {Brian J.} and Birgit Sattler and Hodson, {Andy J.}",

note = "Funding Information: The authors would like to acknowledge the following funding bodies for financial support enabling both field campaigns and laboratory analysis: Aberystwyth University (Department of Geography and Earth Sciences): URF ASPECT‐12104 to TI-F and URF-12465-01 to T.O.H.; Climate Change Consortium for Wales: C3W Proof of Concept to T.I.-F.; Gilchrist Educational Trust: ASPECT Expedition to I.T.S.; EU F7 INTERACT: SCARFACE to T.I.-F. and A.E.; Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW): Extreme Experiments Laboratory (Ex2EL) and Geo-Carb-Cymru to A.C.M. and A.E.; Natural Environment Research Council (NERC): NE/M021025/1 to T.I.-F. and NE/S001034/1 to A.E., A.C.M. and T.I.-F.; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Polar Continental Shelf Project (PCSP) to B.J.M.; Rolex Awards for Enterprise to J.M.C.; Royal Geographical Society: Postgraduate Research Grant to I.T.S. and Small Research Grant SRG8/16 to T.O.H.; Royal Society: RG130314 to A.E. and T.I.-F.; Scottish Arctic Club: ASPECT Expedition to I.T.S.; and Welsh Government and HEFCW: S{\^e}r Cymru National Research Network (NRN) ‐ Low Carbon, Energy and the Environment to A.C.M. and A.E. We are grateful to the many individuals who assisted us in the field and laboratory. Parks Canada and the Northern Scientific Training Program (NSTP) are thanked for supporting fieldwork on Bylot Island in 2014, and the Dark Snow Project for supporting work on the Greenland Ice Sheet in the same year. Support enabling the final production of this manuscript was provided by Newcastle University (I.T.S.) and the European Research Council Synergy Grant: DEEP PURPLE (856416) (I.T.S. and J.M.C.). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022, The Author(s).",

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Stevens, IT, Irvine-Fynn, TDL , Edwards, A , Mitchell, AC, Cook, JM, Porter, PR, Holt, TO, Huss, M, Fettweis, X, Moorman, BJ, Sattler, B & Hodson, AJ 2022, 'Spatially consistent microbial biomass and future cellular carbon release from melting Northern Hemisphere glacier surfaces', Communications Earth & Environment, vol. 3, no. 1, 275. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00609-0

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AU - Stevens, Ian T.

AU - Irvine-Fynn, Tristram D.L.

AU - Edwards, Arwyn

AU - Mitchell, Andrew C.

AU - Cook, Joseph M.

AU - Porter, Philip R.

AU - Holt, Tom O.

AU - Huss, Matthias

AU - Fettweis, Xavier

AU - Moorman, Brian J.

AU - Sattler, Birgit

AU - Hodson, Andy J.

N1 - Funding Information: The authors would like to acknowledge the following funding bodies for financial support enabling both field campaigns and laboratory analysis: Aberystwyth University (Department of Geography and Earth Sciences): URF ASPECT‐12104 to TI-F and URF-12465-01 to T.O.H.; Climate Change Consortium for Wales: C3W Proof of Concept to T.I.-F.; Gilchrist Educational Trust: ASPECT Expedition to I.T.S.; EU F7 INTERACT: SCARFACE to T.I.-F. and A.E.; Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW): Extreme Experiments Laboratory (Ex2EL) and Geo-Carb-Cymru to A.C.M. and A.E.; Natural Environment Research Council (NERC): NE/M021025/1 to T.I.-F. and NE/S001034/1 to A.E., A.C.M. and T.I.-F.; Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Polar Continental Shelf Project (PCSP) to B.J.M.; Rolex Awards for Enterprise to J.M.C.; Royal Geographical Society: Postgraduate Research Grant to I.T.S. and Small Research Grant SRG8/16 to T.O.H.; Royal Society: RG130314 to A.E. and T.I.-F.; Scottish Arctic Club: ASPECT Expedition to I.T.S.; and Welsh Government and HEFCW: Sêr Cymru National Research Network (NRN) ‐ Low Carbon, Energy and the Environment to A.C.M. and A.E. We are grateful to the many individuals who assisted us in the field and laboratory. Parks Canada and the Northern Scientific Training Program (NSTP) are thanked for supporting fieldwork on Bylot Island in 2014, and the Dark Snow Project for supporting work on the Greenland Ice Sheet in the same year. Support enabling the final production of this manuscript was provided by Newcastle University (I.T.S.) and the European Research Council Synergy Grant: DEEP PURPLE (856416) (I.T.S. and J.M.C.). Publisher Copyright: © 2022, The Author(s).

PY - 2022/12/1

Y1 - 2022/12/1

N2 - Melting glacier ice surfaces host active microbial communities that enhance glacial melt, contribute to biogeochemical cycling, and nourish downstream ecosystems; but these communities remain poorly characterised. Over the coming decades, the forecast ‘peak melt’ of Earth’s glaciers necessitates an improvement in understanding the state and fate of supraglacial ecosystems to better predict the effects of climate change upon glacial surfaces and catchment biogeochemistry. Here we show a regionally consistent mean microbial abundance of 104 cells mL−1 in surface meltwaters from eight glaciers across Europe and North America, and two sites in western Greenland. Microbial abundance is correlated with suspended sediment concentration, but not with ice surface hydraulic properties. We forecast that release of these microbes from surfaces under a medium carbon emission scenario (RCP 4.5) will deliver 2.9 × 1022 cells yr−1, equivalent to 0.65 million tonnes yr−1 of cellular carbon, to downstream ecosystems over the next ~80 years.

AB - Melting glacier ice surfaces host active microbial communities that enhance glacial melt, contribute to biogeochemical cycling, and nourish downstream ecosystems; but these communities remain poorly characterised. Over the coming decades, the forecast ‘peak melt’ of Earth’s glaciers necessitates an improvement in understanding the state and fate of supraglacial ecosystems to better predict the effects of climate change upon glacial surfaces and catchment biogeochemistry. Here we show a regionally consistent mean microbial abundance of 104 cells mL−1 in surface meltwaters from eight glaciers across Europe and North America, and two sites in western Greenland. Microbial abundance is correlated with suspended sediment concentration, but not with ice surface hydraulic properties. We forecast that release of these microbes from surfaces under a medium carbon emission scenario (RCP 4.5) will deliver 2.9 × 1022 cells yr−1, equivalent to 0.65 million tonnes yr−1 of cellular carbon, to downstream ecosystems over the next ~80 years.

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Spatially consistent microbial biomass and future cellular carbon release from melting Northern Hemisphere glacier surfaces

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How will glacial meltwater microbes come in from the cold in this 'Peak Melt' century - DGES

How will glacial meltwater microbes come in from the cold in this 'Peak Melt' century - IBERS

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Reports Outline Environmental Science Study Findings from Aarhus University (Spatially Consistent Microbial Biomass and Future Cellular Carbon Release From Melting Northern Hemisphere Glacier Surfaces)

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Spatially consistent microbial biomass and future cellular carbon release from melting Northern Hemisphere glacier surfaces

Abstract

UN SDGs

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How will glacial meltwater microbes come in from the cold in this 'Peak Melt' century - DGES

How will glacial meltwater microbes come in from the cold in this 'Peak Melt' century - IBERS

SCARFACE

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Reports Outline Environmental Science Study Findings from Aarhus University (Spatially Consistent Microbial Biomass and Future Cellular Carbon Release From Melting Northern Hemisphere Glacier Surfaces)

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