Dissolved Organic Carbon From Rivers Can Strongly Impact Arctic Ocean
Arctic rivers transport huge quantities of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to the Arctic Ocean. The prevailing paradigm regarding DOC in arctic rivers is that it is largely refractory, making it of little significance for the Arctic Ocean biogeochemistry. However, a recent study shows that DOC in Alaskan arctic rivers is remarkably labile during the spring flood period when the majority of annual DOC flux occurs.