Coupled effects of hydrology and temperature on temporal dynamics of dissolved carbon in the Min River, Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

Studying the temporal dynamics and fluxes of riverine dissolved carbon is crucial in understanding the regional and global carbon cycles under various climatic conditions. Here, we studied the behaviors and fluxes of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) responding to various hydrologic conditions in the Min River, originated from Tibetan Plateau. The DIC concentrations decreased with increasing runoff, partially reflecting dilution effect, which may be ascribed to the shortened fluid transit time and then the reduced contact time with rocks. Nevertheless, DOC concentrations were positively correlated with runoff, which can be attributed to that a large amount of soil organic carbon flowed into the river as a result of the strong flushing effect. The negative relationship between δ13CDIC and runoff could be explained by soil CO2 influx and organic matter degradation during the high flow season. ΔDIC (the production of DIC with changing hydrologic conditions) had a strong positive correlation with water temperature due to the accelerated DIC production rates by high temperature, which always co-varied with intense precipitation in Asian monsoonal regions. The mean DIC/DOC ratio in the Min River was 15.09, and the DOC and DIC fluxes were 1.1 and 15.2 t C km−2 yr−1, respectively, for the studied year. And the DOC and DIC fluxes varied dramatically with runoff changes, suggesting that hydrologic conditions were critical factors for the variations in dissolved carbon export. This study shows that carbon dynamics of rivers draining from the Tibetan Plateau are greatly affected by short-term climatic variabilities, which has implications for understanding global carbon cycle under future climate change.