Sources, sinks and distribution of organic carbon in the St. Lawrence Estuary, Canada

Abstract

Carbon isotope ratio analysis of particulate, planktonic, and sedimentary organic carbon and dissolved inorganic carbon has been used to study the sources and sinks of the organic carbon in the St. Lawrence Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada. Particulate organic carbon (POC) isotope ratios in the upper St. Lawrence Estuary are uniform and indistinguishable from those of POC in the St. Lawrence River and of planktonic organic carbon in both areas. The abundance of freshwater diatoms in the upper Estuary suggests that upper Estuary POC is predominantly “fresh” organic matter of riverborne origin. Upper Estuary POC is isotopically different from POC in the lower St. Lawrence Estuary and Gaspé regions, but is not different from POC from the surface waters of the open Gulf of St. Lawrence. The isotopic composition of planktonic organic carbon mirrors that of the POC, indicating that the POC in the lower Estuary and Gulf is also “fresh” organic matter. Since the lower Estuary POC forms an isotopic barrier between the upper Estuary POC and the Gulf of St. Lawrence POC, there appears to be little mixing of POC between these three reservoirs. Therefore POC in the lower Estuary and Gulf is most likely both produced and deposited (or degraded) in situ. An examination of carbon isotope ratio differences between the planktonic and dissolved inorganic carbon reservoirs shows that this difference varies significantly and somewhat unpredictably between sectors of the study area. Interpretation of environmental carbon isotope data on the basis of an assumed, constant fractionation factor may be subject to large errors. Direct measurement of both reservoirs is obviously preferable.