Variability of Carbon Export in the Lower Mississippi River during an Extreme Cold and Warm Year

Abstract

The Mississippi River (MR) discharges on average 474 km3 of water annually into the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) with a large quantity of carbon, playing a vital role in the ecosystem’s food chain and water quality. In this study, we analyzed exports of dissolved inorganic (DIC) and organic carbon (DOC) from January 2021 to December 2021, during which the contiguous United States experienced one of the coldest winters as well as the hottest summer on record. Bi-weekly in situ river measurements and water sampling were conducted in the lower MR at Baton Rouge in Louisiana, USA, approximately 368 km from the river’s mouth. We found that the MR transported 12.61 Tg C of DIC and 4.54 Tg C of DOC into the NGOM during the study period. Much of the DOC mass export occurred during the winter (~38%), while much of the DIC mass export took place in the spring months (~35%). The seasonality of DOC and DIC exports was affected by their concentrations, water temperature, and discharge. DIC concentrations were significantly higher in the fall (32.0 mg L−1) than those during the winter (20.4 mg L−1), while DOC concentrations were highest during the winter months (11.3 mg L−1) and varied seasonally, however, not significantly. Partial pressure of dissolved carbon dioxide (pCO2) in the MR averaged 1703 ± 646 µatm peaking in the summer at 2594 µatm and reaching a low in the winter at 836 µatm. Outgassing of CO2 (FCO2) peaked in the spring averaging 3.43 g C m2 d−1 and was lowest in the winter at 1.62 g C m2 y−1. Our findings validate our initial hypotheses that seasonal variability and weather extremes strongly affect terrestrial-aquatic carbon transfer, and that climate change will likely intensify carbon export from the Mississippi River Basin.