Wood‐Based Carbon Storage in the Mackenzie River Delta: The World's Largest Mapped Riverine Wood Deposit

Abstract The Mackenzie River Delta (MRD) has been recognized as an important host of river‐derived wood deposits, and Mackenzie River wood has been found across the Arctic Ocean. Nevertheless, we lack estimates of the amount of carbon stored as wood and its age in the delta, representing a gap in ca...

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Main Authors: Alicia Sendrowski, Ellen Wohl, Robert Hilton, Natalie Kramer, Philippa Ascough
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2023-04-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL100913
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author Alicia Sendrowski
Ellen Wohl
Robert Hilton
Natalie Kramer
Philippa Ascough
author_facet Alicia Sendrowski
Ellen Wohl
Robert Hilton
Natalie Kramer
Philippa Ascough
author_sort Alicia Sendrowski
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The Mackenzie River Delta (MRD) has been recognized as an important host of river‐derived wood deposits, and Mackenzie River wood has been found across the Arctic Ocean. Nevertheless, we lack estimates of the amount of carbon stored as wood and its age in the delta, representing a gap in carbon cycle estimates. Here, we use very high‐resolution satellite imagery and deep learning to map wood deposits in the MRD, combining this with field data to measure the stock and age of wood‐based carbon. We find >400,000 individual large wood deposits, collectively storing 3.1 × 1012 g‐C, equating to 2 × 106 g‐C ha−1 across the delta. Sampled wood pieces date from 690 AD to 2015 AD but are mostly young with ∼40% of the wood samples formed after 1955 AD. These estimates represent a minimum bound on an important surficial, potentially reactive, carbon pool compared to other deeper carbon stocks in permafrost zones.
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publishDate 2023-04-01
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series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-3d0cbc352b294ff88e0b4639bbd20ae62025-08-20T03:12:53ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072023-04-01507n/an/a10.1029/2022GL100913Wood‐Based Carbon Storage in the Mackenzie River Delta: The World's Largest Mapped Riverine Wood DepositAlicia Sendrowski0Ellen Wohl1Robert Hilton2Natalie Kramer3Philippa Ascough4Michigan Tech Research Institute Michigan Technological University Ann Arbor MI USADepartment of Geosciences Colorado State University Fort Collins CO USADepartment of Earth Sciences University of Oxford Oxford UKDipper and Spruce, LLC White Salmon WA USANRCL laboratory Scottish Universities Environmental Research Center East Kilbride UKAbstract The Mackenzie River Delta (MRD) has been recognized as an important host of river‐derived wood deposits, and Mackenzie River wood has been found across the Arctic Ocean. Nevertheless, we lack estimates of the amount of carbon stored as wood and its age in the delta, representing a gap in carbon cycle estimates. Here, we use very high‐resolution satellite imagery and deep learning to map wood deposits in the MRD, combining this with field data to measure the stock and age of wood‐based carbon. We find >400,000 individual large wood deposits, collectively storing 3.1 × 1012 g‐C, equating to 2 × 106 g‐C ha−1 across the delta. Sampled wood pieces date from 690 AD to 2015 AD but are mostly young with ∼40% of the wood samples formed after 1955 AD. These estimates represent a minimum bound on an important surficial, potentially reactive, carbon pool compared to other deeper carbon stocks in permafrost zones.https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL100913large woodcarbonremote sensingArctic deltas
spellingShingle Alicia Sendrowski
Ellen Wohl
Robert Hilton
Natalie Kramer
Philippa Ascough
Wood‐Based Carbon Storage in the Mackenzie River Delta: The World's Largest Mapped Riverine Wood Deposit
Geophysical Research Letters
large wood
carbon
remote sensing
Arctic deltas
title Wood‐Based Carbon Storage in the Mackenzie River Delta: The World's Largest Mapped Riverine Wood Deposit
title_full Wood‐Based Carbon Storage in the Mackenzie River Delta: The World's Largest Mapped Riverine Wood Deposit
title_fullStr Wood‐Based Carbon Storage in the Mackenzie River Delta: The World's Largest Mapped Riverine Wood Deposit
title_full_unstemmed Wood‐Based Carbon Storage in the Mackenzie River Delta: The World's Largest Mapped Riverine Wood Deposit
title_short Wood‐Based Carbon Storage in the Mackenzie River Delta: The World's Largest Mapped Riverine Wood Deposit
title_sort wood based carbon storage in the mackenzie river delta the world s largest mapped riverine wood deposit
topic large wood
carbon
remote sensing
Arctic deltas
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL100913
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AT roberthilton woodbasedcarbonstorageinthemackenzieriverdeltatheworldslargestmappedriverinewooddeposit
AT nataliekramer woodbasedcarbonstorageinthemackenzieriverdeltatheworldslargestmappedriverinewooddeposit
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