Heterogenous distribution and burial flux of black carbon in Chinese lakes and its global implication

Xi Zhang; Yasong Wang; Zicheng Wang; Meixun Zhao; Yin Fang; Su Ding; Wenjie Xiao; Chenghao Yu; Xuejun Wang; Yunping Xu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167687

Heterogenous distribution and burial flux of black carbon in Chinese lakes and its global implication

Sci Total Environ. 2024 Jan 1:906:167687. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167687. Epub 2023 Oct 10.

Authors

Xi Zhang¹, Yasong Wang², Zicheng Wang³, Meixun Zhao³, Yin Fang⁴, Su Ding⁵, Wenjie Xiao⁶, Chenghao Yu⁷, Xuejun Wang⁸, Yunping Xu⁹

Affiliations

¹ College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China.
² College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China. Electronic address: yasongw@163.com.
³ Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System of Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
⁵ NIOZ Royal Institute for Sea Research, Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, Texel, the Netherlands.
⁶ College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China; Department of Biology, HADAL, Nordcee & DIAS, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense M, Denmark.
⁷ Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China; Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology for Industrial Pollution Control of Zhejiang Province, College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China.
⁸ Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
⁹ College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China. Electronic address: ypxu@shou.edu.cn.

PMID: 37827317
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167687

Abstract

Black carbon (BC) plays a crucial role in global carbon cycle and climate change. However, its source and burial flux in environments are not well constrained. Here, we investigated surface sediments from 22 Chinese lakes across wide geographical areas and different socioeconomic status. The BC content accounts for 0.09-10.5 % of total organic carbon (TOC), and its average ¹⁴C age is older than that of TOC by 1640 years. The application of δ¹³C-based MixSIAR model shows that the contribution of fossil fuel combustion is highest in the most developed Eastern China (85.7 %) and lowest in the rural Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (51.4 %), which is corroborated by the results from ¹⁴C-based two endmember mixing model. The BC data from this study and literatures suggest that the current BC burial flux is 126.4 ± 15.8 Gg year^-1 in Chinese lakes, and approximately 2987 ± 1022 Gg year^-1 in global lakes. Globally, lakes accumulate 1.2 %-6.4 % of the total BC production and thus are an important and heterogenous BC sink.

Keywords: Black carbon; Burial flux; Carbon isotope; Chinese lakes; Radiocarbon age.