Aquatic plant wax hydrogen and carbon isotopes in Greenland lakes record shifts in methane cycling during past Holocene warming

Predicting changes to methane cycling in Arctic lakes is of global concern in a warming world but records constraining lake methane dynamics with past warming are rare. Here, we demonstrate that the hydrogen isotopic composition (δ2H) of mid-chain waxes derived from aquatic moss clearly decouples from precipitation during past Holocene warmth and instead records incorporation of methane in plant biomass. Trends in δ2Hmoss and δ13Cmoss values point to widespread Middle Holocene (11,700 to 4200 years ago) shifts in lake methane cycling across Greenland during millennia of elevated summer temperatures, heightened productivity, and lowered hypolimnetic oxygen. These data reveal ongoing warming may lead to increases in methane-derived C in many Arctic lakes, including lakes where methane is not a major component of the C cycle today. This work highlights a previously unrecognized mechanism influencing δ2H values of mid-chain wax and draws attention to the unquantified role of common aquatic mosses as a potentially important sink of lake methane across the Arctic.

• Publication year

  2023

• Venue

  Science Advances

• Publication date

  2023-09-29

• Fields of study

  Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1126/sciadv.adh9704PMID 37774023PMCID 10541501
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Revised fractional abundances and warm-season temperatures substantially improve brGDGT calibrations in lake sediments

  2021cited by this paper
• Using a Paired Chironomid δ18O and Aquatic Leaf Wax δ2H Approach to Reconstruct Seasonality on Western Greenland During the Holocene

  2021influential reference
• Influence of temperature on the δ13C values and distribution of methanotroph‐related hopanoids in Sphagnum‐dominated peat bogs

  2020cited by this paper
• Past Warmth and Its Impacts During the Holocene Thermal Maximum in Greenland

  2020cited by this paper
• Modern constraints on the sources and climate signals recorded by sedimentary plant waxes in west Greenland

  2020cited by this paper
• Microbial lipid signatures in Arctic deltaic sediments – Insights into methane cycling and climate variability

  2020cited by this paper
• Ice formation on lake surfaces in winter causes warm-season bias of lacustrine brGDGT temperature estimates

  2020cited by this paper
• Remote sensing northern lake methane ebullition

  2020cited by this paper
• Reconstructing Arctic Precipitation Seasonality Using Aquatic Leaf Wax δ2H in Lakes With Contrasting Residence Times

  2020influential reference
• Holocene temperature history of northwest Greenland – With new ice cap constraints and chironomid assemblages from Deltasø

  2019influential reference
• Holocene environmental history in high‐Arctic North Greenland revealed by a combined biomarker and macrofossil approach

  2019cited by this paper
• Operation of the boreal peatland methane cycle across the past 16 k.y.

  2019cited by this paper
• Calibration of modern sedimentary δ2H plant wax-water relationships in Greenland lakes

  2019cited by this paper
• Holocene and Last Interglacial climate of the Faroe Islands from sedimentary plant wax hydrogen and carbon isotopes

  2019cited by this paper
• Influence of vegetation type on n-alkane composition and hydrogen isotope values from a high latitude ombrotrophic bog

  2018cited by this paper
• Pronounced summer warming in northwest Greenland during the Holocene and Last Interglacial

  2018cited by this paper
• The stable isotope composition of organic and inorganic fossils in lake sediment records: Current understanding, challenges, and future directions

  2018cited by this paper
• High Arctic Holocene temperature record from the Agassiz ice cap and Greenland ice sheet evolution

  2017cited by this paper
• A dual-biomarker approach for quantification of changes in relative humidity from sedimentary lipid D ∕ H ratios

  2017cited by this paper
• Biosynthetic hydrogen isotopic fractionation factors during lipid synthesis in submerged aquatic macrophytes: effect of groundwater discharge and salinity.

  2017cited by this paper
• Timing and magnitude of early to middle Holocene warming in East Greenland inferred from chironomids

  2017cited by this paper
• Exceptional summer warming leads to contrasting outcomes for methane cycling in small Arctic lakes of Greenland

  2017cited by this paper
• Holocene temperatures and isotopes of precipitation in Northwest Greenland recorded in lacustrine organic materials

  2017cited by this paper
• Extracting the most from terrestrial plant-derived n-alkyl lipids and their carbon isotopes from the sedimentary record: A review

  2017cited by this paper
• Climate-sensitive northern lakes and ponds are critical components of methane release

  2016influential reference
• A major increase in winter snowfall during the middle Holocene on western Greenland caused by reduced sea ice in Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea

  2016influential reference
• Factors Controlling Methane in Arctic Lakes of Southwest Greenland

  2016cited by this paper
• C ∕ N ratio, stable isotope ( δ 13 C, δ 15 N), and n -alkane patterns of brown mosses along hydrological gradients of low-centred polygons of the Siberian Arctic

  2016cited by this paper
• Methane turnover and environmental change from Holocene lipid biomarker records in a thermokarst lake in Arctic Alaska

  2016cited by this paper
• Thermal stratification in small arctic lakes of southwest Greenland affected by water transparency and epilimnetic temperatures

  2016cited by this paper
• Large fractionations of C and H isotopes related to methane oxidation in Arctic lakes

  2016cited by this paper
• A potential bio-filler: The substitution effect of furfural modified clam shell for carbonate calcium in polypropylene

  2015cited by this paper
• Greenland precipitation trends in a long‐term instrumental climate context (1890–2012): evaluation of coastal and ice core records

  2015cited by this paper
• Regulation of methane production, oxidation, and emission by vascular plants and bryophytes in ponds of the northeast Siberian polygonal tundra

  2015cited by this paper
• Arctic Holocene proxy climate database – new approaches to assessing geochronological accuracy and encoding climate variables

  2014cited by this paper
• Holocene environmental change in the Skallingen area, eastern North Greenland, based on a lacustrine record

  2014cited by this paper
• Holocene variations in peatland methane cycling associated with the Asian summer monsoon system

  2014cited by this paper
• A global inventory of lakes based on high‐resolution satellite imagery

  2014cited by this paper
• Energy input is primary controller of methane bubbling in subarctic lakes

  2014cited by this paper
• Methanotrophy induces nitrogen fixation during peatland development

  2013cited by this paper
• The relative influences of climate and catchment processes on Holocene lake development in glaciated regions

  2013cited by this paper
• Biogeochemical evidence for hydrologic changes during the Holocene in a lake sediment record from southeast Greenland

  2013cited by this paper
• Leaf wax n-alkane distributions in and across modern plants: Implications for paleoecology and chemotaxonomy

  2013cited by this paper
• Holocene temperature history at the western Greenland Ice Sheet margin reconstructed from lake sediments

  2013influential reference
• Leaf water deuterium enrichment shapes leaf wax n-alkane δD values of angiosperm plants II: Observational evidence and global implications

  2013cited by this paper
• Estimation of carbonate, total organic carbon, and biogenic silica content by FTIR and XRF techniques in lacustrine sediments

  2013cited by this paper
• Warnstorfia exannulata, an aquatic moss in the Arctic: seasonal growth responses

  2013cited by this paper
• Recent warming in Greenland in a long-term instrumental (1881–2012) climatic context: I. Evaluation of surface air temperature records

  2012cited by this paper
• Using the deuterium isotope composition of permafrost meltwater to constrain thermokarst lake contributions to atmospheric CH4 during the last deglaciation

  2012cited by this paper
• Reconstruction of past methane availability in an Arctic Alaska wetland indicates climate influenced methane release during the past ~12,000 years

  2012cited by this paper
• Molecular Paleohydrology: Interpreting the Hydrogen-Isotopic Composition of Lipid Biomarkers from Photosynthesizing Organisms

  2012cited by this paper
• GDGT Thermometry: Lipid Tools for Reconstructing Paleotemperatures

  2012cited by this paper
• Methane oxidation associated with submerged brown mosses reduces methane emissions from Siberian polygonal tundra

  2011cited by this paper
• Atmospheric methane isotope records covering the Holocene period

  2010cited by this paper
• Influence of aquatic macrophytes on the stable carbon isotopic signatures of sedimentary organic matter in lakes on the Tibetan Plateau

  2010cited by this paper
• Lipids of symbiotic methane-oxidizing bacteria in peat moss studied using stable carbon isotopic labelling

  2010cited by this paper
• The role of Sphagnum mosses in the methane cycling of a boreal mire.

  2010cited by this paper
• Global prevalence of methane oxidation by symbiotic bacteria in peat-moss ecosystems

  2010cited by this paper
• δD values of n-alkanes in Tibetan lake sediments and aquatic macrophytes - a surface sediment study and application to a 16 ka record from Lake Koucha.

  2010cited by this paper
• Carbon isotope compositions of terrestrial C3 plants as indicators of (paleo)ecology and (paleo)climate

  2010cited by this paper
• The influence of diet and water on the stable oxygen and hydrogen isotope composition of Chironomidae (Diptera) with paleoecological implications

  2009cited by this paper
• Holocene thinning of the Greenland ice sheet

  2009cited by this paper
• Methane dynamics in different boreal lake types

  2009cited by this paper
• Tetraether membrane lipid distributions in water-column particulate matter and sediments: a study of 47 European lakes along a north–south transect

  2009cited by this paper
• A Review on

  2008cited by this paper
• Methane bubbling from northern lakes: present and future contributions to the global methane budget

  2007cited by this paper
• Controls on the hydrogen isotopic composition of biogenic methane from high-latitude terrestrial wetlands

  2006cited by this paper
• Methane bubbling from Siberian thaw lakes as a positive feedback to climate warming

  2006cited by this paper
• Methanotrophic symbionts provide carbon for photosynthesis in peat bogs

  2005cited by this paper
• Global application of stable hydrogen and oxygen isotopes to wildlife forensics

  2005cited by this paper
• Roles of moss species and habitat in methane consumption potential in a northern peatland

  2004cited by this paper
• FTIR quantitative analysis of calcium carbonate (calcite) and silica (quartz) mixtures using the constant ratio method. Application to geological samples.

  2002cited by this paper
• Slow growth and decomposition of mosses in Arctic lakes

  1999influential reference
• GROWTH RECONSTRUCTION AND PHOTOSYNTHESIS OF AQUATIC MOSSES : INFLUENCE OF LIGHT, TEMPERATURE AND CARBON DIOXIDE AT DEPTH

  1997cited by this paper
• Global network for isotopes in precipitation

  1996cited by this paper
• Oxygen and Hydrogen Isotope Fractionation during Cellulose Metabolism in Lemna gibba L.

  1990cited by this paper
• Carbon Isotope Discrimination and Photosynthesis

  1989cited by this paper
• Life History of the Chironomidae

  1971cited by this paper
• S C I E N C E

  year unknowncited by this paper

• Prominent Cooling of West Greenland During the 8.2 ka Event Based on Multiple Proxies From Lake Sediments

  2026cites this paper
• Using black soldier fly larval frass to restore soil health.

  2025cites this paper
• Microbial responses to changing plant community protect peatland carbon stores during Holocene drying

  2025cites this paper
• Lake carbon loss driven by changed microbial carbon utilization through increased anthropogenic land-use intensity

  2025cites this paper
• Sedimentary pigments reveal complex ecosystem responses of primary producers to mid-Holocene summer anoxia in a small Greenland lake

  2025cites this paper
• Tracing Holocene temperatures and human impact in a Greenlandic Lake: Novel insights from hyperspectral imaging and lipid biomarkers

  2024cites this paper
• Spatiotemporal variation of modern lake, stream, and soil water isotopes in Iceland

  2024cites this paper
• Stable isotope analyses of lacustrine chitinous invertebrate remains: Analytical advances, challenges and potential

  2024cites this paper
• Seasonal precipitation variability on Svalbard inferred from Holocene sedimentary leaf wax δ2H

  2024cites this paper
• Aquatic moss δ18O as a proxy for seasonally resolved lake water δ18O, northwest Greenland

  2024cites this paper
• Plant type effect overweighs seasonal variation in n-alkanoic acid biomarker on regional Loess Plateau of China

  2024cites this paper
• Recent literature on bryophytes — 127(2)

  2024cites this paper
• The stable carbon and hydrogen isotopic composition of microbial fatty acids traces microbial metabolism in soils and peats

  2023cites this paper
• Holocene temperatures in southwestern Greenland controlled by topography, ice sheet proximity and oceanic conditions

  year unknowncites this paper