Arctic peatlands store approximately 300 Pg of organic carbon which could, under continued climate warming, be released to the atmosphere as either CO<sub>2</sub> or methane. In this presentation we will summarize results of the comprehensive analytical characterization of organic matter in the Stordelen Mire located within the Artic circle in northern Sweden. We have identified changes in solid peat organic matter (SOM) by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) that were correlated with methane and CO<sub>2 </sub>production (Figure 1.). Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) provides unrivaled power for identifying individual compounds in the dissolved phase (DOM) in porewaters, but excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy coupled with parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC) is more efficient for bulk DOM characterization. We used both methods to analyze pore water from the Stordalen Mire and found strong correlations between the abundances of various compound classes identified by FT-ICR MS, and specific fluorophores identified by EEMS/PARAFAC.

Comprehensive analytical approach for characterizing the impacts of climate change on carbon sequestration in Arctic peatlands

249th National Meeting (2015)

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