Steven Loiselle

Bio: Steven Loiselle is an academic researcher from University of Siena. The author has contributed to research in topics: Colored dissolved organic matter & Dissolved organic carbon. The author has an hindex of 30, co-authored 130 publications receiving 4528 citations. Previous affiliations of Steven Loiselle include Earthwatch Institute & University of Sassari.

Lakes and reservoirs as regulators of carbon cycling and climate

Abstract: We explore the role of lakes in carbon cycling and global climate, examine the mechanisms influencing carbon pools and transformations in lakes, and discuss how the metabolism of carbon in the inland waters is likely to change in response to climate. Furthermore, we project changes as global climate change in the abundance and spatial distribution of lakes in the biosphere, and we revise the estimate for the global extent of carbon transformation in inland waters. This synthesis demonstrates that the global annual emissions of carbon dioxide from inland waters to the atmosphere are similar in magnitude to the carbon dioxide uptake by the oceans and that the global burial of organic carbon in inland water sediments exceeds organic carbon sequestration on the ocean floor. The role of inland waters in global carbon cycling and climate forcing may be changed by human activities, including construction of impoundments, which accumulate large amounts of carbon in sediments and emit large amounts of methane to the atmosphere. Methane emissions are also expected from lakes on melting permafrost. The synthesis presented here indicates that (1) inland waters constitute a significant component of the global carbon cycle, (2) their contribution to this cycle has significantly changed as a result of human activities, and (3) they will continue to change in response to future climate change causing decreased as well as increased abundance of lakes as well as increases in the number of aquatic impoundments.

The optical characterization of chromophoric dissolved organic matter using wavelength distribution of absorption spectral slopes.

Abstract: We use a new approach to characterize the absorption characteristics of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in standard solutions and in several tropical lake ecosystems (Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika, Laguna Ibera ´ ). Compared with the common methods where a single slope of CDOM absorption spectrum is determined over a broad spectral region, we estimate the variations in spectral slope as a function of wavelength from 200 to 700 nm. Hence, our results show a distribution of spectral slope, referred to as the spectral slope curve, Sl, which was used to identify similarities between lakes and standard solutions as well as to show the wavelength intervals in which photodegradation modifies spectral slope. In contrast to the plethora of wavelength intervals and ratios presented in the CDOM literature, a comparison of spectral slope curves between ecosystems provides a potentially important tool to examine the characteristics of CDOM in a consistent manner.

Testing the spectral variation hypothesis by using satellite multispectral images

Abstract: In the present paper, a test of the spectral variation hypothesis (SVH) was performed using multispectral high resolution satellite data. The SVH was tested by comparing the relationship between the spectral heterogeneity and species richness in plots of different size (100– 10000 m 2 ) in a complex wetland ecosystem, the “Montepulciano Lake”, Central Italy. The nature reserve of the Montepulciano Lake is centered on a 100 ha shallow lake surrounded on three sides by aPhragmitesaustralis andCarex sp. pl. marsh of about 280 ha. The monitoring program for the reserve vegetation started in 2002 and is based on the analysis of 1, 100 m 2 and 1 ha (10000 m 2 ) plots, organized in such a manner that four of the smaller size plots are nested, following a random design, within a larger one. Data on species composition and community structure were collected in the plots and stored in a GIS-linked archive. A multispectral Quickbird satellite image (3 m spatial resolution) acquired of the wetland and lake ecosystem during the same period was radiometrically and geometrically corrected. We performed an analysis to examine the use of spectral heterogeneity using the four visible and infrared wavebands of the satellite image to predict species richness at the different spatial scales. The spectral heterogeneity was found to explain about 20% of the variance of species richness at the 100 m 2 scale and about 50% at the 1 ha scale. It was concluded that multispectral high resolution satellite data can contribute to the biodiversity assessment of complex wetland ecosystems.

Fourteen-Year Record (2000–2013) of the Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Floating Algae Blooms in Lake Chaohu, Observed from Time Series of MODIS Images

Abstract: As the fifth largest freshwater lake in China, Lake Chaohu has drawn increasing attention due to the decline in water quality and the occurrence of massive algal blooms. We applied an algae pixel-growing algorithm to MODIS Terra or Aqua data (2100 images) to characterize surface floating algae bloom dynamics from 2000 to 2013 with respect to meteorological and lake nutrient conditions. The results show an increase in surface algal bloom coverage, frequency, and duration with a trend toward earlier bloom formation. Importantly, spatial and temporal patterns in the historically less compromised eastern and middle lake areas show that water quality conditions are deteriorating. This has occurred at the same time as lake management has made a catchment scale effort to reduce impact. Our results show that nutrient concentrations were not the main driver of inter-annual bloom variations. Local meteorological conditions, in particular wind speed and temperature, played an important role in the dynamics of floating algal bloom. This highlights the important challenges for lake management.

Carbon and Other Biogeochemical Cycles

Abstract: For base year 2010, anthropogenic activities created ~210 (190 to 230) TgN of reactive nitrogen Nr from N2. This human-caused creation of reactive nitrogen in 2010 is at least 2 times larger than the rate of natural terrestrial creation of ~58 TgN (50 to 100 TgN yr−1) (Table 6.9, Section 1a). Note that the estimate of natural terrestrial biological fixation (58 TgN yr−1) is lower than former estimates (100 TgN yr−1, Galloway et al., 2004), but the ranges overlap, 50 to 100 TgN yr−1 vs. 90 to 120 TgN yr−1, respectively). Of this created reactive nitrogen, NOx and NH3 emissions from anthropogenic sources are about fourfold greater than natural emissions (Table 6.9, Section 1b). A greater portion of the NH3 emissions is deposited to the continents rather than to the oceans, relative to the deposition of NOy, due to the longer atmospheric residence time of the latter. These deposition estimates are lower limits, as they do not include organic nitrogen species. New model and measurement information (Kanakidou et al., 2012) suggests that incomplete inclusion of emissions and atmospheric chemistry of reduced and oxidized organic nitrogen components in current models may lead to systematic underestimates of total global reactive nitrogen deposition by up to 35% (Table 6.9, Section 1c). Discharge of reactive nitrogen to the coastal oceans is ~45 TgN yr−1 (Table 6.9, Section 1d). Denitrification converts Nr back to atmospheric N2. The current estimate for the production of atmospheric N2 is 110 TgN yr−1 (Bouwman et al., 2013).

Global carbon dioxide emissions from inland waters

Abstract: Carbon dioxide (CO2) transfer from inland waters to the atmosphere, known as CO2 evasion, is a component of the global carbon cycle. Global estimates of CO2 evasion have been hampered, however, by the lack of a framework for estimating the inland water surface area and gas transfer velocity and by the absence of a global CO2 database. Here we report regional variations in global inland water surface area, dissolved CO2 and gas transfer velocity. We obtain global CO2 evasion rates of 1.8(-0.25)(+0.25) petagrams of carbon (Pg C) per year from streams and rivers and 0.32(-0.26)(+0.52) Pg C yr(-1) from lakes and reservoirs, where the upper and lower limits are respectively the 5th and 95th confidence interval percentiles. The resulting global evasion rate of 2.1 Pg C yr(-1) is higher than previous estimates owing to a larger stream and river evasion rate. Our analysis predicts global hotspots in stream and river evasion, with about 70 per cent of the flux occurring over just 20 per cent of the land surface. The source of inland water CO2 is still not known with certainty and new studies are needed to research the mechanisms controlling CO2 evasion globally.

Superoxide Ion: Generation and Chemical Implications

Abstract: Superoxide ion (O2•–) is of great significance as a radical species implicated in diverse chemical and biological systems. However, the chemistry knowledge of O2•– is rather scarce. In addition, numerous studies on O2•– were conducted within the latter half of the 20th century. Therefore, the current advancement in technology and instrumentation will certainly provide better insights into mechanisms and products of O2•– reactions and thus will result in new findings. This review emphasizes the state-of-the-art research on O2•– so as to enable researchers to venture into future research. It comprises the main characteristics of O2•– followed by generation methods. The reaction types of O2•– are reviewed, and its potential applications including the destruction of hazardous chemicals, synthesis of organic compounds, and many other applications are highlighted. The O2•– environmental chemistry is also discussed. The detection methods of O2•– are categorized and elaborated. Special attention is given to the f...

Lakes as sentinels of climate change

Abstract: While there is a general sense that lakes can act as sentinels of climate change, their efficacy has not been thoroughly analyzed. We identified the key response variables within a lake that act as indicators of the effects of climate change on both the lake and the catchment. These variables reflect a wide range of physical, chemical, and biological responses to climate. However, the efficacy of the different indicators is affected by regional response to climate change, characteristics of the catchment, and lake mixing regimes. Thus, particular indicators or combinations of indicators are more effective for different lake types and geographic regions. The extraction of climate signals can be further complicated by the influence of other environmental changes, such as eutrophication or acidification, and the equivalent reverse phenomena, in addition to other land-use influences. In many cases, however, confounding factors can be addressed through analytical tools such as detrending or filtering. Lakes are effective sentinels for climate change because they are sensitive to climate, respond rapidly to change, and integrate information about changes in the catchment.

Freshwater Methane Emissions Offset the Continental Carbon Sink

Abstract: Inland waters (lakes, reservoirs, streams, and rivers) are often substantial methane (CH4) sources in the terrestrial landscape. They are, however, not yet well integrated in global greenhouse gas (GHG) budgets. Data from 474 freshwater ecosystems and the most recent global water area estimates indicate that freshwaters emit at least 103 teragrams of CH4 year−1, corresponding to 0.65 petagrams of C as carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalents year−1, offsetting 25% of the estimated land carbon sink. Thus, the continental GHG sink may be considerably overestimated, and freshwaters need to be recognized as important in the global carbon cycle.