A new RIV-ESCAPE publication now out!
WMarch 2024
Our study published in PNAS Nexus, led by Sanjeev, finds that in the northern Canadian Arctic, a region warming at an unprecedented rate, ‘old’ carbon is being mobilized from thawing permafrost through hydrologically connected waterways and leaking as CO2 from the Mackenzie River system. By tracking the isotopic fingerprints of the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) on two separate summers, we determined the age and sources of DIC in this river system, which had thus far remained elusive especially in the northern latitudes (> 60 N). DIC was found to be between 1060 and 4492 years old (radiocarbon age) and isotopically lighter during riverine transport from the tributaries to the delta due to the evasion of carbon dioxide from the system. We estimate that most of the evading carbon dioxide was sourced from the oxidation of biospheric organic carbon, representing a leak of carbon from millennial terrestrial C stocks through hydrologically connected waters, which is concerning for future climate warming of permafrost zones. Further work is currently underway through recent (October 2023) upcoming (June 2024) field campaigns to better constrain the fluxes and drivers of the GHGs in this river system. We're really excited by what is to come on this part of the RIV-ESCAPE project. |
Fieldwork to the Mackenzie River delta region
October 2023
The people of the Northwest Territories have had an extremely difficult few months. An unprecedented fire season has led many to have to evacuate their homes, and see widespread damage and health risks due to smoke. Colleagues and collaborators were impacted too, and our planned trip in early September was cancelled in response to these events. Fortunately, the situation this year did improve, and we were able to quickly act and plan an alternative trip, although not everyone was able to go. We headed to the Mackenzie River delta region at the end of the "shoulder season", as flow in the rivers decline, days shorten and the weather gets a lot colder. This is a time of year which is not often captured in sample sets, and we were in the field as the rivers were freezing over. Bob and Josh were joined by Madeleine Stow (working on a NERC project to sample Re isotopes) and Linn Speidel from ETH Zurich, who was collecting samples for her PhD. It was a challenging trip, but very successful in terms of data and samples. Greenhouse gas concentrations and fluxes were measured across all our key sites, and we were able also to sample for radiocarbon and stable isotopes of CO2 and CH4. Testing some of methods out in the cold conditions was also very useful. As always, we were in debt of the skilled knowledge and support of local scientists and river users, including those at the Aurora Research Institute and communites in Tsiigehtchic. Thank you! We look forward to visiting again. |
The RIV-ESCAPE team assembles!
September 2023
We've had several new members join the team over the last 2 months, and its an exciting time to plan and get started on several research themes. Leonardo Mena-Rivera joined us as a PDRA to help quantify the age and reactivity of organic matter in Arctic river catchments, joining us having completed his PhD in Bristol organic geochemistry group. Hilde Cronwright has joined as a Laboratory Technician, bringing over a decade of experience of environmental analytical geochemistry and project management. Two DPhil students will also start in October, Sabina Sulikova and Catherine Baldwin. Sabina and Catherine will be working on CO2 and CH4 dynamics in high latitude catchments. Welcome all! and exciting science to come over the next few years
We've had several new members join the team over the last 2 months, and its an exciting time to plan and get started on several research themes. Leonardo Mena-Rivera joined us as a PDRA to help quantify the age and reactivity of organic matter in Arctic river catchments, joining us having completed his PhD in Bristol organic geochemistry group. Hilde Cronwright has joined as a Laboratory Technician, bringing over a decade of experience of environmental analytical geochemistry and project management. Two DPhil students will also start in October, Sabina Sulikova and Catherine Baldwin. Sabina and Catherine will be working on CO2 and CH4 dynamics in high latitude catchments. Welcome all! and exciting science to come over the next few years
Visit to NERC Radiocarbon Facility
June 2023
Sanjeev and Bob headed north to East Kilbride to visit collaborators at the NERC Radiocarbon Facility. We were there to discuss methods for collecting samples for radiocarbon analysis of CO2 and CH4. Mark Garnett, our collaborator, has developed really clever approaches to sampling these gases from streams and rivers. It was really useful to meet in person and discuss the pros and cons of different methods and their equipment needs, while also discussing scientific plans for forthcoming fieldwork to the Mackenzie River in September. |
New team member starts
March 2023
Welcome to Sanjeev Dasari! Sanjeev joins us to work on using novel methods to quantify CO2 and CH4 fluxes from river surfaces, alongside the use of radiocarbon and stable isotopes to track source and process. Sanjeev joins us from Grenoble where he was a Marie Curie fellow, and has abundant expertise in multi-element isotope methods to track carbon source, and atmospheric and gas measurements. We are excited to welcome him to the team! |
More opportunities to join the team
January 2023
After successfully filling the previous post (more new soon), we're looking to fill three positions on the RIV-ESCAPE project: 1) Post-Doctoral Research Assistant (PDRA) in River Greenhouse Gases 2) Laboratory Technician in geochemistry 3) DPhil studentship in Arctic river greenhouse gases and biogeochemistry See here for details on how to apply: UPDATE - these positions have now been filled after open advert, shortlisting and competitive interview (May 2023) |
Post doc opportunity
May 2022
We're looking for team members! The Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, seeks to appoint a full-time Post-Doctoral Research Assistant (PDRA) in River Greenhouse Gases. The PDRA will join a research team and report to the Principal Investigator Prof. Robert Hilton on the project “RIV-ESCAPE: River emissions of greenhouse gases from warming landscapes” which is funded by a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant.
The overall aim of the project is to better constrain how and why carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emissions from rivers will change as landscapes warm. To do this, this PDRA will lead the installation of novel field installations that continuously measure CO2 and CH4 concentration and flux, while quantifying turbulent river flow at high frequency (hours) over seasonal cycles. UK rivers will be used to refine the methods, before their application to track CO2 and CH4 release in Arctic rivers of the Mackenzie Basin, Canada, which drain old carbon stocks that are warming rapidly.
See here for details on how to apply:
UPDATE - these positions have now been filled after open advert, shortlisting and competitive interview (September 2022)
We're looking for team members! The Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, seeks to appoint a full-time Post-Doctoral Research Assistant (PDRA) in River Greenhouse Gases. The PDRA will join a research team and report to the Principal Investigator Prof. Robert Hilton on the project “RIV-ESCAPE: River emissions of greenhouse gases from warming landscapes” which is funded by a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant.
The overall aim of the project is to better constrain how and why carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emissions from rivers will change as landscapes warm. To do this, this PDRA will lead the installation of novel field installations that continuously measure CO2 and CH4 concentration and flux, while quantifying turbulent river flow at high frequency (hours) over seasonal cycles. UK rivers will be used to refine the methods, before their application to track CO2 and CH4 release in Arctic rivers of the Mackenzie Basin, Canada, which drain old carbon stocks that are warming rapidly.
See here for details on how to apply:
UPDATE - these positions have now been filled after open advert, shortlisting and competitive interview (September 2022)