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Permafrost thaw controls iron flux from wetlands and sulfide-bearing rocks to Arctic rivers and streams

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Abstract

Recent warming has caused widespread iron mobilization into Arctic waterbodies that degrades ecosystems and threatens natural resources. Yet, understanding where and when iron flux occurs remains limited. Here, we investigate iron loading across regional to local scales in Arctic Alaska using climate, water chemistry, and borehole data together with mapped geology and permafrost presence. We show that both anoxic microbial iron reduction and acid rock drainage from iron-sulfide oxidation mobilize iron. Iron influx is strongly associated with lowland wetlands, sulfide-rich upland bedrock, and near-surface permafrost. Acid rock drainage chemistry correlates very strongly with the depth of seasonal thaw above permafrost from the previous year, indicating a one-year lag. These findings clarify the spatial and temporal dynamics of Arctic river rusting, provide a mechanistic understanding of the phenomenon, and may allow anticipation of its occurrence and assessment of its implications for aquatic ecosystem health and subsistence resources under ongoing climate change.

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Data availability

The chemical, sample location, and other data that support the findings of this study, including the source files for figures, are available at Figshare DOI 10.6084/m9.figshare.28091102.

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Acknowledgements

Funding for this work was provided by awards from the National Science Foundation to P.F.S. and R.J.D. (OPP-2325290) and to T.W.L. (OPP-2325291). R.J.D. also received support for this work from the Wilburforce Foundation and from NASA through the Alaska Space Grant Program (80NSSC20M0070). J. Cummings, E. Sieh, and Bering Air Service provided aviation support. A. Dahl, F. McCarthy, R. Kolesar, A. Lee, L. Adkins, and M. Zietlow provided valuable field assistance in the field. Tom Wetherell provided the location of the river rusting in Russia. Field sampling was permitted by the National Park Service (permit# KOVA-2023-SCI-0001). We acknowledge the donation of packrafts from Alpacka Raft, LLC and equipment from Hyperlight Mountain Gear that made data collection possible. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Culture and Environment, Alaska Pacific University, Anchorage, AK, USA

    Roman J. Dial

  2. Environment and Natural Resources Institute, University of Alaska Anchorage, Anchorage, AK, USA

    Roman J. Dial & Patrick F. Sullivan

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA

    Caitlynn T. Hanna

  4. Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA

    David J. Cooper, Charles Diamond & Timothy W. Lyons

  5. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA

    Christopher J. Tino

  6. Department of Earth, Energy, and Environment, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada

    Christopher J. Tino

  7. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Daniel D. Gregory

  8. Teck Alaska Incorporated, Anchorage, AK, USA

    Michael Rieser

  9. Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK, USA

    Dmitry J. Nicolsky

  10. National Park Service, Arctic and Central Alaska Networks, Fairbanks, AK, USA

    Kenneth Hill

  11. University of Alaska Fairbanks, International Arctic Research Center, Fairbanks, AK, USA

    Go Iwahana

  12. U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, AK, USA

    Joshua C. Koch & Michael P. Carey

  13. NANA Regional Corporation, Anchorage, AK, USA

    Lance Miller

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  1. Roman J. Dial
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Contributions

R.J.D. conceived the study, led field data collection, performed data archiving and remote sensing interpretation, spatial and statistical analyzes, and wrote the manuscript. C.T.H. contributed to field data collection, data archiving, remote sensing interpretation, permafrost modeling by calibrating the GIPL2 ground temperature model, and manuscript preparation. P.F.S. contributed to study design, field data collection, aquatic ecosystem interpretation, and manuscript preparation. D.J.C. contributed to study design, contributed to field data collection, wetland ecosystem interpretation, and manuscript preparation. C.J.T. contributed to field data collection and manuscript preparation. D.D.G. contributed to field data collection, geological interpretation, and manuscript preparation. C.D. performed ICP-MS laboratory analyzes. M.R. provided water quality monitoring data from the Ikalukrok Creek watershed. D.J.N. developed and calibrated the GIPL2 ground temperature model and contributed to permafrost analysis and manuscript preparation. K.H. contributed climate data, remote sensing interpretation, and manuscript preparation. G.I. contributed to permafrost analysis and manuscript preparation. J.C.K. contributed to hydrological analysis and manuscript preparation. M.P.C. contributed to aquatic ecosystem interpretation and manuscript preparation. L.M. contributed to geological interpretation, regional context, and manuscript preparation. T.W.L. contributed to field data collection, geological and geochemical interpretation, laboratory supervision, and manuscript preparation. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

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Roman J. Dial.

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Competing interests

The authors declare the following competing interests: M.R. is employed by Teck Alaska Incorporated, which operates Red Dog Mine in the local study area and provided water quality monitoring data and borehole ground temperature data used in this study. L.M. is employed by NANA Regional Corporation, an Alaska Native regional corporation with land interests in the study area.

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Dial, R.J., Hanna, C.T., Sullivan, P.F. et al. Permafrost thaw controls iron flux from wetlands and sulfide-bearing rocks to Arctic rivers and streams.
Commun Earth Environ (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03450-x

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