Polar ice sheets hold a significant pool of the world's carbon reserve and are an integral component of the global carbon cycle. Yet, organic carbon composition and cycling in these systems is least understood. Here, we use ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry to elucidate, at an unprecedented level, molecular details of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in Antarctic snow. Tens of thousands of distinct molecular species are identified, providing clues to the nature and sources of organic carbon in Antarctica. We show that many of the identified supraglacial organic matter formulas are consistent with material from microbial sources, and terrestrial inputs of vascular plant-derived materials are likely more important sources of organic carbon to Antarctica than previously thought. Black carbon-like material apparently originating from biomass burning in South America is also present, while a smaller fraction originated from soil humics and appears to be photochemically or microbially modified. In addition to remote continental sources, we document signals of oceanic emissions of primary aerosols and secondary organic aerosol precursors. The new insights on the diversity of organic species in Antarctic snowpack reinforce the importance of studying organic carbon associated with the Earth's polar regions in the face of changing climate.

Snow overlays the majority of Antarctica and is an important repository of dissolved organic matter (DOM). DOM transformations by supraglacial microbes are not well understood. We use ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry to elucidate molecular changes in snowpack DOM by in situ microbial processes (up to 55 days) in a coastal Antarctic site. Both autochthonous and allochthonous DOM is highly bioavailable and is transformed by resident microbial communities through parallel processes of degradation and synthesis. DOM thought to be of a more refractory nature, such as dissolved black carbon and carboxylic-rich alicyclic molecules, was also rapidly and extensively reworked. Microbially reworked DOM exhibits an increase in the number and magnitude of N-, S-, and P-containing formulas, is less oxygenated, and more aromatic when compared to the initial DOM. Shifts in the heteroatom composition suggest that microbial processes may be important in the cycling of not only C, but other elements such as N, S, and P. Microbial reworking also produces photoreactive compounds, with potential implications for DOM photochemistry. Refined measurements of supraglacial DOM and their cycling by microbes is critical for improving our understanding of supraglacial DOM cycling and the biogeochemical and ecological impacts of DOM export to downstream environments.

Snow ecosystems represent a large part of the Earth's biosphere and harbour diverse microbial communities. Despite our increased knowledge of snow microbial communities, the question remains as to their functional potential, particularly with respect to their role in adapting to and modifying the specific snow environment. In this work, we investigated the diversity and functional capabilities of microorganisms from 3 regions of East Antarctica, with respect to compounds present in snow and tested whether their functional signature reflected the snow environment. A diverse assemblage of bacteria (Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Deinococcus-Thermus, Planctomycetes, Verrucomicrobia), archaea (Euryarchaeota), and eukarya (Basidiomycota, Ascomycota, Cryptomycota and Rhizaria) were detected through culture-dependent and -independent methods. Although microbial communities observed in the three snow samples were distinctly different, all isolates tested produced one or more of the following enzymes: lipase, protease, amylase, β-galactosidase, cellulase, and/or lignin modifying enzyme. This indicates that the snow pack microbes have the capacity to degrade organic compounds found in Antarctic snow (proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, lignin), thus highlighting their potential to be involved in snow chemistry.

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Organic carbon records in Antarctic snow are sparse despite the fact that it is of great significance to global carbon dynamics, snow photochemistry, and air-snow exchange processes. Here, surface snow total organic carbon (TOC) along with sea-salt Na(+), dust, and microbial load of two geographically distinct traverses in East Antarctica are presented, viz. Princess Elizabeth Land (PEL, coast to 180 km inland, Indian Ocean sector) and Dronning Maud Land (DML, ∼110-300 km inland, Atlantic Ocean sector). TOC ranged from 88 ± 4 to 928 ± 21 μg L(-1) in PEL and 13 ± 1 to 345 ± 6 μg L(-1) in DML. TOC exhibited considerable spatial variation with significantly higher values in the coastal samples (p < 0.001), but regional variation was insignificant within the two transects beyond 100 km (p > 0.1). Both distance from the sea and elevation influenced TOC concentrations. TOC also showed a strong positive correlation with sea-salt Na(+) (p < 0.001). In addition to marine contribution, in situ microorganisms accounted for 365 and 320 ng carbon L(-1) in PEL and DML, respectively. Correlation with dust suggests that crustal contribution of organic carbon was marginal. Though TOC was predominantly influenced by marine sources associated with sea-spray aerosols, local microbial contributions were significant in distant locations having minimal sea-spray input.