Abstract

High‐latitude northern rivers export globally significant quantities of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to the Arctic Ocean. Climate change, and its associated impacts on hydrology and potential mobilization of ancient organic matter from permafrost, is likely to modify the flux, composition, and thus biogeochemical cycling and fate of exported DOC in the Arctic. This study examined DOC concentration and the composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) across the hydrograph in Siberia's Kolyma River, with a particular focus on the spring freshet period when the majority of the annual DOC load is exported. The composition of DOM within the Kolyma basin was characterized using absorbance‐derived measurements (absorbance coefficient a 330 , specific UV absorbance (SUVA 254 ), and spectral slope ratio S R ) and fluorescence spectroscopy (fluorescence index and excitation‐emission matrices (EEMs)), including parallel factor analyses of EEMs. Increased surface runoff during the spring freshet led to DOM optical properties indicative of terrestrial soil inputs with high humic‐like fluorescence, SUVA 254, and low S R and fluorescence index (FI). Under‐ice waters, in contrast, displayed opposing trends in optical properties representing less aromatic, lower molecular weight DOM. We demonstrate that substantial losses of DOC can occur via biological (∼30% over 28 days) and photochemical pathways (>29% over 14 days), particularly in samples collected during the spring freshet. The emerging view is therefore that of a more dynamic and labile carbon pool than previously thought, where DOM composition plays a fundamental role in controlling the fate and removal of DOC at a pan‐Arctic scale.