Efficient river transfer and shelf storage of black carbon across a major Arctic basin

This dataset contains black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC) content and radiocarbon composition of particulate and dissolved samples from the Mackenzie River basin, Canada. It also includes one sample from the Mackenzie Shelf. The samples come from the Arctic Red, Liard, Mackenzie and Peel rivers and from the Mackenzie Delta. They were collected in 1987, 2009, 2011, 2017 and 2018. Particulate samples are riverine sediments. Dissolved samples represent dissolved organic matter. BC was quantified as benzene polycarboxylic acids (BPCAs). Radiocarbon was measured on two BPCA fractions. B5CA+B6CA represents more aromatically condensed BC. B3CA+B4CA represents less aromatically condensed BC. Radiocarbon was measured by accelerator mass spectrometry at the Laboratory of Ion Beam Physics, ETH Zurich. Values were corrected for procedural blank contributions. Bulk OC data are from previously published studies, given in the Ref. column.