ALBERT

Description: Incubation experiments comprising Saharan dust additions were conducted in the tropical North Atlantic Ocean along an east-west transect at 12° N to study the phytoplankton response to nutrient release in oligotrophic seawater conditions. Experiments were performed at three stations (M1, M3, M4), mimicking wet and dry deposition of low and high amounts of Saharan dust deposition from two different dust sources (paleo-lake and sand dune). Dust particle sizes were adjusted to resemble dust that is naturally deposited over the ocean at the experiment sites. For wet dust deposition, the dust was pre-leached in acidified ‘artificial rainwater’ (H2SO4) for 16 to 24 hours, mimicking acid cloud processing at different pH values. Experiments were run up to eight days. Daily nutrient measurements of phosphate (PO43−), silicate (SiO44−), nitrate (NO3−) and cell abundances were performed in addition to measurements of concentrations of total dissolved iron (DFe), particulate organic carbon (POC), and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) at the start and at the end of the experiments. A significant initial increase and subsequent gradual decrease in PO43−, SiO44− and DFe concentrations were observed after wet dust deposition using high amounts of dust previously leached in low pH rain (H2SO4, pH = 2). Remarkably, the experiments showed no nutrient release (PO43−, SiO44− and DFe) from dry-dust addition and the NO3− concentrations remained unaffected in all (dry and wet) experiments. The prokaryotic cyanobacterium Synechococcus spp. was the most prominent picophytoplankton in all mixed layer experiments. After an initial increase in cell abundance, a subsequent decrease (at M1) or a slight increase (at M3) with similar temporal dynamics was observed for dry and wet dust deposition experiments. The POC concentrations increased in all experiments and showed similar high values after both dry and wet dust deposition treatments, even though wet dust deposition is considered to have a higher potential to introduce bioavailable nutrients (i.e. PO43−, SiO44− and DFe) into the otherwise nutrient-starved oligotrophic ocean. Our observations suggest that such nutrients may be more likely to favor the growth of the phytoplankton community when an additional N-source is also available. In addition to acting as a fertilizer, our results from both dry and wet dust deposition experiments suggest that Saharan dust particles might be incorporated into marine snow aggregates leading to similar high POC concentrations.

Description: In some parts of the Southern Ocean (SO), even though low surface concentrations of iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) indicate FeMn co-limitation, we still lack an understanding on how Mn and Fe availability influences SO phytoplankton ecophysiology. Therefore, this study investigated the effects of Fe and Mn limitation alone as well as their combination on growth, photophysiology and particulate organic carbon production of the bloom-forming Antarctic diatom Chaetoceros debilis. Our results clearly show that growth, photochemical efficiency and carbon production of C. debilis were co-limited by Fe and Mn as highest values were only reached when both nutrients were provided. Even though Mn-deficient cells had higher photochemical efficiencies than Fe-limited ones, they, however, displayed similar low growth and POC production rates, indicating that Mn limitation alone drastically impeded the cell's performance. These results demonstrate that similar to low Fe concentrations, low Mn availability inhibits growth and carbon production of C. debilis. As a result from different species-specific trace metal requirements, SO phytoplankton species distribution and productivity may therefore not solely depend on the input of Fe alone, but also critically on Mn acting together as important drivers of SO phytoplankton ecology and biogeochemistry.

Description: The Southern Ocean is considered to be a major player in the climate system of our planet while being extremely sensitive to climate change itself. The pelagic Southern Ocean is limited by the bioavailability of iron. Zooplankton has a large impact on the remineralization of iron in the water column and thereby an important influence on primary production. Indications exist that due to increasing water temperatures in the course of climate change, vast areas of the Southern Ocean might shift from a krill to a salp-dominated community. Since the degree of iron remineralization is dependent on the taxonomic group of zooplankton, we investigated the different impacts that salp and krill fecal pellets have on iron chemistry and its bioavailability to Southern Ocean phytoplankton, during a Polarstern cruise in spring 2018. We incubated salp and krill fecal pellet material in Antarctic low-iron water without phytoplankton. In a second step, a concentrated natural phytoplankton community was added into the thusly preconditioned water and for the first time ever the iron uptake into the living cells, in respect to the fecal pellet type that acted as an iron source, was determined. Our results indicate that iron released from salp fecal pellets into the seawater was significantly more bioavailable to phytoplankton than iron from krill fecal pellets, since phytoplankton picked up 0.28 nmol Fe L-1 d-1 from water treated with salp fecal pellets and 0.16 nmol Fe L-1 d-1 from water treated with krill fecal pellets. These results demonstrate that salps might actually play a role in stimulating phytoplankton growth in the Southern Ocean, thusly influencing the biological carbon pump.

Description: The Southern Ocean is considered to be a major player in the climate system of our planet while being extremely sensitive to climate change itself. The pelagic Southern Ocean is limited by the bioavailability of iron. Zooplankton has a large impact on the remineralization of iron in the water column and thereby an important influence on primary production. Indications exist that due to increasing water temperatures in the course of climate change, vast areas of the Southern Ocean might shift from a krill to a salp-dominated community. Since the degree of iron remineralization is dependent on the taxonomic group of zooplankton, we investigated the different impacts that salp and krill fecal pellets have on iron chemistry and its bioavailability to Southern Ocean phytoplankton, during a Polarstern cruise in spring 2018. We incubated salp and krill fecal pellet material in Antarctic low-iron water without phytoplankton. In a second step, a concentrated natural phytoplankton community was added into the thusly preconditioned water and for the first time ever the iron uptake into the living cells, in respect to the fecal pellet type that acted as an iron source, was determined. Our results indicate that iron released from salp fecal pellets into the seawater was significantly more bioavailable to phytoplankton than iron from krill fecal pellets, since phytoplankton picked up 0.28 nM Fe d-1 from water treated with salp fecal pellets and 0.16 nM Fe d-1 from water treated with krill fecal pellets. These results demonstrate that salps might actually play a role in stimulating phytoplankton growth in the Southern Ocean, thusly influencing the biological carbon pump.

Description: The Southern Ocean (SO) is an important sink for anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2). Climate change will cause changes in various environmental parameters, which in turn can affect growth and productivity of SO phytoplankton. Due to global warming, sea surface temperatures will increase and lead to a more stratified and shallower mixed layer resulting potentially in higher light availability and enhanced primary production of iron-limited phytoplankton. On the other hand, ocean acidification may reduce the bioavailability of iron to phytoplankton. To examine the influence of iron availability in combination with current and future higher CO2 concentrations under low and high irradiance on SO phytoplankton physiology, bottle manipulation experiments with a natural phytoplankton assemblage from the Drake Passage were conducted. Ocean acidification led to lowered abundances of Pseudo-nitzschia species at both irradiances. While higher irradiance stimulated daily particulate organic carbon production, this stimulating effect, however, was reduced under high pCO2, but only under iron-limitation. Moreover, the ratio of biogenic silicate to particulate organic carbon remained unchanged by high pCO2 for both iron treatments under high light, but declined under low light. Gaining more insight on the complex interplay of multiple environmental factors is valuable to predict future responses of SO phytoplankton to climate change.

Description: In many regions of the Southern Ocean, surface concentrations of the trace metal iron are very low. Iron is an essential nutrient, required for numerous metabolic pathways in phytoplankton cells. Atmospheric dust is an important source for iron input into the ocean. An insufficient supply of iron can lead to reduced growth and alterations in the photophysiology. Therefore, iron is a key factor in controlling Antarctic phytoplankton productivity and species composition. However, in experiments looking at the effects of iron on phytoplankton physiology, iron is commonly added as iron chloride and not in the form of dust. This PhD project will focus on the effects of inorganic iron in comparison to iron-containing dust as iron sources in combination with current and future elevated CO2 concentrations on Southern Ocean phytoplankton ecology and physiology. Rising CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere will reduce the pH of the world’s oceans. Ocean acidification will affect Southern Ocean phytoplankton by potentially altering the availability of iron. In order to study the impact of different climate change scenarios on Southern Ocean phytoplankton, laboratory experiments with selected species as well as shipboard experiments with natural phytoplankton assemblages during an expedition to the Southern Ocean will be conducted.