ALBERT

Description: Nitrous oxide (N2O) is one of the most important long-lived greenhouse gases (GHG) responsible for the overall warming of the Earth system, and the strongest ozone-depleting compound in the stratosphere. While the ocean is thought to be a net source of N2O to the atmosphere, at regional and basin-scales there is a large range of variability in terms of its mid-depth water production and consumption, as well as a wide range of physical processes which impact the pool of this GHG in surface waters, posing a significant challenge to both observational and model-based estimates of the annual emissions. Furthermore, although environmental changes such as warming, eutrophication and decrease in sea ice coverage are expected to affect the cycling of N2O, the particular direction of the projected trends is highly uncertain, mostly due to the paucity of measurements in strong source regions and areas of difficult access due to their remote location or extreme weather conditions. In this talk I will present an overview of the current state of knowledge with respect to the exchanges of N2O across the sea-air-ice interfaces, and discuss their relevance in the context of ongoing climate change. To this end, I will use examples from ship-based observations in Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems (EBUS), the subpolar North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean. By looking at the contrasting features of these ecosystems and how they affect the marine budget of N2O, I aim to highlight the need of new approaches and priority areas for research on GHGs such as N2O.

Description: The Arctic Ocean is particularly sensitive to climate change. Its ecosystem structure and function are prone to be disturbed by fast warming and massive retreat of sea-ice, which in turn, might result in feedbacks on climate. Moreover, such drastic changes are expected to influence the meridional fluxes of heat, freshwater and biogeochemical tracers between subpolar areas and the Arctic. As the third most important greenhouse gas and major ozone-depleting substance in the stratosphere, nitrous oxide (N2O) is a crucial gas to study in order to assess the ocean’s role in the production and exchange of climate-relevant compounds to the atmosphere. Between 2018 and 2019 we conducted ship-based surveys to elucidate the source-sink dynamics of N2O in the subpolar-polar North Atlantic. Based on results from those campaigns, we show the distribution and spatial variability of surface N2O, which ranged from moderate supersaturation (positive sea-air fluxes) in ice-free subpolar areas to unusually strong undersaturation (negative sea-air fluxes) in partially or fully ice-covered areas. We also present a comprehensive overview of the water column distribution of N2O in the region, and by combining this data with hydrographic and chemical (O2 and inorganic nutrients) information, we trace back the origin of the dominant water masses so as to illustrate the connectivity between the Fram Strait and the Nordic Seas off southeast Greenland. This analysis is used to discuss how the meridional water mass exchange in the region influences the balance of local vs. remote N2O production and its spatial variability. Furthermore, we use the results from collocated molecular analyses (functional gene markers) to infer the occurrence and abundances of the main microbial communities responsible for the cycling of N2O. This contribution is relevant for assessments of expected changes in trace gas emissions with further climate-driven changes in the Arctic Ocean.

Description: Monitoring of geological CO2 storage is crucial for large-scale injection to gain public acceptance. Monitoring plans for large-scale operations need to include both the injection and post-injection phases to assure CO2 is safely stored permanently. The SENSE project aims to develop reliable, continuous, and cost-efficient monitoring based on ground movement detection combined with geomechanical modeling and inversion, utilizing new technology developments, data processing optimization, and interpretation algorithms. The proposed research activities include: • demonstration of continuous monitoring of surface deformation and subsurface pressure distribution using satellite data, water pressure sensors and fiber optics; • quantitative characterization of critical geomechanical and hydraulic parameters and automatization routine for data processing and interpretation; • optimization of sampling arrays in order to offer storage site operators a cost-effective monitoring option as part of an effective site assurance program. The SENSE project brings together experts from 14 international institutions of nine different countries to solve challenges in CO2 storage site monitoring and to provide solutions for safe and successful injection and post-closure phases of site operation. The project is organized in five Work Packages (WPs); WP1: Quantification of ground movement, WP2: Geomechanical modeling and rock strain assessment, WP3: History matching inversion and coupled flow-mechanics, WP4: Integration of results for cost-effective monitoring and WP5: Project management. The ultimate goal of SENSE is to offer storage site operators a cost-effective monitoring option that can form part of an effective site assurance/monitoring program and feed into workflows for an early alert system to detect unexpected changes in the subsurface. The SENSE project has four demonstration sites for monitoring technologies and developing concepts and procedures. These sites are both onshore and offshore. The onshore sites include In Salah (Algeria) and Hotfield Moors (UK). For these sites, the project will use satellite data to explore the response of the surface to pressure changes in the subsurface. Algorithms for automatic satellite data processing to facilitate quick access to ground elevation data for site operators are under development at the British Geological Survey (BGS) and Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI). The offshore sites include Bay of Mecklenburg (Germany) and the Gulf of Mexico (USA). In addition, the SENSE partners have requested access to data from the Troll Gas Field, the North Sea, to study its subsidence due to production-related pressure reduction. The Troll Gas Field is located next to the storage site considered for the Norwegian Long Ship project, and its data will provide a good understanding of the geomechanics of the area. In this paper, we present the work on the In Salah and the Bay of Mecklenburg sites. New InSAR data from the In Salah are used to evaluate the ground movement during the post-injection period and thus to assess the behaviour of the storage site after completion of the injection phase. Bay of Mecklenburg is an offshore site for field experiment to inject a gas underground, build-up pressure, uplift the seafloor and measure the resulted uplift. The first field campaign at the Bay of Mecklenburg was completed in late 2019. It provided both gravity cores from the seabed and geophysical data acquisition for characterizing the shallow subsurface layers. The gravity cores were characterized for physical and mechanical properties. The material properties were used for simulating injection and response of the seafloor to induced pressure. Geomechanical 2D and 3D simulations show that the reservoir may sustain very low overpressure before it fails. Hence, this magnitude of overpressure may create a seafloor uplift of about a few millimeters to a couple of centimeters. The monitoring techniques are therefore being designed to capture uplift in this order of magnitude during the injection operation.

Description: Given the climatic relevance of marine-derived trace gases, the investigation of their distribution and emissions from key oceanic regions is a crucial need in our efforts to better understand potential responses of the ocean and the overlying atmosphere to environmental changes such as warming and deoxygenation. Low-oxygen waters connected to coastal upwelling systems and the associated oxygen minimum zones(OMZ) are well-recognized strong sources of several trace gases. Our main goal during the M135-M138 cruises was to assess the distribution of different gases which are relevant for the biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nitrogen in the OMZ off Peru, as well as the spatial and temporal variability of their sea-air fluxes.

Description: Bulk sediment δ15N records from the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP) extending back to the last ice age most often show low glacial δ15N, then a deglacial δ15N maximum, followed by a gradual decline to a late Holocene δ15N that is typically higher than that of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The lower δ15N of the LGM has been interpreted to reflect an ice age reduction in water column denitrification. We report foraminifera shell‐bound nitrogen isotope (FB‐δ15N) measurements for the two species Neogloboquadrina dutertrei and Neogloboquadrina incompta over the last 35 ka in two sediment cores from the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP), both of which have the typical LGM‐to‐Holocene increase in bulk sediment δ15N. FB‐δ15N contrasts with bulk sediment δ15N by not indicating a lower δ15N during the LGM. Instead, the FB‐δ15N records are dominated by a deglacial δ15N maximum, with comparable LGM and Holocene values. The lower LGM δ15N of the bulk sediment records may be an artifact, possibly related to greater exogenous N inputs and/or weaker sedimentary diagenesis during the LGM. The new data raise the possibility that the previously inferred glacial reduction in ETP water column denitrification was incorrect. A review of reconstructed ice age conditions and geochemical box model output provides mechanistic support for this possibility. However, equatorial ocean circulation and nitrate‐rich surface water overlying both core sites allow for other possible interpretations, calling for replication at non‐equatorial ETP sites.

Description: Plain Language Summary: The 15N/14N ratio of sediments provides information on the past marine nitrogen (N) cycle through the production of N‐bearing organic matter in the surface ocean and its burial in the sediments. Previous measurements of the sedimentary 15N/14N ratio in the eastern equatorial Pacific (EEP) indicate lower values during the last ice age compared to the Holocene (the current warm period). This has been interpreted to reflect an ice age reduction in the oceanic N loss process known as “denitrification” that occurs between 200 and 500 m depth in this region of the ocean. However, the 15N/14N ratio measured on the whole sediment can be biased by biological and chemical processes in the sediments and by foreign N inputs. To avoid these complications, we measured the 15N/14N ratio of organic N embedded in the calcite shell of unicellular zooplankton (foraminifera) in two sediment cores from the EEP. We found similar foraminifera‐bound 15N/14N ratios during the last ice and the Holocene. This may argue against the long‐held interpretation of a reduction in denitrification during the last ice age. However, the oceanographic setting of these equatorial cores leaves open alternative interpretations, calling for further work at other eastern tropical Pacific sites.

Description: Key Points: Foraminifera‐bound δ15N was similar during the last ice age and the Holocene in the eastern equatorial Pacific, unlike bulk sedimentary δ15N. Bulk sediment δ15N is likely biased to lower ice age values by foreign N inputs and weaker sedimentary diagenesis. The foraminifera‐bound δ15N data may reflect that water column denitrification was not reduced during the last glacial period.

Description: Swiss National Science Foundation

Description: US National Science Foundation

Description: Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001711

Description: National Science Foundation http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000001

Description: The Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) operates as an important link in global thermohaline circulation, and ITF variability probably modulated Pliocene climate change. Yet, whether ITF variability accounted for oceanographic change south of Northwest Cape remains controversial. Here, we present a multiproxy oceanographic reconstruction from the Perth Basin and reconstruct the Pliocene history of the Leeuwin Current (LC). We show that the LC was active throughout the Pliocene, albeit with fluctuations in intensity and scope. Three main factors controlled LC strength. First, a tectonic ITF reorganization caused an abrupt and permanent LC reduction at 3.7 Ma. On shorter timescales, eustatic sea level and direct orbital forcing of wind patterns hampered or promoted the LC. At 3.3 Ma, for instance, LC intensity plunged in response to a eustatic ITF restriction. Site U1459 then fell outside the extent of a weakened LC, and the latitudinal sea surface temperature gradient along West Australia doubled its steepness.

Description: Species identification using matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) data strongly relies on reference libraries to differentiate species. Because comprehensive reference libraries, especially for metazoans, are rare, we explored the accuracy of unsupervised diversity estimations of communities using MALDI-TOF MS data in the absence of reference libraries to provide a method for future application in ecological research. To discover the best analysis strategy providing high congruence with true community structures, we carried out a simulation with more than 30,000 analyses using different combinations of data transformations, dimensionality reductions, and cluster algorithms. Species profile, Hellinger, and presence/absence transformations were applied to raw data and dimensions were reduced using principal component analysis (PCA), t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding, and uniform manifold approximation and projection. To estimate biodiversity, data were clustered making use of partitioning around medoids, model-based clustering, and K-means clustering. The analyses were carried out on published mass spectrometry data of harpacticoid copepods. Most successful combinations (Hellinger transformation + PCA or raw data + partitioning around medoids) returned good values even for difficult species distributions containing numerous singleton species. Nevertheless, errors occurred most frequently because of such singleton taxa. Hence, replicative sampling in wide sampling areas for analysis is emphasized to increase the minimum number of specimens per species, thus reducing putative sources of errors. Our results demonstrate that MALDI-TOF MS data can be used to accurately estimate the biodiversity of unknown communities using unsupervised learning methods. The provided approach allows the biodiversity comparison of sampled regions for which no reference libraries are available. Hence, especially data on groups which demand a time-consuming identification or are highly abundant can be analyzed within short working time, accelerating ecological studies.