ALBERT

Description: Rock and fluid samples were collected from three hydrothermal chimneys at the Endeavour Segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge to evaluate linkages among mineralogy, fluid chemistry, and microbial community composition within the chimneys. Mössbauer, midinfrared thermal emission, and visible-near infrared spectroscopies were utilized for the first time to characterize vent mineralogy, in addition to thin-section petrography, X-ray diffraction, and elemental analyses. A 282°C venting chimney from the Bastille edifice was composed primarily of sulfide minerals such as chalcopyrite, marcasite, and sphalerite. In contrast, samples from a 300°C venting chimney from the Dante edifice and a 321°C venting chimney from the Hot Harold edifice contained a high abundance of the sulfate mineral anhydrite. Geochemical modeling of mixed vent fluids suggested the oxic-anoxic transition zone was above 100°C at all three vents, and that the thermodynamic energy available for autotrophic microbial redox reactions favored aerobic sulfide and methane oxidation. As predicted, microbes within the Dante and Hot Harold chimneys were most closely related to mesophilic and thermophilic aerobes of the Betaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria and sulfide-oxidizing autotrophic Epsilonproteobacteria. However, most of the microbes within the Bastille chimney were most closely related to mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobes of the Deltaproteobacteria, especially sulfate reducers, and anaerobic hyperthermophilic archaea. The predominance of anaerobes in the Bastille chimney indicated that other environmental factors promote anoxic conditions. Possibilities include the maturity or fluid flow characteristics of the chimney, abiotic Fe2+ and S2− oxidation in the vent fluids, or O2 depletion by aerobic respiration on the chimney outer wall.

Description: Continuous Plankton Recorder data suggest that the Irminger Sea supports a major proportion of the surface-living population of the copepod Calanus finmarchicus in the northern North Atlantic, but there have been few studies of its population dynamics in the region. In this paper, we document the seasonal changes in the demographic structure of C. finmarchicus in the Irminger Sea from a field programme during 2001/2002, and the associations between its developmental stages and various apparent bio-physical zones. Overwintering stages were found widely at depth (〉500 m) across the Irminger Sea, and surviving females were widely distributed in the surface waters the following spring. However, recruitment of the subsequent generation was concentrated around the fringes of the Irminger Sea basin, along the edges of the Irminger and East Greenland Currents, and not in the central basin. In late summer animals were found descending back to overwintering depths in the Central Irminger Sea. The key factors dictating this pattern of recruitment appear to be (a) the general circulation regime, (b) predation on eggs in the spring, possibly by the surviving G0 stock, and (c) mortality of first feeding naupliar stages in the central basin where food concentrations appear to be low throughout the year. We compared the demographic patterns in 2001/2002 with observations from the only previous major survey in 1963 and with data from the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) surveys. In both previous data sets, the basic structure of G0 ascent from the central basin and G1 recruitment around the fringes was a robust feature, suggesting that it is a recurrent phenomenon. The Irminger Sea is a complex mixing zone between polar and Atlantic water masses, and it has also been identified as a site of sporadic deep convection. The physical oceanographic characteristics of the region are therefore potentially sensitive to climate fluctuations. Despite this, the abundance of C. finmarchicus in the region, as measured by the CPR surveys, appears not to have responded to climate factors linked to the North Atlantic Oscillation Index, in contrast with the stocks in eastern Atlantic areas. We speculate that this may because biological factors (production and mortality), rather than transport processes are the key factors affecting the population dynamics in the Irminger Sea.

Description: Highlights: • Lagrangian ocean analysis is a powerful way to analyse the output of ocean circulation models • We present a review of the Kinematic framework, available tools, and applications of Lagrangian ocean analysis • While there are unresolved questions, the framework is robust enough to be used widely in ocean modelling Abstract: Lagrangian analysis is a powerful way to analyse the output of ocean circulation models and other ocean velocity data such as from altimetry. In the Lagrangian approach, large sets of virtual particles are integrated within the three-dimensional, time-evolving velocity fields. Over several decades, a variety of tools and methods for this purpose have emerged. Here, we review the state of the art in the field of Lagrangian analysis of ocean velocity data, starting from a fundamental kinematic framework and with a focus on large-scale open ocean applications. Beyond the use of explicit velocity fields, we consider the influence of unresolved physics and dynamics on particle trajectories. We comprehensively list and discuss the tools currently available for tracking virtual particles. We then showcase some of the innovative applications of trajectory data, and conclude with some open questions and an outlook. The overall goal of this review paper is to reconcile some of the different techniques and methods in Lagrangian ocean analysis, while recognising the rich diversity of codes that have and continue to emerge, and the challenges of the coming age of petascale computing.

Description: Gelatinous zooplankton can dominate the dynamics of marine ecosystems; can have major ecological, social, and economic impacts; are often indicative of broader ecosystem perturbations; and are increasingly being harvested by humans. Yet fisheries scientists typically do not monitor these taxa on a regular basis, despite the existence of clear rationales and even mandated authorizations to do so. Notably, the costs of monitoring jellyfish during regular fisheries research cruises would be a small increase over the cost of running a large fishery survey and a small fraction of the costs caused by impacts from these taxa. As ecosystems experience increasing pressures from climate change and fisheries, we recommend considering routine monitoring before some future jellyfish‐associated crisis arises.

Description: Highlights: • Arctic sea ice extent and solid freshwater in 14 CORE-II models are inter-compared. • The models better represent the variability than the mean state. • The September ice extent trend is reasonably represented by the model ensemble mean. • The descending trend of ice thickness is underestimated compared to observations. • The models underestimate the reduction in solid freshwater content in recent years. Abstract: The Arctic Ocean simulated in fourteen global ocean-sea ice models in the framework of the Coordinated Ocean-ice Reference Experiments, phase II (CORE II) is analyzed. The focus is on the Arctic sea ice extent, the solid freshwater (FW) sources and solid freshwater content (FWC). Available observations are used for model evaluation. The variability of sea ice extent and solid FW budget is more consistently reproduced than their mean state in the models. The descending trend of September sea ice extent is well simulated in terms of the model ensemble mean. Models overestimating sea ice thickness tend to underestimate the descending trend of September sea ice extent. The models underestimate the observed sea ice thinning trend by a factor of two. When averaged on decadal time scales, the variation of Arctic solid FWC is contributed by those of both sea ice production and sea ice transport, which are out of phase in time. The solid FWC decreased in the recent decades, caused mainly by the reduction in sea ice thickness. The models did not simulate the acceleration of sea ice thickness decline, leading to an underestimation of solid FWC trend after 2000. The common model behavior, including the tendency to underestimate the trend of sea ice thickness and March sea ice extent, remains to be improved.

Description: Highlights: • Arctic liquid freshwater budget simulated in 14 CORE-II models is studied. • The models better represent the temporal variability than the mean state. • Multi-model mean (MMM) FW fluxes compare well with observations. • MMM FWC shows an upward trend in the recent years, with an underestimated rate. • FW flux interannual variability is more consistent where volume flux determines it. Abstract: The Arctic Ocean simulated in 14 global ocean-sea ice models in the framework of the Coordinated Ocean-ice Reference Experiments, phase II (CORE-II) is analyzed in this study. The focus is on the Arctic liquid freshwater (FW) sources and freshwater content (FWC). The models agree on the interannual variability of liquid FW transport at the gateways where the ocean volume transport determines the FW transport variability. The variation of liquid FWC is induced by both the surface FW flux (associated with sea ice production) and lateral liquid FW transport, which are in phase when averaged on decadal time scales. The liquid FWC shows an increase starting from the mid-1990s, caused by the reduction of both sea ice formation and liquid FW export, with the former being more significant in most of the models. The mean state of the FW budget is less consistently simulated than the temporal variability. The model ensemble means of liquid FW transport through the Arctic gateways compare well with observations. On average, the models have too high mean FWC, weaker upward trends of FWC in the recent decade than the observation, and low consistency in the temporal variation of FWC spatial distribution, which needs to be further explored for the purpose of model development.

Description: We review current knowledge and understanding of the biology and ecology of the calanoid copepod Calanus helgolandicus in European waters, as well as provide a collaborative synthesis of data from 18 laboratories and 26 sampling stations in areas distributed from the northern North Sea to the Aegean and Levantine Seas. This network of zooplankton time-series stations has enabled us to collect and synthesise seasonal and multi-annual data on abundance, body size, fecundity, hatching success and vertical distribution of C. helgolandicus. An aim was to enable comparison with its congener Calanus finmarchicus, which has been studied intensively as a key component of European and north east Atlantic marine ecosystems. C. finmarchicus is known to over-winter at depth, whereas the life-cycle of C. helgolandicus is less well understood. Overwintering populations of C. helgolandicus have been observed off the Atlantic coast between 400 and 800 m, while in the Mediterranean there is evidence of significant deep-water populations at depths as great as 4200 m. The biogeographical distribution of C. helgolandicus in European coastal waters covers a wide range of habitats, from open ocean to coastal environments, and its contribution to mesozooplankton biomass ranges from 6% to 93%. Highest abundances were recorded in the Adriatic and off the west coast of Spain. C. helgolandicus is generally found in 9–20 °C water, with maximum abundances from 13–17 °C. In contrast, C. finmarchicus is found in cooler water between 0 and 15 °C, with peak abundances from 0 to 9 °C. As water has warmed in the North Atlantic over recent decades, the range of C. helgolandicus and its abundance on the fringes of its expanding range have increased. This review will facilitate development of population models of C. helgolandicus. This will not only help answer remaining questions but will improve our ability to forecast future changes, in response to a warming climate, in the abundance and distribution of this important species.

Description: Ocean acidification and decreasing seawater saturation state with respect to calcium carbonate (CaCO3) minerals have raised concerns about the consequences to marine organisms that build CaCO3 structures. A large proportion of benthic marine calcifiers incorporate Mg2+ into their skeletons (Mg-calcite), which, in general, reduces mineral stability. The relative vulnerability of some marine calcifiers to ocean acidification appears linked to the relative solubility of their shell or skeletal mineralogy, although some organisms have sophisticated mechanisms for constructing and maintaining their CaCO3 structures causing deviation from this dependence. Nevertheless, few studies consider seawater saturation state with respect to the actual Mg-calcite mineralogy (ΩMg-x) of a species when evaluating the effect of ocean acidification on that species. Here, a global dataset of skeletal mole % MgCO3 of benthic calcifiers and in situ environmental conditions spanning a depth range of 0 m (subtidal/neritic) to 5600 m (abyssal) was assembled to calculate in situ ΩMg-x. This analysis shows that 24% of the studied benthic calcifiers currently experience seawater mineral undersaturation (ΩMg-x 〈 1). As a result of ongoing anthropogenic ocean acidification over the next 200 to 3000 years, the predicted decrease in seawater mineral saturation will expose approximately 57% of all studied benthic calcifying species to seawater undersaturation. These observations reveal a surprisingly high proportion of benthic marine calcifiers exposed to seawater that is undersaturated with respect to their skeletal mineralogy, underscoring the importance of using species-specific seawater mineral saturation states when investigating the impact of CO2-induced ocean acidification on benthic marine calcification.