ALBERT

Description: I. Scientific Issues Posed by OECOS II. Participant Contributions to the OECOS Workshop A. ASPECTS OF PHYTOPLANKTON ECOLOGY IN THE SUBARCTIC PACIFIC Microbial community compositions by Karen E. Selph Subarctic Pacific lower trophic interactions: Production-based grazing rates and grazing-corrected production rates by Nicholas Welschmeyer Phytoplankton bloom dynamics and their physiological status in the western subarctic Pacific by Ken Furuya Temporal and spatial variability of phytoplankton biomass and productivity in the northwestern Pacific by Sei-ichi Saitoh, Suguru Okamoto, Hiroki Takemura and Kosei Sasaoka The use of molecular indicators of phytoplankton iron limitation by Deana Erdner B. IRON CONCENTRATION AND CHEMICAL SPECIATION Iron measurements during OECOS by Zanna Chase and Jay Cullen 25 The measurement of iron, nutrients and other chemical components in the northwestern North Pacific Ocean by Kenshi Kuma The measurement of iron, nutrients and other chemical components in the northwestern North Pacific Ocean by Kenshi Kuma C. PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY, FINE-SCALE DISTRIBUTION PATTERNS AND AUTONOMOUS DRIFTERS The use of drifters in Lagrangian experiments: Positives, negatives and what can really be measured by Peter Strutton The interaction between plankton distribution patterns and vertical and horizontal physical processes in the eastern subarctic North Pacific by Timothy J. Cowles D. MICROZOOPLANKTON Microzooplankton processes in oceanic waters of the eastern subarctic Pacific: Project OECOS by Suzanne Strom Functional role of microzooplankton in the pelagic marine ecosystem during phytoplankton blooms in the western subarctic Pacific by Takashi Ota and Akiyoshi Shinada E. MESOZOOPLANKTON Vertical zonation of mesozooplankton, and its variability in response to food availability, density stratification, and turbulence by David L. Mackas and Moira Galbraith Marine ecosystem characteristics and seasonal abundance of dominant calanoid copepods in the Oyashio region by Atsushi Yamaguchi, Tsutomu Ikeda and Naonobu Shiga OECOS: Proposed mesozooplankton research in the Oyashio region, western subarctic Pacific by Tsutomu Ikeda Some background on Neocalanus feeding by Michael Dagg Size and growth of interzonally migrating copepods by Charles B. Miller Growth of large interzonal migrating copepods by Toru Kobari F. MODELING Ecosystem and population dynamics modeling by Harold P. Batchelder III. Reports from Workshop Breakout Groups A. PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL ASPECTS WITH EMPHASIS ON IRON AND IRON SPECIATION B. PHYTOPLANKTON/MICROZOOPLANKTON STUDIES C. MESOZOOPLANKTON STUDIES IV. Issues arising during the workshop A. PHYTOPLANKTON STOCK VARIATIONS IN HNLC SYSTEMS AND TROPHIC CASCADES IN THE NANO AND MICRO REGIMES B. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EAST AND WEST IN SITE SELECTION FOR OECOS TIME SERIES C. TIMING OF OECOS EXPEDITIONS D. CHARACTERIZATION OF PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY V. Concluding Remarks VI. References (109 page document)

Description: ISSN: 1198-273X Workshop held May 23–24, 2005 Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, U.S.A.

Description: Dataset: eventlogs

Description: Event logs from the U.S. GLOBEC Georges Bank project, from 10 vessels and 104 cruises in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank area from 1994-1999. Event logs provide an overall summary of the sampling activities during a cruise. For a complete list of measurements, refer to the full dataset description in the supplemental file 'Dataset_description.pdf'. The most current version of this dataset is available at: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/2321

Description: National Science Foundation (NSF) unknown GB NSF, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) unknown GB NOAA

Description: Dataset: CTD_MOCNESS10

Description: The MOCNESS is based on the Tucker Trawl principle (Tucker, 1951). The particular MOCNESS system from which these CTD data came is one of three net systems. The MOCNESS-10 (with 10 m2 nets)carries 6 nets of 3.0-mm circular mesh which are opened and closed sequentially by commands through conducting cable from the surface (Wiebe et al., 1976). In all three systems, "the underwater unit sends a data frame, comprised of temperature, depth, conductivity, net-frame angle, flow count, time, number of open net, and net opening/closing, to the deck unit in a compressed hexadecimal format every 2 seconds and from the deck unit to a microcomputer every 4 seconds... Temperature (to approximately 0.01 deg C) and conductivity are measured with SEABIRD sensors. Normally, a modified T.S.K.-flowmeter is used... Both the temperature and conductivity sensors and the flowmeter are mounted on top of the frame so that they face horizontally when the frame is at a towing angle of 45deg... Calculations of salinity (to approximately 0.01 o/oo S), potential temperature (theta), potential density (sigma), the oblique and vertical velocities of the net, and the approximate volume filtered by each net are made after each string of data has been received by the computer." (Wiebe et al., 1985) In addition, data were collected from four other sensors attached to the frame: the Transmissometer, the Fluorometer, the Downwelling light sensor, and the Oxygen sensor. A SeaBird underwater pump was also included in the sensor suite. For a complete list of measurements, refer to the full dataset description in the supplemental file 'Dataset_description.pdf'. The most current version of this dataset is available at: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/2302

Description: National Science Foundation (NSF) unknown GB NSF, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) unknown GB NOAA

Description: Recent measurements of methane (CH4) by the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) now confront us with robust data that demand interpretation. Thus far, the MSL data have revealed a baseline level of CH4 (∼0.4 parts per billion by volume [ppbv]), with seasonal variations, as well as greatly enhanced spikes of CH4 with peak abundances of ∼7 ppbv. What do these CH4 revelations with drastically different abundances and temporal signatures represent in terms of interior geochemical processes, or is martian CH4 a biosignature? Discerning how CH4 generation occurs on Mars may shed light on the potential habitability of Mars. There is no evidence of life on the surface of Mars today, but microbes might reside beneath the surface. In this case, the carbon flux represented by CH4 would serve as a link between a putative subterranean biosphere on Mars and what we can measure above the surface. Alternatively, CH4 records modern geochemical activity. Here we ask the fundamental question: how active is Mars, geochemically and/or biologically? In this article, we examine geological, geochemical, and biogeochemical processes related to our overarching question. The martian atmosphere and surface are an overwhelmingly oxidizing environment, and life requires pairing of electron donors and electron acceptors, that is, redox gradients, as an essential source of energy. Therefore, a fundamental and critical question regarding the possibility of life on Mars is, "Where can we find redox gradients as energy sources for life on Mars?" Hence, regardless of the pathway that generates CH4 on Mars, the presence of CH4, a reduced species in an oxidant-rich environment, suggests the possibility of redox gradients supporting life and habitability on Mars. Recent missions such as ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter may provide mapping of the global distribution of CH4. To discriminate between abiotic and biotic sources of CH4 on Mars, future studies should use a series of diagnostic geochemical analyses, preferably performed below the ground or at the ground/atmosphere interface, including measurements of CH4 isotopes, methane/ethane ratios, H2 gas concentration, and species such as acetic acid. Advances in the fields of Mars exploration and instrumentation will be driven, augmented, and supported by an improved understanding of atmospheric chemistry and dynamics, deep subsurface biogeochemistry, astrobiology, planetary geology, and geophysics. Future Mars exploration programs will have to expand the integration of complementary areas of expertise to generate synergistic and innovative ideas to realize breakthroughs in advancing our understanding of the potential of life and habitable conditions having existed on Mars. In this spirit, we conducted a set of interdisciplinary workshops. From this series has emerged a vision of technological, theoretical, and methodological innovations to explore the martian subsurface and to enhance spatial tracking of key volatiles, such as CH4.

Description: Published

Description: 6A. Geochimica per l'ambiente e geologia medica

Description: JCR Journal

Description: Thermokarst lakes accelerate deep permafrost thaw and the mobilization of previously frozen soil organic carbon. This leads to microbial decomposition and large releases of carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) that enhance climate warming. However, the time scale of permafrost-carbon emissions following thaw is not well known but is important for understanding how abrupt permafrost thaw impacts climate feedback. We combined field measurements and radiocarbon dating of CH4 ebullition with (a) an assessment of lake area changes delineated from high-resolution (1–2.5 m) optical imagery and (b) geophysical measurements of thaw bulbs (taliks) to determine the spatiotemporal dynamics of hotspot-seep CH4 ebullition in interior Alaska thermokarst lakes. Hotspot seeps are characterized as point-sources of high ebullition that release 14C-depleted CH4 from deep (up to tens of meters) within lake thaw bulbs year-round. Thermokarst lakes, initiated by a variety of factors, doubled in number and increased 37.5% in area from 1949 to 2009 as climate warmed. Approximately 80% of contemporary CH4 hotspot seeps were associated with this recent thermokarst activity, occurring where 60 years of abrupt thaw took place as a result of new and expanded lake areas. Hotspot occurrence diminished with distance from thermokarst lake margins. We attribute older 14C ages of CH4 released from hotspot seeps in older, expanding thermokarst lakes (14CCH4 20 079 ± 1227 years BP, mean ± standard error (s.e.m.) years) to deeper taliks (thaw bulbs) compared to younger 14CCH4 in new lakes (14CCH4 8526 ± 741 years BP) with shallower taliks. We find that smaller, non-hotspot ebullition seeps have younger 14C ages (expanding lakes 7473 ± 1762 years; new lakes 4742 ± 803 years) and that their emissions span a larger historic range. These observations provide a first-order constraint on the magnitude and decadal-scale duration of CH4-hotspot seep emissions following formation of thermokarst lakes as climate warms.

Description: Significant progress in permafrost carbon science made over the past decades include the identification of vast permafrost carbon stocks, the development of new pan‐Arctic permafrost maps, an increase in terrestrial measurement sites for CO〈jats:sub〉2〈/jats:sub〉 and methane fluxes, and important factors affecting carbon cycling, including vegetation changes, periods of soil freezing and thawing, wildfire, and other disturbance events. Process‐based modeling studies now include key elements of permafrost carbon cycling and advances in statistical modeling and inverse modeling enhance understanding of permafrost region C budgets. By combining existing data syntheses and model outputs, the permafrost region is likely a wetland methane source and small terrestrial ecosystem CO〈jats:sub〉2〈/jats:sub〉 sink with lower net CO〈jats:sub〉2〈/jats:sub〉 uptake toward higher latitudes, excluding wildfire emissions. For 2002–2014, the strongest CO〈jats:sub〉2〈/jats:sub〉 sink was located in western Canada (median: −52 g C m〈jats:sup〉−2〈/jats:sup〉 y〈jats:sup〉−1〈/jats:sup〉) and smallest sinks in Alaska, Canadian tundra, and Siberian tundra (medians: −5 to −9 g C m〈jats:sup〉−2〈/jats:sup〉 y〈jats:sup〉−1〈/jats:sup〉). Eurasian regions had the largest median wetland methane fluxes (16–18 g CH〈jats:sub〉4〈/jats:sub〉 m〈jats:sup〉−2〈/jats:sup〉 y〈jats:sup〉−1〈/jats:sup〉). Quantifying the regional scale carbon balance remains challenging because of high spatial and temporal variability and relatively low density of observations. More accurate permafrost region carbon fluxes require: (a) the development of better maps characterizing wetlands and dynamics of vegetation and disturbances, including abrupt permafrost thaw; (b) the establishment of new year‐round CO〈jats:sub〉2〈/jats:sub〉 and methane flux sites in underrepresented areas; and (c) improved models that better represent important permafrost carbon cycle dynamics, including non‐growing season emissions and disturbance effects.〈/jats:p〉

Description: Arctic warming is affecting snow cover and soil hydrology, with consequences for carbon sequestration in tundra ecosystems. The scarcity of observations in the Arctic has limited our understanding of the impact of covarying environmental drivers on the carbon balance of tundra ecosystems. In this study, we address some of these uncertainties through a novel record of 119 site-years of summer data from eddy covariance towers representing dominant tundra vegetation types located on continuous permafrost in the Arctic. Here we found that earlier snowmelt was associated with more tundra net CO2 sequestration and higher gross primary productivity (GPP) only in June and July, but with lower net carbon sequestration and lower GPP in August. Although higher evapotranspiration (ET) can result in soil drying with the progression of the summer, we did not find significantly lower soil moisture with earlier snowmelt, nor evidence that water stress affected GPP in the late growing season. Our results suggest that the expected increased CO2 sequestration arising from Arctic warming and the associated increase in growing season length may not materialize if tundra ecosystems are not able to continue sequestering CO2 later in the season.