ALBERT

Description: Mesoscale eddies play a major role in controlling ocean biogeochemistry. By impacting nutrient availability and water column ventilation, they are of critical importance for oceanic primary production. In the eastern tropical South Pacific Ocean off Peru, where a large and persistent oxygen-deficient zone is present, mesoscale processes have been reported to occur frequently. However, investigations into their biological activity are mostly based on model simulations, and direct measurements of carbon and dinitrogen (N2) fixation are scarce.We examined an open-ocean cyclonic eddy and two anticyclonic mode water eddies: a coastal one and an open-ocean one in the waters off Peru along a section at 16° S in austral summer 2012. Molecular data and bioassay incubations point towards a difference between the active diazotrophic communities present in the cyclonic eddy and the anticyclonic mode water eddies.In the cyclonic eddy, highest rates of N2 fixation were measured in surface waters but no N2 fixation signal was detected at intermediate water depths. In contrast, both anticyclonic mode water eddies showed pronounced maxima in N2 fixation below the euphotic zone as evidenced by rate measurements and geochemical data. N2 fixation and carbon (C) fixation were higher in the young coastal mode water eddy compared to the older offshore mode water eddy. A co-occurrence between N2 fixation and biogenic N2, an indicator for N loss, indicated a link between N loss and N2 fixation in the mode water eddies, which was not observed for the cyclonic eddy. The comparison of two consecutive surveys of the coastal mode water eddy in November 2012 and December 2012 also revealed a reduction in N2 and C fixation at intermediate depths along with a reduction in chlorophyll by half, mirroring an aging effect in this eddy. Our data indicate an important role for anticyclonic mode water eddies in stimulating N2 fixation and thus supplying N offshore.

Description: Recent modeling results suggest that oceanic oxygen levels will decrease significantly over the next decades to centuries in response to climate change and altered ocean circulation. Hence, the future ocean may experience major shifts in nutrient cycling triggered by the expansion and intensification of tropical oxygen minimum zones (OMZs), which are connected to the most productive upwelling systems in the ocean. There are numerous feedbacks among oxygen concentrations, nutrient cycling and biological productivity; however, existing knowledge is insufficient to understand physical, chemical and biological interactions in order to adequately assess past and potential future changes. In the following, we summarize one decade of research performed in the framework of the Collaborative Research Center 754 (SFB754) focusing on climate–biogeochemistry interactions in tropical OMZs. We investigated the influence of low environmental oxygen conditions on biogeochemical cycles, organic matter formation and remineralization, greenhouse gas production and the ecology in OMZ regions of the eastern tropical South Pacific compared to the weaker OMZ of the eastern tropical North Atlantic. Based on our findings, a coupling of primary production and organic matter export via the nitrogen cycle is proposed, which may, however, be impacted by several additional factors, e.g., micronutrients, particles acting as microniches, vertical and horizontal transport of organic material and the role of zooplankton and viruses therein.

Description: Recent observations in the eastern tropical South Pacific (ETSP) have shown the key role of meso- and submesoscale processes (e.g. eddies) in shaping its hydrographic and biogeochemical properties. Off Peru, elevated primary production from coastal upwelling in combination with sluggish ventilation of subsurface waters fuels a prominent oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). Given that nitrous oxide (N2O) production–consumption processes in the water column are sensitive to oxygen (O2) concentrations, the ETSP is a region of particular interest to investigate its source–sink dynamics. To date, no detailed surveys linking mesoscale processes and N2O distributions as well as their relevance to nitrogen (N) cycling are available. In this study, we present the first measurements of N2O across three mesoscale eddies (two mode water or anticyclonic and one cyclonic) which were identified, tracked, and sampled during two surveys carried out in the ETSP in November–December 2012. A two-peak structure was observed for N2O, wherein the two maxima coincide with the upper and lower boundaries of the OMZ, indicating active nitrification and partial denitrification. This was further supported by the abundances of the key gene for nitrification, ammonium monooxygenase (amoA), and the gene marker for N2O production during denitrification, nitrite reductase (nirS). Conversely, we found strong N2O depletion in the core of the OMZ (O2 〈 5 µmol L−1) to be consistent with nitrite (NO2−) accumulation and low levels of nitrate (NO3−), thus suggesting active denitrification. N2O depletion within the OMZ's core was substantially higher in the centre of mode water eddies, supporting the view that eddy activity enhances N-loss processes off Peru, in particular near the shelf break where nutrient-rich, productive waters from upwelling are trapped before being transported offshore. Analysis of eddies during their propagation towards the open ocean showed that, in general, “ageing” of mesoscale eddies tends to decrease N2O concentrations through the water column in response to the reduced supply of material to fuel N loss, although hydrographic variability might also significantly impact the pace of the production–consumption pathways for N2O. Our results evidence the relevance of mode water eddies for N2O distribution, thereby improving our understanding of the N-cycling processes, which are of crucial importance in times of climate change and ocean deoxygenation.

Description: The potential coupling of nitrogen (N2) fixation and sulfate reduction (SR) was explored in sediments of the Peruvian oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). Sediment samples were retrieved by a multiple corer at six stations along a depth transect (70–1025 m water depth) at 12° S, covering anoxic and hypoxic bottom water conditions. Benthic N2 fixation, determined by the acetylene reduction assay, was detected at all sites, with highest rates between 70 and 253 m and lower rates at greater depth. SR rates decreased with increasing water depth. N2 fixation and SR overlapped in sediments, suggesting a potential coupling of both processes. However, a weak positive correlation of their activity distribution was detected by principle component analysis. A potential link between N2 fixation and sulfate-reducing bacteria was indicated by the molecular analysis of nifH genes. Detected nifH sequences clustered with the sulfate-reducing bacteria Desulfonema limicola at the 253 m station. However, nifH sequences of other stations clustered with uncultured organisms, Gammaproteobacteria, and Firmicutes (Clostridia) rather than with known sulfate reducers. The principle component analysis revealed that benthic N2 fixation in the Peruvian OMZ is controlled by organic matter (positive) and free sulfide (negative). No correlation was found between N2 fixation and ammonium concentrations (even at levels 〉 2022 µM). N2 fixation rates in the Peruvian OMZ sediments were in the same range as those measured in other organic-rich sediments.