ALBERT

Description: A more than two-decadal sediment trap record from the Eastern Boundary Upwelling Ecosystem (EBUE) off Cape Blanc, Mauritania, is analyzed with respect to deep ocean mass fluxes, flux components and their variability on seasonal to decadal timescales. The total mass flux revealed interannual fluctuations which were superimposed by fluctuations on decadal timescales possibly linked to the Atlantic Multidedadal Oscillation (AMO). High winter fluxes of biogenic silica (BSi), used as a measure of marine production mostly by diatoms largely correspond to a positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index during boreal winter (December–March). However, this relationship is weak. The highest positive BSi anomaly was in winter 2004–2005 when the NAO was in a neutral state. More episodic BSi sedimentation events occurred in several summer seasons between 2001 and 2005, when the previous winter NAO was neutral or even negative. We suggest that distinct dust outbreaks and deposition in the surface ocean in winter but also in summer/fall enhanced particle sedimentation and carbon export on rather short timescales via the ballasting effect, thus leading to these episodic sedimentation events. Episodic perturbations of the marine carbon cycle by dust outbreaks (e.g. in 2005) weakened the relationships between fluxes and larger scale climatic oscillations. As phytoplankton biomass is high throughout the year in our study area, any dry (in winter) or wet (in summer) deposition of fine-grained dust particles is assumed to enhance the efficiency of the biological pump by being incorporated into dense and fast settling organic-rich aggregates. A good correspondence between BSi and dust fluxes was observed for the dusty year 2005, following a period of rather dry conditions in the Sahara/Sahel region. Large changes of all fluxes occurred during the strongest El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in 1997–1999 where low fluxes were obtained for almost one year during the warm El Niño and high fluxes in the following cold La Niña phase. Bakun (1990) suggested an intensification of coastal upwelling due to increased winds ("Bakun upwelling intensification hypothesis", Cropper et al., 2014) and global change. We did not observe an increase of any flux component off Cape Blanc during the past two and a half decades which might support this hypothesis. Furthermore, fluxes of mineral dust did not show any positive or negative trends over time which would have suggested enhanced desertification or "Saharan greening" during the last few decades.

Description: In this study, we present vertical particle profiles acquired with the deep-sea camera system ParCa. The profiles were obtained during three campaigns in the spring seasons of 2001–2003 off NW-Africa (Cape Blanc). The camera profiles showed interannual and spatial variabilities regarding the particle concentrations in the ocean surface which were related to changes in the Chl-a biomass concentration. Although particle concentrations varied, all profiles showed rather similar distribution patterns. They were characterised by a subsurface particle maximum layer, around 200 m at stations close to the coast and around 400 m at stations further offshore. We argue, that at least a portion of the material seen in the subsurface maximum originates from the coast, and was laterally advected towards the open ocean by filament activity. Apart from this offshore transport, increased concentrations of particulate matter above the seafloor suggest a downslope transport of particulate matter near the seafloor. Both hypothesis were tested with model computations, described in a companion paper. A special sedimentation event was observed during a field campaign in 2001. The particle abundance patterns and the size distributions most likely reflect a sinking event, where particulate matter is transferred on very short time scales from the surface to the seafloor. We assume, that the fast sinking particle cloud preferably scavenges the more abundant small particles, resulting in larger particles sizes above and within the sinking cloud.

Description: The flux of materials to the deep sea is dominated by larger, organic-rich particles with sinking rates varying between a few meters and several hundred meters per day. Mineral ballast may regulate the transfer of organic matter and other components by determining the sinking rates, e.g. via particle density. We calculated particle sinking rates from flux patterns and alkenone measurements applying sediment trap experiments from the Atlantic Ocean. We obtained higher particle sinking rates in carbonate-dominated production systems, both regionally and seasonally. During a summer coccolithophorid bloom in the Cape Blanc coastal upwelling off Mauritania, sinking rates reached almost 570 m per day, most probably due the fast sedimentation via zooplankton fecal pellets. During the recurring winter-spring blooms off NW Africa and in opal-rich production systems of the Southern Ocean, sinking rates of larger particles, most probably diatom aggregates, appeared to be lower. Although a tight and overall coupling between dust supply and particle sinking rates was not observed, it remains noticeable that the highest sinking rates occurred mostly in the dust-rich ocean regions off NW Africa. We obtained increasing sinking rates with depth. By using a seven-compartment biogeochemical model, it was shown that deep ocean organic carbon fluxes at a mesotrophic sediment trap site off Cape Blanc can be captured fairly well using seasonal variable particle sinking rates. Our model provides a total organic carbon flux of 0.29 Tg per year down to 3000 m off the NW African upwelling region between 5 and 35° N.

Description: Particle fluxes at the Cape Verde Ocean Observatory (CVOO) in the eastern tropical North Atlantic for the period December 2009 until May 2011 are discussed based on bathypelagic sediment trap time series data collected at 1290 and 3439 m water depth. The typically oligotrophic particle flux pattern with weak seasonality is modified by the appearance of a highly productive and low oxygen anticyclonic modewater eddy (ACME) in winter 2010. The eddy passage was accompanied by unusually high mass fluxes, lasting from December 2009 to May 2010. Distinct biogenic silica (BSi) and organic carbon flux peaks were observed in February–March 2010 when the eddy approached CVOO. The flux of the lithogenic component, mostly mineral dust, was well correlated to that of organic carbon in particular in the deep trap samples, suggesting a close coupling. The lithogenic ballasting obviously resulted in high particle settling rates and, thus, a fast transfer of epi-/mesopelagic signatures to the bathypelagic traps. Molar C : N ratios of organic matter during the ACME passage were around 18 and 25 for the upper and lower trap samples, respectively. This suggests that some production under nutrient (nitrate) limitation in the upper few tens of meters above the zone of suboxia might have occurred in the beginning of 2010. The δ15N record showed a decrease from January to March 2010 while the organic carbon and N fluxes increased. The causes of enhanced sedimentation from the eddy in February/March 2010 remain elusive but nutrient depletion and/or a high availability of dust as ballast mineral for organic-rich aggregates might have contributed to the elevated fluxes during the eddy passage. Remineralization of sinking organic-rich particles could have contributed to the formation of a suboxic zone at shallow depth. Although the eddy has been formed in the African coastal area in summer 2009, no indication of coastal flux signatures were found in the sediment traps, suggesting an alteration of the eddy since its formation. This confirms the assumption that suboxia developed within the eddy en-route. Screening of the biomarker fractions for the occurrence of ladderane fatty acids that could indicate the presence of anammox (anaeobic ammonia oxidation) bacteria, and isorenieratene derivatives, indicative for the presence of green sulfur bacteria and, thus for photic zone suboxia/anoxia was negative. This could indicate that suboxic conditions in the eddy had recently developed and the respective bacterial stocks had not yet reached detection thresholds. Another explanation is that the fast sinking organic-rich particles produced in the surface layer did not interact with bacteria from the suboxic zone below. Carbonate fluxes dropped considerably in February 2010, mainly due to reduced contribution of shallow dwelling planktonic foraminifera and pteropods. The deep-dwelling foraminifera Globorotalia menardii, however, showed a major flux peak in February 2010, most probably due to the suboxia/hypoxia. The low oxygen conditions forced at least some zooplankton to stop diel vertical migration. Reduced "flux feeding" by zooplankton in the epipelagic could have contributed to the enhanced fluxes of organic materials to the bathypelagic traps during the eddy passage.

Description: The intermittent appearances of low oxygen environments are a particular thread for marine ecosystems. Here we present first observations of unexpected low (

Description: The flux of materials to the deep sea is dominated by larger, organic-rich particles with sinking rates varying between a few meters and several hundred meters per day. Mineral ballast may regulate the transfer of organic matter and other components by determining the sinking rates, e.g. via particle density. We calculated particle sinking rates from mass flux patterns and alkenone measurements applying the results of sediment trap experiments from the Atlantic Ocean. We have indication for higher particle sinking rates in carbonate-dominated production systems when considering both regional and seasonal data. During a summer coccolithophorid bloom in the Cape Blanc coastal upwelling off Mauritania, particle sinking rates reached almost 570 m per day, most probably due the fast sedimentation of densely packed zooplankton fecal pellets, which transport high amounts of organic carbon associated with coccoliths to the deep ocean despite rather low production. During the recurring winter-spring blooms off NW Africa and in opal-rich production systems of the Southern Ocean, sinking rates of larger particles, most probably diatom aggregates, showed a tendency to lower values. However, there is no straightforward relationship between carbonate content and particle sinking rates. This could be due to the unknown composition of carbonate and/or the influence of particle size and shape on sinking rates. It also remains noticeable that the highest sinking rates occurred in dust-rich ocean regions off NW Africa, but this issue deserves further detailed field and laboratory investigations. We obtained increasing sinking rates with depth. By using a seven-compartment biogeochemical model, it was shown that the deep ocean organic carbon flux at a mesotrophic sediment trap site off Cape Blanc can be captured fairly well using seasonal variable particle sinking rates. Our model provides a total organic carbon flux of 0.29 Tg per year down to 3000 m off the NW African upwelling region between 5 and 35° N. Simple parameterisations of remineralisation and sinking rates in such models, however, limit their capability in reproducing the flux variation in the water column.

Description: Here we present first observations, from instrumentation installed on moorings and a float, of unexpectedly low (

Description: To sustain growing food demand and increasing standard of living, global water use increased by nearly 6 times during the last 100 years and continues to grow. As water demands get closer and closer to the water availability in many regions, each drop of water becomes increasingly valuable and water must be managed more efficiently and intensively. However, soaring water use worsens water scarcity condition already prevalent in semi-arid and arid regions, increasing uncertainty for sustainable food production and economic development. Planning for future development and investments requires that we prepare water projections for the future. However, estimations are complicated because the future of world's waters will be influenced by a combination of environmental, social, economic, and political factors, and there is only limited knowledge and data available about freshwater resources and how they are being used. The Water Futures and Solutions initiative (WFaS) coordinates its work with other on-going scenario efforts for the sake of establishing a consistent set of new global water scenarios based on the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) and the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs). The WFaS "fast-track" assessment uses three global water models, namely H08, PCR-GLOBWB, and WaterGAP. This study assesses the state of the art for estimating and projecting water use regionally and globally in a consistent manner. It provides an overview of different approaches, the uncertainty, strengths and weaknesses of the various estimation methods, types of management and policy decisions for which the current estimation methods are useful. We also discuss additional information most needed to be able to improve water use estimates and be able to assess a greater range of management options across the water-energy-climate nexus.

Description: To sustain growing food demand and increasing standard of living, global water use increased by nearly 6 times during the last 100 years, and continues to grow. As water demands get closer and closer to the water availability in many regions, each drop of water becomes increasingly valuable and water must be managed more efficiently and intensively. However, soaring water use worsens water scarcity conditions already prevalent in semi-arid and arid regions, increasing uncertainty for sustainable food production and economic development. Planning for future development and investments requires that we prepare water projections for the future. However, estimations are complicated because the future of the world's waters will be influenced by a combination of environmental, social, economic, and political factors, and there is only limited knowledge and data available about freshwater resources and how they are being used. The Water Futures and Solutions (WFaS) initiative coordinates its work with other ongoing scenario efforts for the sake of establishing a consistent set of new global water scenarios based on the shared socio-economic pathways (SSPs) and the representative concentration pathways (RCPs). The WFaS "fast-track" assessment uses three global water models, namely H08, PCR-GLOBWB, and WaterGAP. This study assesses the state of the art for estimating and projecting water use regionally and globally in a consistent manner. It provides an overview of different approaches, the uncertainty, strengths and weaknesses of the various estimation methods, types of management and policy decisions for which the current estimation methods are useful. We also discuss additional information most needed to be able to improve water use estimates and be able to assess a greater range of management options across the water–energy–climate nexus.

Description: The periodicity of Saturn kilometric radiation (SKR) varies with time, and its two periods during the first 5 years of the Cassini mission have been attributed to SKR from the northern and southern hemisphere. After Saturn equinox in August 2009, there were long intervals of time (March 2010 to February 2011 and September 2011 to June 2012) with similar northern and southern SKR periods and locked SKR phases. However, from March to August 2011 the SKR periods were split up again, and the phases were unlocked. In this time interval, the southern SKR period slowed down by ~ 0.5% on average, and there was a large jump back to a faster period in August 2011. The northern SKR period speeded up and coalesced again with the southern period in September 2011. We argue that this unusual behavior could be related to the so-called Great White Spot (GWS), a giant thunderstorm that raged in Saturn's atmosphere around that time. For several months in 2011, the visible head of the GWS had the same period of ~ 10.69 h as the main southern SKR modulation signal. The GWS was most likely a source of intense gravity waves that may have caused a global change in Saturn's thermospheric winds via energy and momentum deposition. This would support the theory that Saturn's magnetospheric periodicities are driven by the upper atmosphere. Since the GWS with simultaneous SKR periodicity measurements have only been made once, it is difficult to prove a physical connection between these two phenomena, but we provide plausible mechanisms by which the GWS might modify the SKR periods.