ALBERT

Description: © The Author(s), 2018. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Biogeosciences 15 (2018): 5847-5889, doi:10.5194/bg-15-5847-2018.

Description: Since the start of the industrial revolution, human activities have caused a rapid increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations, which have, in turn, had an impact on climate leading to global warming and ocean acidification. Various approaches have been proposed to reduce atmospheric CO2. The Martin (or iron) hypothesis suggests that ocean iron fertilization (OIF) could be an effective method for stimulating oceanic carbon sequestration through the biological pump in iron-limited, high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll (HNLC) regions. To test the Martin hypothesis, 13 artificial OIF (aOIF) experiments have been performed since 1990 in HNLC regions. These aOIF field experiments have demonstrated that primary production (PP) can be significantly enhanced by the artificial addition of iron. However, except in the Southern Ocean (SO) European Iron Fertilization Experiment (EIFEX), no significant change in the effectiveness of aOIF (i.e., the amount of iron-induced carbon export flux below the winter mixed layer depth, MLD) has been detected. These results, including possible side effects, have been debated amongst those who support and oppose aOIF experimentation, and many questions concerning the effectiveness of scientific aOIF, environmental side effects, and international aOIF law frameworks remain. In the context of increasing global and political concerns associated with climate change, it is valuable to examine the validity and usefulness of the aOIF experiments. Furthermore, it is logical to carry out such experiments because they allow one to study how plankton-based ecosystems work by providing insight into mechanisms operating in real time and under in situ conditions. To maximize the effectiveness of aOIF experiments under international aOIF regulations in the future, we therefore suggest a design that incorporates several components. (1) Experiments conducted in the center of an eddy structure when grazing pressure is low and silicate levels are high (e.g., in the SO south of the polar front during early summer). (2) Shipboard observations extending over a minimum of  ∼ 40 days, with multiple iron injections (at least two or three iron infusions of  ∼ 2000kg with an interval of  ∼ 10–15 days to fertilize a patch of 300km2 and obtain a  ∼ 2nM concentration). (3) Tracing of the iron-fertilized patch using both physical (e.g., a drifting buoy) and biogeochemical (e.g., sulfur hexafluoride, photosynthetic quantum efficiency, and partial pressure of CO2) tracers. (4) Employment of neutrally buoyant sediment traps (NBST) and application of the water-column-derived thorium-234 (234Th) method at two depths (i.e., just below the in situ MLD and at the winter MLD), with autonomous profilers equipped with an underwater video profiler (UVP) and a transmissometer. (5) Monitoring of side effects on marine/ocean ecosystems, including production of climate-relevant gases (e.g., nitrous oxide, N2O; dimethyl sulfide, DMS; and halogenated volatile organic compounds, HVOCs), decline in oxygen inventory, and development of toxic algae blooms, with optical-sensor-equipped autonomous moored profilers and/or autonomous benthic vehicles. Lastly, we introduce the scientific aOIF experimental design guidelines for a future Korean Iron Fertilization Experiment in the Southern Ocean (KIFES).

Description: This research was a part of the project titled the Korean Iron Fertilization Experiment in the Southern Ocean (KOPRI, PM 16060) funded by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Korea. This work was partly supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIP) (no. 2015R1C1A1A01052051); the Korea-Arctic Ocean Observing System project (K-AOOS) (KOPRI, 20160245) funded by the MOF, Korea; and the KOPRI project (PE18200). Alison M. Macdonald was supported by NOAA grant no. NA11OAR4310063 and internal WHOI funding.

Description: © The Author(s), 2019. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Lee, J., Kang, S. H., Yang, E. J., Macdonald, A. M., Joo, H. M., Park, J., Kim, K., Lee, G. S., Kim, J. H., Yoon, J. E., Kim, S. S., Lim, J. H., & Kim, I. N. Latitudinal distributions and controls of bacterial community composition during the summer of 2017 in western Arctic surface waters (from the Bering Strait to the Chukchi Borderland). Scientific Reports, 9(1), (2019): 16822, doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-53427-4.

Description: The western Arctic Ocean is experiencing some of the most rapid environmental changes in the Arctic. However, little is known about the microbial community response to these changes. Employing observations from the summer of 2017, this study investigated latitudinal variations in bacterial community composition in surface waters between the Bering Strait and Chukchi Borderland and the factors driving the changes. Results indicate three distinctive communities. Southern Chukchi bacterial communities are associated with nutrient rich conditions, including genera such as Sulfitobacter, whereas the northern Chukchi bacterial community is dominated by SAR clades, Flavobacterium, Paraglaciecola, and Polaribacter genera associated with low nutrients and sea ice conditions. The frontal region, located on the boundary between the southern and northern Chukchi, is a transition zone with intermediate physical and biogeochemical properties; however, bacterial communities differed markedly from those found to the north and south. In the transition zone, Sphingomonas, with as yet undetermined ecological characteristics, are relatively abundant. Latitudinal distributions in bacterial community composition are mainly attributed to physical and biogeochemical characteristics, suggesting that these communities are susceptible to Arctic environmental changes. These findings provide a foundation to improve understanding of bacterial community variations in response to a rapidly changing Arctic Ocean.

Description: This research was a part of the project titled the Korea-Arctic Ocean Observing System project (K-AOOS) (KOPRI, 20160245) funded by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Korea. This work was also supported by a grant from the National Institute of Fisheries Science in Republic of Korea (R2019024) and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (NRF-2019R1F1A1051790&NRF-2019R1A4A1026423).

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Heo, J.-M., Kim, S.-S., Kang, S.-H., Yang, E. J., Park, K.-T., Jung, J., Cho, K.-H., Kim, J.-H., Macdonald, A. M., Yoon, J.-E., Kim, H.-R., Eom, S.-M., Lim, J.-H., & Kim, I.-N. N2O dynamics in the western Arctic Ocean during the summer of 2017. Scientific Reports, 11(1), (2021): 12589, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-92009-1.

Description: The western Arctic Ocean (WAO) has experienced increased heat transport into the region, sea-ice reduction, and changes to the WAO nitrous oxide (N2O) cycles from greenhouse gases. We investigated WAO N2O dynamics through an intensive and precise N2O survey during the open-water season of summer 2017. The effects of physical processes (i.e., solubility and advection) were dominant in both the surface (0–50 m) and deep layers (200–2200 m) of the northern Chukchi Sea with an under-saturation of N2O. By contrast, both the surface layer (0–50 m) of the southern Chukchi Sea and the intermediate (50–200 m) layer of the northern Chukchi Sea were significantly influenced by biogeochemically derived N2O production (i.e., through nitrification), with N2O over-saturation. During summer 2017, the southern region acted as a source of atmospheric N2O (mean: + 2.3 ± 2.7 μmol N2O m−2 day−1), whereas the northern region acted as a sink (mean − 1.3 ± 1.5 μmol N2O m−2 day−1). If Arctic environmental changes continue to accelerate and consequently drive the productivity of the Arctic Ocean, the WAO may become a N2O “hot spot”, and therefore, a key region requiring continued observations to both understand N2O dynamics and possibly predict their future changes.

Description: This research was a part of the project titled 'Korea-Arctic Ocean Warming and Response of Ecosystem (KOPRI, 1525011760)', funded by the MOF, Korea. This study was also supported by a grant from the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Korean government (MSIT) (NRF-2019R1F1A1051790&NRF-2019R1A4A1026423). This work was also funded by a grant from the National Institute of Fisheries Science (R2021032). AMM's contribution was supported by National Science Foundation grant OCE#-1923387 and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration grant #NA16OAR4310172.