ALBERT

Description: The stomachs of most vertebrates operate at an acidic pH of 2 generated by the gastric H+/K+-ATPase located in parietal cells. The acidic pH in stomachs of vertebrates is believed to aid digestion and to protect against environmental pathogens. Little attention has been placed on whether acidic gastric pH regulation is a vertebrate character or a deuterostome ancestral trait. Here, we report alkaline conditions up to pH 10.5 in the larval digestive systems of ambulacraria (echinoderm + hemichordate), the closest relative of the chordate. Microelectrode measurements in combination with specific inhibitors for acid-base transporters and ion pumps demonstrated that the gastric alkalization machinery in sea urchin larvae is mainly based on direct H+ secretion from the stomach lumen and involves a conserved set of ion pumps and transporters. Hemichordate larvae additionally utilized HCO3- transport pathways to generate even more alkaline digestive conditions. Molecular analyses in combination with acidification experiments supported these findings and identified genes coding for ion pumps energizing gastric alkalization. Given that insect larval guts were also reported to be alkaline, our discovery raises the hypothesis that the bilaterian ancestor utilized alkaline digestive system while the vertebrate lineage has evolved a strategy to strongly acidify their stomachs.

Description: Methane emissions from gas hydrate deposits along continental margins may alter the biogeophysical properties of marine environments, both on local and regional scales. The saturation of a gas hydrate deposit is commonly calculated using the elastic or electrical properties measured remotely or in-situ at the site of interest. Here, we used a combination of controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM), seismic and sediment core data obtained in the Nyegga region, offshore Norway, in a joint elastic-electrical approach to quantify marine gas hydrates found within the CNE03 pockmark. Multiscale analysis of two sediment cores reveals significant differences between the CNE03 pockmark and a reference site located approximately 150 m northwest of CNE03. Gas hydrates and chemosynthetic bivalves were observed in the CNE03 sediments collected. The seismic velocity and electrical resistivity measured in the CNE03 sediment core are consistent with the P-wave velocity (VP ) and resistivity values derived from seismic and CSEM remote sensing datasets, respectively. The VP gradually increases (~1.75–1.9 km/s) with depth within the CNE03 pipe-like structure, whereas the resistivity anomaly remains 3 m. A joint interpretation of the collocated seismic and CSEM data using a joint elastic-electrical effective medium model suggests that for the porosity range 0.55–0.65, the gas hydrate saturation within the CNE03 hydrate stability zone varies with depth between ~20 and 48%. At 0.6 porosity, the hydrate saturation within CNE03 varies between 23 and 37%, whereas the weighted mean saturation is ~30%. Our results demonstrate that a well-constrained gas hydrate quantification can be accomplished by coupling P-wave velocity and CSEM resistivity data through joint elastic-electrical effective medium modelling. The approach applied in this study can be used as a framework to quantify hydrate in various marine sediments.

Description: Reflector height, the distance between the receiver antenna phase center and ground surface, are derived from the SNR data using GPS-IR.The data are stored in the text format with four column (year , day of year, reflector height, uncertainty) year by year. The reflector heights span from year 2007 to 2016, whose changes are opposite to the changes of ground surface.

Description: The foraminifera and geochemical element records from the Core CS2 in the center of the Okinawa Trough (OT) revealed a history of current circulation and bottom redox conditions over the last 19 Ka. During the last glaciation, the few Kuroshio Current (KC) and tropical/subtropical species components, the shoaled depth of thermocline (DOT) and high infaunal foraminifera, together suggest the hypoxia in the isolated and semiclosed OT might be related to an absence/shift of the KC. Furthermore, the hypoxia variations in three episodes coincided with changes in the North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW), as stronger hypoxia and enhanced NPIW occurred in the Heinrich Stadia 1 and Younger Dryas periods, and rapidly decreasing hypoxia corresponded with weaker NPIW ventilation in the Bølling/Allerød period. Previously recorded hypoxia in the OT occurred broadly at a water depth of between ~1,300 and 1,800 m. Meanwhile, the lowest productivity precluded the possibility of hypoxia caused by organic matter consumption. We thereby infer the enhanced glacial NPIW might be another reason for the hypoxia. After the postglaciation, the OT transitioned into a fully oceanic environment and was reoccupied by main pathway of the KC. This reoccupation greatly alleviated the hypoxia via weakening stratification and increasing vertical mixing. Evolution research of current circulation and bottom redox conditions can help in understanding the changes in the storage/release of carbon as the paleoclimate changed. Moreover, the variations in bottom redox conditions in the OT offer a possible informative window for understanding the influence of glacial NPIW in the mid-latitude zone.

Description: The constraints of an active life in a pelagic habitat led to numerous convergent morphological and physiological adaptations that enable cephalopod molluscs and teleost fishes to compete for similar resources. Here, we show for the first time that such convergent developments are also found in the ontogenetic progression of ion regulatory tissues; as in teleost fish, epidermal ionocytes scattered on skin and yolk sac of cephalopod embryos appear to be responsible for ionic and acid-base regulation before gill epithelia become functional. Ion and acid-base regulation is crucial in cephalopod embryos, as they are surrounded by a hypercapnic egg fluid with a Pco2 between 0.2 and 0.4 kPa. Epidermal ionocytes were characterized via immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, and vital dye-staining techniques. We found one group of cells that is recognized by concavalin A and MitoTracker, which also expresses Na+/H+ exchangers (NHE3) and Na+-K+-ATPase. Similar to findings obtained in teleosts, these NHE3-rich cells take up sodium in exchange for protons, illustrating the energetic superiority of NHE-based proton excretion in marine systems. In vivo electrophysiological techniques demonstrated that acid equivalents are secreted by the yolk and skin integument. Intriguingly, epidermal ionocytes of cephalopod embryos are ciliated as demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy, suggesting a dual function of epithelial cells in water convection and ion regulation. These findings add significant knowledge to our mechanistic understanding of hypercapnia tolerance in marine organisms, as it demonstrates that marine taxa, which were identified as powerful acid-base regulators during hypercapnic challenges, already exhibit strong acid-base regulatory abilities during embryogenesis.

Description: The Jinshajiang suture zone, located in the eastern part of the Tethyan tectonic domain, is noticeable for a large-scale distribution of Late Jurassic to Triassic granitoids. These granitoids were genetically related to the evolution of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean. The Beiwu, Linong and Lunong granitoids occur in the middle zone of the Jinshajiang Suture Zone, and possess similar geochemical features, indicating they share a common magma source. SIMS zircon U-Pb dating reveals the Beiwu, Linong and Lunong granitic intrusions were emplaced at 233.9±1.4 Ma (2 sigma), 233.1 ±1.4 Ma (2 sigma) and 231.0±1.6 Ma (2 sigma), respectively. All of these granitoids are enriched in abundances of Si (SiO2 =65.2-73.5 wt.%), and large-ion-lithophile-elements (LILEs), but depleted in high-field-strength-elements contents (HFSEs, e.g., Nb, Ta, Ti). In addition, they have low P2O5 contents (0.06-0.11 wt.%), A/CNK values ([molecular Al2O3/(CaO+Na2O+K2O)], mostly〈1.1) and 10000Ga/Al ratios (1.7-2.2), consistent with the characteristics of I-type granites. In terms of isotopic compositions, these granitoids have high initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.7078-0.7148), Pb isotopic compositions [(206Pb/204Pb)t=18.213-18.598, (207Pb/204Pb)t=15.637-15.730 and (208Pb/204Pb)t=38.323-38.791], zircon d18O values (7. per mil-9.3 per mil) and negative eNd(t) values (-5.1 to -6.7), suggesting they were predominantly derived from the continental crust. Their Nb/Ta ratios (average value=8.6) are consistent with those of the lower continental crust (LCC). However, variable ?Hf(t) values (-8.6 to +2.8) and the occurrences of mafic microgranular enclaves (MMEs) suggest that mantle-derived melts and lower crustal magmas were involved in the generation of these granitoids. Moreover, the high Pb isotopic ratios and elevated zircon d18O values of these rocks indicate a significant contribution of the upper crustal composition. We propose a model in which the Beiwu, Linong and Lunong granitoids were generated under a late collisional or post-collisional setting. It is possible that this collision was completed before Late Triassic. Decompression induced mantle-derived magmas underplated and provided the heat for the anatexis of the crust. Hybrid melts including mantle-derived and the lower crustal magmas were then generated. The hybrid melts thereafter ascended to a shallow depth and resulted in some degree of sedimentary rocks assimilation. Such three-component mixing magmas source and subsequent fractional crystallization could be responsible for the formation of the Beiwu, Linong and Lunong granitoids.