ALBERT

Description: The reconstruction of the stable carbon isotope evolution in atmospheric CO2 (δ13Catm), as archived in Antarctic ice cores, bears the potential to disentangle the contributions of the different carbon cycle fluxes causing past CO2 variations. Here we present a new record of δ13Catm before, during and after the Marine Isotope Stage 5.5 (155 000 to 105 000 yr BP). The dataset is archived on the data repository PANGEA® (www.pangea.de) under 10.1594/PANGAEA.817041. The record was derived with a well established sublimation method using ice from the EPICA Dome C (EDC) and the Talos Dome ice cores in East Antarctica. We find a 0.4‰ shift to heavier values between the mean δ13Catm level in the Penultimate (~ 140 000 yr BP) and Last Glacial Maximum (~ 22 000 yr BP), which can be explained by either (i) changes in the isotopic composition or (ii) intensity of the carbon input fluxes to the combined ocean/atmosphere carbon reservoir or (iii) by long-term peat buildup. Our isotopic data suggest that the carbon cycle evolution along Termination II and the subsequent interglacial was controlled by essentially the same processes as during the last 24 000 yr, but with different phasing and magnitudes. Furthermore, a 5000 yr lag in the CO2 decline relative to EDC temperatures is confirmed during the glacial inception at the end of MIS5.5 (120 000 yr BP). Based on our isotopic data this lag can be explained by terrestrial carbon release and carbonate compensation.

Description: Stable carbon isotope analysis of methane (δ13C of CH4) on atmospheric samples is one key method to constrain the current and past atmospheric CH4 budget. A frequently applied measurement technique is gas chromatography (GC) isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) coupled to a combustion-preconcentration unit. This report shows that the atmospheric trace gas krypton (Kr) can severely interfere during the mass spectrometric measurement, leading to significant biases in δ13C of CH4, if krypton is not sufficiently separated during the analysis. According to our experiments, the krypton interference is likely composed of two individual effects, with the lateral tailing of the doubly charged 86Kr peak affecting the neighbouring m/z 44 and partially the m/z 45 Faraday cups. Additionally, a broad signal affecting m/z 45 and especially m/z 46 is assumed to result from scattered ions of singly charged krypton. The introduced bias in the measured isotope ratios is dependent on the chromatographic separation, the krypton-to-CH4 mixing ratio in the sample, the focusing of the mass spectrometer as well as the detector configuration and can amount to up to several per mil in δ13C. Apart from technical solutions to avoid this interference, we present correction routines to a posteriori remove the bias.

Description: The Toba eruption that occurred some 74 ka ago in Sumatra, Indonesia, is among the largest volcanic events on Earth over the last 2 million years. Tephra from this eruption has been spread over vast areas in Asia, where it constitutes a major time marker close to the Marine Isotope Stage 4/5 boundary. As yet, no tephra associated with Toba has been identified in Greenland or Antarctic ice cores. Based on new accurate dating of Toba tephra and on accurately dated European stalagmites, the Toba event is known to occur between the onsets of Greenland interstadials (GI) 19 and 20. Furthermore, the existing linking of Greenland and Antarctic ice cores by gas records and by the bipolar seesaw hypothesis suggests that the Antarctic counterpart is situated between Antarctic Isotope Maxima (AIM) 19 and 20. In this work we suggest a direct synchronization of Greenland (NGRIP) and Antarctic (EDML) ice cores at the Toba eruption based on matching of a pattern of bipolar volcanic spikes. Annual layer counting between volcanic spikes in both cores allows for a unique match. We first demonstrate this bipolar matching technique at the already synchronized Laschamp geomagnetic excursion (41 ka BP) before we apply it to the suggested Toba interval. The Toba synchronization pattern covers some 2000 yr in GI-20 and AIM-19/20 and includes nine acidity peaks that are recognized in both ice cores. The suggested bipolar Toba synchronization has decadal precision. It thus allows a determination of the exact phasing of inter-hemispheric climate in a time interval of poorly constrained ice core records, and it allows for a discussion of the climatic impact of the Toba eruption in a global perspective. The bipolar linking gives no support for a long-term global cooling caused by the Toba eruption as Antarctica experiences a major warming shortly after the event. Furthermore, our bipolar match provides a way to place palaeo-environmental records other than ice cores into a precise climatic context.

Description: The Lena Delta in Northern Siberia is one of the largest river deltas in the world. During peak discharge, after the ice melt in spring, it delivers between 60–8000 m3 s−1 of water and sediment into the Arctic Ocean. The Lena Delta and the Laptev Sea coast also constitute a continuous permafrost region. Ongoing climate change, which is particularly pronounced in the Arctic, is leading to increased rates of permafrost thaw. This has already profoundly altered the discharge rates of the Lena River. But the chemistry of the river waters which are discharged into the coastal Laptev Sea have also been hypothesized to undergo considerable compositional changes, e.g. by increasing concentrations of inorganic nutrients such as dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and methane. These physical and chemical changes will also affect the composition of the phytoplankton communities. However, before potential consequences of climate change for coastal arctic phytoplankton communities can be judged, the inherent status of the diversity and food web interactions within the delta have to be established. In 2010, as part of the AWI Lena Delta programme, the phyto- and microzooplankton community in three river channels of the delta (Trofimov, Bykov and Olenek) as well as four coastal transects were investigated to capture the typical river phytoplankton communities and the transitional zone of brackish/marine conditions. Most CTD profiles from 23 coastal stations showed very strong stratification. The only exception to this was a small, shallow and mixed area running from the outflow of Bykov channel in a northerly direction parallel to the shore. Of the five stations in this area, three had a salinity of close to zero. Two further stations had salinities of around 2 and 5 throughout the water column. In the remaining transects, on the other hand, salinities varied between 5 and 30 with depth. Phytoplankton counts from the outflow from the Lena were dominated by diatoms (Aulacoseira species) cyanobacteria (Aphanizomenon, Pseudanabaena) and chlorophytes. In contrast, in the stratified stations the plankton was mostly dominated by dinoflagellates, ciliates and nanoflagellates, with only an insignificant diatom component from the genera Chaetoceros and Thalassiosira (brackish as opposed to freshwater species). Ciliate abundance was significantly coupled with the abundance of total flagellates. A pronounced partitioning in the phytoplankton community was also discernible with depth, with a different community composition and abundance above and below the thermocline in the stratified sites. This work is a first analysis of the phytoplankton community structure in the region where Lena River discharge enters the Laptev Sea.

Description: There are a number of clear examples in the instrumental period where positive El Niño events were coincident with a severely weakened summer monsoon over India (ISM). ENSO's influence on the Indian Monsoon has therefore remained the centerpiece of various predictive schemes of ISM rainfall for over a century. The teleconnection between the monsoon and ENSO has undergone a protracted weakening since the late 1980's suggesting the strength of ENSO's influence on the monsoon may vary considerably on multidecadal timescales. The recent weakening has specifically prompted questions as to whether this shift represents a natural mode of climate variability or a fundamental change in ENSO and/or ISM dynamics due to anthropogenic warming. The brevity of empirical observations and large systematic errors in the representation of these two systems in state-of-the-art general circulation models hamper efforts to reliably assess the low frequency nature of this dynamical coupling under varying climate forcings. Here we place the 20th century ENSO-Monsoon relationship in a millennial context by assessing the phase angle between the two systems across the time spectrum using a continuous tree-ring ENSO reconstruction from North America and a speleothem oxygen isotope (δ18O) based reconstruction of the ISM. The results suggest that in the high-frequency domain (≤ 15 yr), El Niño (La Niña) events persistently lead to a weakened (strengthened) monsoon consistent with the observed relationship between the two systems during the instrumental period. However, in the low frequency domain (≥ 60 yr), periods of strong monsoon are, in general, coincident with periods of enhanced ENSO variance. This relationship is opposite to which would be predicted dynamically and leads us to conclude that ENSO is not pacing the prominent multidecadal variability that has characterized the ISM over the last millennium.

Description: Bio-optical measurements and sampling were carried out in the delta of the Lena River (northern Siberia, Russia) between 26 June and 4 July 2011. The aim of this study was to determine the inherent optical properties of the Lena water, i.e., absorption, attenuation, and scattering coefficients, during the period of maximum runoff. This aimed to contribute to the development of a bio-optical model for use as the basis for optical remote sensing of coastal water of the Arctic. In this context the absorption by CDOM (colored dissolved organic matter) and particles, and the concentrations of total suspended matter, phytoplankton-pigments, and carbon were measured. CDOM was found to be the most dominant parameter affecting the optical properties of the river, with an absorption coefficient of 4.5–5 m−1 at 442 nm, which was almost four times higher than total particle absorption values at visible wavelength range. The wavelenght-dependence of absorption of the different water constituents was chracterized by determining the semi logarithmic spectral slope. Mean CDOM, and detritus slopes were 0.0149 nm−1(standard deviation (stdev) = 0.0003, n = 18), and 0.0057 nm−1 (stdev = 0.0017, n = 19), respectively, values which are typical for water bodies with high concentrations of dissolved and particulate carbon. Mean chlorophyll a and total suspended matter were 1.8 mg m−3 (stdev = 0.734 n = 18) and 31.9 g m−3 (stdev = 19.94, n = 27), respectively. DOC (dissolved organic carbon) was in the range 8–10 g m−3 and the total particulate carbon (PC) in the range 0.25–1.5 g m−3. The light penetration depth (Secchi disc depth) was in the range 30–90 cm and was highly correlated with the suspended matter concentration. The period of maximum river runoff in June was chosen to obtain bio-optical data when maximum water constituents are transported into the Laptev Sea. However, we are aware that more data from other seasons and other years need to be collected to establish a general bio-optical model of the Lena water and conclusively characterize the light climate with respect to primary production.

Description: Alkire, MB, MJ Perry, E D’Asaro, and CM Lee. Using sensor-based, geochemical measurements from autonomous platforms to estimate biological production and export of carbon during the 2008 North Atlantic Spring Bloom.

Description: Bates, NR, MW Lomas, and RJ Johnson. The Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) enters its twentyfifth year of ocean observations in the North Atlantic that illustrate changes in ocean carbon.

Description: Deutsch, C. Improving Model Predictions of Ocean Biogeochemistry.

Description: Doney, S. OCB and U.S. CLIVAR: Scientific Questions & Global Observing Capabilities.

Description: Lovenduski, N. Climate Variability and Southern Ocean Carbon Uptake.

Description: Boyd, PW and DA Hutchins. The next challenge: How do multiple environmental drivers influence ocean biota?

Description: Mahadevan, A. Eddies initiate the North Atlantic spring phytoplankton bloom.

Description: Perry, MJ, E D’Asaro, and C Lee. An Autonomous Study of the Subpolar North Atlantic Spring Bloom — NAB08.

Description: Stuart, V. Satellite Ocean Colour Radiometry and the Role of the International Ocean Colour Coordinating Group (IOCCG)

Description: McKinley, G, N Urban, V Bennington, D Pilcher, and C McDonald. Preliminary Carbon Budgets for the Laurentian Great Lakes.

Description: Dave, A and S Lozier. The Impact of MOC Variability on Marine Productivity and Carbon Uptake and Storage in the North Atlantic.

Description: Lorenzoni, L, C Chandler, F Muller-Karger, and Y Astor. CARIACO Releases Spanish-English Handbook of Methods for Oceanographic Time-Series.

Description: Hutchins, D. Ocean Acidification or CO2 Fertilization?

Description: Seitzinger, SP and E Mayorga. Linking Watersheds to Coastal Systems: A Global Perspective on River Inputs of N, P and C.

Description: Smith, WO, S Tozzi, A Shields, J Dreyer, J Peloquin, and V Asper. Interannual, Seasonal, and Event-Scale Variability in the Ross Sea.

Description: Barbeau, K, R Anderson, and M Saito. Micronutrient-ecosystem interactions in the oceans: Current research and new opportunities.

Description: Lance, V. Exploring the feasibility of an in situ mesoscale carbon addition experiment.

Description: Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB) Summer Workshop, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Clark 507, July 20-23, 2009

Description: This year's workshop included the following interdisciplinary sessions: The Next U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Plan: Although the research priorities identified in the 1999 U.S. Carbon Cycle Science Plan still remain important, a new set of challenges must be addressed in the coming decade, including the effects of human activities on carbon cycling, the sensitivity of ecosystems to changes in carbon cycling and climate, and the efficacy and environmental consequences of carbon management practices. Observing Systems and Time-Series: Ship- and satellite-based ocean observations and time-series form a critical foundation for OCB research. Community planning discussions and input to large-scale national and international planning efforts are essential to ensuring long-term availability of biological, chemical, and ecological data sets that support this research. The Future of OCB Research in the Southern Ocean: The Southern Ocean represents a key system in the global ocean with a critical role in climate and biogeochemical cycles. There is still a troubling level of uncertainty surrounding the impacts of climate change on circulation, CO2 fluxes, productivity, and ecosystem structure in the Southern Ocean. Ocean Acidification: Frontiers in Understanding Physiological and Ecological Responses: Ocean acidification is a high-priority OCB research topic. Recent developments such as the passage of the Federal Ocean Acidification Research And Monitoring Act and the forthcoming NRC report on ocean acidification make this a critical time for soliciting community feedback on new research directions and activities. Implementing Research at the Intersection of Ocean Chemistry and Biology: Two important efforts that advocate for a more integrated observational approach to better address complex feedbacks between ocean chemistry (e.g., micronutrients) and marine ecosystems are currently underway within the OCB-affiliated programs GEOTRACES and SOLAS. NACP/OCB Coastal Interim Synthesis Activities: The objective of the coastal synthesis activities is to stimulate the synthesis and publication of recent observational and modeling results on carbon cycle fluxes and processes along the North American continental margin.

Description: Honjo, S and TI Eglinton. Global Biogeochemical Flux Observatory: Tasks, Strategy and Emerging Technologies.

Description: Smith, JE and N Price. Carbonate Chemistry on Remote Coral Reefs: Natural Variability and Biological Responses.

Description: Osburn, CL, TS Bianchi, RF Chen, PG Coble, EJ D’Sa, and C Chandler. Building a CDOM Database for a Coastal Carbon Synthesis Project.

Description: Ocean Carbon & Biogeochemistry (OCB) Summer Workshop, Samuel H. Scripps Auditorium, Scripps Seaside Forum, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, July 1922, 2010

Description: This year’s OCB summer workshop highlighted three interdisciplinary science themes: Arctic, low oxygen regions, and benthic-pelagic coupling. Within these themes, we were especially keen to address nitrogen cycling, ecological tipping points, and strengthened connections between experimentalists and modelers. Arctic: The Arctic is undergoing rapid changes in response to warming, accelerated melting of large ice sheets, and reductions in seasonal sea ice cover. Low Oxygen Regions: Many models are predicting a significant expansion of oxygen minimum zones under the IPCC “business-as-usual” scenario for anthropogenic CO2 emissions, which will affect marine productivity, carbon and nutrient cycling, and food webs. Benthic-Pelagic Coupling: Benthic and pelagic ecosystems are intimately linked by way of biogeochemical cycling and transformation. Benthic-pelagic coupling along continental shelves represents a significant unknown in coastal carbon budgets, and the physical, chemical, and biological processes driving organic carbon export and burial in the open ocean remain poorly characterized.

Description: National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Description: Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB) Summer Workshop, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, July 21-24, 2008

Description: The focus of this year’s workshop was on the following interdisciplinary themes: Climate sensitivity of ecosystem structure and associated impacts on biogeochemical cycles Implications of climate variability and climate change for ocean biogeochemistry and benthic and pelagic ecosystems covering all trophic levels. Carbon uptake and storage Recent observational and modeling findings quantifying the magnitude and trends in ocean carbon fluxes and carbon storage. Temporal trends in ecosystem variability Application of ocean time-series data to characterize ecosystem response to varying climatic and biogeochemical boundary conditions. The session will include both modern and paleo-time-series in order to place the trends over the past century and future trends in a broader temporal context.

Description: U.S. National Science Foundation

Description: Goericke, R and T Koslow. CalCOFI – A 63-Year-Old Ocean Observing System.

Description: Lachkar, Z and N Gruber. Exploring the Future Evolution of Multiple Stressors in Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems.

Description: Ho, DT and CL Sabine. Southern Ocean Gas Exchange Experiment.

Description: Siegel, DA, JA Yoder, and CR McClain. Thoughts About the Future of Satellite Ocean Color Observations.

Description: Coble, PG, LL Robbins, KL Daly, and WJ Cai. A Preliminary Carbon Budget for the Gulf of Mexico.

Description: Hood, RR, JD Wiggert, and SWA Naqvi. SIBER A New Basin-wide, International Program in the Indian Ocean.

Description: OCB Scoping Workshop, Moss Landing, CA, April 28-30, 2009

Description: This Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB) Scoping Workshop focused on the implementation of a long-term observing system for marine biogeochemistry using chemical and biological sensors deployed on autonomous platforms, such as profiling floats, gliders or other long-endurance autonomous vehicles. Several chemical and biological sensors can now be deployed for months to years in the ocean on floats and gliders. These systems are becoming sufficiently affordable that it is possible to envision biogeochemical sensor networks with hundreds of nodes or more, similar to the current Argo network of 3000 floats. This will allow the development of basin-scale and, ultimately, global-scale observing systems. These sensor networks will permit ocean scientists to quantitatively observe fundamental biogeochemical processes such as rates of nutrient supply, net community production, physical controls on bloom development (e.g. the Sverdrup Hypothesis), dynamics of oxygen minimum zones and their impacts on denitrification, and carbon export throughout the ocean with a level of detail hitherto impossible. The spatial and temporal responses of these processes to climate oscillations and greenhouse gas forcing will be observed with a resolution that is simply not possible when observations are limited to ships. An integrated observing system that combines in situ sensors deployed on long endurance platforms with satellite sensors and data-assimilating, biogeochemical-ecological models would provide previously unachievable constraints on the carbon cycle and its sensitivity to a changing climate. It would transform ocean biogeochemistry. These capabilities are developing rapidly but they are not yet widely appreciated by the ocean science community. This Scoping Workshop had four specific goals: 1) to provide carbon cycle scientists with a critical review of currently existing technologies, their strengths, their weaknesses, and expected developments, 2) to identify problems that can only be solved with these types of observations over several years and to then discuss experiments that could be implemented in the near-term to address these topics, 3) to outline the requirements for a long-term observing system based on in situ sensors, satellites and data-assimilating models to monitor biogeochemical processes on a global scale, and 4) to identify factors limiting development of proven sensors and unmet technical developments required to expand our capability to an integrated observing system.

Description: U.S. National Science Foundation; National Aeronautical and Space Administration; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Description: Najjar, R, DE Butman, WJ Cai, MAM Friedrichs, KD Kroeger, A Mannino, PA Raymond, J Salisbury, DC, Vandemark and P Vlahos. Carbon Budget for the Continental Shelf of the Eastern United States: A Preliminary Synthesis.

Description: Church, M, R Bidigare, J Dore, D Karl, M Landry, R Letelier, and R Lukas. The Ocean is HOT: 20 years of Hawaii Ocean Time-Series Research in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre.

Description: Turk, D, V Malacic, MD DeGrandpre, and WR McGillis. Carbon Dioxide Variability in the Gulf of Trieste: A New Coastal Carbon Time-series Station and EU/US Collaboration.

Description: Mathis, JT and NR Bates. The Marine Carbon Cycle of the Arctic Ocean: Some Thoughts About The Controls on Air-Sea CO2 Exchanges and Responses to Ocean Acidification.

Description: Daly, K, F Chan, and N Rabalais. Low Oxygen Regions in the Oceans.

Description: Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB) Summer Workshop, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Clark 507, July 18-21, 2011

Description: Trends, Thresholds, and Tipping Points in Marine Ecosystems: The oceans represent one of the largest and most active carbon reservoirs on the planet. With atmospheric CO2 levels on the rise, there is serious concern about the physical, chemical, and biological impacts of continued oceanic uptake of anthropogenic CO2. When combined with other environmental stressors such as greenhouse warming, decreasing oxygen levels, pollution, etc., this carbon reservoir is particularly susceptible to rapid, nonlinear shifts in biogeochemistry, physical circulation, and biology that could fundamentally change the global carbon cycle as we know it. OCB and U.S. CLIVAR: Given the overlapping scientific and observational interests of the two programs, the goals are to explore science issues of common interest and identify initial high-priority research topics that may lead to joint activities (e.g., the formation of focused working groups) between U.S. CLIVAR and OCB researchers over the next decade. Toward the Implementation of a Global Autonomous Biogeochemical Observing System: The challenge of understanding the ocean’s role in the global carbon cycle and its response to a changing environment requires an expanded scale of observation in both space and time.

Description: National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and U.S. CLIVAR

Description: Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB) Summer Workshop, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Clark 507 July 16-19, 2012

Description: Multiple stressors in marine ecosystems: Marine ecosystems are facing multiple anthropogenic stressors, and although we are learning much about how individual stressors may impact ecosystems, we know little about synergistic effects. Ocean biogeochemistry from satellite data: Satellite ocean color data represent a critical observational resource in support of OCB research. Planning for the next NASA ocean color research mission PACE (Pre-Aerosol, Clouds, and ocean Ecosystem, http://decadal.gsfc.nasa.gov/PACE.html) is currently underway, with an anticipated 2019 launch. Land-ocean transport and linkages with global change: Approximately 87% of Earth’s land surface is connected to the ocean by rivers. Over the past 50 years, increases in the human population have had severe global impacts on large-river systems through enhanced fertilizer usage, damming, deforestation, and many other land-use changes. Integrating measurements across multiple time and space scales: Long-term biogeochemical studies conducted over decades at single locations (i.e. Ocean station Papa, HOT, BATS, CARIACO) or across large regional areas (i.e. CalCOFI / CCE-LTER) allow researchers to integrate and synthesize data over multiple temporal and spatial scales. New observations from an Arctic Ocean in rapid transition: The Arctic is undergoing rapid changes in response to warming, accelerated melting of large ice sheets, and reductions in seasonal sea ice cover.

Description: National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Description: OCB Scoping Workshop on GBF-OOI, May 23–25, 2011, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA

Description: This OCB Scoping Workshop will explore the potential for development of a major, sustained biogeochemical flux program aligned with the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI). The primary focus of this workshop will be to (a) define overarching scientific objectives, (b) establish core measurement strategies/technologies and assess the logistical feasibility of biogeochemical observations, and (c) explore ways to maximize synergy with the OOI in terms of utilization of physical and virtual assets (cyberinfrastructure), to strengthen the overall OOI mission, and enhance the scientific and societal value of this major oceanographic research effort. The outcome of the workshop will be a report that we envision will form the foundation for a community white paper. The latter will provide strong justification for a global biogeochemical flux component of the Ocean Observatories Initiative (GBF-OOI), describe its scientific goals, and articulate how such a program could be realized.

Description: Alin, S, S Siedlecki, B Hales, J Mathis, W Evans, M Stukel, G Gaxiola-Castro, J Martin Hernandez-Ayon, L Juranek, M Goñi, G Turi, J Needoba, E Mayorga, Z Lachkar, N Gruber, J Hartmann, N Moosdorf, R Feely, and F Chavez. Coastal Carbon Synthesis for the Continental Shelf of the North American Pacific Coast (NAPC): Preliminary Results.

Description: Blain, S. Natural Iron Fertilization in the Southern Ocean: Kerguelen Ocean and Plateau Compared Study (KEOPS) Completes Second Cruise.

Description: Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry Workshop, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Clark 507, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, July 23-26, 2007

Description: The summer 2007 OCB Science Workshop seeks to recognize new research opportunities at the interface between traditional disciplines. Participants are encouraged to "think outside the box" of their own immediate research communities and communicate with scientists in other disciplines. Three primary interdisciplinary themes have been identified for this workshop, bearing in mind that subsequent workshops will address additional themes - The interplay between biotic structure and biogeochemical cycles; Changing Ocean Biogeochemistry: the Prediction Challenge; Cross-boundary fluxes in the coastal ocean.

Description: Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry Scoping Workshop on Terrestrial and Coastal Carbon Fluxes in the Gulf of Mexico, USGS Normile Conference Center, St Petersburg, FL, May 6-8, 2008

Description: The workshop goal was to bring together researchers from across multiple disciplines, including terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems, to discuss the state of knowledge of carbon fluxes, data gaps, and overarching questions in the Gulf of Mexico system. The workshop stimulated discussions on how best to design integrated studies of marine and terrestrial biogeochemical cycles and associated ecosystems that would improve understanding of the evolving role of the gulf in the carbon cycle in the face of environmental change.

Description: This event was jointly sponsored by the Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry Program (OCB) with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Description: Molecular Biology of Biogeochemistry Workshop, Wilshire Grand Hotel, Los Angeles, CA, November 8-10, 2010

Description: This workshop will convene molecular biologists and biogeochemists to determine what genomic and proteomic tools can be applied to important problems in the carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles of the ocean through an understanding of how microbes and primary producers interact with their physical and chemical environment.

Description: OCB Project, National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration.

Description: Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry Scoping Workshop on Ocean Acidification Research, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, Sumner Auditorium, October 9-11, 2007

Description: The goal of this workshop was to bring together researchers to discuss potential ocean acidification research projects that support the OCB mission. We specifically wanted to move toward specific implementation strategies to address the many research gaps and unknowns about ocean acidification that have been identified in previous workshops.

Description: U.S. Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry Program with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA).

Description: 〈jats:p〉Abstract. The spatial and temporal variability of a low-centred polygon on the eastern floodplain area of the lower Anabar River (72.070° N, 113.921° E, northern Yakutia, Siberia) has been investigated using a multi-method approach. The present-day vegetation in each square metre was analysed revealing a community of Larix shrubby Betula and Salix on the polygon rim, a dominance of Carex and Andromeda polifolia in the rim-to-pond transition zone, and a predominantly monospecific Scorpidium scorpioides coverage within the pond. The TOC content, TOC/TN ratio, grain-size, vascular plant macrofossils, moss remains, diatoms, and pollen were analysed for two vertical sections and a sediment core from a transect across the polygon. Radiocarbon dating indicates that the formation of the polygon started at least 1500 yr ago; the general positions of the pond and rim have not changed since that time. Two types of pond vegetation were identified, indicating two contrasting development stages of the polygon. The first was a well-established moss association dominated by submerged or floating Scorpidium scorpioides and/or Drepanocladus spp. and overgrown by epiphytic diatoms such as Tabellaria flocculosa and Eunotia taxa. This stage coincides temporally with a period in which the polygon was only drained by lateral subsurface water flow, as indicated by mixed grain sizes. A different moss association occurred during times of repeated river flooding (indicated by homogeneous medium-grained sand that probably accumulated during the annual spring snow melt), characterized by an abundance of Meesia triquetra and a dominance of benthic diatoms (e.g. Navicula vulpina), indicative of a relatively high pH and a high tolerance of disturbance. A comparison of the local polygon vegetation (inferred from moss and macrofossil spectra) with the regional vegetation (inferred from pollen spectra) indicated that the moss association with Scorpidium scorpioides became established during relatively favourable climatic conditions while the association dominated by Meesia triquetra occurred during periods of harsh climatic conditions. Our study revealed a strong riverine influence (in addition to climatic influences) on polygon development and the type of peat accumulated. 〈/jats:p〉

Description: Sea urchins as broadcasting spawners, release their gametes into open water for fertilization, thus being particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification. In this study, we assessed the effects of different pH scenarios on fertilization success of Strongylocen- 5 trotus droebachiensis, collected at Spitsbergen, Arctic. We achieved acidification by bubbling CO2 into filtered seawater using partial pressures (pCO2) of 180, 380, 980, 1400 and 3000 μatm. Untreated filtered seawater was used as control. We recorded fertilization rates and diagnosed morphological aberrations after post-fertilization periods of 1 h and 3 h under different exposure conditions in experiments with and without 10 pre-incubation of the eggs prior to fertilization. In parallel, we conducted measurements of intracellular pH changes using BCECF/AM in unfertilized eggs exposed to a range of acidified seawater. We observed increasing rates of polyspermy in relation to higher seawater pCO2, which might be due to failures in the formation of the fertilization envelope. In addition, our experiments showed anomalies in fertilized eggs: incomplete 15 lifting-off of the fertilization envelope and blebs of the hyaline layer. Other drastic malformations consisted of constriction, extrusion, vacuolization or degeneration (observed as a gradient from the cortex to the central region of the cell) of the egg cytoplasm, and irregular cell divisions until 2- to 4-cell stages. The intracellular pH (pHi) decreased significantly from 1400 μatm on. All results indicate a decreasing fertilization success 20 at CO2 concentrations from 1400 μatm upwards. Exposure time to low pH might be a threatening factor for the cellular buffer capacity, viability, and development after fertilization.