ALBERT

Description: Recent work has shown that glaciers are a globally significant source of the micronutrient Fe to the ocean. Polar regions are particularly susceptible to climate change and have been subject to pronounced warming in the past few decades. In response to this warming, the volume of glacial meltwater runoff from Greenland has increased. This meltwater has a relatively high particulate and dissolved Fe content. Seasonal Fe limitation of marine ecosystems has been found in parts of the North Atlantic, so it has been proposed that increasing fluxes of Fe rich meltwater from Greenland to the North Atlantic could alleviate this Fe limitation and thereby increase marine primary production. However, here we use a synthesis of biogeochemical and physical oceanography studies to suggest that the physical circulation around Greenland does not favour direct export of dissolved or particulate Fe from inshore to offshore waters. The Fe budget in surface waters of the North Atlantic may therefore be insensitive to increasing meltwater fluxes from Greenland.

Description: While the geometries of diatom frustules have been investigated in detail, the processes leading to their formation—morphogenesis and biomineralization—are not well understood. The study of organic templates, which are suspected to be important for biosilicification of diatoms, have been mainly investigated on the basis of diverse demineralization techniques. In contrast to naturally occurring dissolution of diatom cell walls in natural habitats, all experiments in vitro were based on chemical reagents including HF- or alkali-based techniques with addition of some additives as presented in this chapter. Mostly, the amino acids (serine, threonine, hydrohyproline) diverse proteinaceous materials (frustulins, pleuralins, silaffins, silacidins, circulins) as well as polyamines have been proposed to regulate biosilicification in vivo in diatoms. In this chapter, we review the biochemical pathways and potential functions of these chemical compounds and their roles in the biomineralization process. In addition, we demonstrate the presence of chitin and discuss its potential as scaffolding as well as a template material in siliceous cell walls of diatoms. The current findings show that a complex network of different organic components is responsible for the biomineralization of diatoms. Since both the organic network and the precipitated silica are integrated in the material which forms the diatom frustule, the material properties must differ from that of pure silica. As the material properties are a crucial factor for the defensive performance of the frustule and thus their survival, it is likely that organic templates for silicification play a role both for the development process and for the improvement of the material properties of the finished shells.

Description: Pteropods are important organisms in high-latitude ecosystems, and they are expected to severely suffer from climate change in the near future. In this study, sedimentation patterns of two pteropod species, the polar Limacina helicina and the subarctic boreal L. retroversa, are presented. Time series data received by moored sediment traps at the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Observatory HAUSGARTEN in eastern Fram Strait were analyzed during the years 2008 to 2012. Results were derived from four different deployment depths (~200, 1,250, 2,400, and 2,550 m) at two different sites (79°N 04°20′E; 79°43′N 04°30′E). A species-specific sedimentation pattern was present at all depths and at both sites showing maximal flux rates during September/October for L. helicina and in November/December for L. retroversa. The polar L. helicina was outnumbered by L. retroversa (55–99 %) at both positions and at all depths supporting the recently observed trend toward the dominance of the subarctic boreal species. The largest decrease in pteropod abundance occurred within the mesopelagic zone (~200–1,250 m), indicating loss via microbial degradation and grazing. Pteropod carbonate (aragonite) amounted up to ~75 % of the total carbonate flux at 200 m and 2–13 % of the aragonite found in the shallow traps arrived at the deep sediment traps (~160 m above the seafloor), revealing the significance of pteropods in carbonate export at Fram Strait. Our results emphasize the relevance and the need for continuation of long-term studies to detect and trace changes in pteropod abundances and community composition and thus in the vertical transport of aragonite.

Description: Radiolaria are unicellular holoplanktonic protozoa with siliceous or strontium sulfate skeletons. Mainly studied by micropaleontologists because of their excellent fossil record, they are also key members of planktonic communities and play important roles in various oceanic ecosystems. This chapter presents an overview of the current knowledge on living Radiolaria (orders Acantharia, Collodaria, Nassellaria, Spumellaria and Taxopodia). Besides general considerations on Radiolaria as a whole, it focuses on the taxonomy, biology, and ecology of each radiolarian order. Finally this chapter provides insights on research perspectives to improve our knowledge of living radiolarians and their ecological role in marine ecosystems.

Description: Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) is being explored on both economic and environmental grounds in many traditional aquaculture regions. To test a variety of suitable macroalgae species and management scenarios, a numerical model is developed to quantify the remediation of dissolved nutrients and production of macroalgae near a nutrient source. Differences in the morphological, physiological, and economic characteristics of different macroalgae species can provide flexibility when considering the cost and benefit of farming macroalgae. Results show that of the three species studied, Macrocystis pyrifera removed 75 % of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) input from a point source, while Porphyra umbilicalis and Ulva lactuca removed 5 %. Both M. pyrifera and P. umbilicalis have reduced bioremediation capacity at increasing flow rates. U. lactuca showed increased bioremediation potential as flow rate increased from low to moderate flows. Increasing the optical depth increased the bioremediation potential of M. pyrifera for moderate values of the light attenuation coefficient, whereas bioremediation was unaffected by optical depth for both U. lactuca and P. umbilicalis. Harvesting increased bioremediation capacity of all species by up to 25-fold dependent on the establishment phase and harvesting frequency. We conclude that the choice of macroalgae species greatly affects the success of IMTA and that both harvesting and farm arrangements can be used to greatly optimize bioremediation.

Description: Hydrothermal vents on mid-oceanic ridges are patchily distributed and host many taxa endemic to deep-sea chemosynthetic environments, whose dispersal may be constrained by geographical barriers. The aim of this study was to investigate the connectivity of three populations of the ‘scaly-foot gastropod’ (Chrysomallon squamiferum Chen et al., 2015), a species endemic to hydrothermal vents in the Indian Ocean, amongst two vent fields on the Central Indian Ridge (CIR) and Longqi field, the first sampled vent field on the Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR). Connectivity and population structure across the two mid-oceanic ridges were investigated using a 489-bp fragment of the cytochrome oxidase c subunit I (COI) gene. Phylogeographical approaches used include measures of genetic differentiation (FST), reconstruction of parsimony haplotype network, mismatch analyses and neutrality tests. Relative migrants per generation were estimated between the fields. Significant differentiation (FST = 0.28–0.29, P 〈 0.001) was revealed between the vent field in SWIR and the two in CIR. Signatures were detected indicating recent bottleneck events followed by demographic expansion in all populations. Estimates of relative number of migrants were relatively low between the SWIR and CIR, compared with values between the CIR vent fields. The present study is the first to investigate connectivity between hydrothermal vents across two mid-ocean ridges in the Indian Ocean. The phylogeography revealed for C. squamiferum indicates low connectivity between SWIR and CIR vent populations, with implications for the future management of environmental impacts for seafloor mining at hydrothermal vents in the region, as proposed for Longqi.

Description: Well water level changes associated with magmatic unrest can be interpreted as a result of pore pressure changes in the aquifer due to crustal deformation, and so could provide constraints on the subsurface processes causing this strain. We use finite element analysis to demonstrate the response of aquifers to volumetric strain induced by pressurized magma reservoirs. Two different aquifers are invoked – an unconsolidated pyroclastic deposit and a vesicular lava flow – and embedded in an impermeable crust, overlying a magma chamber. The time-dependent, fully coupled models simulate crustal deformation accompanying chamber pressurization and the resulting hydraulic head changes as well as flow through the porous aquifer, i.e. porous flow. The simulated strain leads to centimetres (pyroclastic aquifer) to metres (lava flow aquifer) of hydraulic head changes; both strain and hydraulic head change with time due to substantial porous flow in the hydrological system. Well level changes are particularly sensitive to chamber volume, shape and pressurization strength, followed by aquifer permeability and the phase of the pore fluid. The depths of chamber and aquifer, as well as the aquifer's Young's modulus also have significant influence on the hydraulic head signal. While source characteristics, the distance between chamber and aquifer and the elastic stratigraphy determine the strain field and its partitioning, flow and coupling parameters define how the aquifer responds to this strain and how signals change with time. We find that generic analytical models can fail to capture the complex pre-eruptive subsurface mechanics leading to strain-induced well level changes, due to aquifer pressure changes being sensitive to chamber shape and lithological heterogeneities. In addition, the presence of a pore fluid and its flow have a significant influence on the strain signal in the aquifer and are commonly neglected in analytical models. These findings highlight the need for numerical models for the interpretation of observed well level signals. However, simulated water table changes do indeed mirror volumetric strain, and wells are therefore a valuable addition to monitoring systems that could provide important insights into pre-eruptive dynamics.

Description: The outer western Crimean shelf of the Black Sea is a natural laboratory to investigate effects of stable oxic versus varying hypoxic conditions on seafloor biogeochemical processes and benthic community structure. Bottom-water oxygen concentrations ranged from normoxic (175 μmol O2 L−1) and hypoxic (〈 63 μmol O2 L−1) or even anoxic/sulfidic conditions within a few kilometers' distance. Variations in oxygen concentrations between 160 and 10 μmol L−1 even occurred within hours close to the chemocline at 134 m water depth. Total oxygen uptake, including diffusive as well as fauna-mediated oxygen consumption, decreased from 15 mmol m−2 d−1 on average in the oxic zone, to 7 mmol m−2 d−1 on average in the hypoxic zone, correlating with changes in macrobenthos composition. Benthic diffusive oxygen uptake rates, comprising respiration of microorganisms and small meiofauna, were similar in oxic and hypoxic zones (on average 4.5 mmol m−2 d−1), but declined to 1.3 mmol m−2 d−1 in bottom waters with oxygen concentrations below 20 μmol L−1. Measurements and modeling of porewater profiles indicated that reoxidation of reduced compounds played only a minor role in diffusive oxygen uptake under the different oxygen conditions, leaving the major fraction to aerobic degradation of organic carbon. Remineralization efficiency decreased from nearly 100 % in the oxic zone, to 50 % in the oxic–hypoxic zone, to 10 % in the hypoxic–anoxic zone. Overall, the faunal remineralization rate was more important, but also more influenced by fluctuating oxygen concentrations, than microbial and geochemical oxidation processes.

Description: Mature organisms often have to trade reproductive opportunities against the need to survive, especially in species with exaggerated, sexually selected traits. Life history theory predicts that old males with low residual reproductive value (RRV) would accept greater risk for current reproduction than their younger counterparts. Accordingly, we tested the prediction that, under predation risk, old males of the rock shrimp Rhynchocinetes typus pair with females faster and for a longer time than young males do. We exposed young and old dominant males (in the final ontogenetic stage, called “robustus”) to a female in the absence and presence of a predator. As predicted, older robustus males modified their mating behavior when exposed to a predator. However, in contrast to the prediction, they delayed female seizure under predation risk, possibly to carefully assess the actual threat before initiating female guarding. Once they had established the mate-guarding position, old robustus males did not interrupt it until the end of female spawning and, in the presence of predators, even guarded the female significantly longer than in predator-free treatments. In contrast, younger robustus males did not delay female seizure but abandoned the female repeatedly when a predator was present, suggesting that they perceived and responded to the predation risk. Our results suggest that older robustus males have the experience to assess threats before engaging in risky behaviors that bolster their reproductive success. Although consistent with the theory that low RRV individuals should accept greater reproductive risk, we suggest that old individuals do not recklessly engage in risky behaviors but rather cautiously evaluate the threats before investing in a potentially terminal reproductive event.

Description: Based upon thermal-infrared satellite imagery in combination with ERA-Interim atmospheric reanalysis data, we derive long-term polynya characteristics such as polynya area, thin-ice thickness distribution, and ice-production rates for a 13-year investigation period (2002–2014) for the austral winter (1 April to 30 September) in the Antarctic southern Weddell Sea. All polynya parameters are derived from daily cloud-cover corrected thin-ice thickness composites. The focus lies on coastal polynyas which are important hot spots for new-ice formation, bottom-water formation, and heat/moisture release into the atmosphere. MODIS has the capability to resolve even very narrow coastal polynyas. Its major disadvantage is the sensor limitation due to cloud cover. We make use of a newly developed and adapted spatial feature reconstruction scheme to account for cloud-covered areas. We find the sea-ice areas in front of the Ronne and Brunt ice shelves to be the most active with an annual average polynya area of 3018 ± 1298 and 3516 ± 1420 km2 as well as an accumulated volume ice production of 31 ± 13 and 31 ± 12 km3, respectively. For the remaining four regions, estimates amount to 421 ± 294 km2 and 4 ± 3 km3 (Antarctic Peninsula), 1148 ± 432 km2 and 12 ± 5 km3 (iceberg A23A), 901 ± 703 km2 and 10 ± 8 km3 (Filchner Ice Shelf), as well as 499 ± 277 km2 and 5 ± 2 km3 (Coats Land). Our findings are discussed in comparison to recent studies based on coupled sea-ice/ocean models and passive-microwave satellite imagery, each investigating different parts of the southern Weddell Sea.

Description: The ocean is a substantial source of nitrous oxide (N2O) to the atmosphere, but little is known about how this flux might change in the future. Here, we investigate the potential evolution of marine N2O emissions in the 21st century in response to anthropogenic climate change using the global ocean biogeochemical model NEMO-PISCES. Assuming nitrification as the dominant N2O formation pathway, we implemented two different parameterizations of N2O production which differ primarily under low-oxygen (O2) conditions. When forced with output from a climate model simulation run under the business-as-usual high-CO2 concentration scenario (RCP8.5), our simulations suggest a decrease of 4 to 12 % in N2O emissions from 2005 to 2100, i.e., a reduction from 4.03/3.71 to 3.54/3.56 TgN yr−1 depending on the parameterization. The emissions decrease strongly in the western basins of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, while they tend to increase above the oxygen minimum zones (OMZs), i.e., in the eastern tropical Pacific and in the northern Indian Ocean. The reduction in N2O emissions is caused on the one hand by weakened nitrification as a consequence of reduced primary and export production, and on the other hand by stronger vertical stratification, which reduces the transport of N2O from the ocean interior to the ocean surface. The higher emissions over the OMZ are linked to an expansion of these zones under global warming, which leads to increased N2O production, associated primarily with denitrification. While there are many uncertainties in the relative contribution and changes in the N2O production pathways, the increasing storage seems unequivocal and determines largely the decrease in N2O emissions in the future. From the perspective of a global climate system, the averaged feedback strength associated with the projected decrease in oceanic N2O emissions amounts to around −0.009 W m−2 K−1, which is comparable to the potential increase from terrestrial N2O sources. However, the assessment for a potential balance between the terrestrial and marine feedbacks calls for an improved representation of N2O production terms in fully coupled next-generation Earth system models.

Description: The serine/threonine kinase glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) is involved in a broad range of cellular processes including cell proliferation, apoptosis and inflammation. It is now also increasingly acknowledged as having a role to play in cognitive-related processes such as neurogenesis, synaptic plasticity and neural cell survival. Cognitive impairment represents a major debilitating feature of many neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, mood disorders, schizophrenia and fragile X syndrome, as well as being a result of traumatic brain injury or cranial irradiation. Accordingly, GSK-3 has been identified as an important therapeutic target for cognitive impairment, and recent preclinical studies have yielded important evidence demonstrating that GSK-3 inhibitors may be useful therapeutic interventions for restoring cognitive function in some of these brain disorders. The current review summarises the role of GSK-3 as a regulator of cognitive-dependent functions, examines current preclinical and clinical evidence of the potential of GSK-3 inhibitors as therapeutic agents for cognitive impairments in neuropsychiatric disorders, and offers some insight into the current obstacles that are impeding the clinical use of selective GSK-3 inhibitors in the treatment of cognitive impairment.

Description: Coastal zones are important source regions for a variety of trace gases including halocarbons and sulphur-bearing species. While salt-marshes, macroalgae and phytoplankton communities have been intensively studied, little is known about trace gas fluxes in seagrass meadows. Here we report results of a newly developed dynamic flux chamber system that can be deployed in intertidal areas over full tidal cycles allowing for high time resolved measurements. The trace gases measured in this study included carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and a variety of hydrocarbons, halocarbons and sulphur-bearing compounds. The high time resolved CO2 and CH4 flux measurements revealed a complex dynamic mediated by tide and light. In contrast to most previous studies our data indicate significantly enhanced fluxes during tidal immersion relative to periods of air exposure. Short emission peaks occured with onset of the feeder current at the sampling site. We suggest an overall strong effect of advective transport processes to explain the elevated fluxes during tidal immersion. Many emission estimates from tidally influenced coastal areas still rely on measurements carried out during low tide only. Hence, our results may have significant implications for budgeting trace gases in coastal areas. This dynamic flux chamber system provides intensive time series data of community respiration (at night) and net community production (during the day) of shallow coastal systems.

Description: In this study we present gas-exchange measurements conducted in a large-scale wind–wave tank. Fourteen chemical species spanning a wide range of solubility (dimensionless solubility, α = 0.4 to 5470) and diffusivity (Schmidt number in water, Scw = 594 to 1194) were examined under various turbulent (u10 = 0.73 to 13.2 m s−1) conditions. Additional experiments were performed under different surfactant modulated (two different concentration levels of Triton X-100) surface states. This paper details the complete methodology, experimental procedure and instrumentation used to derive the total transfer velocity for all examined tracers. The results presented here demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method, and the derived gas-exchange velocities are shown to be comparable to previous investigations. The gas transfer behaviour is exemplified by contrasting two species at the two solubility extremes, namely nitrous oxide (N2O) and methanol (CH3OH). Interestingly, a strong transfer velocity reduction (up to a factor of 3) was observed for the relatively insoluble N2O under a surfactant covered water surface. In contrast, the surfactant effect for CH3OH, the high solubility tracer, was significantly weaker

Description: Bromoform (CHBr3) is one important precursor of atmospheric reactive bromine species that are involved in ozone depletion in the troposphere and stratosphere. In the open ocean bromoform production is linked to phytoplankton that contains the enzyme bromoperoxidase. Coastal sources of bromoform are higher than open ocean sources. However, open ocean emissions are important because the transfer of tracers into higher altitude in the air, i.e. into the ozone layer, strongly depends on the location of emissions. For example, emissions in the tropics are more rapidly transported into the upper atmosphere than emissions from higher latitudes. Global spatio-temporal features of bromoform emissions are poorly constrained. Here, a global three-dimensional ocean biogeochemistry model (MPIOM-HAMOCC) is used to simulate bromoform cycling in the ocean and emissions into the atmosphere using recently published data of global atmospheric concentrations (Ziska et al., 2013) as upper boundary conditions. Our simulated surface concentrations of CHBr3 match the observations well. Simulated global annual emissions based on monthly mean model output are lower than previous estimates, including the estimate by Ziska et al. (2013), because the gas exchange reverses when less bromoform is produced in non-blooming seasons. This is the case for higher latitudes, i.e. the polar regions and northern North Atlantic. Further model experiments show that future model studies may need to distinguish different bromoform-producing phytoplankton species and reveal that the transport of CHBr3 from the coast considerably alters open ocean bromoform concentrations, in particular in the northern sub-polar and polar regions.

Description: The European water framework directive and the marine strategy framework directive have the objective to establish at least ‘good’ ecological status in all European waters by 2015. Therefore a classification system has to be established in each European country, in order to assess their water bodies. For the German coastal waters of the Baltic Sea, a classification system for phytoplankton based on the abundance of Cyanophyceae and Chlorophyceae was already presented. This system has been successfully adapted in regions with low salinity levels (〈10 PSU). With this study, we present the results trying to develop a classification system for our German region of the Baltic Sea characterized by higher salinity (〉15 PSU). All present taxonomic groups, most common species and functional groups were tested. It could be shown that all tested correlations to nitrogen concentration as eutrophication descriptor are relatively week. Nevertheless, the biovolume of Cryptophyceae was found to be the most reliable phytoplankton composition indicator, which could serve as future assessment criterion. Furthermore, as proposed by some experts, the use of maximal dissolved winter nitrogen concentration as eutrophication descriptor might be an advantage over using the total nitrogen concentrations in summer.

Description: In this study we report fluxes of chloromethane (CH3Cl), bromomethane (CH3Br), iodomethane (CH3I), and bromoform (CHBr3) from two sampling campaigns (summer and spring) in the seagrass dominated subtropical lagoon Ria Formosa, Portugal. Dynamic flux chamber measurements were performed when seagrass patches were either air-exposed or submerged. Overall, we observed highly variable fluxes from the seagrass meadows and attributed them to diurnal cycles, tidal effects, and the variety of possible sources and sinks in the seagrass meadows. The highest emissions with up to 130 nmol m−2 h−1 for CH3Br were observed during tidal changes, from air exposure to submergence and conversely. Furthermore, during the spring campaign, the emissions of halocarbons were significantly elevated during tidal inundation as compared to air exposure. Accompanying water sampling performed during both campaigns revealed elevated concentrations of CH3Cl and CH3Br, indicating productive sources within the lagoon. Stable carbon isotopes of halocarbons from the air and water phase along with source signatures were used to allocate the distinctive sources and sinks in the lagoon. Results suggest that CH3Cl was rather originating from seagrass meadows and water column than from salt marshes. Aqueous and atmospheric CH3Br was substantially enriched in 13C in comparison to source signatures for seagrass meadows and salt marshes. This suggests a significant contribution from the water phase on the atmospheric CH3Br in the lagoon. A rough global upscaling yields annual productions from seagrass meadows of 2.3–4.5 Gg yr−1, 0.5–1.0 Gg yr−1, 0.6–1.2 Gg yr−1, and 1.9–3.7 Gg yr−1 for CH3Cl, CH3Br, CH3I, and CHBr3 respectively. This suggests a minor contribution from seagrass meadows to the global production of CH3Cl and CH3Br with about 0.1 and 0.7%, respectively. In comparison to the known marine sources for CH3I and CHBr3, seagrass meadows are rather small sources.

Description: A comparison of micropaleontological data on the distribution of the Cycladophora davisiana radiolarian species in the surface sediment layer and the Late Quaternary sediments from the Subarctic Pacific and Far East marginal seas allowed conclusions concerning the possible conditions and occurrence of intermediate waters during the last glacial maximum. We used the modern data on the C. davisiana species, which is a micropaleontological indicator of the cold oxygen-rich upper intermediate water mass, which is now forming only in the Sea of Okhotsk. The high amount of C. davisiana in sediments of the last glacial maximum may point to the possible formation and expansion of the ventilated intermediate water in the most part of the Subarctic paleo-Pacific: the Bering Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk, within the NW Gyre, and in the Gulf of Alaska.

Description: Constraints on the Mediterranean Sea's storage of anthropogenic CO2 are limited, coming only from data-based approaches that disagree by more than a factor of two. Here we simulate this marginal sea's anthropogenic carbon storage by applying a perturbation approach in a high-resolution regional model. Our model simulates that, between 1800 and 2001, basin-wide CO2 storage by the Mediterranean Sea has increased by 1.0 Pg C, a lower limit based on the model's weak deep-water ventilation, as revealed by evaluation with CFC-12. Furthermore, by testing a data-based approach (transit time distribution) in our model, comparing simulated anthropogenic CO2 to values computed from simulated CFC-12 and physical variables, we conclude that the associated basin-wide storage of 1.7 Pg, published previously, must be an upper bound. Out of the total simulated storage of 1.0 Pg C, 75% comes from the air-sea flux into the Mediterranean Sea and 25% comes from net transport from the Atlantic across the Strait of Gibraltar. Sensitivity tests indicate that the Mediterranean Sea's higher total alkalinity, relative to the global-ocean mean, enhances the Mediterranean's total inventory of anthropogenic carbon by 10%. Yet the corresponding average anthropogenic change in surface pH does not differ significantly from the global-ocean average, despite higher total alkalinity. In Mediterranean deep waters, the pH change is estimated to be between -0.005 and -0.06 pH units.

Description: To assess potential impacts of climate change for a specific location, one typically employs climate model simulations at the grid box corresponding to the same geographical location. But based on regional climate model simulations, we show that simulated climate might be systematically displaced compared to observations. In particular in the rain shadow of moutain ranges, a local grid box is therefore often not representative of observed climate: the simulated windward weather does not flow far enough across the mountains; local grid boxes experience the wrong airmasses and atmospheric circulation. In some cases, also the local climate change signal is deteriorated. Classical bias correction methods fail to correct these location errors. Often, however, a distant simulated time series is representative of the considered observed precipitation, such that a non-local bias correction is possible. These findings also clarify limitations of bias correcting global model errors, and of bias correction against station data.

Description: Coral reefs are the most abundant shallow water ecosystems in the Red Sea, harboring a high species diversity and habitat complexity over large environmental gradients. At the same time the semi-enclosed ocean basin and its partly extreme environmental conditions may promote species evolution being distinct from Indo-Pacific coral reefs. Extreme conditions are found in the southern Red Sea, where temperatures reach up to 33 °C in summer and where nutrient input is high. Mechanisms of organism adjustment to these conditions are of particular interest in the light of climate change research. Towards the north, conditions become more ‘coral-promoting’ finally reaching temperatures between 21–27 °C (winter-summer) and clear waters at the northern end of the Red Sea (Gulf of Aqaba). In this chapter, we summarize the current knowledge about the biology of shallow water, symbiotic, reef-building corals of the Red Sea. We start with an overview on the environmental conditions of the Red Sea, the history of coral reef research in this region and a general introduction into coral biology, before we describe the ecophysiology of Red Sea corals. Coral ecophysiology is presented in the context of varying environmental conditions over depth (e.g., light), between seasons, and over latitudes (e.g., light, temperature, nutrients). Mechanisms and patterns of coral reproduction are discussed in the context of seasonal and latitudinal environmental changes. Finally, we briefly describe anthropogenic influences on Red Sea coral reefs. Acclimatization mechanisms of corals to changing conditions over a depth gradient (mainly light reduction) have been well studied in the Gulf of Aqaba and include the following metabolic adjustments with depth: (i) an upregulation of light-harvesting pigments (chlorophyll a) and a downregulation of photo-protective pigments (xanthophyll), (ii) an increase of heterotrophy, and (iii) a decrease of metabolic activity (e.g., calcification and growth). In addition, a change in the symbiont composition (Symbiodinium clade and/or type) over depth was observed in some coral species. Seasonal environmental changes (mainly light availability, temperature, nutrients) lead to various metabolic responses of the corals, including (i) changes in zooxanthellae pigmentation and density and (ii) changes in the metabolic activity. In particular, changes in calcification and growth rates can be observed with lowest rates during low temperatures in winter. Interestingly, however, this reverses in the southern Red Sea, where calcification rates are higher in winter than in summer. This kind of latitudinal shift is also evident in the timing of reproduction, which occurs earlier in the year (January–March) in the south compared to the north (March–August). This indicates that growth and reproduction are strongly linked to temperature, following a single temperature optimum, which occurs at different times throughout the year from north to south. Furthermore, this hints towards a high phenotypic plasticity (acclimatization) rather than local genetic adaptation of the investigated coral species. A clear shift in the genetic population structure from north to south in another coral species, however, indicates local adaption. Adjusting mechanisms need to be further understood in order to provide indication for predicted climate change effects.

Description: Halocarbons from oceanic sources contribute to halogens in the troposphere, and can be transported into the stratosphere where they take part in ozone depletion. This paper presents distribution and sources in the equatorial Atlantic from June and July 2011 of the four compounds bromoform (CHBr3), dibromomethane (CH2Br2), methyl iodide (CH3I) and diiodomethane (CH2I2). Enhanced biological production during the Atlantic Cold Tongue (ACT) season, indicated by phytoplankton pigment concentrations, led to elevated concentrations of CHBr3 of up to 44.7 and up to 9.2 pmol L−1 for CH2Br2 in surface water, which is comparable to other tropical upwelling systems. While both compounds correlated very well with each other in the surface water, CH2Br2 was often more elevated in greater depth than CHBr3, which showed maxima in the vicinity of the deep chlorophyll maximum. The deeper maximum of CH2Br2 indicates an additional source in comparison to CHBr3 or a slower degradation of CH2Br2. Concentrations of CH3I of up to 12.8 pmol L−1 in the surface water were measured. In contrary to expectations of a predominantly photochemical source in the tropical ocean, its distribution was mostly in agreement with biological parameters, indicating a biological source. CH2I2 was very low in the near surface water with maximum concentrations of only 3.7 pmol L−1. CH2I2 showed distinct maxima in deeper waters similar to CH2Br2. For the first time, diapycnal fluxes of the four halocarbons from the upper thermocline into and out of the mixed layer were determined. These fluxes were low in comparison to the halocarbon sea-to-air fluxes. This indicates that despite the observed maximum concentrations at depth, production in the surface mixed layer is the main oceanic source for all four compounds and one of the main driving factors of their emissions into the atmosphere in the ACT-region. The calculated production rates of the compounds in the mixed layer are 34 ± 65 pmol m−3 h−1 for CHBr3, 10 ± 12 pmol m−3 h−1 for CH2Br2, 21 ± 24 pmol m−3 h−1 for CH3I and 384 ± 318 pmol m−3 h−1 for CH2I2 determined from 13 depth profiles.

Description: Ocean acidification is expected to influence plankton community structure and biogeochemical element cycles. To date, the response of plankton communities to elevated CO2 has been studied primarily during nutrient-stimulated blooms. In this CO2 manipulation study, we used large-volume (~ 55 m3) pelagic in situ mesocosms to enclose a natural summer, post-spring-bloom plankton assemblage in the Baltic Sea to investigate the response of organic matter pools to ocean acidification. The carbonate system in the six mesocosms was manipulated to yield average fCO2 ranging between 365 and ~ 1230 μatm with no adjustment of naturally available nutrient concentrations. Plankton community development and key biogeochemical element pools were subsequently followed in this nitrogen-limited ecosystem over a period of 7 weeks. We observed higher sustained chlorophyll a and particulate matter concentrations (~ 25 % higher) and lower inorganic phosphate concentrations in the water column in the highest fCO2 treatment (1231 μatm) during the final 2 weeks of the study period (Phase III), when there was low net change in particulate and dissolved matter pools. Size-fractionated phytoplankton pigment analyses indicated that these differences were driven by picophytoplankton (〈 2 μm) and were already established early in the experiment during an initial warm and more productive period with overall elevated chlorophyll a and particulate matter concentrations. However, the influence of picophytoplankton on bulk organic matter pools was masked by high biomass of larger plankton until Phase III, when the contribution of the small size fraction (〈 2 μm) increased to up to 90 % of chlorophyll a. In this phase, a CO2-driven increase in water column particulate carbon did not lead to enhanced sinking material flux but was instead reflected in increased dissolved organic carbon concentrations. Hence ocean acidification may induce changes in organic matter partitioning in the upper water column during the low-nitrogen summer period in the Baltic Sea.

Description: Accurate assessment of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and their redistribution among the atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial biosphere is important to better understand the global carbon cycle, support the development of climate policies, and project future climate change. Here we describe data sets and a methodology to quantify all major components of the global carbon budget, including their uncertainties, based on the combination of a range of data, algorithms, statistics, and model estimates and their interpretation by a broad scientific community. We discuss changes compared to previous estimates, consistency within and among components, alongside methodology and data limitations. CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production (EFF) are based on energy statistics and cement production data, respectively, while emissions from land-use change (ELUC), mainly deforestation, are based on combined evidence from land-cover-change data, fire activity associated with deforestation, and models. The global atmospheric CO2 concentration is measured directly and its rate of growth (GATM) is computed from the annual changes in concentration. The mean ocean CO2 sink (SOCEAN) is based on observations from the 1990s, while the annual anomalies and trends are estimated with ocean models. The variability in SOCEAN is evaluated with data products based on surveys of ocean CO2 measurements. The global residual terrestrial CO2 sink (SLAND) is estimated by the difference of the other terms of the global carbon budget and compared to results of independent dynamic global vegetation models forced by observed climate, CO2, and land-cover-change (some including nitrogen–carbon interactions). We compare the mean land and ocean fluxes and their variability to estimates from three atmospheric inverse methods for three broad latitude bands. All uncertainties are reported as ±1σ, reflecting the current capacity to characterise the annual estimates of each component of the global carbon budget. For the last decade available (2004–2013), EFF was 8.9 ± 0.4 GtC yr−1, ELUC 0.9 ± 0.5 GtC yr−1, GATM 4.3 ± 0.1 GtC yr−1, SOCEAN 2.6 ± 0.5 GtC yr−1, and SLAND 2.9 ± 0.8 GtC yr−1. For year 2013 alone, EFF grew to 9.9 ± 0.5 GtC yr−1, 2.3% above 2012, continuing the growth trend in these emissions, ELUC was 0.9 ± 0.5 GtC yr−1, GATM was 5.4 ± 0.2 GtC yr−1, SOCEAN was 2.9 ± 0.5 GtC yr−1, and SLAND was 2.5 ± 0.9 GtC yr−1. GATM was high in 2013, reflecting a steady increase in EFF and smaller and opposite changes between SOCEAN and SLAND compared to the past decade (2004–2013). The global atmospheric CO2 concentration reached 395.31 ± 0.10 ppm averaged over 2013. We estimate that EFF will increase by 2.5% (1.3–3.5%) to 10.1 ± 0.6 GtC in 2014 (37.0 ± 2.2 GtCO2 yr−1), 65% above emissions in 1990, based on projections of world gross domestic product and recent changes in the carbon intensity of the global economy. From this projection of EFF and assumed constant ELUC for 2014, cumulative emissions of CO2 will reach about 545 ± 55 GtC (2000 ± 200 GtCO2) for 1870–2014, about 75% from EFF and 25% from ELUC. This paper documents changes in the methods and data sets used in this new carbon budget compared with previous publications of this living data set (Le Quéré et al., 2013, 2014). All observations presented here can be downloaded from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (doi:10.3334/CDIAC/GCP_2014).

Description: Sub-micron marine aerosol particles (PM1) were collected over the period 22 June–21 July 2011 during the RV MARIA S. MERIAN cruise MSM 18/3, which travelled from the Cape Verdean island of São Vicente to Gabon, in the process crossing the tropical Atlantic Ocean with its equatorial upwelling regime. According to air mass origin and the chemical composition of the sampled aerosol particles, three main regimes could be established. Aerosol particles in the first part of the cruise were mainly of marine origin (Region I). In the second part of the cruise, marine influences mixed with increasing influence from biomass burning (Region II). In the final part of the cruise, which approached the African mainland, the biomass burning influence became dominant (Region III). Generally, aerosol particles were dominated by sulfate (caverage = 2.0 μg m−3) and ammonium ions (caverage = 0.7 μg m−3), which were well-correlated and increased slightly over the duration of the cruise. High concentrations of water-insoluble organic carbon (WISOC; caverage = 0.4 μg m−3) were found, most likely as a result of the high oceanic productivity in this region. Water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) concentrations increased from 0.26 μg m−3 in Region I to 2.3 μg m−3 in Region III, most likely as a result of biomass burning influences. The major organic aerosol constituents were oxalic acid, methanesulfonic acid (MSA), and aliphatic amines. MSA concentrations were quite constant during the cruise (caverage = 42 ng m−3). Aliphatic amines were most abundant in Region I, with concentrations of ~ 20 ng m−3. Oxalic acid showed the opposite trend, with average concentrations of 12 ng m−3 in Region I and 158 ng m−3 in Region III. The α-dicarbonyl compounds glyoxal and methylglyoxal were detected in the aerosol particles in the low ng m−3 range and were closely correlated with oxalic acid. MSA and aliphatic amines arise from biogenic marine sources, whereas oxalic acid and the α-dicarbonyl compounds were attributed to biomass burning. Concentrations of n-alkanes increased from 0.8 to 4.7 ng m−3 over the duration of the cruise. PAHs and hopanes were abundant only in Region III (caverage of PAHs = 0.13 ng m−3; caverage of hopanes = 0.19 ng m−3). Levoglucosan was identified in several samples obtained in Region III, with caverage = 1.9 ng m−3, which points to (aged) biomass burning influences. The organic compounds quantified in this study could explain 8.3 % of WSOC in Regions I, where aliphatic amines and MSA dominated, 3.7 % of WSOC in Region II and 2.5 % of WSOC in Region III, where oxalic acid dominated.

Description: Cold-water corals are important habitat formers in deep-water ecosystems and at high latitudes. Ocean acidification and the resulting change in aragonite saturation are expected to affect these habitats and impact coral growth. Counter to expectations, the impact of saturation changes on the deep water coral Lophelia pertusa has been found to be less than expected, with the species sustaining growth even in undersaturated conditions. However, it is important to know whether such acclimation modifies the skeleton and thus its ecosystem functioning. Here we used Synchrotron X-Ray Tomography and Raman spectroscopy to examine changes in skeleton morphology and fibre orientation. We combined the morphological assessment with boron isotope analysis to determine if changes in growth are related to changes in control of calcification pH. Skeletal morphology is highly variable without clear changes in different saturation states. Raman investigations found no difference in macromorphological skeletal arrangement of early mineralization zones and secondary thickening between the treatments but revealed that the skeletal organic matrix layers were less distinct. The δ11B analyses show that L. pertusa up-regulates the internal calcifying fluid pH (pHcf) during calcification with disregard to ambient seawater pH and suggests that well-fed individuals can sustain a high internal pHcf. This indicates that any extra energetic demand required for calcification at low saturation is not detrimental to the skeletal morphology.

Description: Nitric oxide (NO) is a short-lived intermediate of the oceanic nitrogen cycle, however, due to its high reactivity, measurements of dissolved NO in seawater are rare. Here we present an improved method to determine NO concentrations in discrete seawater samples. The set-up of our system consisted of a chemiluminescence NO analyser connected to a stripping unit. The limit of detection for our method was 5 pmol NO in aqueous solution which translates into 0.25 nmol L−1 when using a 20 mL seawater sample volume. Our method was applied to measure high resolution depth profiles of dissolved NO during a cruise to the eastern tropical South Pacific Ocean. Our method is fast and comparably easy to handle thus it opens the door for deciphering the distribution of NO in the ocean and it facilitates laboratory studies on NO pathways.

Description: An ocean circulation model is run using two different idealized equatorial basin configurations under steady wind forcing. Both model versions produce bands of vertically alternating zonal flow at depth, similar to observed Equatorial Deep Jets (EDJs) and with a time scale corresponding to that of the gravest equatorial basin mode for the dominant baroclinic vertical normal mode. Both model runs show evidence for enhanced variability in the surface signature of the North Equatorial Counter Current (NECC) with the same time scale. We also find the same link between the observed NECC and the EDJs in the Atlantic by comparing the signature of the EDJ in moored zonal velocity data at 23° W on the equator with the signature of the NECC in geostrophic velocities from altimeter data. We argue that the presence of a peak in variability in the NECC associated with the EDJ basin mode period is evidence that the influenceatthis time scale is upward, from the EDJ to the NECC

Description: Ocean acidification studies in the past decade have greatly improved our knowledge of how calcifying organisms respond to increased surface ocean CO2 levels. It has become evident that, for many organisms, nutrient availability is an important factor that influences their physiological responses and competitive interactions with other species. Therefore, we tested how simulated ocean acidification and eutrophication (nitrate and phosphate enrichment) interact to affect the physiology and ecology of a calcifying chlorophyte macroalga (Halimeda opuntia (L.) J.V. Lamouroux) and its common noncalcifying epiphyte (Dictyota sp.) in a 4-week fully crossed multifactorial experiment. Inorganic nutrient enrichment (+NP) had a strong influence on all responses measured with the exception of net calcification. Elevated CO2 alone significantly decreased electron transport rates of the photosynthetic apparatus and resulted in phosphorus limitation in both species, but had no effect on oxygen production or respiration. The combination of CO2 and +NP significantly increased electron transport rates in both species. While +NP alone stimulated H. opuntia growth rates, Dictyota growth was significantly stimulated by nutrient enrichment only at elevated CO2, which led to the highest biomass ratios of Dictyota to Halimeda. Our results suggest that inorganic nutrient enrichment alone stimulates several aspects of H. opuntia physiology, but nutrient enrichment at a CO2 concentration predicted for the end of the century benefits Dictyota sp. and hinders its calcifying basibiont H. opuntia.

Description: The stable carbon isotope composition of dissolved inorganic carbon (δ13CDIC) in seawater was measured in a batch process for 552 samples collected during two cruises in the northeastern Atlantic and Nordic Seas from June to August 2012. One cruise was part of the UK Ocean Acidification research programme, and the other was a repeat hydrographic transect of the Extended Ellett Line. In combination with measurements made of other variables on these and other cruises, these data can be used to constrain the anthropogenic component of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in the interior ocean, and to help to determine the influence of biological carbon uptake on surface ocean carbonate chemistry. The measurements have been processed, quality-controlled and submitted to an in-preparation global compilation of seawater δ13CDIC data, and are available from the British Oceanographic Data Centre. The observed δ13CDIC values fall in a range from g-0.58 to +2.37 ‰, relative to the Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite standard. The mean of the absolute differences between samples collected in duplicate in the same container type during both cruises and measured consecutively is 0.10 ‰, which corresponds to a μ uncertainty of 0.09 ‰, and which is within the range reported by other published studies of this kind. A crossover analysis was performed with nearby historical δ13CDIC data, indicating that any systematic offsets between our measurements and previously published results are negligible. Data doi.org/10.5285/09760a3a-c2b5-250b-e053-6c86abc037c0 (northeastern Atlantic), doi.org/10.5285/09511dd0-51db-0e21-e053-6c86abc09b95 (Nordic Seas).

Description: Marine-produced short-lived trace gases such as dibromomethane (CH2Br2), bromoform (CHBr3), methyliodide (CH3I) and dimethyl sulfide (DMS) significantly impact tropospheric and stratospheric chemistry. Describing their marine emissions in atmospheric chemistry models as accurately as possible is necessary to quantify their impact on ozone depletion and Earth's radiative budget. So far, marine emissions of trace gases have mainly been prescribed from emission climatologies, thus lacking the interaction between the actual state of the atmosphere and the ocean. Here we present simulations with the chemistry climate model EMAC (ECHAM5/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry) with online calculation of emissions based on surface water concentrations, in contrast to directly prescribed emissions. Considering the actual state of the model atmosphere results in a concentration gradient consistent with model real-time conditions at the ocean surface and in the atmosphere, which determine the direction and magnitude of the computed flux. This method has a number of conceptual and practical benefits, as the modelled emission can respond consistently to changes in sea surface temperature, surface wind speed, sea ice cover and especially atmospheric mixing ratio. This online calculation could enhance, dampen or even invert the fluxes (i.e. deposition instead of emissions) of very short-lived substances (VSLS). We show that differences between prescribing emissions and prescribing concentrations (−28 % for CH2Br2 to +11 % for CHBr3) result mainly from consideration of the actual, time-varying state of the atmosphere. The absolute magnitude of the differences depends mainly on the surface ocean saturation of each particular gas. Comparison to observations from aircraft, ships and ground stations reveals that computing the air–sea flux interactively leads in most of the cases to more accurate atmospheric mixing ratios in the model compared to the computation from prescribed emissions. Calculating emissions online also enables effective testing of different air–sea transfer velocity (k) parameterizations, which was performed here for eight different parameterizations. The testing of these different k values is of special interest for DMS, as recently published parameterizations derived by direct flux measurements using eddy covariance measurements suggest decreasing k values at high wind speeds or a linear relationship with wind speed. Implementing these parameterizations reduces discrepancies in modelled DMS atmospheric mixing ratios and observations by a factor of 1.5 compared to parameterizations with a quadratic or cubic relationship to wind speed.

Description: An approach is proposed to assess hydrological simulation uncertainty originating from internal atmospheric variability. The latter is one of three major factors contributing to uncertainty of simulated climate change projections (along with so-called "forcing" and "climate model" uncertainties). Importantly, the role of internal atmospheric variability is most visible over spatio-temporal scales of water management in large river basins. Internal atmospheric variability is represented by large ensemble simulations (45 members) with the ECHAM5 atmospheric general circulation model. Ensemble simulations are performed using identical prescribed lower boundary conditions (observed sea surface temperature, SST, and sea ice concentration, SIC, for 1979–2012) and constant external forcing parameters but different initial conditions of the atmosphere. The ensemble of bias-corrected ECHAM5 outputs and ensemble averaged ECHAM5 output are used as a distributed input for the ECOMAG and SWAP hydrological models. The corresponding ensembles of runoff hydrographs are calculated for two large rivers of the Arctic basin: the Lena and Northern Dvina rivers. A number of runoff statistics including the mean and the standard deviation of annual, monthly and daily runoff, as well as annual runoff trend, are assessed. Uncertainties of runoff statistics caused by internal atmospheric variability are estimated. It is found that uncertainty of the mean and the standard deviation of runoff has a significant seasonal dependence on the maximum during the periods of spring–summer snowmelt and summer–autumn rainfall floods. Noticeable nonlinearity of the hydrological models' results in the ensemble ECHAM5 output is found most strongly expressed for the Northern Dvina River basin. It is shown that the averaging over ensemble members effectively filters the stochastic term related to internal atmospheric variability. Simulated discharge trends are close to normally distributed around the ensemble mean value, which fits well to empirical estimates and, for the Lena River, indicates that a considerable portion of the observed trend can be externally driven.

Description: Metals constitute an important group of abiotic stressors that elicit stress responses in marine algae that include the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Silver (Ag) is a highly toxic metal to organisms but despite this there are relatively few studies on how it affects marine macroalgae (seaweeds). In a landmark study published in 1977 the first information was provided on the accumulation of Ag in Fucus spp. (Phaeophyceae) from the Looe estuary, located in south-west England, an area with a long history of mining activity. In the present study, the estuary has been re-visited and the patterns of Ag accumulation in two Fucus spp. and sediment re-examined after 35 years. We conclude that Ag concentrations in sediment and macroalgae from specific sites within the catchment remain high, but more generally sediment concentrations have declined by approximately 65 % and the dissolved, bioavailable fraction by 24 % over this period. In addition, from laboratory studies we provide data on the speciation and toxic effects of Ag under different salinity regimes in the euryhaline brown seaweed, Fucus ceranoides. From these exposure experiments, it was found that with increasing Ag concentrations growth was inhibited and lipid peroxidation associated with ROS production increased. The magnitude of the toxic effects was greater at a salinity of 10 than 28 psu which reflects the greater bioavailability of the toxic species of Ag (Ag+ and AgCl0) at reduced salinities. These findings emphasise the importance of investigating the effects of metal pollution in conjunction with other, natural, environmental stressors such as salinity.

Description: Burial of organic carbon in marine sediments has a profound influence in marine biogeochemical cycles and provides a sink for greenhouse gases such as CO2 and CH4. However, tracing organic carbon from primary production sources as well as its transformations in the sediment record remains challenging. Here we examine a novel but growing tool for tracing the biosynthetic origin of amino acid carbon skeletons, based on naturally occurring stable carbon isotope patterns in individual amino acids (δ13CAA). We focus on two important aspects for δ13CAA utility in sedimentary paleoarchives: first, the fidelity of source diagnostic of algal δ13CAA patterns across different oceanographic growth conditions, and second, the ability of δ13CAA patterns to record the degree of subsequent microbial amino acid synthesis after sedimentary burial. Using the marine diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii, we tested under controlled conditions how δ13CAA patterns respond to changing environmental conditions, including light, salinity, temperature, and pH. Our findings show that while differing oceanic growth conditions can change macromolecular cellular composition, δ13CAA isotopic patterns remain largely invariant. These results emphasize that δ13CAA patterns should accurately record biosynthetic sources across widely disparate oceanographic conditions. We also explored how δ13CAA patterns change as a function of age, total nitrogen and organic carbon content after burial, in a marine sediment core from a coastal upwelling area off Peru. Based on the four most informative amino acids for distinguishing between diatom and bacterial sources (i.e., isoleucine, lysine, leucine and tyrosine), bacterially derived amino acids ranged from 10 to 15 % in the sediment layers from the last 5000 years, and up to 35 % during the last glacial period. The greater bacterial contributions in older sediments indicate that bacterial activity and amino acid resynthesis progressed, approximately as a function of sediment age, to a substantially larger degree than suggested by changes in total organic nitrogen and carbon content. It is uncertain whether archaea may have contributed to sedimentary δ13CAA patterns we observe, and controlled culturing studies will be needed to investigate whether δ13CAA patterns can differentiate bacterial from archeal sources. Further research efforts are also needed to understand how closely δ13CAA patterns derived from hydrolyzable amino acids represent total sedimentary proteineincous material, and more broadly sedimentary organic nitrogen. Overall, however, both our culturing and sediment studies suggest that δ13CAA patterns in sediments will represent a novel proxy for understanding both primary production sources, and the direct bacterial role in the ultimate preservation of sedimentary organic matter.

Description: Aurelia spp. is a cosmopolite scyphozoan species and likely the most studied jellyfish in the world. Its pelagic–benthic life cycle is complex, and the benthic asexual reproducing stage (polyp) is acknowledged fundamentally in bloom onset. Despite this, field investigations remain scarce and are mainly restrained to the western Pacific Ocean. Thau lagoon (43°23′59.10″ N 3°36′37.15″ E), a semi-enclosed system that harbours a resident population of Aurelia sp., is in essence a natural laboratory that offers an ideal framework to investigate the life cycle of the species. We here used a non-destructive approach consisting on a field survey over the entire lagoon (ca. 7 ha) and several substrate types by free diving to examine the distribution and habitat use of Aurelia sp. benthic population. We show that polyps were largely distributed over the entire lagoon, settled mainly on artificial hard substrates, thereby stressing the promoting role of anthropogenic perturbations in coastal areas, i.e. habitat modification, for jellyfish proliferations. Therefore, our study suggest a potential increase in Aurelia sp. benthic populations as an outcome of mounting coastal constructions in the near future; the consequences of which ultimately might promote an increase in jellyfish outbreaks.

Description: Upwelling is an important process, bringing gases and nutrients into the ocean mixed layer. The upwelling velocities, however, are too small to be measured directly. Here we use the surface disequilibrium of the 3He / 4He ratio measured in two coastal upwelling regions off Peru in the Pacific ocean and off Mauritania in the Atlantic ocean to calculate the regional distribution of vertical velocities. To also account for the fluxes by diapycnal mixing, microstructure-based observations of the vertical diffusivity have been performed on all four cruises analysed in this study. The upwelling velocities in the coastal regions vary between 1.1 ± 0.3 × 10−5 and 2.8 ± 1.5 × 10−5 m s−1 for all cruises. Vertical velocities are also inferred from the divergence of the wind-driven Ekman transport. In the coastal regimes, both methods agree within the error range. Further offshore, the helium-derived vertical velocity still reaches 1 × 10−5 m s−1, whereas the wind-driven upwelling from Ekman suction is smaller by up to 1 order of magnitude. One reason for this difference is ascribed to eddy-induced upwelling. Both advective and diffusive nutrient fluxes into the mixed layer are calculated based on the helium-derived vertical velocities and the vertical diffusivities. The advective part of these fluxes makes up at about 50 % of the total. The nutrient flux into the mixed layer in the coastal upwelling regimes is equivalent to a net community production (NCP) of 1.3 ± 0.3 g C m2 d−1 off Peru and 1.6–2.1 ± 0.5 g C m2 d−1 off Mauritania.

Description: Estuarine systems play a critical role as nursery areas for some fish species. Nursery function, nevertheless, is likely to vary among estuaries, mostly due to differences in habitat quality. High quality nursery habitats are those in which growth and survival of early stages of fish are enhanced. The nutritional condition of larval fishes has vital implications for their mortality and growth, and thereby their recruitment. This study aimed to compare the nutritional condition of Gichristella aestuaria larvae, using individual RNA-DNA ratios and growth rates in the upper reaches of six estuaries in South Africa to find the environmental factors that better determine the nutritional condition of fish larvae. Physico-chemical factors as well as calorific value of zooplankton were used to correlate to fish body condition. Results showed that the larvae of G. aestuaria from the freshwater rich Gamtoos and the Sundays estuaries were in better nutritional condition than the larvae from other estuaries, while larvae from the Swartkops Estuary, a highly eutrophic system, presented the worst nutritional condition of all studied larvae. Salinity and the abundance of zooplankton were the major factors determining the nutritional condition of G. aestuaria larvae in these warm temperate estuaries. In addition, our results suggest that the match-mismatch hypothesis might also be important in estuarine systems. This study represents one of the few studies worldwide that applied a multispecies growth model for fish larvae in warm temperate estuaries

Description: Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) availability, in addition to other macro- and micronutrients, determine the strength of the ocean's carbon (C) uptake, and variation in the N : P ratio of inorganic nutrient pools is key to phytoplankton growth. A similarity between C : N : P ratios in the plankton biomass and deep-water nutrients was observed by Alfred C. Redfield around 80 years ago and suggested that biological processes in the surface ocean controlled deep-ocean chemistry. Recent studies have emphasized the role of inorganic N : P ratios in governing biogeochemical processes, particularly the C : N : P ratio in suspended particulate organic matter (POM), with somewhat less attention given to exported POM and dissolved organic matter (DOM). Herein, we extend the discussion on ecosystem C : N : P stoichiometry but also examine temporal variation in stoichiometric relationships. We have analyzed elemental stoichiometry in the suspended POM and total (POM + DOM) organic-matter (TOM) pools in the upper 100 m and in the exported POM and subeuphotic zone (100–500 m) inorganic nutrient pools from the monthly data collected at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site located in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean. C : N and N : P ratios in TOM were at least twice those in the POM, while C : P ratios were up to 5 times higher in TOM compared to those in the POM. Observed C : N ratios in suspended POM were approximately equal to the canonical Redfield ratio (C : N : P = 106 : 16 : 1), while N : P and C : P ratios in the same pool were more than twice the Redfield ratio. Average N : P ratios in the subsurface inorganic nutrient pool were ~ 26 : 1, squarely between the suspended POM ratio and the Redfield ratio. We have further linked variation in elemental stoichiometry to that of phytoplankton cell abundance observed at the BATS site. Findings from this study suggest that elemental ratios vary with depth in the euphotic zone, mainly due to different growth rates of cyanobacterial cells. We have also examined the role of the Arctic Oscillation on temporal patterns in C : N : P stoichiometry. This study strengthens our understanding of the variability in elemental stoichiometry in different organic-matter pools and should improve biogeochemical models by constraining the range of non-Redfield stoichiometry and the net relative flow of elements between pools.

Description: The eastern tropical North Atlantic (ETNA) is characterized by a highly productive coastal upwelling system and a moderate oxygen minimum zone with lowest open ocean oxygen (O2) concentrations of around 40 μmol kg−1. Only recently, the discovery of re-occurring mesoscale eddies with sometimes close to anoxic O2 concentrations (〈1 μmol kg−1) and located just below the mixed layer challenged our understanding of O2 distribution and biogeochemical processes in this area. Here, we present the first metagenomic dataset from a deoxygenated anticyclonic modewater eddy in the open waters of the ETNA. In the eddy, we observed a significantly lower bacterial diversity compared to surrounding waters, along with a significant community shift. We detected enhanced primary productivity in the surface layer of the eddy indicated by elevated chlorophyll concentrations and increased carbon uptake rates up to three times as high as in surrounding waters. Carbon uptake below the euphotic zone correlated to the presence of a specific high-light ecotype of Prochlorococcus, which is usually underrepresented in the ETNA. Our combined data indicate that high primary production in the eddy fuels export production and the presence of a specific microbial community responsible for enhanced respiration at shallow depths, below the mixed layer base. Progressively decreasing O2 concentrations in the eddy were found to promote transcription of the key gene for denitrification, nirS, in the O2-depleted core waters. This process is usually absent from the open ETNA waters. In the light of future ocean deoxygenation our results show exemplarily that even distinct events of anoxia have the potential to alter microbial community structures and with that critically impact primary productivity and biogeochemical processes of oceanic water bodies.

Description: Many exploited fish species are threatened with collapse and the European eel is no exception. Its abundance has declined dramatically and various reasons account for this, among them the introduction of the invasive swim bladder nematode Anguillicola crassus. For developing an adequate immune response against this parasite, variation at the genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), a key component of the adaptive immune system, might be essential and assessing their diversity might provide critical information for improving conservation strategies. Here, we characterized the MHC class II of the European eel. We provide evidence for relatively high diversity at both MHC IIA and MHC IIB, which contrasts with findings for other endangered species. Furthermore, both genes show signs of site-specific positive selection. The absence of overall positive selection at MHC IIB might, however, suggests that demographic shifts have negatively impacted that gene, thereby possibly reducing the adaptive potential of the European eel.

Description: Stable carbon isotopes of dissolved inorganic carbon (δ13CDIC) in the ocean are generally not well understood as they are governed by a complex interplay of biological processes and air–sea exchange. In the Arctic Ocean, δ13CDIC values are prone to change in the near future with rapidly changing climate conditions. This study provides a baseline to assess the δ13CDIC of the Arctic Ocean with a focus on upper to intermediate waters (to ~500 m). Measured δ13CDIC values in the Arctic Ocean range from ~−0.6 to +2.2 ‰. In the Eurasian Basin, the δ13CDIC values lie between ~1 and 1.5 ‰ and exhibit little variation within the upper layers. In the Canada Basin, δ13CDIC values reach 2 ‰ in the surface layer, with lowest values of ~−0.6 ‰ found at ~200 m water depth. At greater depth, δ13CDIC values range from ~1 to 1.5 ‰ within both basins. In the Canada Basin, nutrient levels are higher than in the Eurasian Basin and associated variations in δ13CDIC are clearly related to biological processes. However, low δ13CDIC values in the Canada Basin are also strongly influenced by non-equilibrium air–sea exchange processes. The different δ13CDIC patterns between the Canada Basin and the Eurasian Basin appear to be linked to differences in transport processes within the Arctic Ocean halocline. The upper layers in the Canada basins have direct contributions of waters from the Laptev, East Siberian and Chukchi shelves, which contain elevated fractions of river waters and sea-ice related brines, whereas their counterparts, in the Eurasian Basin, are mostly formed by halocline waters from the Barents and Kara seas. River waters have low δ13CDIC of ~−8 ‰ on average, but in the Arctic basins this signal is mostly lost and δ13CDIC values show only a weak correlation to river water fractions contained in the water mass. No relation between δ13CDIC and sea-ice related brine contribution is apparent.

Description: Definition Ocean acidification refers to the process of increasing seawater acidity by dissolving additional carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. As CO2 dissolves in seawater, it forms carbonic acid (H2CO3), which readily dissociates into bicarbonate (HCO3−) and hydrogen (H+) ions. The hydrogen ion concentration determines the acidity of seawater, expressed by the pH scale. Part of the hydrogen ions released in this process is buffered by the seawater carbonate system by consuming carbonate ions (CO32−) and forming additional bicarbonate. As pH is defined as the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration, pH decreases as the acidity increases (Fig. 1). Fig. 1 The process of ocean acidification: (1) atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) dissolving in seawater; (2) dissolved CO2 reacting with water to form carbonic acid (H2CO3); (3) carbonic acid dissociating to bicarbonate (HCO3−) and hydrogen ion (H+); and (4) hydrogen ion reacting with carbonate (CO3 ... This is an excerpt from the content

Description: Results from measurements of wave slope statistics during the R/V Meteor M91 cruise in the coastal upwelling regions off the coast of Peru are reported. Wave slope probability distributions were measured with an instrument based on the reflection of light at the water surface and a method very similar to the Cox and Munk (1954b) sun glitter technique. During the cruise, the mean square slope (mss) of the waves was found to be very variable, despite the limited range of encountered wind speeds. The Cox and Munk (1954b) parameterization for clean water is found to overestimate mss, but most measurements fall in the range spanned by their clean water and slick parameterizations. The observed variability of mss is attributed to the wave damping effect of surface films, generated by increased biological production in the upwelling zones. The small footprint and high temporal resolution of the measurement allows for tracking abrupt changes in conditions caused by the often patchy structure of the surface films.

Description: In recent updates of the HITRAN water vapour H2O spectroscopic compilation covering the blue spectral region (here: 394–480 nm) significant changes for the absorption bands at 416 and 426 nm were reported. In order to investigate the consistency of the different cross-sections calculated from these compilations, H2O vapour column density ratios for different spectral intervals were retrieved from long-path and multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) measurements. We observed a significant improvement of the DOAS evaluation when using the updated HITRAN water vapour absorption cross-sections for the calculation of the reference spectra. In particular the magnitudes of the residual spectra as well as the fit errors were reduced. However, we also found that the best match between measurement and model is reached when the absorption cross-section of groups of lines are scaled by factors ranging from 0.5 to 1.9, suggesting that the HITRAN water vapour absorption compilation still needs significant corrections. For this spectral region we present correction factors for HITRAN 2009, HITRAN 2012, HITEMP and BT2 derived from field measurements. Additionally, upper limits for water vapour absorption in the UV-A range from 330 to 390 nm are given.

Description: The ~16-ka-long record of explosive eruptions from Shiveluch volcano (Kamchatka, NW Pacific) is refined using geochemical fingerprinting of tephra and radiocarbon ages. Volcanic glass from 77 prominent Holocene tephras and four Late Glacial tephra packages was analyzed by electron microprobe. Eruption ages were estimated using 113 radiocarbon dates for proximal tephra sequence. These radiocarbon dates were combined with 76 dates for regional Kamchatka marker tephra layers into a single Bayesian framework taking into account the stratigraphic ordering within and between the sites. As a result, we report ~1,700 high-quality glass analyses from Late Glacial–Holocene Shiveluch eruptions of known ages. These define the magmatic evolution of the volcano and provide a reference for correlations with distal fall deposits. Shiveluch tephras represent two major types of magmas, which have been feeding the volcano during the Late Glacial–Holocene time: Baidarny basaltic andesites and Young Shiveluch andesites. Baidarny tephras erupted mostly during the Late Glacial time (~16–12.8 ka BP) but persisted into the Holocene as subordinate admixture to the prevailing Young Shiveluch andesitic tephras (~12.7 ka BP–present). Baidarny basaltic andesite tephras have trachyandesite and trachydacite (SiO2 〈 71.5 wt%) glasses. The Young Shiveluch andesite tephras have rhyolitic glasses (SiO2 〉 71.5 wt%). Strongly calc-alkaline medium-K characteristics of Shiveluch volcanic glasses along with moderate Cl, CaO and low P2O5 contents permit reliable discrimination of Shiveluch tephras from the majority of other large Holocene tephras of Kamchatka. The Young Shiveluch glasses exhibit wave-like variations in SiO2 contents through time that may reflect alternating periods of high and low frequency/volume of magma supply to deep magma reservoirs beneath the volcano. The compositional variability of Shiveluch glass allows geochemical fingerprinting of individual Shiveluch tephra layers which along with age estimates facilitates their use as a dating tool in paleovolcanological, paleoseismological, paleoenvironmental and archeological studies. Electronic tables accompanying this work offer a tool for statistical correlation of unknown tephras with proximal Shiveluch units taking into account sectors of actual tephra dispersal, eruption size and expected age. Several examples illustrate the effectiveness of the new database. The data are used to assign a few previously enigmatic wide-spread tephras to particular Shiveluch eruptions. Our finding of Shiveluch tephras in sediment cores in the Bering Sea at a distance of ~600 km from the source permits re-assessment of the maximum dispersal distances for Shiveluch tephras and provides links between terrestrial and marine paleoenvironmental records.

Description: In a changing climate, marine pelagic biogeochemistry may modulate the atmospheric concentrations of climate-relevant species such as CO2 and N2O. To date, projections rely on earth system models, featuring simple pelagic biogeochemical model components, embedded into 3-D ocean circulation models. Most of these biogeochemical model components rely on the hyperbolic Michaelis–Menten (MM) formulation which specifies the limiting effect of light and nutrients on carbon assimilation by autotrophic phytoplankton. The respective MM constants, along with other model parameters, of 3-D coupled biogeochemical ocean-circulation models are usually tuned; the parameters are changed until a "reasonable" similarity to observed standing stocks is achieved. Here, we explore with twin experiments (or synthetic "observations") the demands on observations that allow for a more objective estimation of model parameters. We start with parameter retrieval experiments based on "perfect" (synthetic) observations which we distort, step by step, by low-frequency noise to approach realistic conditions. Finally, we confirm our findings with real-world observations. In summary, we find that MM constants are especially hard to constrain because even modest noise (10 %) inherent to observations may hinder the parameter retrieval already. This is of concern since the MM parameters are key to the model's sensitivity to anticipated changes in the external conditions. Furthermore, we illustrate problems caused by high-order parameter dependencies when parameter estimation is based on sparse observations of standing stocks. Somewhat counter to intuition, we find that more observational data can sometimes degrade the ability to constrain certain parameters.

Description: Air-sea dimethylsulfide (DMS) fluxes and bulk air-sea gradients were measured over the Southern Ocean in February-March 2012 during the Surface Ocean Aerosol Production (SOAP) study. The cruise encountered three distinct phytoplankton bloom regions, consisting of two blooms with moderate DMS levels, and a high biomass, dinoflagellate-dominated bloom with high seawater DMS levels (〉 15 nM). Gas transfer coefficients were considerably scattered at wind speeds above 5 m s-1. Bin averaging the data resulted in a linear relationship between wind speed and mean gas transfer velocity consistent with that previously observed. However, the wind-speed-binned gas transfer data distribution at all wind speeds is positively skewed. The flux and seawater DMS distributions were also positively skewed, which suggests that eddy covariance-derived gas transfer velocities are consistently influenced by additional, log-normal noise. A flux footprint analysis was conducted during a transect into the prevailing wind and through elevated DMS levels in the dinoflagellate bloom. Accounting for the temporal/spatial separation between flux and seawater concentration significantly reduces the scatter in computed transfer velocity. The SOAP gas transfer velocity data show no obvious modification of the gas transfer-wind speed relationship by biological activity or waves. This study highlights the challenges associated with eddy covariance gas transfer measurements in biologically active and heterogeneous bloom environments.

Description: Global models of the oceanic nitrogen cycle are subject to many uncertainties, among them type and form of biogeochemical processes involved in the fixed nitrogen cycle, and the spatial and temporal scales, on which the global nitrogen budget is regulated. We investigate these aspects using a global model of ocean biogeochemistry, that explicitly considers phosphorus and nitrogen, including pelagic denitrification and nitrogen fixation as sink and source terms of fixed nitrogen, respectively. The model explores different parameterizations of organic matter sinking speed, oxidant affinity of oxic and suboxic remineralization, and regulation of nitrogen fixation by temperature and different stoichiometric ratios. Examination of the initial transient behaviour of different model setups initialized from observed tracer distributions reveal changes in simulated nitrogen inventories and fluxes particularly during the first centuries. Millennial timescales have to be resolved in order to bring all biogeochemical and physical processes into a dynamically consistent steady state, for which global patterns of biogeochemical tracers and fluxes are reproduced quite well. Analysis of global properties suggests that particularly particle sinking speed, but also the parameterization of denitrification determines the extent of oxygen minimum zones, global nitrogen fluxes, and hence the oceanic nitrogen inventory. However, the ways and directions, in which different parameterizations of particle sinking, nitrogen fixation and denitrification affect the global diagnostics, are different, suggesting that these may, in principle, be constrained independently from each other. Analysis of the model misfit suggests a particle flux profile close to the one suggested by Martin et al. (1987). Simulated pelagic denitrification best agrees with the lower values between 59 and 84 Tg N yr−1 recently estimated by other authors.

Description: Increasing anthropogenic CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is altering sea water carbonate chemistry with unknown biological and ecological consequences. Whereas some reports are beginning to emerge on the effects of ocean acidification (OA) on fish, very little is known about the impact of OA on jellyfish. In particular, the benthic stages of metagenetic species are virtually unstudied in this context despite their obvious importance for bloom dynamics. Hence, we conducted tri-trophic food chain experiments using the algae Rhodomonas salina as the primary producer, the copepod Acartia tonsa as the primary consumer and the benthic life stage of the scyphozoans Cyanea capillata and Chrysaora hysoscella as secondary consumers. Two experiments were conducted examining the effects of different levels of CO2 and food quality (experiment 1) and the effect of food quality and quantity (experiment 2) on the growth and respiration of scyphozoan polyps. Polyp growth and carbon content (µg polyp−1) were not affected by the CO2 treatments, but were significantly negatively affected by P limitation of the food in C. capillata but not in Ch. hysoscella. Growth and carbon content were reduced in low-food treatments, but increased with decreasing P limitation in high- and low-food treatments in C. capillata. Respiration was not significantly influenced by food quality and quantity in C. capillata. We conclude that phosphorus can be a limiting factor affecting the fitness of scyphopolyps and that P-limited food is of poor nutritional quality. Furthermore, OA, at least using realistic end-of-century scenarios, will have no direct effect on the growth of scyphistomae

Description: In remote sensing applications, such as differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS), atmospheric scattering processes need to be considered. After inelastic scattering on N2 and O2 molecules, the scattered photons occur as additional intensity at a different wavelength, effectively leading to filling-in of both solar Fraunhofer lines and absorptions of atmospheric constituents. Measured spectra in passive DOAS applications are typically corrected for rotational Raman scattering (RRS), also called Ring effect, which represents the main contribution to inelastic scattering. In contrast to that, vibrational Raman scattering (VRS) of N2 and O2 has often been thought to be negligible, but also contributes. Consequences of VRS are red-shifted Fraunhofer structures in scattered light spectra and filling-in of Fraunhofer lines, additional to RRS. We describe how to calculate VRS correction spectra in analogy to the Ring spectrum. We discuss further the impact of VRS cross-sections for O2 and N2 on passive DOAS measurements. The relevance of VRS is shown for the first time in spectral evaluations of Multi-Axis DOAS data. This measurement data yields in agreement with calculated scattering cross-sections, that the observed VRS cross-section amounts to 2.2 ± 0.4% of the cross-section of RRS under tropospheric conditions. It is concluded, that this phenomenon has to be included in the spectral evaluation of weak absorbers as it reduces the measurement error significantly and can cause apparent differential optical depth of up to 2.5 × 10−4. Its influence on the spectral retrieval of IO, Glyoxal, water vapour and NO2 in the blue wavelength range is evaluated. For measurements with a large Ring signal a significant and systematic bias of NO2 dSCDs up to (−3.8 ± 0.4) × 1014 molec cm−2 at low elevation angles is observed if this effect is not considered.

Description: Current pressures to mine polymetallic sulfide deposits pose threats to the animal communities found at deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Management plans aimed at preserving these unusual communities require knowledge of historical and contemporary forces that shaped the distributions and connectivity of associated species. As most vent research has focused on the eastern Pacific and mid-Atlantic ridge systems less is known about Indo-Pacific vents, where mineral extraction activities are imminent. Deep-sea mussels (Bivalvia: Mytilidae) of the genus Bathymodiolus include the morphotypic species B. septemdierum, B. brevior, B. marisindicus, and B. elongatus which are among the dominant vent taxa in western Pacific back-arc basins and the Central Indian Ridge. To assess their interpopulational relationships, we examined multilocus genotypes based on DNA sequences from four nuclear and four mitochondrial genes, and allozyme variation encoded by eleven genes. Bayesian assignment methods grouped mussels from seven widespread western Pacific localities into a single cluster, whereas the Indian Ocean mussels were clearly divergent. Thus, we designate two regional metapopulations. Notably, contemporary migration rates among all sites appeared to be low despite limited population differentiation, which highlights the necessity of obtaining realistic data on recovery times and fine-scale population structure to develop and manage conservation units effectively. Future studies using population genomic methods to address these issues in a range of species will help to inform management plans aimed at mitigating potential impacts of deep-sea mining in the Indo-Pacific region.

Description: It has been speculated that macrophytes beds might act as a refuge for calcifiers from ocean acidification. In the shallow nearshores of the western Kiel Bay (Baltic Sea), mussel and seagrass beds are interlacing, forming a mosaic habitat. Naturally, the diverse physiological activities of seagrasses and mussels are affected by seawater carbonate chemistry and they locally modify it in return. Calcification by shellfishes is sensitive to seawater acidity; therefore the photosynthetic activity of seagrasses in confined shallow waters creates favorable chemical conditions to calcification at daytime but turn the habitat less favorable or even corrosive to shells at night. In contrast, mussel respiration releases CO2, turning the environment more favorable for photosynthesis by adjacent seagrasses. At the end of summer, these dynamics are altered by the invasion of high pCO2/low O2 coming from the deep water of the Bay. However, it is in summer that mussel spats settle on the leaves of seagrasses until migrating to the permanent habitat where they will grow adult. These early life phases (larvae/spats) are considered as most sensitive with regard to seawater acidity. So far, the dynamics of CO2 have never been continuously measured during this key period of the year, mostly due to the technological limitations. In this project we used a combination of state-of-the-art technologies and discrete sampling to obtain high-resolution time-series of pCO2 and O2 at the interface between a seagrass and a mussel patch in Kiel Bay in August and September 2013. From these, we derive the entire carbonate chemistry using statistical models. We found the monthly average pCO2 more than 50 % (approx. 640 μatm for August and September) above atmospheric equilibrium right above the mussel patch together with large diel variations of pCO2 within 24 h: 887 ± 331 μatm in August and 742 ± 281 μatm in September (mean ± SD). We observed important daily corrosiveness for calcium carbonates (Ωarag and Ωcalc 〈 1) centered on sunrise. On the positive side, the investigated habitat never suffered from hypoxia during the study period. We emphasize the need for more experiments on the impact of these acidic conditions on (juvenile) mussels with a focus on the distinct day-night variations observed.

Description: The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and the subpolar gyre (SPG) are important elements in mechanisms for multidecadal variability in models in the North Atlantic Ocean. In this study, a 2000-year long global ocean model integration forced with the atmospheric patterns associated with a white noise North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index is shown to have three distinct timescales of North Atlantic Ocean variability. First, an interannual timescale with variability shorter than 15 years, that can be related to Ekman dynamics. Second, a multidecadal timescale, on the 15- to 65-year range, that is mainly concentrated in the SPG region and is controlled by constructive interference between density anomalies around the gyre and the changing NAO forcing. Finally, the centennial timescales, with variability longer than 65 years, that can be attributed to the ocean being in a series of quasi-equilibrium states. The relationship between the ocean’s response and the NAO index differs for each timescale; the 15-year and shorter timescales are directly related to the NAO of the same year, 15- to 65-year timescales are dependent on the NAO index in the last 25–30 years in a sinusoidal sense while the 65-year and longer timescales relate to a sum of the last 50–80 years of the NAO index.

Description: Extraordinarily strong El Niño events, such as those of 1982/1983 and 1997/1998, cause havoc with weather around the world, adversely influence terrestrial and marine ecosystems in a number of regions and have major socio-economic impacts. Here we show by means of climate model integrations that El Niño events may be boosted by global warming. An important factor causing El Niño intensification is warming of the western Pacific warm pool, which strongly enhances surface zonal wind sensitivity to eastern equatorial Pacific sea surface temperature anomalies. This in conjunction with larger and more zonally asymmetric equatorial Pacific upper ocean heat content supports stronger and longer lasting El Niños. The most intense events, termed Super El Niños, drive extraordinary global teleconnections which are associated with exceptional surface air temperature and rainfall anomalies over many land areas.

Description: We report on data from an oceanographic cruise in the Mediterranean Sea on the German research vessel Poseidon in April 2014. Data were taken on a west–east section, starting at the Strait of Gibraltar and ending south-east of Crete, as well on sections in the Ionian and Adriatic Sea. The objectives of the cruise were threefold: to contribute to the investigation of the spatial evolution of the Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW) properties and of the deep water masses in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and to investigate the mesoscale variability of the upper water column. The measurements include salinity, temperature, oxygen and currents and were conducted with a conductivity, temperature and depth(CTD)/rosette system, an underway CTD and an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP). The sections are on tracks which have been sampled during several other cruises, thus supporting the opportunity to investigate the long-term temporal development of the different variables. The use of an underway CTD made it possible to conduct measurements of temperature and salinity with a high horizontal spacing of 6 nm between stations and a vertical spacing of 1 dbar for the upper 800 m of the water column.

Description: This numerical study provides the first simulation of the anthropogenic tritium invasion and its decay product helium-3 (He-3) in the Mediterranean Sea. The simulation covers the entire tritium (H-3) transient generated by the atmospheric nuclear weapons tests performed in the 1950s and early 1960s and is run till 2011. Tritium, helium-3 and their derived age estimates are particularly suitable for studying intermediate and deep-water ventilation and spreading of water masses at intermediate/deep levels. The simulation is made using a high-resolution regional model NEMO (Nucleus for European Modelling of the Ocean), in a regional configuration for the Mediterranean Sea called MED12, forced at the surface with prescribed tritium evolution derived from observations. The simulation is compared to measurements of tritium and helium-3 performed along large-scale transects in the Mediterranean Sea during the last few decades on cruises of R/V Meteor: M5/6, M31/1, M44/4, M51/2, M84/3, and R/V Poseidon: 234. The results show that the input function used for the tritium generates a realistic distribution of the main hydrographic features of the Mediterranean Sea circulation. In the eastern basin, the results highlight the weak formation of Adriatic Deep Water in the model, which explains its weak contribution to the Eastern Mediterranean Deep Water (EMDW) in the Ionian sub-basin. It produces a realistic representation of the Eastern Mediterranean Transient (EMT) signal, simulating a deep-water formation in the Aegean subbasin at the beginning of 1993, with a realistic timing of deep-water renewal in the eastern basin.

Description: Accurate assessment of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and their redistribution among the atmosphere, ocean, and terrestrial biosphere is important to better understand the global carbon cycle, support the development of climate policies, and project future climate change. Here we describe data sets and a methodology to quantify all major components of the global carbon budget, including their uncertainties, based on the combination of a range of data, algorithms, statistics, and model estimates and their interpretation by a broad scientific community. We discuss changes compared to previous estimates as well as consistency within and among components, alongside methodology and data limitations. CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and industry (EFF) are based on energy statistics and cement production data, while emissions from land-use change (ELUC), mainly deforestation, are based on combined evidence from land-cover-change data, fire activity associated with deforestation, and models. The global atmospheric CO2 concentration is measured directly and its rate of growth (GATM) is computed from the annual changes in concentration. The mean ocean CO2 sink (SOCEAN) is based on observations from the 1990s, while the annual anomalies and trends are estimated with ocean models. The variability in SOCEAN is evaluated with data products based on surveys of ocean CO2 measurements. The global residual terrestrial CO2 sink (SLAND) is estimated by the difference of the other terms of the global carbon budget and compared to results of independent dynamic global vegetation models forced by observed climate, CO2, and land-cover change (some including nitrogen–carbon interactions). We compare the mean land and ocean fluxes and their variability to estimates from three atmospheric inverse methods for three broad latitude bands. All uncertainties are reported as ±1σ, reflecting the current capacity to characterise the annual estimates of each component of the global carbon budget. For the last decade available (2005–2014), EFF was 9.0 ± 0.5 GtC yr−1, ELUC was 0.9 ± 0.5 GtC yr−1, GATM was 4.4 ± 0.1 GtC yr−1, SOCEAN was 2.6 ± 0.5 GtC yr−1, and SLAND was 3.0 ± 0.8 GtC yr−1. For the year 2014 alone, EFF grew to 9.8 ± 0.5 GtC yr−1, 0.6 % above 2013, continuing the growth trend in these emissions, albeit at a slower rate compared to the average growth of 2.2 % yr−1 that took place during 2005–2014. Also, for 2014, ELUC was 1.1 ± 0.5 GtC yr−1, GATM was 3.9 ± 0.2 GtC yr−1, SOCEAN was 2.9 ± 0.5 GtC yr−1, and SLAND was 4.1 ± 0.9 GtC yr−1. GATM was lower in 2014 compared to the past decade (2005–2014), reflecting a larger SLAND for that year. The global atmospheric CO2 concentration reached 397.15 ± 0.10 ppm averaged over 2014. For 2015, preliminary data indicate that the growth in EFF will be near or slightly below zero, with a projection of −0.6 [range of −1.6 to +0.5] %, based on national emissions projections for China and the USA, and projections of gross domestic product corrected for recent changes in the carbon intensity of the global economy for the rest of the world. From this projection of EFF and assumed constant ELUC for 2015, cumulative emissions of CO2 will reach about 555 ± 55 GtC (2035 ± 205 GtCO2) for 1870–2015, about 75 % from EFF and 25 % from ELUC. This living data update documents changes in the methods and data sets used in this new carbon budget compared with previous publications of this data set (Le Quéré et al., 2015, 2014, 2013). All observations presented here can be downloaded from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (doi:10.3334/CDIAC/GCP_2015).

Description: The presence of melt ponds on the Arctic sea ice strongly affects the energy balance of the Arctic Ocean in summer. It affects albedo as well as transmittance through the sea ice, which has consequences for the heat balance and mass balance of sea ice. An algorithm to retrieve melt pond fraction and sea ice albedo from Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) data is validated against aerial, shipborne and in situ campaign data. The results show the best correlation for landfast and multiyear ice of high ice concentrations. For broadband albedo, R2 is equal to 0.85, with the RMS (root mean square) being equal to 0.068; for the melt pond fraction, R2 is equal to 0.36, with the RMS being equal to 0.065. The correlation for lower ice concentrations, subpixel ice floes, blue ice and wet ice is lower due to ice drift and challenging for the retrieval surface conditions. Combining all aerial observations gives a mean albedo RMS of 0.089 and a mean melt pond fraction RMS of 0.22. The in situ melt pond fraction correlation is R2 = 0.52 with an RMS = 0.14. Ship cruise data might be affected by documentation of varying accuracy within the Antarctic Sea Ice Processes and Climate (ASPeCt) protocol, which may contribute to the discrepancy between the satellite value and the observed value: mean R2 = 0.044, mean RMS = 0.16. An additional dynamic spatial cloud filter for MERIS over snow and ice has been developed to assist with the validation on swath data.

Description: Large-scale fully coupled Earth system models (ESMs) are usually applied in climate projections like the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) reports. In these models internal variability is often within the correct order of magnitude compared with the observed climate, but due to internal variability and arbitrary initial conditions they are not able to reproduce the observed timing of climate events or shifts as for instance observed in the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), or the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). Additional information about the real climate history is necessary to constrain ESMs; not only to emulate the past climate, but also to introduce a potential forecast skill into these models through a proper initialisation. We attempt to do this by extending the fully coupled climate model Max Planck Institute Earth System Model (MPI-ESM) using a partial coupling technique (Modini-MPI-ESM). This method is implemented by adding reanalysis wind-field anomalies to the MPI-ESM's inherent climatological wind field when computing the surface wind stress that is used to drive the ocean and sea ice model. Using anomalies instead of the full wind field reduces potential model drifts, because of different mean climate states of the unconstrained MPI-ESM and the partially coupled Modini-MPI-ESM, that could arise if total observed wind stress was used. We apply two different reanalysis wind products (National Centers for Environmental Prediction, Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (NCEPcsfr) and ERA-Interim reanalysis (ERAI)) and analyse the skill of Modini-MPI-ESM with respect to several observed oceanic, atmospheric, and sea ice indices. We demonstrate that Modini-MPI-ESM has a significant skill over the time period 1980–2013 in reproducing historical climate fluctuations, indicating the potential of the method for initialising seasonal to decadal forecasts. Additionally, our comparison of the results achieved with the two reanalysis wind products NCEPcsfr and ERAI indicates that in general applying NCEPcsfr results in a better reconstruction of climate variability since 1980.

Description: The hypothesis that the tropical oceans lead the global warming at the Termination I and II by ~2,000 to ~3,000 years (Visser et al. 2003) whereas melting of the northern continental ice masses is lacking behind challenges the Milankovitch theory of climate change and emphasizes the role of the tropics for global climate change. Although the simultaneous multi-proxy approach of planktonic foraminiferal Mg/Ca, δ18O and δ44/40Ca from tropical sediment core SO-164-03-4 (16° 32.37′ N; 72° 12.31′ W; 2,744 m) from the Caribbean tend to confirm the observation by Visser et al. (2003) we interpret the shift between Mg/Ca and δ18O in core SO-164-03-4 to be due to local changes in sea-surface salinity (SSS) variations triggered by glacial/interglacial related shifts of the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).

Description: Marine organisms precipitate 0.5–2.0 Gt of carbon as calcium carbonate (CaCO3) every year with a profound impact on global biogeochemical element cycles. Biotic calcification relies on calcium ions (Ca2+) and generally on bicarbonate ions (HCO3−) as CaCO3 substrates and can be inhibited by high proton (H+) concentrations. The seawater concentration of carbonate ions (CO32−) and the CO32−-dependent CaCO3 saturation state (ΩCaCO3) seem to be irrelevant in this production process. Nevertheless, calcification rates and the success of calcifying organisms in the oceans often correlate surprisingly well with these two carbonate system parameters. This study addresses this dilemma through rearrangement of carbonate system equations which revealed an important proportionality between [CO32−] or ΩCaCO3 and the ratio of [HCO3−] to [H+]. Due to this proportionality, calcification rates will always correlate equally well with [HCO3−]/[H+] as with [CO32−] or ΩCaCO3 when temperature, salinity, and pressure are constant. Hence, [CO32−] and ΩCaCO3 may simply be very good proxies for the control by [HCO3−]/[H+] where [HCO3−] would be the inorganic carbon substrate and [H+] would function as calcification inhibitor. If the "substrate-inhibitor ratio" (i.e. [HCO3−]/[H+]) rather than [CO32−] or ΩCaCO3 controls CaCO3 formation then some of the most common paradigms in ocean acidification research need to be reviewed. For example, the absence of a latitudinal gradient in [HCO3−]/[H+] in contrast to [CO32−] and ΩCaCO3 could modify the common assumption that high latitudes are affected most severely by ocean acidification.

Description: In open-ocean regions, as is the Eastern Tropical North Atlantic (ETNA), pelagic production is the main source of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and is affected by dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and phosphorus (DIP) concentrations. Changes in pelagic production under nutrient amendments were shown to also modify DOM quantity and quality. However, little information is available about the effects of nutrient variability on chromophoric (CDOM) and fluorescent (FDOM) DOM dynamics. Here we present results from two mesocosm experiments ("Varied P" and "Varied N") conducted with a natural plankton community from the ETNA, where the effects of DIP and DIN supply on DOM optical properties were studied. CDOM accumulated proportionally to phytoplankton biomass during the experiments. Spectral slope (S) decreased over time indicating accumulation of high molecular weight DOM. In Varied N, an additional CDOM portion, as a result of bacterial DOM reworking, was determined. It increased the CDOM fraction in DOC proportionally to the supplied DIN. The humic-like FDOM component (Comp.1) was produced by bacteria proportionally to DIN supply. The protein-like FDOM component (Comp.2) was released irrespectively to phytoplankton or bacterial biomass, but depended on DIP and DIN concentrations. Under high DIN supply, Comp.2 was removed by bacterial reworking, leading to an accumulation of humic-like Comp.1. No influence of nutrient availability on amino acid-like FDOM component in peptide form (Comp.3) was observed. Comp.3 potentially acted as an intermediate product during formation or degradation of Comp.2. Our findings suggest that changes in nutrient concentrations may lead to substantial responses in the quantity and quality of optically active DOM and, therefore, might bias results of the applied in situ optical techniques for an estimation of DOC concentrations in open-ocean regions.

Description: Biologists studying animals in their natural environment are increasingly using sensors such as accelerometers in animal-attached ‘smart’ tags because it is widely acknowledged that this approach can enhance the understanding of ecological and behavioural processes. The potential of such tags is tempered by the difficulty of extracting animal behaviour from the sensors which is currently primarily dependent on the manual inspection of multiple time series graphs. This is time consuming and error-prone for the domain expert and is now the limiting factor for realising the value of tags in this area. We introduce TimeClassifier, a visual analytic system for the classification of time series data for movement ecologists. We deploy our system with biologists and report two real-world case studies of its use

Description: A seasonal forecast system is presented, based on the global coupled climate model MPI-ESM as used for CMIP5 simulations. We describe the initialisation of the system and analyse its predictive skill for surface temperature. The presented system is initialised in the atmospheric, oceanic, and sea ice component of the model from reanalysis/observations with full field nudging in all three components. For the initialisation of the ensemble, bred vectors with a vertically varying norm are implemented in the ocean component to generate initial perturbations. In a set of ensemble hindcast simulations, starting each May and November between 1982 and 2010, we analyse the predictive skill. Bias-corrected ensemble forecasts for each start date reproduce the observed surface temperature anomalies at 2–4 months lead time, particularly in the tropics. Niño3.4 sea surface temperature anomalies show a small root-mean-square error and predictive skill up to 6 months. Away from the tropics, predictive skill is mostly limited to the ocean, and to regions which are strongly influenced by ENSO teleconnections. In summary, the presented seasonal prediction system based on a coupled climate model shows predictive skill for surface temperature at seasonal time scales comparable to other seasonal prediction systems using different underlying models and initialisation strategies. As the same model underlying our seasonal prediction system—with a different initialisation—is presently also used for decadal predictions, this is an important step towards seamless seasonal-to-decadal climate predictions.

Description: At present, anthropogenic halogens and oceanic emissions of Very Short-Lived Substances (VSLS) are responsible for stratospheric ozone destruction. Emissions of the, mostly long-lived, anthropogenic halogens have been reduced, and as a consequence, their atmospheric abundance has started to decline since the beginning of the 21st century. Emissions of VSLS are, on the other hand, expected to increase in the future. VSLS are known to have large natural sources; however increasing evidence arises that their oceanic production and emission is enhanced by anthropogenic activities. Here, we introduce a new approach of assessing the overall impact of all oceanic halogen emissions on stratospheric ozone by calculating Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP)-weighted emissions of VSLS. Seasonally and spatially dependent, global distributions are derived exemplary for CHBr3 for the period 1999–2006. At present, ODP-weighted emissions of CHBr3 amount up to 50% of ODP-weighted anthropogenic emissions of CFC-11 and to 9% of all long-lived ozone depleting substances. The ODP-weighted emissions are large where strong oceanic emissions coincide with high-reaching convective activity and show pronounced peaks at the equator and the coasts with largest contributions from the Maritime Continent and West Pacific. Variations of tropical convective activity lead to seasonal shifts in the spatial distribution of the ODP with the updraught mass flux explaining 71% of the variance of the ODP distribution. Future climate projections based on RCP8.5 scenario suggest a 31% increase of the ODP-weighted CHBr3 emissions until 2100 compared to present values. This increase is related to larger convective activity and increasing emissions in a future climate; however, is reduced at the same time by less effective bromine-related ozone depletion. The comparison of the ODP-weighted emissions of short and long-lived halocarbons provides a new concept for assessing the overall impact of oceanic bromine emissions on stratospheric ozone depletion for current conditions and future projections.

Description: Keilhack reported his impressions from his participation at the International Geological Congress in Russia in 1897 in several consecutive articles. In the more than 100 years since that time, a lot has changed. Apart from the totally different style of scientific presentations, with almost no illustrations, except maps, being shown during a talk, field trips were also a very special event, involving huge amounts of logistics. More than 200 people were transported to very remote areas of the European part of Russia. As well as organizing transportation by coaches and horses, places to stay overnight had to be found in large numbers and special regulations had to be issued by the government to allow access to various outcrops. Keilhacks visit of the oil-producing sites around Baku are of special interest, since they belonged obviously to the most productive ones on the globe at that time.

Description: Different genetic types of marine sediments that were deposited on the continental slope of the Kronotskii Peninsula with the rate of several tens of centimeters per thousand years during the last 20 ka have been investigated. It is established that their lithological, mineral, and chemical compositions were determined by climate changes.

Description: After two companies were awarded a 30-year license for the exploration and exploitation of metalliferous sediments in the Atlantis II Deep (Red Sea) in 2011, we herewith present conclusions and recommendations derived from an environmental risk assessment, the Metalliferous Sediment Atlantis II Deep (MESEDA) study, conducted in the period 1977–1981. For economic reasons, this program was discontinued before final report delivery and fell dormant for 30 years. The effects of environmental disturbances of the benthic and the near-bottom water layer habitats in and around the mining site deserve further and more modern risk assessments. We examine the relevance of our 1981 recommendations and of subsequent publications to the extended period of resource extraction planned for this century and recommend more up-to-date risk assessment investigations and evaluations.

Description: Temperature, salinity and oxygen data collected during April and June 2011 (M84/3 and P414 cruises respectively) are analysed to derive the oceanographic characteristics of the Eastern Mediterranean (EM) basin. These observed characteristics are compared with those from previous cruises over the period 1987–2011. As a result, the interannual and decadal variability of the EM thermohaline properties are discussed in the context of the evolution of the Eastern Mediterranean Transient (EMT) and of the general circulation of the basin. We found that the state of the EM is still far from the pre-EMT conditions, though the 2011 results possibly indicate a slow return to this status. In particular, a comparison between thermohaline property evolution deriving from interannual variability of the preconditioning and air–sea interaction (heat fluxes) in the South Adriatic and the Cretan Seas reveals aspects of the alternation of the two dense water sources (Adriatic and Aegean) during the last three decades, which have strong implications for the hydrographic characteristics of the intermediate and deep layers of the Ionian and Levantine basins.

Description: The squat lobster Pleuroncodes monodon is a key species of the highly productive, but oxygen-poor upwelling system of the Eastern Tropical South Pacific. Observations of P. monodon in the water column off Peru have led to the hypothesis that anoxic conditions force this otherwise primarily benthic species to adopt a pelagic lifestyle. Here we show that off Peru, P. monodon can be found in the oxygenated surface water, but also on the anoxic seafloor. Our physiological experiments demonstrate that juvenile and adult specimens have a very low critical respiratory pO2 of 0.5 kPa and that adults survive anoxia for 30.5–70.5 h. Anoxic conditions at the seafloor should therefore force P. monodon to regularly migrate to the oxic surface layer in order to restore energy reserves and recycle metabolic end products of anaerobic metabolism. It was recently estimated that the ammonium supply mediated by diel vertical migrations (DVMs) of zooplankton and nekton considerably fuels bacterial anaerobic ammonium oxidation—a major loss process for fixed nitrogen in the ocean. These estimates were based on the implicit assumption that anoxia does not result in a down-regulation of ammonium excretion. We here show that exposure to anoxia elicits a fourfold reduction in ammonium excretion from 2.1 ± 0.6 µmol h−1 g dry weight−1 under normoxic to 0.5 ± 0.6 µmol h−1 g DW−1 under anoxic conditions in P. monodon. Estimates of ammonium supply to the anoxic core of oxygen minimum zones via DVM therefore are likely too high.

Description: The shrinking Arctic sea ice cover observed during the last decades is probably the clearest manifestation of ongoing climate change. While climate models in general reproduce the sea ice retreat in the Arctic during the 20th century and simulate further sea ice area loss during the 21st century in response to anthropogenic forcing, the models suffer from large biases and the model results exhibit considerable spread. The last generation of climate models from World Climate Research Programme Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5), when compared to the previous CMIP3 model ensemble and considering the whole Arctic, were found to be more consistent with the observed changes in sea ice extent during the recent decades. Some CMIP5 models project strongly accelerated (non-linear) sea ice loss during the first half of the 21st century. Here, complementary to previous studies, we compare results from CMIP3 and CMIP5 with respect to regional Arctic sea ice change. We focus on September and March sea ice. Sea ice area (SIA) variability, sea ice concentration (SIC) variability, and characteristics of the SIA seasonal cycle and interannual variability have been analysed for the whole Arctic, termed Entire Arctic, Central Arctic and Barents Sea. Further, the sensitivity of SIA changes to changes in Northern Hemisphere (NH) averaged temperature is investigated and several important dynamical links between SIA and natural climate variability involving the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and sea level pressure gradient (SLPG) in the western Barents Sea opening serving as an index of oceanic inflow to the Barents Sea are studied. The CMIP3 and CMIP5 models not only simulate a coherent decline of the Arctic SIA but also depict consistent changes in the SIA seasonal cycle and in the aforementioned dynamical links. The spatial patterns of SIC variability improve in the CMIP5 ensemble, particularly in summer. Both CMIP ensembles depict a significant link between the SIA and NH temperature changes. Our analysis suggests that, on average, the sensitivity of SIA to external forcing is enhanced in the CMIP5 models. The Arctic SIA variability response to anthropogenic forcing is different in CMIP3 and CMIP5. While the CMIP3 models simulate increased variability in March and September, the CMIP5 ensemble shows the opposite tendency. A noticeable improvement in the simulation of summer SIA by the CMIP5 models is often accompanied by worse results for winter SIA characteristics. The relation between SIA and mean AMOC changes is opposite in September and March, with March SIA changes being positively correlated with AMOC slowing. Finally, both CMIP ensembles demonstrate an ability to capture, at least qualitatively, important dynamical links of SIA to decadal variability of the AMOC, NAO and SLPG. SIA in the Barents Sea is strongly overestimated by the majority of the CMIP3 and CMIP5 models, and projected SIA changes are characterized by a large spread giving rise to high uncertainty.

Description: Changes in fire activity over the last 8000 years are simulated with a global fire model driven by changes in climate and vegetation cover. The changes were separated into those caused through variations in fuel availability, fuel moisture or wind speed, which react differently to changes in climate. Disentangling these controlling factors helps in understanding the overall climate control on fire activity over the Holocene. Globally the burned area is simulated to increase by 2.5% between 8000 and 200 cal yr BP, with larger regional changes compensating nearly evening out on a global scale. Despite the absence of anthropogenic fire ignitions, the simulated trends in fire activity agree reasonably well with continental-scale reconstructions from charcoal records, with the exception of Europe. For some regions the change in fire activity is predominantly controlled through changes in fuel availability (Australia monsoon, Central America tropics/subtropics). For other regions changes in fuel moisture are more important for the overall trend in fire activity (North America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, Asia monsoon). In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, changes in fuel moisture alone lead to an increase in fire activity between 8000 and 200 cal yr BP, while changes in fuel availability lead to a decrease. Overall, the fuel moisture control is dominating the simulated fire activity for Sub-Saharan Africa. The simulations clearly demonstrate that both changes in fuel availability and changes in fuel moisture are important drivers for the fire activity over the Holocene. Fuel availability and fuel moisture do, however, have different climate controls. As such, observed changes in fire activity cannot be related to single climate parameters such as precipitation or temperature alone. Fire models, as applied in this study, in combination with observational records can help in understanding the climate control on fire activity, which is essential to project future fire activity.

Description: Spatial and temporal characteristics of the Storfjorden polynya, which forms regularly in the proximity of the islands Spitsbergen, Barentsøya and Edgeøya in the Svalbard archipelago under the influence of strong north-easterly winds, have been investigated for the period 2002/2003 to 2013/2014 using thermal infrared satellite imagery. Thin-ice thicknesses were calculated from MODIS ice-surface temperatures, combined with ECMWF ERA-Interim atmospheric reanalysis data in an energy-balance model. Based on calculated thin-ice thicknesses, associated quantities like polynya area and total ice production were derived and compared to previous remote sensing and modeling studies. A basic coverage-correction scheme was applied to account for cloud-gaps in the daily composites. The sea ice in the Storfjorden area experiences a late fall freeze-up in several years over the 12 winter-period, with an increasing frequency of large polynya events until the end of December. During the regarded period, the mean polynya area is 4555.7 ± 1542.9 km2. The average ice production in the fjord is estimated with 28.3 ± 8.5 km3 per winter and therefore lower than in previous studies. Despite this comparatively short record of 12 winter-seasons, a significant positive trend of 20.2 km3 per decade could be detected, which contrasts earlier reports of a slightly negative trend in accumulated ice production prior to 2002. Derived estimates underline the importance of this relatively small coastal polynya system considering its contribution to the cold halocline layer through salt release during ice formation processes.

Description: The variability of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) is studied using a pacemaker technique driven by ENSO in an atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) coupled to a slab mixed layer model. In the pacemaker experiments, sea surface temperature (SST) is constrained to observations in the eastern equatorial Pacific through a q-flux that measures the contribution of ocean dynamics to SST variability, while the AGCM is coupled to the slab model. An ensemble of pacemaker experiments is analyzed using a multivariate EOF analysis to identify the two major modes of variability of the EASM. The results show that the pacemaker experiments simulate a substantial amount (around 45 %) of the variability of the first mode (the Pacific-Japan pattern) in ERA40 from 1979 to 1999. Different from previous work, the pacemaker experiments also simulate a large part (25 %) of the variability of the second mode, related to rainfall variability over northern China. Furthermore, we find that the lower (850 hPa) and the upper (200 hPa) tropospheric circulation of the first mode display the same degree of reproducibility whereas only the lower part of the second mode is reproducible. The basis for the success of the pacemaker experiments is the ability of the experiments to reproduce the observed relationship between El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the EASM.

Description: In aquatic ecosystems, body size has a remarkable influence on the hierarchical structure of food webs and trophic interactions. The trophic relationship between mosquito larvae and copepods offers an exception to the conspicuous feature that the bigger consumes the smaller. We here address this ecological question by investigating the predation impact of the epibenthic cyclopoid copepod Megacyclops formosanus on a 30-h old mosquito larvae Aedes aegypti in a controlled environment. Our quantitative assessment depicted the effect of M. formosanus on 30-h old mosquito larvae. We found that copepod captured mosquito larvae on an average 1.6 ± 0.20 larvae ind−1 h−1 with an attack speed 22.80 ± 8.52 mm s−1. In addition, copepod predation dramatically affected mosquito behavior. In the presence of predator, mosquito larvae significantly decreased browsing and filtering paths, while using mixed foraging tactics and shifting the habitat use from the bottom to surfacing or air–water interfacing. These results provide a mechanistic understanding of the interaction between mosquito and cyclopoid copepods, and show that copepod predation constrains the habitat use of mosquito larvae. Copepod predation pressure results in reduced facultative behavioral responses that challenge mosquito life history and ultimately percolate its population fitness.

Description: Bivalve calcification, particularly of the early larval stages, is highly sensitive to the change in ocean carbonate chemistry resulting from atmospheric CO2 uptake. Earlier studies suggested that declining seawater [CO32−] and thereby lowered carbonate saturation affect shell production. However, disturbances of physiological processes such as acid-base regulation by adverse seawater pCO2 and pH can affect calcification in a secondary fashion. In order to determine the exact carbonate system component by which growth and calcification are affected it is necessary to utilize more complex carbonate chemistry manipulations. As single factors, pCO2 had no effects and [HCO3-] and pH had only limited effects on shell growth, while lowered [CO32−] strongly impacted calcification. Dissolved inorganic carbon (CT) limiting conditions led to strong reductions in calcification, despite high [CO32−], indicating that [HCO3-] rather than [CO32−] is the inorganic carbon source utilized for calcification by mytilid mussels. However, as the ratio [HCO3-] / [H+] is linearly correlated with [CO32−] it is not possible to differentiate between these under natural seawater conditions. An equivalent of about 80 μmol kg−1 [CO32−] is required to saturate inorganic carbon supply for calcification in bivalves. Below this threshold biomineralization rates rapidly decline. A comparison of literature data available for larvae and juvenile mussels and oysters originating from habitats differing substantially with respect to prevailing carbonate chemistry conditions revealed similar response curves. This suggests that the mechanisms which determine sensitivity of calcification in this group are highly conserved. The higher sensitivity of larval calcification seems to primarily result from the much higher relative calcification rates in early life stages. In order to reveal and understand the mechanisms that limit or facilitate adaptation to future ocean acidification, it is necessary to better understand the physiological processes and their underlying genetics that govern inorganic carbon assimilation for calcification.

Description: Mechanisms governing phosphorus (P) speciation in coastal sediments remain largely unknown due to the diversity of coastal environments and poor analytical specificity for P phases. We investigated P speciation across salinity gradients comprising diverse ecosystems in a P-enriched estuary. To determine P load effects on P speciation we compared the high P site with a low P site. Octacalcium phosphate (OCP), authigenic apatite (carbonate fluorapatite, CFAP) and detrital apatite (fluorapatite) were quantitated in addition to Al/Fe-bound P (Al/Fe-P) and Ca-bound P (Ca-P). Gradients in sediment pH strongly affected P fractions across ecosystems and independent of the site-specific total P status. We found a pronounced switch from adsorbed Al/Fe-P to mineral Ca-P with decreasing acidity from land to sea. This switch occurred at near-neutral sediment pH and has possibly been enhanced by redox-driven phosphate desorption from iron oxyhydroxides. The seaward decline in Al/Fe-P was counterbalanced by the precipitation of Ca-P. Correspondingly, two location-dependent accumulation mechanisms occurred at the high P site due to the switch, leading to elevated Al/Fe-P at pH 〈 6.6 (landward; adsorption) and elevated Ca-P at pH 〉 6.6 (seaward; precipitation). Enhanced Ca-P precipitation by increased P loads was also evident from disproportional accumulation of metastable Ca-P (Ca-Pmeta) at the high P site. Here, sediments contained on average 6-fold higher Ca-Pmeta levels compared with the low P site, although these sediments contained only 2-fold more total Ca-P than the low P sediments. Phosphorus species distributions indicated that these elevated Ca-Pmeta levels resulted from transformation of fertilizer-derived Al/Fe-P to OCP and CFAP in nearshore areas. Formation of CFAP as well as its precursor, OCP, results in P retention in coastal zones and can thus lead to substantial inorganic P accumulation in response to anthropogenic P input.

Description: Salinity strongly influences development and distribution of the sea star Asterias rubens. In Kiel Fjord, located in the western Baltic Sea, A. rubens is the only echinoderm species and one of the main benthic predators controlling blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) abundance. However, Kiel Fjord with an average salinity of about 15 is located close to the eastern distribution boundary of A. rubens in the Baltic Sea. In this study, we combined field and laboratory investigations to test whether the salinity of Kiel Fjord is high enough to enable successful development of A. rubens. Sea star eggs were fertilized in vitro, and development was monitored in the laboratory at four salinities (9, 12, 15 and 18) for 10 weeks. At a salinity of 9, development ceased prior to the blastula stage. At a salinity of 12, no larvae reached metamorphosis. At higher salinities, larvae developed normally and metamorphosed into juvenile sea stars. Abundances of A. rubens larvae and settled juveniles were also observed in Kiel Fjord and correlated to salinity values measured from March until June during 6 years (2005–2010). Results revealed high A. rubens settlement rates only in 2009, the year when salinity was the highest and least variable during the period of spawning and larval development. It appears that only years with high and stable salinities permit recruitment of A. rubens in Kiel Fjord. Projected desalination of the Baltic Sea could shift the distribution of A. rubens in the western Baltic Sea north-westwards and may lead to local extinction of a keystone species of the benthic ecosystem.

Description: Benthic communities north of Svalbard are less investigated than in other Arctic shelf regions, as this area was covered by sea-ice during most of the year. Improving our knowledge on this region is timely, however, since climate change is strongly evident there, particularly with regard to the extent of sea-ice decline and its huge ecological impact on all marine biota, including the benthos. Moreover, longer ice-free periods will certainly lead to an increase in human activity levels in the area, including bottom trawling. In two adjacent shelf and slope regions off northern Svalbard, we studied the composition of epibenthic megafauna and seafloor habitat structures by analyzing seabed images taken with both still and video cameras. In addition, we also used an Agassiz trawl to catch epibenthic organisms for ground-truthing seabed-image information. A wide variety of mostly sessile organisms 141 epibenthic taxa were identified in the images. The brittle star Ophiura sarsii and the soft coral Gersemia rubiformis were the most common species. At all stations 〉300 m in depth, evidence of trawling activities was detected at the seabed. The distribution of the benthic fauna in the study area exhibited a clear depth zonation, mainly reflecting depth-related differences in seabed composition. We conclude that natural factors determining the composition of the seafloor mostly affect the distribution and composition of epibenthic assemblages. Anthropogenic impact indicated by the trawl scours found is likely also important at smaller spatial scales.

Description: Present day oceans are well ventilated, with the exception of mid-depth oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) under high surface water productivity, regions of sluggish circulation, and restricted marginal basins. In the Mesozoic, however, entire oceanic basins transiently became dysoxic or anoxic. The Cretaceous ocean anoxic events (OAEs) were characterised by laminated organic-carbon rich shales and low-oxygen indicating trace fossils preserved in the sedimentary record. Yet assessments of the intensity and extent of Cretaceous near-bottom water oxygenation have been hampered by deep or long-term diagenesis and the evolution of marine biota serving as oxygen indicators in today's ocean. Sedimentary features similar to those found in Cretaceous strata were observed in deposits underlying Recent OMZs, where bottom-water oxygen levels, the flux of organic matter, and benthic life have been studied thoroughly. Their implications for constraining past bottom-water oxygenation are addressed in this review. We compared OMZ sediments from the Peruvian upwelling with deposits of the late Cenomanian OAE 2 from the north-west African shelf. Holocene laminated sediments are encountered at bottom-water oxygen levels of 〈 7 μmol kg−1 under the Peruvian upwelling and 〈 5 μmol kg−1 in California Borderland basins and the Pakistan Margin. Seasonal to decadal changes of sediment input are necessary to create laminae of different composition. However, bottom currents may shape similar textures that are difficult to discern from primary seasonal laminae. The millimetre-sized trace fossil Chondrites was commonly found in Cretaceous strata and Recent oxygen-depleted environments where its diameter increased with oxygen levels from 5 to 45 μmol kg−1. Chondrites has not been reported in Peruvian sediments but centimetre-sized crab burrows appeared around 10 μmol kg−1, which may indicate a minimum oxygen value for bioturbated Cretaceous strata. Organic carbon accumulation rates ranged from 0.7 and 2.8 g C cm−2 kyr−1 in laminated OAE 2 sections in Tarfaya Basin, Morocco, matching late Holocene accumulation rates of laminated Peruvian sediments under Recent oxygen levels below 5 μmol kg−1. Sediments deposited at 〉 10 μmol kg−1 showed an inverse exponential relationship of bottom-water oxygen levels and organic carbon accumulation depicting enhanced bioirrigation and decomposition of organic matter with increased oxygen supply. In the absence of seasonal laminations and under conditions of low burial diagenesis, this relationship may facilitate quantitative estimates of palaeo-oxygenation. Similarities and differences between Cretaceous OAEs and late Quaternary OMZs have to be further explored to improve our understanding of sedimentary systems under hypoxic conditions.

Description: Here we show that coupling a high-resolution one-column ocean model to an atmospheric general circulation model dramatically improves simulation of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) to have realistic strength, period, and propagation speed. The mechanism for the simulated MJO involves both frictional wave-convective conditional instability of the second kind (Frictional wave-CISK) and air–sea convective intraseasonal interaction (ASCII). In particular, better resolving the fine structure of upper ocean temperature, especially the warm layer, produces more vigorous atmosphere–ocean interaction and strengthens intraseasonal variations in both SST and atmospheric circulation. This helps organize and strengthen deep convection, inducing a stronger Kelvin-wave like perturbation and frictional near-surface convergence to the east. In addition, the warmer SST ahead of the MJO also acts to destabilize the boundary layer and enhance frictional convergence. These lead to a more realistic eastward-propagating MJO. A suite of sensitivity experiments were performed to show the robustness of the mechanisms and to demonstrate: (1) that mean state differences are not the main contributors to the improved simulation of our coupled model; (2) the role of SST variability in enhancing frictional convergence and intraseasonal variations in precipitation, and (3) that the simulation is significantly degraded when the first ocean model layer is thicker than 10 m. Our coupled model results are consistent with observations and demonstrate a simple but effective means to significantly improve MJO simulation and potentially also forecasts.

Description: Near-inertial oscillations are ubiquitous in the ocean and are believed to play an important role in the global climate system. Studies on wind power input to near-inertial motions (WPI) have so far focused primarily on estimating the time-mean WPI, with little attention being paid to its temporal variability. In this study, a combination of atmospheric reanalysis products, a high-resolution ocean model and linear regression models are used to investigate for the first time the relationship between interannual variability of WPI in the North Atlantic and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), motivated by the idea that the NAO serves as a good indicator for storminess over the North Atlantic and that storms account for the majority of WPI. It is found that WPI at low and high latitudes of the North Atlantic is significantly correlated to the NAO, owing to its influence on the configuration of the storm track. Positive (negative) NAO conditions are associated with increased WPI in the subpolar (subtropical) ocean. Basin-wide WPI is found to be significantly enhanced under negative NAO conditions, but is not significantly different from the climatological average under positive NAO conditions. This indicates a weak inverse relationship between basin-wide WPI and the NAO, contradicting intuitive expectations. The asymmetric impact of the NAO on basin-wide WPI results from greater sensitivity of WPI to near-inertial wind forcing at lower latitudes due to the variation of the Coriolis parameter with latitude.

Description: Nemrut volcano, adjacent to Lake Van (Turkey), is one of the most important peralkaline silicic centres in the world, where magmatism for ~570,000 years has been dominated by peralkaline trachytes and rhyolites. Using onshore and Lake Van drill site tephra samples, we document the phenocryst and glass matrix compositions, confirming a complete spectrum from very rare mafic to dominantly silicic magmas. Magma mixing has been common and, along with the multi-lineage nature of the magmas, indicates that Nemrut has been a very open system where, nevertheless, compositionally zoned caps developed during periods of relative eruptive quiescence. Geothermometry suggests that the intermediate-silicic magmas evolved in an upper crustal magma reservoir at temperatures between 1100 and 750 °C, at fO2 close to the FMQ buffer. The silicic magmas either were halogen poor or exsolved a halogen-rich phase prior to or during eruption. An unusual Pb-rich phase, with up to 98.78 wt% PbO, is interpreted as having exsolved from the intermediate-rhyolitic magmas.

Description: Gel particles such as the polysaccharidic transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) and the proteinaceous Coomassie stainable particles (CSP) play an important role in marine biogeochemical and ecological processes like particle aggregation and export, or microbial nutrition and growth. So far, effects of nutrient availability or of changes in nutrient ratios on gel particle production and fate are not well understood. The tropical ocean includes large oxygen minimum zones, where nitrogen losses due to anaerobic microbial activity result in a lower supply of nitrate relative to phosphate to the euphotic zone. Here, we report of two series of mesocosm experiments that were conducted with natural plankton communities collected from the eastern tropical North Atlantic (ETNA) close to Cape Verde in October 2012. The experiments were performed to investigate how different phosphate (experiment 1, Varied P: 0.15–1.58 μmol L−1) or nitrate (experiment 2, Varied N: 1.9–21.9 μmol L−1) concentrations affect the abundance and size distribution of TEP and CSP. In the days until the bloom peak was reached, a positive correlation between gel particle abundance and Chl a concentration was determined, linking the release of dissolved gel precursors and the subsequent formation of gel particles to autotrophic production. After the bloom peak, gel particle abundance remained stable or even increased, implying a continued partitioning of dissolved into particulate organic matter after biomass production itself ceased. During both experiments, differences between TEP and CSP dynamics were observed; TEP were generally more abundant than CSP. Changes in size distribution indicated aggregation of TEP after the bloom, while newly formed CSP decomposed. Abundance of gel particles clearly increased with nitrate concentration during the second experiment, suggesting that changes in [DIN] : [DIP] ratios can affect gel particle formation with potential consequences for carbon and nitrogen cycling as well as food web dynamics in tropical ecosystems.

Description: Single cell genomics has advanced the field of microbiology to recognizing each microbial cell as a separate and unique entity. The combination of new high-throughput sequencing technologies, constantly improving bioinformatic tools, and single cell genomic/metagenomic workflows has greatly enhanced our understanding of the uncultivated microbial world.

Description: Given the ubiquity of the parasites and their important fitness consequences on mate and offspring condition, selection for the ability to distinguish healthy from parasitized potential mates is a key process to enhance Darwinian fitness. In this study, we experimentally evaluated how the immunological experience of two potential partners influences mate choice, using the sex-role-reversed pipefish Syngnathus typhle. We exposed S. typhle to immune challenges with heat-killed Vibrio bacteria and investigated whether the activation of the immune system determined mate preferences. Our results demonstrate that the immune status of the potential partners influenced female mate preference, such that females that were exposed to an immune challenge became choosy and favored unchallenged males. Males, however, did not show any preferences for female immune status. In this context, we discuss mate choice decisions and behavioral plasticity as a complex result of immune challenge, severity of infection, as well as trans-generational effects.

Description: During the past three decades, coastal marine waters have become among the most invaded habitats globally. Ascidians are among the most notorious invaders in these ecosystems. Owing to their rapid spread, frequent population outbreaks, and associated negative ecological and economic impacts, invasive ascidians have become a global problem. Thus, the study of ascidian invasions has become a prominent area of invasion biology. Here, we review current knowledge and conclude that ascidians are good models for studying invasion success in the marine realm. Firstly, we summarize the reconstruction of invasion pathways or colonization histories and associated negative impacts of invasive ascidians, and address the urgent need to clarify ambiguous taxonomy of ascidians. Secondly, we discuss factors that underlie or facilitate invasion success of ascidians, including vectors of introduction and spread, environmental changes, biological traits, and possible genetic issues. Finally, we summarize current science-based policies and management solutions that are in place to prevent and control spread of invasive ascidians. We conclude by highlighting key research questions that remain to be answered, and propose future research to investigate mechanisms of invasion success in the marine realm using ascidians as model systems.

Description: Marine phytoplankton have developed the remarkable ability to tightly regulate the concentration of free calcium ions in the intracellular cytosol at a level of ~ 0.1 μmol L−1 in the presence of seawater Ca2+ concentrations of 10 mmol L−1. The low cytosolic calcium ion concentration is of utmost importance for proper cell signalling function. While the regulatory mechanisms responsible for the tight control of intracellular Ca2+ concentration are not completely understood, phytoplankton taxonomic groups appear to have evolved different strategies, which may affect their ability to cope with changes in seawater Ca2+ concentrations in their environment on geological timescales. For example, the Cretaceous (145 to 66 Ma), an era known for the high abundance of coccolithophores and the production of enormous calcium carbonate deposits, exhibited seawater calcium concentrations up to 4 times present-day levels. We show that calcifying coccolithophore species (Emiliania huxleyi, Gephyrocapsa oceanica and Coccolithus braarudii) are able to maintain their relative fitness (in terms of growth rate and photosynthesis) at simulated Cretaceous seawater calcium concentrations, whereas these rates are severely reduced under these conditions in some non-calcareous phytoplankton species (Chaetoceros sp., Ceratoneis closterium and Heterosigma akashiwo). Most notably, this also applies to a non-calcifying strain of E. huxleyi which displays a calcium sensitivity similar to the non-calcareous species. We hypothesize that the process of calcification in coccolithophores provides an efficient mechanism to alleviate cellular calcium poisoning and thereby offered a potential key evolutionary advantage, responsible for the proliferation of coccolithophores during times of high seawater calcium concentrations. The exact function of calcification and the reason behind the highly ornate physical structures of coccoliths remain elusive.

Description: Trace element deposition from desert dust has important impacts on ocean primary productivity, the quantification of which could be useful in determining the magnitude and sign of the biogeochemical feedback on radiative forcing. However, the impact of elemental deposition to remote ocean regions is not well understood and is not currently included in global climate models. In this study, emission inventories for eight elements primarily of soil origin, Mg, P, Ca, Mn, Fe, K, Al, and Si are determined based on a global mineral data set and a soil data set. The resulting elemental fractions are used to drive the desert dust model in the Community Earth System Model (CESM) in order to simulate the elemental concentrations of atmospheric dust. Spatial variability of mineral dust elemental fractions is evident on a global scale, particularly for Ca. Simulations of global variations in the Ca / Al ratio, which typically range from around 0.1 to 5.0 in soils, are consistent with observations, suggesting that this ratio is a good signature for dust source regions. The simulated variable fractions of chemical elements are sufficiently different; estimates of deposition should include elemental variations, especially for Ca, Al and Fe. The model results have been evaluated with observations of elemental aerosol concentrations from desert regions and dust events in non-dust regions, providing insights into uncertainties in the modeling approach. The ratios between modeled and observed elemental fractions range from 0.7 to 1.6, except for Mg and Mn (3.4 and 3.5, respectively). Using the soil database improves the correspondence of the spatial heterogeneity in the modeling of several elements (Ca, Al and Fe) compared to observations. Total and soluble dust element fluxes to different ocean basins and ice sheet regions have been estimated, based on the model results. The annual inputs of soluble Mg, P, Ca, Mn, Fe and K associated with dust using the mineral data set are 0.30 Tg, 16.89 Gg, 1.32 Tg, 22.84 Gg, 0.068 Tg, and 0.15 Tg to global oceans and ice sheets.

Description: The Lausitz (Lusatia) Volcanic Field is part of the Central European Volcanic Province, and its magmas represent an alkaline trend from olivine nephelinites and basanites to trachytes and phonolites, typical for intraplate settings. Neighbouring volcanic fields are the České Strˇedohorˇí Mountains to the south-west and the Fore-Sudetic Basin in Lower Silesia to the east. More than 1000 volcanic structures associated with approximately 500 vents have been located within this volcanic field. Residuals of scoria cones, lava lakes, lava flows and maardiatreme in filling occur in situ near the level of the original syn-volcanic terrain. In more deeply eroded structures, volcanic relicts outcrop as plugs or feeders. Evolved rocks occur as monogenetic domes or intrusions in diatremes, while their volcaniclastic equivalents are rare. Twenty-three localities were dated using the 40Ar/39Ar method. The ages range from 35 to 27 Ma, with a focus around 32–29 Ma, indicating Late Eocene and mainly Oligocene volcanism for the LVF. Differentiated rocks appear to be slightly younger than less differentiated. No geographical age clusters are apparent.

Description: A major link between climate and humans in Northern Africa, and the Sahel in particular, is land use and associated land cover change, mainly where subsistence farming prevails. Here we assess possible feedbacks between the type of land use and harvest intensity and climate by analyzing a series of idealized GCM experiments using the MPI-ESM. The base line for these experiments is a simulation forced by the RCP8.5 scenario which includes strong greenhouse gas emissions and anthropogenic land cover changes. The anthropogenic land cover changes in the RCP8.5 scenario include a mixture of pasture and agriculture. In subsequent simulations, we replace the entire area affected by anthropogenic land cover change in the region between the Sahara in the North and the Guinean Coast in the South (4 to 20° N) by either pasture or agriculture, respectively. In a second setup we vary the amount of harvest in case of agriculture. The RCP8.5 base line simulation reveals strong changes in mean agriculture and monsoon rainfall. In comparison with these changes, any variation of the type of land use in the study area leads to very small, mostly insignificantly small, additional differences in mean temperature and annual precipitation change in this region. Within the uncertainty of the representation of land use in current ESMs, our study suggests marginal feedback between land use changes and climate changes triggered by strong greenhouse gas emissions. Hence as a good approximation, climate change can be considered as external driver in models of land-use – conflict dynamics when seasonal or mean values are used as external driver.

Description: As part of the hydrologic cycle, the freshwater system plays a pivotal role for the Arctic Ocean. It maintains the strong stratification in the upper waters and fosters the formation of sea ice on the circum-Arctic shelves from where the ice is being exported toward Fram Strait and into the Nordic Seas. Recent projections of climate change under the greenhouse effect predict severe changes for the hydrologic cycle in the Arctic. This manuscript reviews the current knowledge of past changes in freshwater fluxes to and from the Arctic Ocean and their possible impact on ocean circulation and climate outside the Arctic during the past 200,000 years. It becomes evident that abrupt and large-volume discharges into the Arctic Ocean during times of major climate transitions were capable of disturbing the global ocean circulation and triggering further climate change, e.g., at the onset of the Younger Dryas cold event. During sea-level rise in the Holocene, a connection between the increasing areas available for sea ice formation, the position of the ice margin in the ice export area (the Fram Strait) and the deepwater convection in the Greenland Sea is suggested. Further work is needed to investigate the effects of other catastrophic freshwater discharges from previously ice-dammed lakes in northern Eurasia during the Weichselian and Saalian glaciations. Events like the 8.2 ka and the Younger Dryas, which were associated with flooding and routing of glacial meltwaters and had a significant effect on climate, could serve as a template to better validate the impact of similar occurrences in the past. To date, the actual influence of the earlier events on ocean circulation and climate remains elusive.

Description: This work is dedicated to the study of benthic and planktonic foraminifers and is a contribution to the multidisciplinary investigations of Core PS51/154-11 from the Laptev Sea. The paleoecological analysis of foraminiferal assemblages makes it possible to reconstruct in detail environmental changes on the western continental margin of the Laptev Sea during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. The examined core dated by the AMS radiocarbon method is divided into intervals that reflect main stages in the regional evolution for the last 17.6 k.y.: early deglaciation, Bølling–Allerød warming, Younger Dryas cooling, transition to the Interglacial, Holocene climatic optimum, Middle-Late Holocene. The presence of subpolar planktonic foraminifers and benthic species Cassidulina neoteretis (Tappan) provides grounds to reconstruct for the continental slope area stages of the enhanced activity of subsurface Atlantic-derived water in the intervals of 12.0–14.7 and 0.6–5.4 ka. The benthic assemblage reflects changes in depositional environments related to the postglacial transgression and also climatic change impacts affecting bioproductivity. The events defined on the basis of foraminifers are correlated with climatic oscillations and changes in circulation of water masses.

Description: The Laptev Sea and East Siberian Sea are extended shallow shelf seas which were largely land fallen during glacial periods when the global mean sea level was more than 100 m below its present value. To understand the environmental history, and, in particular, the evolution of the large offshore permafrost complexes in this region, a reconstruction of the sea-level variation and shoreline migration was undertaken. Sufficient geological information by sea-level indicators is missing and, in recent studies, the eustatic sea-level curve is commonly applied, neglecting any isostatic adjustment processes. In this study, we discuss the influence of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA), which describes the deformational response of the solid earth and the resulting sea-level variations due to the water mass redistribution between ice sheets and ocean during a glacial cycle. Motivated as a sensitivity study, we consider GIA-induced sea-level variations from the last glacial maximum (LGM) to present and apply an earth model ensemble which covers the range of reasonable rheological parametrisations for a passive continental margin. The geodynamically consistent sea-level reconstructions are applied to predict the shoreline retreat in the Laptev and East Siberian seas. We confirm with this study that the application of the eustatic sea-level curve is a valid first-order approximation for reconstructing the shoreline position from LGM to present, whereas the sea-level heights away from the shoreline inferred from the eustatic sea-level curve differ markedly from GIA predictions.

Description: Using high-resolution seismic data, this study aims at investigating the evolution and morphological diversity of subsea permafrost features on the eastern Laptev Sea shelf, Arctic Siberia. Several seismic facies were recognized. These relate to the major environmental changes, which affected the Laptev Sea area before, during, and after the last global transgression. Because this shallow shelf was part of the Beringian landmass, we consider a prominent subsurface seismic basal reflector as the top of the former terrestrial permafrost table. Five zones differing in geometry, reflection patterns, depths, and continuity of the permafrost top are identified. Where visible, the upper 70 m of the sediments consists of epigenetically and syngenetically frozen ice-poor sandy deposits at the base, possibly of early last glacial age, marine isotope stages (MIS) 5 and 4. These are followed by late glacial, ice-rich facies interpreted to be MIS 3 to 2. The early Holocene (MIS 1) features well-stratified lagoonal and taberal deposits. As verified by radiocarbon-dated sediment cores, these deposits are overlain by middle to late Holocene sediments with an increasingly marine signature.

Description: The eastern part of the oceanic Cocos Plate presents a heterogeneous crustal structure due to diverse origins and ages as well as plate-hot spot interactions which originated the Cocos Ridge, a structure that converges with the Caribbean Plate in southeastern Costa Rica. The complex structure of the oceanic plate directly influences the dynamics and geometry of the subduction zone along the Middle American Trench. In this paper an integrated interpretation of the slab geometry in Costa Rica is presented based on 3-D density modeling of combined satellite and surface gravity data, constrained by available geophysical and geological data and seismological information obtained from local networks. The results show the continuation of steep subduction geometry from the Nicaraguan margin into northwestern Costa Rica, followed by a moderate dipping slab under the Central Cordillera toward the end of the Central American Volcanic Arc. Contrary to commonly assumed, to the southeast end of the volcanic arc, our preferred model shows a steep, coherent slab that extends up to the landward projection of the Panama Fracture Zone. Overall, a gradual change in the depth of the intraplate seismicity is observed, reaching 220 km in the northwestern part, and becoming progressively shallower toward the southeast, where it reaches a maximum depth of 75 km. The changes in the terminal depth of the observed seismicity correlate with the increased density in the modeled slab. The absence of intermediate depth (〉 75 km) intraplate seismicity in the southeastern section and the higher densities for the subducted slab in this area, support a model in which dehydration reactions in the subducted slab cease at a shallower depth, originating an anhydrous and thus aseismic slab.

Description: In aquatic ecosystems, progesterone (P4) and synthetic progestins (gestagens) originate from excretion by humans and livestock. Synthetic progestins are used for contraception and as P4 for medical treatments as well. Despite significant use, their ecotoxicological implications are poorly understood. Only about 50% of the progestins in use have been analyzed for their environmental occurrence and effects in aquatic organisms. Here we critically summarize concentrations and effects of progestins in aquatic systems. P4 and progestins were mostly detected when analyzed for, and they occurred in the low ng/L range in wastewater and surface water. In animal farm waste and runoff, they reached up to several μg/L. P4 and synthetic progestins act through progesterone receptors but they also interact with other steroid hormone receptors. They act on the hypothalamus– pituitary–gonad axis, lead to oocyte maturation in female and sperm motility in male fish. Additionally, other pathways are affected as well, including the circadian rhythm. Effects of P4, mifepristone and eleven synthetic progestins have been studied in fish and a few compounds in frogs and mussels. Environmental risks may be associated with P4, dydrogesterone and medroxyprogesterone acetate, where transcriptional effects were found at highest environmental levels. Reproductive effects occurred at higher levels. However, norethindrone, levonorgestrel and norgestrel compromised reproduction at environmental (ng/L) concentrations. Thus, some of the progestins are very active endocrine disrupters. This review summarizes the current state of the art and highlights risks for fish. Further research is needed into environmental concentrations and effects of non-investigated progestins, unexplored modes of action, and the activity of mixtures of progestins and other steroids to fully assess their environmental risks.

Description: The Lena River forms one of the largest deltas in the Arctic. We compare two sets of data to reveal new insights into the hydrological, hydrochemical, and geochemical processes within the delta: (i) long-term hydrometric observations at the Khabarova station at the head of the delta from 1951 to 2005; (ii) field hydrological and geochemical observations carried out within the delta since 2002. Periods with differing relative discharge and intensity of fluvial processes were identified from the long-term record of water and sediment discharge. Ice events during spring melt (high water) reconfigured branch channels and probably influenced sediment transport within the delta. Based on summer field measurements during 2005–2012 of discharge and sediment fluxes along main delta channels, both are increased between the apex and the front of the delta. This increase is to a great extent connected with an additional influx of water from tributaries, as well as an increase of suspended and dissolved material released from the ice complex. Summer concentrations of major ion and biogenic substances along the delta branches are partly explained by water sources within the delta, such as thawing ice complex waters, small Lena River branches and estuarine areas.