ALBERT

Description: To examine the atmospheric responses to Arctic sea ice variability in the Northern Hemisphere cold season (from October to the following March), this study uses a coordinated set of large-ensemble experiments of nine atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs) forced with observed daily varying sea ice, sea surface temperature, and radiative forcings prescribed during the 1979–2014 period, together with a parallel set of experiments where Arctic sea ice is substituted by its climatology. The simulations of the former set reproduce the near-surface temperature trends in reanalysis data, with similar amplitude, and their multimodel ensemble mean (MMEM) shows decreasing sea level pressure over much of the polar cap and Eurasia in boreal autumn. The MMEM difference between the two experiments allows isolating the effects of Arctic sea ice loss, which explain a large portion of the Arctic warming trends in the lower troposphere and drive a small but statistically significant weakening of the wintertime Arctic Oscillation. The observed interannual covariability between sea ice extent in the Barents–Kara Seas and lagged atmospheric circulation is distinguished from the effects of confounding factors based on multiple regression, and quantitatively compared to the covariability in MMEMs. The interannual sea ice decline followed by a negative North Atlantic Oscillation–like anomaly found in observations is also seen in the MMEM differences, with consistent spatial structure but much smaller amplitude. This result suggests that the sea ice impacts on trends and interannual atmospheric variability simulated by AGCMs could be underestimated, but caution is needed because internal atmospheric variability may have affected the observed relationship.

Description: Published

Description: 8419–8443

Description: 2A. Fisica dell'alta atmosfera

Description: JCR Journal

Description: The influence of the Atlantic multidecadal variability (AMV) on the North Atlantic storm track and eddy-driven jet in the winter season is assessed via a coordinated analysis of idealized simulations with state-of-the-art coupled models. Data used are obtained from a multimodel ensemble of AMV± experiments conducted in the framework of the Decadal Climate Prediction Project component C. These experiments are performed by nudging the surface of the Atlantic Ocean to states defined by the superimposition of observed AMV± anomalies onto the model climatology. A robust extratropical response is found in the form of a wave train extending from the Pacific to the Nordic seas. In the warm phase of the AMV compared to the cold phase, the Atlantic storm track is typically contracted and less extended poleward and the low-level jet is shifted toward the equator in the eastern Atlantic. Despite some robust features, the picture of an uncertain and model-dependent response of the Atlantic jet emerges and we demonstrate a link between model bias and the character of the jet response.

Description: Published

Description: 347-360

Description: 4A. Oceanografia e clima

Description: JCR Journal

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Clayton, S., Alexander, H., Graff, J. R., Poulton, N. J., Thompson, L. R., Benway, H., Boss, E., & Martiny, A. Bio-GO-SHIP: the time is right to establish global repeat sections of ocean biology. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, (2022): 767443, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.767443.

Description: In this article, we present Bio-GO-SHIP, a new ocean observing program that will incorporate sustained and consistent global biological ocean observations into the Global Ocean Ship-based Hydrographic Investigations Program (GO-SHIP). The goal of Bio-GO-SHIP is to produce systematic and consistent biological observations during global ocean repeat hydrographic surveys, with a particular focus on the planktonic ecosystem. Ocean plankton are an essential component of the earth climate system, form the base of the oceanic food web and thereby play an important role in influencing food security and contributing to the Blue Economy. Despite its importance, ocean biology is largely under-sampled in time and space compared to physical and chemical properties. This lack of information hampers our ability to understand the role of plankton in regulating biogeochemical processes and fueling higher trophic levels, now and in future ocean conditions. Traditionally, many of the methods used to quantify biological and ecosystem essential ocean variables (EOVs), measures that provide valuable information on the ecosystem, have been expensive and labor- and time-intensive, limiting their large-scale deployment. In the last two decades, new technologies have been developed and matured, making it possible to greatly expand our biological ocean observing capacity. These technologies, including cell imaging, bio-optical sensors and 'omic tools, can be combined to provide overlapping measurements of key biological and ecosystem EOVs. New developments in data management and open sharing can facilitate meaningful synthesis and integration with concurrent physical and chemical data. Here we outline how Bio-GO-SHIP leverages these technological advances to greatly expand our knowledge and understanding of the constituents and function of the global ocean plankton ecosystem.

Description: The Bio-GO-SHIP pilot program was funded under the National Oceanographic Partnership Program as an inter-agency partnership between NOAA and NASA, with the US Integrated Ocean Observing System and NOAA's Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing program (HA, SC, JG, AM, and NP). HA was supported by a WHOI Independent Research and Development award. AM was supported by funding from NSF OCE-1848576 and 1948842 and NASA 80NSSC21K1654. JG was funded by NASA from grants 80NSSC17K0568 and NNX15AAF30G. LT was supported by award NA06OAR4320264 06111039 to the Northern Gulf Institute by NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, U.S. Department of Commerce.

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Lamborg, C. H., Hansel, C. M., Bowman, K. L., Voelker, B. M., Marsico, R. M., Oldham, V. E., Swarr, G. J., Zhang, T., & Ganguli, P. M. Dark reduction drives evasion of mercury from the ocean. Frontiers in Environmental Chemistry, 2, (2021): 659085, https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvc.2021.659085.

Description: Much of the surface water of the ocean is supersaturated in elemental mercury (Hg0) with respect to the atmosphere, leading to sea-to-air transfer or evasion. This flux is large, and nearly balances inputs from the atmosphere, rivers and hydrothermal vents. While the photochemical production of Hg0 from ionic and methylated mercury is reasonably well-studied and can produce Hg0 at fairly high rates, there is also abundant Hg0 in aphotic waters, indicating that other important formation pathways exist. Here, we present results of gross reduction rate measurements, depth profiles and diel cycling studies to argue that dark reduction of Hg2+ is also capable of sustaining Hg0 concentrations in the open ocean mixed layer. In locations where vertical mixing is deep enough relative to the vertical penetration of UV-B and photosynthetically active radiation (the principal forms of light involved in abiotic and biotic Hg photoreduction), dark reduction will contribute the majority of Hg0 produced in the surface ocean mixed layer. Our measurements and modeling suggest that these conditions are met nearly everywhere except at high latitudes during local summer. Furthermore, the residence time of Hg0 in the mixed layer with respect to evasion is longer than that of redox, a situation that allows dark reduction-oxidation to effectively set the steady-state ratio of Hg0 to Hg2+ in surface waters. The nature of these dark redox reactions in the ocean was not resolved by this study, but our experiments suggest a likely mechanism or mechanisms involving enzymes and/or important redox agents such as reactive oxygen species and manganese (III).

Description: This work was supported by NSF Grant OCE-1355720 (to CH, CL, and BV).

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Barry, P. H., De Moor, J. M., Chiodi, A., Aguilera, F., Hudak, M. R., Bekaert, D. V., Turner, S. J., Curtice, J., Seltzer, A. M., Jessen, G. L., Osses, E., Blamey, J. M., Amenabar, M. J., Selci, M., Cascone, M., Bastianoni, A., Nakagawa, M., Filipovich, R., Bustos, E., Schrenk, M. O. , Buongiorno, J., Ramírez, C. J., Rogers, T. J., Lloyd, K. G. & Giovannelli, D. The helium and carbon isotope characteristics of the Andean Convergent Margin. Frontiers in Earth Science, 10, (2022): 897267, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.897267.

Description: Subduction zones represent the interface between Earth’s interior (crust and mantle) and exterior (atmosphere and oceans), where carbon and other volatile elements are actively cycled between Earth reservoirs by plate tectonics. Helium is a sensitive tracer of volatile sources and can be used to deconvolute mantle and crustal sources in arcs; however it is not thought to be recycled into the mantle by subduction processes. In contrast, carbon is readily recycled, mostly in the form of carbon-rich sediments, and can thus be used to understand volatile delivery via subduction. Further, carbon is chemically-reactive and isotope fractionation can be used to determine the main processes controlling volatile movements within arc systems. Here, we report helium isotope and abundance data for 42 deeply-sourced fluid and gas samples from the Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ) and Southern Volcanic Zone (SVZ) of the Andean Convergent Margin (ACM). Data are used to assess the influence of subduction parameters (e.g., crustal thickness, subduction inputs, and convergence rate) on the composition of volatiles in surface volcanic fluid and gas emissions. He isotopes from the CVZ backarc range from 0.1 to 2.6 RA (n = 23), with the highest values in the Puna and the lowest in the Sub-Andean foreland fold-and-thrust belt. Atmosphere-corrected He isotopes from the SVZ range from 0.7 to 5.0 RA (n = 19). Taken together, these data reveal a clear southeastward increase in 3He/4He, with the highest values (in the SVZ) falling below the nominal range associated with pure upper mantle helium (8 ± 1 RA), approaching the mean He isotope value for arc gases of (5.4 ± 1.9 RA). Notably, the lowest values are found in the CVZ, suggesting more significant crustal inputs (i.e., assimilation of 4He) to the helium budget. The crustal thickness in the CVZ (up to 70 km) is significantly larger than in the SVZ, where it is just ∼40 km. We suggest that crustal thickness exerts a primary control on the extent of fluid-crust interaction, as helium and other volatiles rise through the upper plate in the ACM. We also report carbon isotopes from (n = 11) sites in the CVZ, where δ13C varies between −15.3‰ and −1.2‰ [vs. Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite (VPDB)] and CO2/3He values that vary by over two orders of magnitude (6.9 × 108–1.7 × 1011). In the SVZ, carbon isotope ratios are also reported from (n = 13) sites and vary between −17.2‰ and −4.1‰. CO2/3He values vary by over four orders of magnitude (4.7 × 107–1.7 × 1012). Low δ13C and CO2/3He values are consistent with CO2 removal (e.g., calcite precipitation and gas dissolution) in shallow hydrothermal systems. Carbon isotope fractionation modeling suggests that calcite precipitation occurs at temperatures coincident with the upper temperature limit for life (122°C), suggesting that biology may play a role in C-He systematics of arc-related volcanic fluid and gas emissions.

Description: This work was principally supported by the NSF-FRES award 2121637 to PB, KL, and JM. Field work was also supported by award G-2016-7206 from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the Deep Carbon Observatory to PB, KL, DG, and JM. Additional support came from The National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development of Chile (FONDECYT) Grant 11191138 (The National Research and Development Agency of Chile, ANID Chile), and COPAS COASTAL ANID FB210021 to GJ. DG was partially supported by funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program Grant Agreement No. 948972—COEVOLVE—ERC-2020-STG.

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Rathore, S., Goyal, R., Jangir, B., Ummenhofer, C., Feng, M., & Mishra, M. Interactions between a marine heatwave and tropical cyclone Amphan in the Bay of Bengal in 2020. Frontiers in Climate, 4, (2022): 861477, https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2022.861477.

Description: Interactions are diagnosed between a marine heatwave (MHW) event and tropical super cyclone Amphan in the Bay of Bengal. In May 2020, an MHW developed in the Bay of Bengal driven by coupled ocean-atmosphere processes which included shoaling of the mixed layer depth due to reduced wind speed, increased net surface shortwave radiation flux into the ocean, increased upper ocean stratification, and increased sub-surface warming. Ocean temperature, rather than salinity, dominated the stratification that contributed to the MHW development and the subsurface ocean warming that also increased tropical cyclone heat potential. The presence of this strong MHW with sea surface temperature anomalies 〉2.5°C in the western Bay of Bengal coincided with the cyclone track and facilitated the rapid intensification of tropical cyclone Amphan to a super cyclone in just 24 h. This rapid intensification of a short-lived tropical cyclone, with a lifespan of 5 days over the ocean, is unprecedented in the Bay of Bengal during the pre-monsoon period (March-May). As the cyclone approached landfall in northern India, the wind-induced mixing deepened the mixed layer, cooled the ocean's surface, and reduced sub-surface warming in the bay, resulting in the demise of the MHW. This study provides new perspectives on the interactions between MHWs and tropical cyclones that could aid in improving the current understanding of compound extreme events that have severe socio-economic consequences in affected countries.

Description: CU acknowledges support from the James E. and Barbara V. Moltz Fellowship for Climate-Related Research and the Independent Research & Development Program at WHOI. MF was supported by the Centre for Southern Hemisphere Oceans Research (CSHOR), which is a joint initiative between the Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (QNLM), CSIRO, University of New South Wales, and the University of Tasmania.

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Großelindemann, H., Ryan, S., Ummenhofer, C., Martin, T., & Biastoch, A. Marine Heatwaves and their depth structures on the Northeast U.S. continental shelf. Frontiers in Climate, 4, (2022): 857937, https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2022.857937.

Description: Marine Heatwaves (MHWs) are ocean extreme events, characterized by anomalously high temperatures, which can have significant ecological impacts. The Northeast U.S. continental shelf is of great economical importance as it is home to a highly productive ecosystem. Local warming rates exceed the global average and the region experienced multiple MHWs in the last decade with severe consequences for regional fisheries. Due to the lack of subsurface observations, the depth-extent of MHWs is not well-known, which hampers the assessment of impacts on pelagic and benthic ecosystems. This study utilizes a global ocean circulation model with a high-resolution (1/20°) nest in the Atlantic to investigate the depth structure of MHWs and associated drivers on the Northeast U.S. continental shelf. It is shown that MHWs exhibit varying spatial extents, with some only occurring at depth. The highest intensities are found around 100 m depth with temperatures exceeding the climatological mean by up to 7°C, while surface intensities are typically smaller (around 3°C). Distinct vertical structures are associated with different spatial MHW patterns and drivers. Investigation of the co-variability of temperature and salinity reveals that over 80% of MHWs at depth (〉50 m) coincide with extreme salinity anomalies. Two case studies provide insight into opposing MHW patterns at the surface and at depth, being forced by anomalous air-sea heat fluxes and Gulf Stream warm core ring interaction, respectively. The results highlight the importance of local ocean dynamics and the need to realistically represent them in climate models.

Description: This work was supported by a DAAD RISE Worldwide fellowship (to HG), a Feodor-Lynen Fellowship by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the WHOI Postdoctoral Scholar program (to SR), and the James E. and Barbara V. Moltz Fellowship for Climate-Related Research (to CU). Franziska Schwarzkopf performed the integration of the OGCM simulations, which was performed on the Earth System Modeling Project (ESM) partition of the supercomputer JUWELS at the Jülich Supercomputing Centre (JSC).

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Smith, A. R., Mueller, R., Fisk, M. R., & Colwell, F. S. Ancient metabolisms of a thermophilic subseafloor bacterium. Frontiers in Microbiology, 12, (2021): 764631, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.764631.

Description: The ancient origins of metabolism may be rooted deep in oceanic crust, and these early metabolisms may have persisted in the habitable thermal anoxic aquifer where conditions remain similar to those when they first appeared. The Wood–Ljungdahl pathway for acetogenesis is a key early biosynthetic pathway with the potential to influence ocean chemistry and productivity, but its contemporary role in oceanic crust is not well established. Here, we describe the genome of a novel acetogen from a thermal suboceanic aquifer olivine biofilm in the basaltic crust of the Juan de Fuca Ridge (JdFR) whose genome suggests it may utilize an ancient chemosynthetic lifestyle. This organism encodes the genes for the complete canonical Wood–Ljungdahl pathway, but is potentially unable to use sulfate and certain organic carbon sources such as lipids and carbohydrates to supplement its energy requirements, unlike other known acetogens. Instead, this organism may use peptides and amino acids for energy or as organic carbon sources. Additionally, genes involved in surface adhesion, the import of metallic cations found in Fe-bearing minerals, and use of molecular hydrogen, a product of serpentinization reactions between water and olivine, are prevalent within the genome. These adaptations are likely a reflection of local environmental micro-niches, where cells are adapted to life in biofilms using ancient chemosynthetic metabolisms dependent on H2 and iron minerals. Since this organism is phylogenetically distinct from a related acetogenic group of Clostridiales, we propose it as a new species, Candidatus Acetocimmeria pyornia.

Description: Metagenome sequencing was made possible by the Deep Carbon Observatory Census of Deep Life supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and was performed at the Marine Biological Laboratory (Woods Hole, MA, United States). This work was funded by NASA grant NNX08AO22G and a graduate fellowship from the NSF Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations. The flow cells were funded under J0972A from the U.S. Science Support Program of Joint Oceanographic Institutions.

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Johri, S., Carnevale, M., Porter, L., Zivian, A., Kourantidou, M., Meyer, E. L., Seevers, J., & Skubel, R. A. Pathways to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in marine science and conservation. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, (2021): 696180, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.696180.

Description: Marine conservation sciences have traditionally been, and remain, non-diverse work environments with many barriers to justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI). These barriers disproportionately affect entry of early career scientists and practitioners and limit the success of marine conservation professionals from under-represented, marginalized, and overburdened groups. These groups specifically include women, LGBTQ+, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). However, the issues also arise from the global North/South and East/West divide with under-representation of scientists from the South and East in the global marine conservation and science arena. Persisting inequities in conservation, along with a lack of inclusiveness and diversity, also limit opportunities for innovation, cross-cultural knowledge exchange, and effective implementation of conservation and management policies. As part of its mandate to increase diversity and promote inclusion of underrepresented groups, the Diversity and Inclusion committee of the Society for Conservation Biology-Marine Section (SCB Marine) organized a JEDI focus group at the Sixth International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC6) which was held virtually. The focus group included a portion of the global cohort of IMCC6 attendees who identified issues affecting JEDI in marine conservation and explored pathways to address those issues. Therefore, the barriers and pathways identified here focus on issues pertinent to participants’ global regions and experiences. Several barriers to just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive conservation science and practice were identified. Examples included limited participation of under-represented minorities (URM) in research networks, editorial biases against URM, limited professional development and engagement opportunities for URM and non-English speakers, barriers to inclusion of women, LGBTQ+, and sensory impaired individuals, and financial barriers to inclusion of URM in all aspects of marine conservation and research. In the current policy brief, we explore these barriers, assess how they limit progress in marine conservation research and practice, and seek to identify initiatives for improvements. We expect the initiatives discussed here to advances practices rooted in principles of JEDI, within SCB Marine and, the broader conservation community. The recommendations and perspectives herein broadly apply to conservation science and practice, and are critical to effective and sustainable conservation and management outcomes.

Description: The Society for Conservation – Marine Section provided partial funding to support publication costs of this manuscript.

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Little, S. N., van Hengstum, P. J., Beddows, P. A., Donnelly, J. P., Winkler, T. S., & Albury, N. A. . Unique habitat for benthic foraminifera in subtidal blue holes on carbonate platforms. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9, (2021): 794728, https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.794728.

Description: Dissolution of carbonate platforms, like The Bahamas, throughout Quaternary sea-level oscillations have created mature karst landscapes that can include sinkholes and off-shore blue holes. These karst features are flooded by saline oceanic waters and meteoric-influenced groundwaters, which creates unique groundwater environments and ecosystems. Little is known about the modern benthic meiofauna, like foraminifera, in these environments or how internal hydrographic characteristics of salinity, dissolved oxygen, or pH may influence benthic habitat viability. Here we compare the total benthic foraminiferal distributions in sediment-water interface samples collected from 〈2 m water depth on the carbonate tidal flats, and the two subtidal blue holes Freshwater River Blue Hole and Meredith’s Blue Hole, on the leeward margin of Great Abaco Island, The Bahamas. All samples are dominated by miliolid foraminifera (i.e., Quinqueloculina and Triloculina), yet notable differences emerge in the secondary taxa between these two environments that allows identification of two assemblages: a Carbonate Tidal Flats Assemblage (CTFA) vs. a Blue Hole Assemblage (BHA). The CTFA includes abundant common shallow-water lagoon foraminifera (e.g., Peneroplis, Rosalina, Rotorbis), while the BHA has higher proportions of foraminifera that are known to tolerate stressful environmental conditions of brackish and dysoxic waters elsewhere (e.g., Pseudoeponides, Cribroelphidium, Ammonia). We also observe how the hydrographic differences between subtidal blue holes can promote different benthic habitats for foraminifera, and this is observed through differences in both agglutinated and hyaline fauna. The unique hydrographic conditions in subtidal blue holes make them great laboratories for assessing the response of benthic foraminiferal communities to extreme environmental conditions (e.g., low pH, dysoxia).

Description: The financial support for this work was provided by grants from the National Science Foundation to PvH (EAR-1833117) and JD (EAR-1702946).

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Loomis, R., Cooley, S. R., Collins, J. R., Engler, S., & Suatoni, L. A code of conduct is imperative for ocean carbon dioxide removal research. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, (2022): 872800, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.872800.

Description: As the impacts of rising temperatures mount and the global transition to clean energy advances only gradually, scientists and policymakers are looking towards carbon dioxide removal (CDR) methods to prevent the worst impacts of climate change. Attention has increasingly focused on ocean CDR techniques, which enhance or restore marine systems to sequester carbon. Ocean CDR research presents the risk of uncertain impacts to human and environmental welfare, yet there are no domestic regulations aimed at ensuring the safety and efficacy of this research. A code of conduct that establishes principles of responsible research, fairness, and equity is needed in this field. This article presents fifteen key components of an ocean CDR research code of conduct.

Description: JC acknowledges funding support from Bezos Earth Fund.

Description: Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2022. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 103(6), (2022): E1502-E1521, https://doi.org/10.1175/bams-d-21-0227.1.

Description: Climate observations inform about the past and present state of the climate system. They underpin climate science, feed into policies for adaptation and mitigation, and increase awareness of the impacts of climate change. The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), a body of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), assesses the maturity of the required observing system and gives guidance for its development. The Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) are central to GCOS, and the global community must monitor them with the highest standards in the form of Climate Data Records (CDR). Today, a single ECV—the sea ice ECV—encapsulates all aspects of the sea ice environment. In the early 1990s it was a single variable (sea ice concentration) but is today an umbrella for four variables (adding thickness, edge/extent, and drift). In this contribution, we argue that GCOS should from now on consider a set of seven ECVs (sea ice concentration, thickness, snow depth, surface temperature, surface albedo, age, and drift). These seven ECVs are critical and cost effective to monitor with existing satellite Earth observation capability. We advise against placing these new variables under the umbrella of the single sea ice ECV. To start a set of distinct ECVs is indeed critical to avoid adding to the suboptimal situation we experience today and to reconcile the sea ice variables with the practice in other ECV domains.

Description: PH’s contribution was funded under the Australian Government’s Antarctic Science Collaboration Initiative program, and contributes to Project 6 of the Australian Antarctic Program Partnership (ASCI000002). PH acknowledges support through the Australian Antarctic Science Projects 4496 and 4506, and the International Space Science Institute (Bern, Switzerland) project #405.

Description: 2022-12-01

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Semper, S., Glessmer, M., Våge, K., & Pickart, R. How warm Gulf Stream water sustains a cold underwater waterfall. Frontiers for Young Minds, 10, (2022): 765740, https://doi.org/10.3389/frym.2022.765740.

Description: The most famous ocean current, the Gulf Stream, is part of a large system of currents that brings warm water from Florida to Europe. It is a main reason for northwestern Europe’s mild climate. What happens to the warm water that flows northward, since it cannot just pile up? It turns out that the characteristics of the water change: in winter, the ocean warms the cold air above it, and the water becomes colder. Cold seawater, which is heavier than warm seawater, sinks down to greater depths. But what happens to the cold water that disappears from the surface? While on a research ship, we discovered a new ocean current that solves this riddle. The current brings the cold water to an underwater mountain ridge. The water spills over the ridge as an underwater waterfall before it continues its journey, deep in the ocean, back toward the equator.

Description: Support for this work was provided by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 101022251 (SS), the Trond Mohn Foundation Grant BFS2016REK01 (SS and KV), and the U.S. National Science Foundation Grants OCE-1558742 and OCE-1259618 (RP).

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in van Beek, P., François, R., Honda, M., Charette, M., Reyss, J.-L., Ganeshram, R., Monnin, C., & Honjo, S. Fractionation of 226Ra and Ba in the upper North Pacific Ocean. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, (2022): 859117, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.859117.

Description: Investigations conducted during the GEOSECS program concluded that radium-226 (T1/2 = 1602 y) and barium are tightly correlated in waters above 2500 m in the Atlantic, Pacific and Antarctic Oceans, with a fairly uniform 226Ra/Ba ratio of 2.3 ± 0.2 dpm µmol-1 (4.6 nmol 226Ra/mol Ba). Here, we report new 226Ra and Ba data obtained at three different stations in the Pacific Ocean: stations K1 and K3 in the North-West Pacific and station old Hale Aloha, off Hawaii Island. The relationship between 226Ra and Ba found at these stations is broadly consistent with that reported during the GEOSECS program. At the three investigated stations, however, we find that the 226Ra/Ba ratios are significantly lower in the upper 500 m of the water column than at greater depths, a pattern that was overlooked during the GEOSECS program, either because of the precision of the measurements or because of the relatively low sampling resolution in the upper 500 m. Although not always apparent in individual GEOSECS profiles, this trend was noted before from the non-zero intercept of the linear regression when plotting the global data set of Ba versus 226Ra seawater concentration and was attributed, at least in part, to the predominance of surface input from rivers for Ba versus bottom input from sediments for 226Ra. Similarly, low 226Ra/Ba ratios in the upper 500 m have been reported in other oceanic basins (e.g. Atlantic Ocean). Parallel to the low 226Ra/Ba ratios in seawater, higher 226Ra/Ba ratios were found in suspended particles collected in the upper 500 m. This suggests that fractionation between the two elements may contribute to the lower 226Ra/Ba ratios found in the upper 500 m, with 226Ra being preferentially removed from surface water, possibly as a result of mass fractionation during celestite formation by acantharians and/or barite precipitation, since both chemical elements have similar ionic radius and the same configuration of valence electrons. This finding has implications for dating of marine carbonates by 226Ra, which requires a constant initial 226Ra/Ba ratio incorporated in the shells and for using 226Ra as an abyssal circulation and mixing tracer.

Description: This work was supported by a Lavoisier fellowship attributed by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to PB in year 2002 and by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). This work was completed at the University of Edinburgh in 2003, while PB was a postdoctoral fellow there, with a Marie Curie fellowship from the European Union. The European Union is thus also thanked. MC acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation, Chemical Oceanography program.

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in LeKieffre, C., Jauffrais, T., Bernhard, J., Filipsson, H., Schmidt, C., Roberge, H., Maire, O., Panieri, G., Geslin, E., & Meibom, A. Ammonium and sulfate assimilation is widespread in benthic foraminifera. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, (2022): 861945, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.861945.

Description: Nitrogen and sulfur are key elements in the biogeochemical cycles of marine ecosystems to which benthic foraminifera contribute significantly. Yet, cell-specific assimilation of ammonium, nitrate and sulfate by these protists is poorly characterized and understood across their wide range of species-specific trophic strategies. For example, detailed knowledge about ammonium and sulfate assimilation pathways is lacking and although some benthic foraminifera are known to maintain intracellular pools of nitrate and/or to denitrify, the potential use of nitrate-derived nitrogen for anabolic processes has not been systematically studied. In the present study, NanoSIMS isotopic imaging correlated with transmission electron microscopy was used to trace the incorporation of isotopically labeled inorganic nitrogen (ammonium or nitrate) and sulfate into the biomass of twelve benthic foraminiferal species from different marine environments. On timescales of twenty hours, no detectable 15N-enrichments from nitrate assimilation were observed in species known to perform denitrification, indicating that, while denitrifying foraminifera store intra-cellular nitrate, they do not use nitrate-derived nitrogen to build their biomass. Assimilation of both ammonium and sulfate, with corresponding 15N and 34S-enrichments, were observed in all species investigated (with some individual exceptions for sulfate). Assimilation of ammonium and sulfate thus can be considered widespread among benthic foraminifera. These metabolic capacities may help to underpin the ability of benthic foraminifera to colonize highly diverse marine habitats.

Description: This work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant no. 200021_149333), and a postdoctoral fellowship allowed to CL by the University Loire-Bretagne. SBB sampling was funded by US National Science Foundation grant BIO IOS 1557430 to JMB, who also acknowledges NASA grant #80NSSC21K0478 for partial support. HF acknowledges funding from the Swedish Research Council VR (grant number 2017-04190). Svalbard sampling was supported by the Research Council of Norway through CAGE (Center for Excellence in Arctic Gas Hydrate Environment and Climate, project number 223259) and NORCRUST (project number 255150) to GP and the fellowship MOPGA (Make Our Planet Great Again) by CAMPUS France to CS.

Description: Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2022. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 52(6), (2022): 1233-1244, https://doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-21-0223.1.

Description: The Sverdrup relation is the backbone of wind-driven circulation theory; it is a simple relation between the meridional transport of the wind-driven circulation in the upper ocean and the wind stress curl. However, the relation is valid for steady circulation only. In this study, a time-dependent Sverdrup relation is postulated, in which the meridional transport in a time-dependent circulation is the sum of the local wind stress curl term and a time-delayed term representing the effect of the eastern boundary condition. As an example, this time-dependent Sverdrup relation is evaluated through its application to the equatorial circulation in the Indian Ocean, using reanalysis data and a reduced gravity model. Close examination reveals that the southward Somali Current occurring during boreal winter is due to the combination of the local wind stress curl in the Arabian Sea and delayed signals representing the time change of layer thickness at the eastern boundary.

Description: This work is supported by NSFC (41822602, 41976016, 42005035, 42076021), the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB42000000, XDA 20060502), Key Special Project for Introduced Talents Team of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou) (GML2019ZD0306), Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2021A1515011534), Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS, ISEE2021ZD01, and LTOZZ2002. The numerical simulation is supported by the High-Performance Computing Division in the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology.

Description: 2022-11-27

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Boss, E., Waite, A., Karstensen, J., Trull, T., Muller-Karger, F., Sosik, H., Uitz, J., Acinas, S., Fennel, K., Berman-Frank, I., Thomalla, S., Yamazaki, H., Batten, S., Gregori, G., Richardson, A., & Wanninkhof, R. Recommendations for plankton measurements on OceanSITES moorings with relevance to other observing sites. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, (2022): 929436, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.929436.

Description: Measuring plankton and associated variables as part of ocean time-series stations has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of ocean biology and ecology and their ties to ocean biogeochemistry. It will open temporal scales (e.g., resolving diel cycles) not typically sampled as a function of depth. In this review we motivate the addition of biological measurements to time-series sites by detailing science questions they could help address, reviewing existing technology that could be deployed, and providing examples of time-series sites already deploying some of those technologies. We consider here the opportunities that exist through global coordination within the OceanSITES network for long-term (climate) time series station in the open ocean. Especially with respect to data management, global solutions are needed as these are critical to maximize the utility of such data. We conclude by providing recommendations for an implementation plan.

Description: This work was partially supported from funding to SCOR WG 154 (P-OBS) provided by national committees of the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR) and from a grant to SCOR from the U.S. National Science Foundation (OCE-1840868). FM-K acknowledges the support provided for participation by the Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) sponsored by NASA, NOAA, ONR, BOEM. HS acknowledges support from the Simons Foundation.

Description: Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2022. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 52(7), (2022): 1333-1350, https://doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-21-0298.1.

Description: Idealized numerical simulations were conducted to investigate the influence of channel curvature on estuarine stratification and mixing. Stratification is decreased and tidal energy dissipation is increased in sinuous estuaries compared to straight channel estuaries. We applied a vertical salinity variance budget to quantify the influence of straining and mixing on stratification. Secondary circulation due to the channel curvature is found to affect stratification in sinuous channels through both lateral straining and enhanced vertical mixing. Alternating negative and positive lateral straining occur in meanders upstream and downstream of the bend apex, respectively, corresponding to the normal and reversed secondary circulation with curvature. The vertical mixing is locally enhanced in curved channels with the maximum mixing located upstream of the bend apex. Bend-scale bottom salinity fronts are generated near the inner bank upstream of the bend apex as a result of interaction between the secondary flow and stratification. Shear mixing at bottom fronts, instead of overturning mixing by the secondary circulation, provides the dominant mechanism for destruction of stratification. Channel curvature can also lead to increased drag, and using a Simpson number with this increased drag coefficient can relate the decrease in stratification with curvature to the broader estuarine parameter space.

Description: The research leading to these results was funded by NSF Awards OCE-1634481 and OCE-2123002.

Description: 2022-12-09

Description: Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2022. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 52(7), (2022): 1415–1430. https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-21-0147.1.

Description: Strong subinertial variability near a seamount at the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea was revealed by mooring observations from January 2017 to January 2018. The intraseasonal deep flows presented two significant frequency bands, with periods of 9–20 and 30–120 days, corresponding to topographic Rossby waves (TRWs) and deep eddies, respectively. The TRW and deep eddy signals explained approximately 60% of the kinetic energy of the deep subinertial currents. The TRWs at the Ma, Mb, and Mc moorings had 297, 262, and 274 m vertical trapping lengths, and ∼43, 38, and 55 km wavelengths, respectively. Deep eddies were independent from the upper layer, with the largest temperature anomaly being 〉0.4°C. The generation of the TRWs was induced by mesoscale perturbations in the upper layer. The interaction between the cyclonic–anticyclonic eddy pair and the seamount topography contributed to the generation of deep eddies. Owing to the potential vorticity conservation, the westward-propagating tilted interface across the eddy pair squeezed the deep-water column, thereby giving rise to negative vorticity west of the seamount. The strong front between the eddy pair induced a northward deep flow, thereby generating a strong horizontal velocity shear because of lateral friction and enhanced negative vorticity. Approximately 4 years of observations further confirmed the high occurrence of TRWs and deep eddies. TRWs and deep eddies might be crucial for deep mixing near rough topographies by transferring mesoscale energy to small scales.

Description: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (92158204, 91958202, 42076019, 41776036, 91858203), the Open Project Program of State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography (project LTOZZ2001), and Key Special Project for Introduced Talents Team of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou) (GML2019ZD0304).

Description: 2022-12-16

Description: Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2022. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 52(12), (2022): 2923–2933, https://doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-22-0064.1.

Description: The characteristics and dynamics of depth-average along-shelf currents at monthly and longer time scales are examined using 17 years of observations from the Martha’s Vineyard Coastal Observatory on the southern New England inner shelf. Monthly averages of the depth-averaged along-shelf current are almost always westward, with the largest interannual variability in winter. There is a consistent annual cycle with westward currents of 5 cm s−1 in summer decreasing to 1–2 cm s−1 in winter. Both the annual cycle and interannual variability in the depth-average along-shelf current are predominantly driven by the along-shelf wind stress. In the absence of wind forcing, there is a westward flow of ∼5 cm s−1 throughout the year. At monthly time scales, the depth-average along-shelf momentum balance is primarily between the wind stress, surface gravity wave–enhanced bottom stress, and an opposing pressure gradient that sets up along the southern New England shelf in response to the wind. Surface gravity wave enhancement of bottom stress is substantial over the inner shelf and is essential to accurately estimating the bottom stress variation across the inner shelf.

Description: The National Science Foundation, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, and the Office of Naval Research have supported the construction and maintenance of MVCO. The analysis presented here was partially funded by the National Science Foundation under Grants OCE 1558874 and OCE 1655686.

Description: Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2022. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 52(12), (2022): 2909-2921, https://doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-22-0063.1.

Description: A remarkably consistent Lagrangian upwelling circulation at monthly and longer time scales is observed in a 17-yr time series of current profiles in 12 m of water on the southern New England inner shelf. The upwelling circulation is strongest in summer, with a current magnitude of ∼1 cm s−1, which flushes the inner shelf in ∼2.5 days. The average winter upwelling circulation is about one-half of the average summer upwelling circulation, but with larger month-to-month variations driven, in part, by cross-shelf wind stresses. The persistent upwelling circulation is not wind-driven; it is driven by a cross-shelf buoyancy force associated with less-dense water near the coast. The cross-shelf density gradient is primarily due to temperature in summer, when strong surface heating warms shallower nearshore water more than deeper offshore water, and to salinity in winter, caused by fresher water near the coast. In the absence of turbulent stresses, the cross-shelf density gradient would be in a geostrophic, thermal-wind balance with the vertical shear in the along-shelf current. However, turbulent stresses over the inner shelf attributable to strong tidal currents and wind stress cause a partial breakdown of the thermal-wind balance that releases the buoyancy force, which drives the observed upwelling circulation. The presence of a cross-shelf density gradient has a profound impact on exchange across this inner shelf. Many inner shelves are characterized by turbulent stresses and cross-shelf density gradients with lighter water near the coast, suggesting turbulent thermal-wind-driven coastal upwelling may be a broadly important cross-shelf exchange mechanism.

Description: The National Science Foundation, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, and the Office of Naval Research have supported the construction and maintenance of MVCO. The analysis presented here was partially funded by the National Science Foundation under Grants OCE 1558874 and OCE 1655686.

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Subhas, A., Marx, L., Reynolds, S., Flohr, A., Mawji, E., Brown, P., & Cael, B. Microbial ecosystem responses to alkalinity enhancement in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre. Frontiers in Climate, 4, (2022): 784997, https://doi.org/10.3389./fclim.2022.784997

Description: In addition to reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, actively removing CO2 from the atmosphere is widely considered necessary to keep global warming well below 2°C. Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE) describes a suite of such CO2 removal processes that all involve enhancing the buffering capacity of seawater. In theory, OAE both stores carbon and offsets ocean acidification. In practice, the response of the marine biogeochemical system to OAE must be demonstrably negligible, or at least manageable, before it can be deployed at scale. We tested the OAE response of two natural seawater mixed layer microbial communities in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre, one at the Western gyre boundary, and one in the middle of the gyre. We conducted 4-day microcosm incubation experiments at sea, spiked with three increasing amounts of alkaline sodium salts and a 13C-bicarbonate tracer at constant pCO2. We then measured a suite of dissolved and particulate parameters to constrain the chemical and biological response to these additions. Microbial communities demonstrated occasionally measurable, but mostly negligible, responses to alkalinity enhancement. Neither site showed a significant increase in biologically produced CaCO3, even at extreme alkalinity loadings of +2,000 μmol kg−1. At the gyre boundary, alkalinity enhancement did not significantly impact net primary production rates. In contrast, net primary production in the central gyre decreased by ~30% in response to alkalinity enhancement. The central gyre incubations demonstrated a shift toward smaller particle size classes, suggesting that OAE may impact community composition and/or aggregation/disaggregation processes. In terms of chemical effects, we identify equilibration of seawater pCO2, inorganic CaCO3 precipitation, and immediate effects during mixing of alkaline solutions with seawater, as important considerations for developing experimental OAE methodologies, and for practical OAE deployment. These initial results underscore the importance of performing more studies of OAE in diverse marine environments, and the need to investigate the coupling between OAE, inorganic processes, and microbial community composition.

Description: AS was supported through WHOI internal and Assistant Scientist Startup funding. LM and SR were supported by the University of Portsmouth Ph.D. scheme and the UK NERC National Capability programme CLASS (Climate Linked Atlantic Sector Science) ECR Fellowship. BC, AF, EM, and PB were supported by the UK NERC National Capability programme CLASS, grant number NE/R015953/1.

Description: Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2022. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 52(6),(2022): 1191-1204, https://doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-21-0242.1.

Description: A simplified quasigeostrophic (QG) analytical model together with an idealized numerical model are used to study the effect of uneven ice–ocean stress on the temporal evolution of the geostrophic current under sea ice. The tendency of the geostrophic velocity in the QG model is given as a function of the lateral gradient of vertical velocity and is further related to the ice–ocean stress with consideration of a surface boundary layer. Combining the analytical and numerical solutions, we demonstrate that the uneven stress between the ice and an initially surface-intensified, laterally sheared geostrophic current can drive an overturning circulation to trigger the displacement of isopycnals and modify the vertical structure of the geostrophic velocity. When the near-surface isopycnals become tilted in the opposite direction to the deeper ones, a subsurface velocity core is generated (via geostrophic setup). This mechanism should help understand the formation of subsurface currents in the edge of Chukchi and Beaufort Seas seen in observations. Furthermore, our solutions reveal a reversed flow extending from the bottom to the middepth, suggesting that the ice-induced overturning circulation potentially influences the currents in the deep layers of the Arctic Ocean, such as the Atlantic Water boundary current.

Description: This work was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant 2017YFA0604600), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 41676019), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant 2019B81214), the Postgraduate Research and Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province (Grant KYCX19_0384), and the National Science Foundation (MAS, Grants OPP-1822334, OCE-2122633).

Description: The Training Course on Oceanographic Data Management has been organized every year since 1982 at the Japan Oceanographic Data Center (JODC), in support of the activities of IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (WESTPAC). The thirteenth training course was organized by JODC under the auspices of IOC from 26 September to 7 October 1994, at JODC, Hydrographic Department, Maritime Safety Agency, Tokyo, Japan. The objectives of the training course were to provide personnel currently involved in oceanographic data and information management from Member States of the WESTPAC region with basic concepts of the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) system and its function, especially in the WESTPAC region, and acquisition, procession and compilation of oceanographic data.

Description: Published

Description: Refereed

Description: This report summarizes the events of the Fourth POEM (Physical Oceanography of the Eastern Mediterranean) Scientific Workshop, held in Venice, Italy, at the Istituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, from 27 August to 1 September, 1990. During this workshop, the scientific plan for the second phase of POEM (POEM-BC) was designed; it includes biological and chemical components. POEM-BC began in 1991 and comprises: (i) two general hydrographic surveys with chemical and biological studies; (ii) intensive field experiments focussing on process studies of the formation, dispersion and spreading of the LIW (Levantine Intermediate Water) in the Levantine Basin and of Deep Water in the Ionian Sea; (iii) a field experiment for biogeochemical fluxes studies. The field activity of POEM-BC is projected over a five year period.

Description: OpenASFA input

Description: Published

Description: Refereed

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in O’Brien, J., McParland, E. L., Bramucci, A. R., Ostrowski, M., Siboni, N., Ingleton, T., Brown, M. V., Levine, N. M., Laverock, B., Petrou, K., & Seymour, J. The microbiological drivers of temporally dynamic Dimethylsulfoniopropionate cycling processes in Australian coastal shelf waters. Frontiers in Microbiology, 13, (2022): 894026, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.894026.

Description: The organic sulfur compounds dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) play major roles in the marine microbial food web and have substantial climatic importance as sources and sinks of dimethyl sulfide (DMS). Seasonal shifts in the abundance and diversity of the phytoplankton and bacteria that cycle DMSP are likely to impact marine DMS (O) (P) concentrations, but the dynamic nature of these microbial interactions is still poorly resolved. Here, we examined the relationships between microbial community dynamics with DMS (O) (P) concentrations during a 2-year oceanographic time series conducted on the east Australian coast. Heterogenous temporal patterns were apparent in chlorophyll a (chl a) and DMSP concentrations, but the relationship between these parameters varied over time, suggesting the phytoplankton and bacterial community composition were affecting the net DMSP concentrations through differential DMSP production and degradation. Significant increases in DMSP were regularly measured in spring blooms dominated by predicted high DMSP-producing lineages of phytoplankton (Heterocapsa, Prorocentrum, Alexandrium, and Micromonas), while spring blooms that were dominated by predicted low DMSP-producing phytoplankton (Thalassiosira) demonstrated negligible increases in DMSP concentrations. During elevated DMSP concentrations, a significant increase in the relative abundance of the key copiotrophic bacterial lineage Rhodobacterales was accompanied by a three-fold increase in the gene, encoding the first step of DMSP demethylation (dmdA). Significant temporal shifts in DMS concentrations were measured and were significantly correlated with both fractions (0.2–2 μm and 〉2 μm) of microbial DMSP lyase activity. Seasonal increases of the bacterial DMSP biosynthesis gene (dsyB) and the bacterial DMS oxidation gene (tmm) occurred during the spring-summer and coincided with peaks in DMSP and DMSO concentration, respectively. These findings, along with significant positive relationships between dsyB gene abundance and DMSP, and tmm gene abundance with DMSO, reinforce the significant role planktonic bacteria play in producing DMSP and DMSO in ocean surface waters. Our results highlight the highly dynamic nature and myriad of microbial interactions that govern sulfur cycling in coastal shelf waters and further underpin the importance of microbial ecology in mediating important marine biogeochemical processes.

Description: This research was supported by the Australian Research Council Grants FT130100218 and DP180100838 awarded to JS and DP140101045 awarded to JS and KP, as well as an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship awarded to JO’B.

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Stunz, E., Fetcher, N., Lavretsky, P., Mohl, J., Tang, J., & Moody, M. Landscape genomics provides evidence of ecotypic adaptation and a barrier to gene flow at treeline for the arctic foundation species Eriophorum vaginatum. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13, (2022): 860439, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.860439.

Description: Global climate change has resulted in geographic range shifts of flora and fauna at a global scale. Extreme environments, like the Arctic, are seeing some of the most pronounced changes. This region covers 14% of the Earth’s land area, and while many arctic species are widespread, understanding ecotypic variation at the genomic level will be important for elucidating how range shifts will affect ecological processes. Tussock cottongrass (Eriophorum vaginatum L.) is a foundation species of the moist acidic tundra, whose potential decline due to competition from shrubs may affect ecosystem stability in the Arctic. We used double-digest Restriction Site-Associated DNA sequencing to identify genomic variation in 273 individuals of E. vaginatum from 17 sites along a latitudinal gradient in north central Alaska. These sites have been part of 30 + years of ecological research and are inclusive of a region that was part of the Beringian refugium. The data analyses included genomic population structure, demographic models, and genotype by environment association. Genome-wide SNP investigation revealed environmentally associated variation and population structure across the sampled range of E. vaginatum, including a genetic break between populations north and south of treeline. This structure is likely the result of subrefugial isolation, contemporary isolation by resistance, and adaptation. Forty-five candidate loci were identified with genotype-environment association (GEA) analyses, with most identified genes related to abiotic stress. Our results support a hypothesis of limited gene flow based on spatial and environmental factors for E. vaginatum, which in combination with life history traits could limit range expansion of southern ecotypes northward as the tundra warms. This has implications for lower competitive attributes of northern plants of this foundation species likely resulting in changes in ecosystem productivity.

Description: This research was made possible by funding provided by NSF/PLR-1417645 to MM. The Botanical Society of America Graduate Student Research Award and the Dodson Research Grant from the Graduate School of the University of Texas at El Paso provided assistance to ES. The grant 5U54MD007592 from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provided bioinformatics resources and support of JM.

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Grearson, A. G., Dugan, A., Sakmar, T., Sivitilli, D. M., Gire, D. H., Caldwell, R. L., Niell, C. M., Doelen, G., Wang, Z. Y., & Grasse, B. The lesser Pacific Striped Octopus, Octopus chierchiae: an emerging laboratory model. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, (2021): 753483, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.753483.

Description: Cephalopods have the potential to become useful experimental models in various fields of science, particularly in neuroscience, physiology, and behavior. Their complex nervous systems, intricate color- and texture-changing body patterns, and problem-solving abilities have attracted the attention of the biological research community, while the high growth rates and short life cycles of some species render them suitable for laboratory culture. Octopus chierchiae is a small octopus native to the central Pacific coast of North America whose predictable reproduction, short time to maturity, small adult size, and ability to lay multiple egg clutches (iteroparity) make this species ideally suited to laboratory culture. Here we describe novel methods for multigenerational culture of O. chierchiae, with emphasis on enclosure designs, feeding regimes, and breeding management. O. chierchiae bred in the laboratory grow from a 3.5 mm mantle length at hatching to an adult mantle length of approximately 20–30 mm in 250–300 days, with 15 and 14% survivorship to over 400 days of age in first and second generations, respectively. O. chierchiae sexually matures at around 6 months of age and, unlike most octopus species, can lay multiple clutches of large, direct-developing eggs every ∼30–90 days. Based on these results, we propose that O. chierchiae possesses both the practical and biological features needed for a model octopus that can be cultured repeatedly to address a wide range of biological questions.

Description: The cephalopod program at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) was supported by NSF 1827509 and NSF 1723141 grants. CN received funding from HFSP RGP0042. DG and DS received funding and research support from the University of Washington Friday Harbor Laboratories. ZYW was supported by funds from the Whitman Center at the MBL.

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Castagno, K., Ganju, N., Beck, M., Bowden, A., & Scyphers, S. How much marsh restoration is enough to deliver wave attenuation coastal protection benefits? Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, (2022): 756670, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.756670.

Description: As coastal communities grow more vulnerable to sea-level rise and increased storminess, communities have turned to nature-based solutions to bolster coastal resilience and protection. Marshes have significant wave attenuation properties and can play an important role in coastal protection for many communities. Many restoration projects seek to maximize this ecosystem service but how much marsh restoration is enough to deliver measurable coastal protection benefits is still unknown. This question is critical to guiding assessments of cost effectiveness and for funding, implementation, and optimizing of marsh restoration for risk reduction projects. This study uses SWAN model simulations to determine empirical relationships between wave attenuation and marsh vegetation. The model runs consider several different common marsh morphologies (including systems with channels, ponds, and fringing mudflats), vegetation placement, and simulated storm intensity. Up to a 95% reduction in wave energy is seen at as low as 50% vegetation cover. Although these empirical relationships between vegetative cover and wave attenuation provide essential insight for marsh restoration, it is also important to factor in lifespan estimates of restored marshes when making overall restoration decisions. The results of this study are important for coastal practitioners and managers seeking performance goals and metrics for marsh restoration, enhancement, and creation.

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Costa Jr, C., Galford, G. L., Coe, M. T., Macedo, M., Jankowski, K., O’Connell, C., & Neill, C. Modeling nitrous oxide emissions from large-scale intensive cropping systems in the southern Amazon. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 5, (2021): 701416. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2021.701416.

Description: Nitrogen (N) fertilizer use is rapidly intensifying on tropical croplands and has the potential to increase emissions of the greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide (N2O). Since about 2005 Mato Grosso (MT), Brazil has shifted from single-cropped soybeans to double-cropping soybeans with maize, and now produces 1.5% of the world's maize. This production shift required an increase in N fertilization, but the effects on N2O emissions are poorly known. We calibrated the process-oriented biogeochemical DeNitrification-DeComposition (DNDC) model to simulate N2O emissions and crop production from soybean and soybean-maize cropping systems in MT. After model validation with field measurements and adjustments for hydrological properties of tropical soils, regional simulations suggested N2O emissions from soybean-maize cropland increased almost fourfold during 2001–2010, from 1.1 ± 1.1 to 4.1 ± 3.2 Gg 1014 N-N2O. Model sensitivity tests showed that emissions were spatially and seasonably variable and especially sensitive to soil bulk density and carbon content. Meeting future demand for maize using current soybean area in MT might require either (a) intensifying 3.0 million ha of existing single soybean to soybean-maize or (b) increasing N fertilization to ~180 kg N ha−1 on existing 2.3 million ha of soybean-maize area. The latter strategy would release ~35% more N2O than the first. Our modifications of the DNDC model will improve estimates of N2O emissions from agricultural production in MT and other tropical areas, but narrowing model uncertainty will depend on more detailed field measurements and spatial data on soil and cropping management.

Description: This work was supported by National Science Foundation (NSF#1257944) and CNPq-Ciências Sem Fronteiras Post-Doctoral Fellowship (249380/2013-7).

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Kalra, T. S., Ganju, N. K., Aretxabaleta, A. L., Carr, J. A., Defne, Z., & Moriarty, J. M. Modeling marsh dynamics using a 3-D coupled wave-flow-sediment model. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, (2021): 740921, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.740921.

Description: Salt marshes are dynamic biogeomorphic systems that respond to external physical factors, including tides, sediment transport, and waves, as well as internal processes such as autochthonous soil formation. Predicting the fate of marshes requires a modeling framework that accounts for these processes in a coupled fashion. In this study, we implement two new marsh dynamic processes in the 3-D COAWST (coupled-ocean-atmosphere-wave sediment transport) model. The processes added are the erosion of the marsh edge scarp caused by lateral wave thrust from surface waves and vertical accretion driven by biomass production on the marsh platform. The sediment released from the marsh during edge erosion causes a change in bathymetry, thereby modifying the wave-energy reaching the marsh edge. Marsh vertical accretion due to biomass production is considered for a single vegetation species and is determined by the hydroperiod parameters (tidal datums) and the elevation of the marsh cells. Tidal datums are stored at user-defined intervals as a hindcast (on the order of days) and used to update the vertical growth formulation. Idealized domains are utilized to verify the lateral wave thrust formulation and show the dynamics of lateral wave erosion leading to horizontal retreat of marsh edge. The simulations of Reedy and Dinner Creeks within the Barnegat Bay estuary system demonstrate the model capability to account for both lateral wave erosion and vertical accretion due to biomass production in a realistic marsh complex. The simulations show that vertical accretion is dominated by organic deposition in the marsh interior, whereas deposition of mineral estuarine sediments occurs predominantly along the channel edges. The ability of the model to capture the fate of the sediment can be extended to model to simulate the impacts of future storms and relative sea-level rise (RSLR) scenarios on salt-marsh ecomorphodynamics.

Description: This work was supported by USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program.

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Wigand, C., Oczkowski, A. J., Branoff, B. L., Eagle, M., Hanson, A., Martin, R. M., Balogh, S., Miller, K. M., Huertas, E., Loffredo, J., & Watson, E. B. Recent nitrogen storage and accumulation rates in mangrove soils exceed historic rates in the urbanized San Juan Bay Estuary (Puerto Rico, United States). Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 4, (2021): 765896, https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.765896.

Description: Tropical mangrove forests have been described as “coastal kidneys,” promoting sediment deposition and filtering contaminants, including excess nutrients. Coastal areas throughout the world are experiencing increased human activities, resulting in altered geomorphology, hydrology, and nutrient inputs. To effectively manage and sustain coastal mangroves, it is important to understand nitrogen (N) storage and accumulation in systems where human activities are causing rapid changes in N inputs and cycling. We examined N storage and accumulation rates in recent (1970 – 2016) and historic (1930 – 1970) decades in the context of urbanization in the San Juan Bay Estuary (SJBE, Puerto Rico), using mangrove soil cores that were radiometrically dated. Local anthropogenic stressors can alter N storage rates in peri-urban mangrove systems either directly by increasing N soil fertility or indirectly by altering hydrology (e.g., dredging, filling, and canalization). Nitrogen accumulation rates were greater in recent decades than historic decades at Piñones Forest and Martin Peña East. Martin Peña East was characterized by high urbanization, and Piñones, by the least urbanization in the SJBE. The mangrove forest at Martin Peña East fringed a poorly drained canal and often received raw sewage inputs, with N accumulation rates ranging from 17.7 to 37.9 g m–2 y–1 in recent decades. The Piñones Forest was isolated and had low flushing, possibly exacerbated by river damming, with N accumulation rates ranging from 18.6 to 24.2 g m–2 y–1 in recent decades. Nearly all (96.3%) of the estuary-wide mangrove N (9.4 Mg ha–1) was stored in the soils with 7.1 Mg ha–1 sequestered during 1970–2017 (0–18 cm) and 2.3 Mg ha–1 during 1930–1970 (19–28 cm). Estuary-wide mangrove soil N accumulation rates were over twice as great in recent decades (0.18 ± 0.002 Mg ha–1y–1) than historically (0.08 ± 0.001 Mg ha–1y–1). Nitrogen accumulation rates in SJBE mangrove soils in recent times were twofold larger than the rate of human-consumed food N that is exported as wastewater (0.08 Mg ha–1 y–1), suggesting the potential for mangroves to sequester human-derived N. Conservation and effective management of mangrove forests and their surrounding watersheds in the Anthropocene are important for maintaining water quality in coastal communities throughout tropical regions.

Description: Some funding was provided by the United States Geological Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program.

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Fouke, K. E., Wegman, M. E., Weber, S. A., Brady, E. B., Roman-Vendrell, C., & Morgan, J. R. Synuclein regulates synaptic vesicle clustering and docking at a vertebrate synapse. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 9, (2021): 774650, https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2021.774650.

Description: Neurotransmission relies critically on the exocytotic release of neurotransmitters from small synaptic vesicles (SVs) at the active zone. Therefore, it is essential for neurons to maintain an adequate pool of SVs clustered at synapses in order to sustain efficient neurotransmission. It is well established that the phosphoprotein synapsin 1 regulates SV clustering at synapses. Here, we demonstrate that synuclein, another SV-associated protein and synapsin binding partner, also modulates SV clustering at a vertebrate synapse. When acutely introduced to unstimulated lamprey reticulospinal synapses, a pan-synuclein antibody raised against the N-terminal domain of α-synuclein induced a significant loss of SVs at the synapse. Both docked SVs and the distal reserve pool of SVs were depleted, resulting in a loss of total membrane at synapses. In contrast, antibodies against two other abundant SV-associated proteins, synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2 (SV2) and vesicle-associated membrane protein (VAMP/synaptobrevin), had no effect on the size or distribution of SV clusters. Synuclein perturbation caused a dose-dependent reduction in the number of SVs at synapses. Interestingly, the large SV clusters appeared to disperse into smaller SV clusters, as well as individual SVs. Thus, synuclein regulates clustering of SVs at resting synapses, as well as docking of SVs at the active zone. These findings reveal new roles for synuclein at the synapse and provide critical insights into diseases associated with α-synuclein dysfunction, such as Parkinson’s disease.

Description: Funding support for this project was provided by the National Institutes of Health NINDS/NIA R01 NS078165 (to JM); University of Chicago Jeff Metcalf Fellowship Grant (to SW).

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Zottoli, S. J., Faber, D. S., Hering, J., Dannhauer, A. C., & Northen, S. Survival and axonal outgrowth of the Mauthner cell following spinal cord crush does not drive post-injury startle responses. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 9, (2021): 744191, https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2021.744191.

Description: A pair of Mauthner cells (M-cells) can be found in the hindbrain of most teleost fish, as well as amphibians and lamprey. The axons of these reticulospinal neurons cross the midline and synapse on interneurons and motoneurons as they descend the length of the spinal cord. The M-cell initiates fast C-type startle responses (fast C-starts) in goldfish and zebrafish triggered by abrupt acoustic/vibratory stimuli. Starting about 70 days after whole spinal cord crush, less robust startle responses with longer latencies manifest in adult goldfish, Carassius auratus. The morphological and electrophysiological identifiability of the M-cell provides a unique opportunity to study cellular responses to spinal cord injury and the relation of axonal regrowth to a defined behavior. After spinal cord crush at the spinomedullary junction about one-third of the damaged M-axons of adult goldfish send at least one sprout past the wound site between 56 and 85 days postoperatively. These caudally projecting sprouts follow a more lateral trajectory relative to their position in the fasciculus longitudinalis medialis of control fish. Other sprouts, some from the same axon, follow aberrant pathways that include rostral projections, reversal of direction, midline crossings, neuromas, and projection out the first ventral root. Stimulating M-axons in goldfish that had post-injury startle behavior between 198 and 468 days postoperatively resulted in no or minimal EMG activity in trunk and tail musculature as compared to control fish. Although M-cells can survive for at least 468 day (∼1.3 years) after spinal cord crush, maintain regrowth, and elicit putative trunk EMG responses, the cell does not appear to play a substantive role in the emergence of acoustic/vibratory-triggered responses. We speculate that aberrant pathway choice of this neuron may limit its role in the recovery of behavior and discuss structural and functional properties of alternative candidate neurons that may render them more supportive of post-injury startle behavior.

Description: Support for this research came in part from NSF grant (BNS 8809445), NIH grant (2-P01-NS24707-09), and HHMI and Essel Foundation grants to Williams College.

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Ruff, S. E. Editorial: microbial communities and metabolisms involved in the degradation of cellular and extracellular organic biopolymers. Frontiers in Microbiology, 12, (2022): 802619, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.802619.

Description: Most organic matter on Earth occurs in the form of macromolecules and complex biopolymers, which include the building blocks of every organism. Plant, animal, fungal, and microbial cells largely consist of macromolecules belonging to four compound classes: proteins, polysaccharides, nucleic acids, and lipids (Figure 1). The percentage of these compounds per dry weight can vary greatly between lineages, but also between individuals of the same species or developmental stages of the same organism. Living and lysing cells release a substantial quantity and variety of macromolecules to the environment. These compounds often contain nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur, in addition to carbon, and are thus ideal food sources for heterotrophic organisms. Although the degradation of biopolymers and macromolecules has received considerable attention, many knowledge gaps remain, particularly in very complex ecosystems such as soils and sediments.

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Klein, S., Frazier, V., Readdean, T., Lucas, E., Diaz-Jimenez, E. P., Sogin, M., Ruff, E. S., & Echeverri, K. Common environmental pollutants negatively affect development and regeneration in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis holobiont. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9, (2021): 786037, https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.786037.

Description: The anthozoan sea anemone Nematostella vectensis belongs to the phylum of cnidarians which also includes jellyfish and corals. Nematostella are native to United States East Coast marsh lands, where they constantly adapt to changes in salinity, temperature, oxygen concentration and pH. Its natural ability to continually acclimate to changing environments coupled with its genetic tractability render Nematostella a powerful model organism in which to study the effects of common pollutants on the natural development of these animals. Potassium nitrate, commonly used in fertilizers, and Phthalates, a component of plastics are frequent environmental stressors found in coastal and marsh waters. Here we present data showing how early exposure to these pollutants lead to dramatic defects in development of the embryos and eventual mortality possibly due to defects in feeding ability. Additionally, we examined the microbiome of the animals and identified shifts in the microbial community that correlated with the type of water that was used to grow the animals, and with their exposure to pollutants.

Description: This work was funded by a Pilot Program award to ER and KE from the Microbiome Center at the University of Chicago. The microbiome sequencing was funded by a grant from the McDonnell Initiative to ER. KE was supported by a grant from NICHD R01 HD092451, start-up funds from the MBL and funding from the Owens Family Foundation. ER was supported by start-up funds from the MBL and MLS receives support from the Unger G. Vetlesen Foundation.

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Katz, H. R., Arcese, A. A., Bloom, O., & Morgan, J. R. Activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3) is a highly conserved pro-regenerative transcription factor in the vertebrate nervous system. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 10, (2022): 824036, https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2022.824036.

Description: The vertebrate nervous system exhibits dramatic variability in regenerative capacity across species and neuronal populations. For example, while the mammalian central nervous system (CNS) is limited in its regenerative capacity, the CNS of many other vertebrates readily regenerates after injury, as does the peripheral nervous system (PNS) of mammals. Comparing molecular responses across species and tissues can therefore provide valuable insights into both conserved and distinct mechanisms of successful regeneration. One gene that is emerging as a conserved pro-regenerative factor across vertebrates is activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3), which has long been associated with tissue trauma. A growing number of studies indicate that ATF3 may actively promote neuronal axon regrowth and regeneration in species ranging from lampreys to mammals. Here, we review data on the structural and functional conservation of ATF3 protein across species. Comparing RNA expression data across species that exhibit different abilities to regenerate their nervous system following traumatic nerve injury reveals that ATF3 is consistently induced in neurons within the first few days after injury. Genetic deletion or knockdown of ATF3 expression has been shown in mouse and zebrafish, respectively, to reduce axon regeneration, while inducing ATF3 promotes axon sprouting, regrowth, or regeneration. Thus, we propose that ATF3 may be an evolutionarily conserved regulator of neuronal regeneration. Identifying downstream effectors of ATF3 will be a critical next step in understanding the molecular basis of vertebrate CNS regeneration.

Description: This work was supported by: a Morton Cure Paralysis Fund Research Grant (to HK); a NIH/NINDS R03 Research Grant (No. 1R03NS078519) and the New York State Spinal Cord Injury Research Board (to OB); and the Marine Biological Laboratory Eugene Bell Center Endowment, Rowe Endowment for Regenerative Biology, and Charles Evans Research Development award (to JM).

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Chowdhury, P. R., Golas, S. M., Alteio, L., Stevens, J. T. E., Billings, A. F., Blanchard, J. L., Melillo, J. M., & DeAngelis, K. M. The transcriptional response of soil bacteria to long-term warming and short-term seasonal fluctuations in a terrestrial forest. Frontiers in Microbiology, 12, (2021): 666558, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.666558.

Description: Terrestrial ecosystems are an important carbon store, and this carbon is vulnerable to microbial degradation with climate warming. After 30 years of experimental warming, carbon stocks in a temperate mixed deciduous forest were observed to be reduced by 30% in the heated plots relative to the controls. In addition, soil respiration was seasonal, as was the warming treatment effect. We therefore hypothesized that long-term warming will have higher expressions of genes related to carbohydrate and lipid metabolism due to increased utilization of recalcitrant carbon pools compared to controls. Because of the seasonal effect of soil respiration and the warming treatment, we further hypothesized that these patterns will be seasonal. We used RNA sequencing to show how the microbial community responds to long-term warming (~30 years) in Harvard Forest, MA. Total RNA was extracted from mineral and organic soil types from two treatment plots (+5°C heated and ambient control), at two time points (June and October) and sequenced using Illumina NextSeq technology. Treatment had a larger effect size on KEGG annotated transcripts than on CAZymes, while soil types more strongly affected CAZymes than KEGG annotated transcripts, though effect sizes overall were small. Although, warming showed a small effect on overall CAZymes expression, several carbohydrate-associated enzymes showed increased expression in heated soils (~68% of all differentially expressed transcripts). Further, exploratory analysis using an unconstrained method showed increased abundances of enzymes related to polysaccharide and lipid metabolism and decomposition in heated soils. Compared to long-term warming, we detected a relatively small effect of seasonal variation on community gene expression. Together, these results indicate that the higher carbohydrate degrading potential of bacteria in heated plots can possibly accelerate a self-reinforcing carbon cycle-temperature feedback in a warming climate.

Description: Funding for this study was provided by the Department of Energy Terrestrial Ecosystem Sciences program under contract number DE-SC0010740. Sites for sample collection were maintained with funding in part from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Long-Term Ecological Research (DEB 1237491) and the NSF Long-Term Research in Environmental Biology (DEB 1456528) programs.

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Uhran, B., Windham-Myers, L., Bliss, N., Nahlik, A. M., Sundquist, E., & Stagg, C. L. Improved wetland soil organic carbon stocks of the conterminous U.S. through data harmonization. Frontiers in Soil Science, 1, (2021): 706701, https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoil.2021.706701.

Description: Wetland soil stocks are important global repositories of carbon (C) but are difficult to quantify and model due to varying sampling protocols, and geomorphic/spatio-temporal discontinuity. Merging scales of soil-survey spatial extents with wetland-specific point-based data offers an explicit, empirical and updatable improvement for regional and continental scale soil C stock assessments. Agency-collected and community-contributed soil datasets were compared for representativeness and bias, with the goal of producing a harmonized national map of wetland soil C stocks with error quantification for wetland areas of the conterminous United States (CONUS) identified by the USGS National Landcover Change Dataset. This allowed an empirical predictive model of SOC density to be applied across the entire CONUS using relational %OC distribution alone. A broken-stick quantile-regression model identified %OC with its relatively high analytical confidence as a key predictor of SOC density in soil segments; soils 〈6% OC (hereafter, mineral wetland soils, 85% of the dataset) had a strong linear relationship of %OC to SOC density (RMSE = 0.0059, ~4% mean RMSE) and soils 〉6% OC (organic wetland soils, 15% of the dataset) had virtually no predictive relationship of %OC to SOC density (RMSE = 0.0348 g C cm−3, ~56% mean RMSE). Disaggregation by vegetation type or region did not alter the breakpoint significantly (6% OC) and did not improve model accuracies for inland and tidal wetlands. Similarly, SOC stocks in tidal wetlands were related to %OC, but without a mappable product for disaggregation to improve accuracy by soil class, region or depth. Our layered harmonized CONUS wetland soil maps revised wetland SOC stock estimates downward by 24% (9.5 vs. 12.5Pg C) with the overestimation being entirely an issue of inland organic wetland soils (35% lower than SSURGO-derived SOC stocks). Further, SSURGO underestimated soil carbon stocks at depth, as modeled wetland SOC stocks for organic-rich soils showed significant preservation downcore in the NWCA dataset (〈3% loss between 0 and 30 cm and 30 and 100 cm depths) in contrast to mineral-rich soils (37% downcore stock loss). Future CONUS wetland soil C assessments will benefit from focused attention on improved organic wetland soil measurements, land history, and spatial representativeness.

Description: This project was funded through the U.S. Geological Survey's Land Carbon Program and a grant to ES through the U.S. Geological Survey's Community for Data Integration Program for generating cross-agency assessments.

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Sanchez Trivino, C. A., Landinez, M. P., Duran, S., Gomez, M. del P., & Nasi, E. Modulation of G(q)/PLC-mediated signaling by acute lithium exposure. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 16, (2022): 838939, https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2022.838939.

Description: Although lithium has long been one of the most widely used pharmacological agents in psychiatry, its mechanisms of action at the cellular and molecular levels remain poorly understood. One of the targets of Li+ is the phosphoinositide pathway, but whereas the impact of Li+ on inositol lipid metabolism is well documented, information on physiological effects at the cellular level is lacking. We examined in two mammalian cell lines the effect of acute Li+ exposure on the mobilization of internal Ca2+ and phospholipase C (PLC)-dependent membrane conductances. We first corroborated by Western blots and immunofluorescence in HEK293 cells the presence of key signaling elements of a muscarinic PLC pathway (M1AchR, Gq, PLC-β1, and IP3Rs). Stimulation with carbachol evoked a dose-dependent mobilization of Ca, as determined with fluorescent indicators. This was due to release from internal stores and proved susceptible to the PLC antagonist U73122. Li+ exposure reproducibly potentiated the Ca response in a concentration-dependent manner extending to the low millimolar range. To broaden those observations to a neuronal context and probe potential Li modulation of electrical signaling, we next examined the cell line SHsy5y. We replicated the potentiating effects of Li on the mobilization of internal Ca, and, after characterizing the basic properties of the electrical response to cholinergic stimulation, we also demonstrated an equally robust upregulation of muscarinic membrane currents. Finally, by directly stimulating the signaling pathway at different links downstream of the receptor, the site of action of the observed Li effects could be narrowed down to the G protein and its interaction with PLC-β. These observations document a modulation of Gq/PLC/IP3-mediated signaling by acute exposure to lithium, reflected in distinct physiological changes in cellular responses.

Description: This work was supported by DIB-Universidad Nacional de Colombia, grant Hermes No. 41821.

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Winters, G., Teichberg, M., Reuter, H., Viana, I. G., & Willette, D. A. Editorial: seagrasses under times of change. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13, (2022): 870478, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.870478.

Description: Awareness of the ecological importance of seagrasses is growing due to recent attention to their role in carbon sequestration as a potential blue carbon sink (Fourqurean et al., 2012; Bedulli et al.), as well as their role in nutrient cycling (Romero et al., 2006), sediment stabilization (James et al., 2019), pathogen filtration (Lamb et al., 2017), and the formation of essential habitats for economically important marine species (Jackson et al., 2001; Jones et al.). Despite their importance and the increasing public and scientific awareness of seagrasses, simultaneous global (e.g., ocean warming, increase in frequency and severity of extreme events, introduction and spread of invasive species) and local (e.g., physical disturbances, eutrophication, and sedimentation) anthropogenic stressors continue to be the main causes behind the ongoing global decline of seagrass meadows (Orth et al., 2006; Waycott et al., 2009).

Description: This research was partially funded through the BMBF project SEANARIOS (Seagrass scenarios under thermal and nutrient stress: FKZ 03F0826A) to HR and MT. MT was partially funded through the DFG project SEAMAC (Seagrass and macroalgal community dynamics and performance under environmental change; TE 1046/3-1). IV was supported by a postdoctoral research grant Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación (IJC2019-040554-I) and from MCIN/AEI /10.13039/501100011033 (Spain).

Description: © The Author(s), 2022]. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Suter, E. A., Pachiadaki, M., Taylor, G. T., & Edgcomb, V. P. Eukaryotic parasites are integral to a productive microbial food web in oxygen-depleted waters. Frontiers in Microbiology, 12, (2022): 764605, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.764605.

Description: Oxygen-depleted water columns (ODWCs) host a diverse community of eukaryotic protists that change dramatically in composition over the oxic-anoxic gradient. In the permanently anoxic Cariaco Basin, peaks in eukaryotic diversity occurred in layers where dark microbial activity (chemoautotrophy and heterotrophy) were highest, suggesting a link between prokaryotic activity and trophic associations with protists. Using 18S rRNA gene sequencing, parasites and especially the obligate parasitic clade, Syndiniales, appear to be particularly abundant, suggesting parasitism is an important, but overlooked interaction in ODWC food webs. Syndiniales were also associated with certain prokaryotic groups that are often found in ODWCs, including Marinimicrobia and Marine Group II archaea, evocative of feedbacks between parasitic infection events, release of organic matter, and prokaryotic assimilative activity. In a network analysis that included all three domains of life, bacterial and archaeal taxa were putative bottleneck and hub species, while a large proportion of edges were connected to eukaryotic nodes. Inclusion of parasites resulted in a more complex network with longer path lengths between members. Together, these results suggest that protists, and especially protistan parasites, play an important role in maintaining microbial food web complexity, particularly in ODWCs, where protist diversity and microbial productivity are high, but energy resources are limited relative to euphotic waters.

Description: This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) grants (OCE-1336082 to VE and OCE-1335436 and OCE-1259110 to GT). The Cyverse infrastructure and resources are supported by the NSF under Award Numbers DBI-0735191, DBI-1265383, and DBI-1743442 (www.cyverse.org). Support was also provided by the Faculty Scholarship and Academic Advancement Committee at Molloy College.

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in D’Angelo, T., Goordial, J., Poulton, N., Seyler, L., Huber, J., Stepanauskas, R., & Orcutt, B. Oceanic crustal fluid single cell genomics complements metagenomic and metatranscriptomic surveys with orders of magnitude less sample volume. Frontiers in Microbiology, 12, (2022): 738231, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.738231.

Description: Fluids circulating through oceanic crust play important roles in global biogeochemical cycling mediated by their microbial inhabitants, but studying these sites is challenged by sampling logistics and low biomass. Borehole observatories installed at the North Pond study site on the western flank of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge have enabled investigation of the microbial biosphere in cold, oxygenated basaltic oceanic crust. Here we test a methodology that applies redox-sensitive fluorescent molecules for flow cytometric sorting of cells for single cell genomic sequencing from small volumes of low biomass (approximately 103 cells ml–1) crustal fluid. We compare the resulting genomic data to a recently published paired metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analysis from the same site. Even with low coverage genome sequencing, sorting cells from less than one milliliter of crustal fluid results in similar interpretation of dominant taxa and functional profiles as compared to ‘omics analysis that typically filter orders of magnitude more fluid volume. The diverse community dominated by Gammaproteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Desulfobacterota, Alphaproteobacteria, and Zetaproteobacteria, had evidence of autotrophy and heterotrophy, a variety of nitrogen and sulfur cycling metabolisms, and motility. Together, results indicate fluorescence activated cell sorting methodology is a powerful addition to the toolbox for the study of low biomass systems or at sites where only small sample volumes are available for analysis.

Description: The borehole observatories that form the backbone of this project were funded by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP, now the International Ocean Discovery Program), the United States National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (grant GBMF1609). Cruise AT39-01 was funded by the NSF (OCE-1634025 to C. Geoff Wheat). Analyses were funded by the NSF (OCE-1536623 to BO; OIA-1826734 to RS, NP, and BO; and OCE-16435208 and OCE-1745589 to JH), the NSF-funded Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI) Science and Technology Center (via subawards from OIA-0939564 to BO and JH), and the NASA Exobiology program (80NSSC19K0466 to BO). This is C-DEBI publication 571.

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Marlow, J., Anderson, R., Reysenbach, A.-L., Seewald, J., Shank, T., Teske, A., Wanless, V., & Soule, S. New opportunities and untapped scientific potential in the abyssal ocean. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, (2022): 798943, https://doi.org/10.3389./fmars.2021.798943

Description: The abyssal ocean covers more than half of the Earth’s surface, yet remains understudied and underappreciated. In this Perspectives article, we mark the occasion of the Deep Submergence Vehicle Alvin’s increased depth range (from 4500 to 6500 m) to highlight the scientific potential of the abyssal seafloor. From a geologic perspective, ultra-slow spreading mid-ocean ridges, Petit Spot volcanism, transform faults, and subduction zones put the full life cycle of oceanic crust on display in the abyss, revealing constructive and destructive forces over wide ranges in time and space. Geochemically, the abyssal pressure regime influences the solubility of constituents such as silica and carbonate, and extremely high-temperature fluid-rock reactions in the shallow subsurface lead to distinctive and potentially unique geochemical profiles. Microbial residents range from low-abundance, low-energy communities on the abyssal plains to fast growing thermophiles at hydrothermal vents. Given its spatial extent and position as an intermediate zone between coastal and deep hadal settings, the abyss represents a lynchpin in global-scale processes such as nutrient and energy flux, population structure, and biogeographic diversity. Taken together, the abyssal ocean contributes critical ecosystem services while facing acute and diffuse anthropogenic threats from deep-sea mining, pollution, and climate change.

Description: We would like to thank the National Science Foundation for their support through grants NSF 2009117 and 2129431 to SAS.

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Ostrander, C. M., Kendall, B., Gordon, G. W., Nielsen, S. G., Zheng, W., & Anbar, A. D. Shale heavy metal isotope records of low environmental O2 between two Archean Oxidation Events. Frontiers in Earth Science, 10, (2022): 833609, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.833609.

Description: Evidence of molecular oxygen (O2) accumulation at Earth’s surface during the Archean (4.0–2.5 billion years ago, or Ga) seems to increase in its abundance and compelling nature toward the end of the eon, during the runup to the Great Oxidation Event. Yet, many details of this late-Archean O2 story remain under-constrained, such as the extent, tempo, and location of O2 accumulation. Here, we present a detailed Fe, Tl, and U isotope study of shales from a continuous sedimentary sequence deposited between ∼2.6 and ∼2.5 Ga and recovered from the Pilbara Craton of Western Australia (the Wittenoom and Mt. Sylvia formations preserved in drill core ABDP9). We find a progressive decrease in bulk-shale Fe isotope compositions moving up core (as low as δ56Fe = –0.78 ± 0.08‰; 2SD) accompanied by invariant authigenic Tl isotope compositions (average ε205TlA = –2.0 ± 0.6; 2SD) and bulk-shale U isotope compositions (average δ238U = –0.30 ± 0.05‰; 2SD) that are both not appreciably different from crustal rocks or bulk silicate Earth. While there are multiple possible interpretations of the decreasing δ56Fe values, many, to include the most compelling, invoke strictly anaerobic processes. The invariant and near-crustal ε205TlA and δ238U values point even more strongly to this interpretation, requiring reducing to only mildly oxidizing conditions over ten-million-year timescales in the late-Archean. For the atmosphere, our results permit either homogenous and low O2 partial pressures (between 10−6.3 and 10−6 present atmospheric level) or heterogeneous and spatially restricted O2 accumulation nearest the sites of O2 production. For the ocean, our results permit minimal penetration of O2 in marine sediments over large areas of the seafloor, at most sufficient for the burial of Fe oxide minerals but insufficient for the burial of Mn oxide minerals. The persistently low background O2 levels implied by our dataset between ∼2.6 and ∼2.5 Ga contrast with the timeframes immediately before and after, where strong evidence is presented for transient Archean Oxidation Events. Viewed in this broader context, our data support the emerging narrative that Earth’s initial oxygenation was a dynamic process that unfolded in fits-and-starts over many hundreds-of-millions of years.

Description: This work was supported financially by the NSF Frontiers in Earth System Dynamics program award NSF EAR-1338810 (AA), a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Postdoctoral Scholarship (CO), a NSERC Discovery Grant (RGPIN-435930) and the Canada Research Chair program (BK), and a NASA Exobiology award 80NSSC20K0615 (SN).

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Cordone, A., D’Errico, G., Magliulo, M., Bolinesi, F., Selci, M., Basili, M., de Marco, R., Saggiomo, M., Rivaro, P., Giovannelli, D., & Mangoni, O. Bacterioplankton diversity and distribution in relation to phytoplankton community structure in the Ross Sea surface waters. Frontiers in Microbiology, 13, (2022): 722900, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.722900.

Description: Primary productivity in the Ross Sea region is characterized by intense phytoplankton blooms whose temporal and spatial distribution are driven by changes in environmental conditions as well as interactions with the bacterioplankton community. However, the number of studies reporting the simultaneous diversity of the phytoplankton and bacterioplankton in Antarctic waters are limited. Here, we report data on the bacterial diversity in relation to phytoplankton community structure in the surface waters of the Ross Sea during the Austral summer 2017. Our results show partially overlapping bacterioplankton communities between the stations located in the Terra Nova Bay (TNB) coastal waters and the Ross Sea Open Waters (RSOWs), with a dominance of members belonging to the bacterial phyla Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria. In the TNB coastal area, microbial communities were characterized by a higher abundance of sequences related to heterotrophic bacterial genera such as Polaribacter spp., together with higher phytoplankton biomass and higher relative abundance of diatoms. On the contrary, the phytoplankton biomass in the RSOW were lower, with relatively higher contribution of haptophytes and a higher abundance of sequences related to oligotrophic and mixothrophic bacterial groups like the Oligotrophic Marine Gammaproteobacteria (OMG) group and SAR11. We show that the rate of diversity change between the two locations is influenced by both abiotic (salinity and the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio) and biotic (phytoplankton community structure) factors. Our data provide new insight into the coexistence of the bacterioplankton and phytoplankton in Antarctic waters, suggesting that specific rather than random interaction contribute to the organic matter cycling in the Southern Ocean.

Description: Samples were collected in the framework of Plankton biodiversity and functioning of the Ross Sea ecosystems in a changing Southern Ocean [P-ROSE – (PNRA16_00239)], and CDW Effects on glacial mElting and on Bulk of Fe in the Western Ross sea [CELEBeR – (PNRA16_00207)] projects – Italian National Antarctic Program – funded by the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR), awarded to OM and PR, respectively. MM was supported by an Earth-Life Science Institute (Tokyo, Japan) visiting fellowship. This work was partially supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 948972) to DG.

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Woods, D., Cheadle, M., John, B., German, C., & Van Dover, C. Making use of relicts: brisingid seastars aggregate on hydrothermally inactive sulfide chimneys near black smokers. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, (2022): 774628, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.774628.

Description: When hydrothermal activity ceases at black-smoker chimneys on mid-ocean ridges, populations of associated invertebrates hosting chemoautotrophic endosymbionts decline and then disappear, but the chimneys can persist on the seabed as relicts. Suspension-feeding brisingid seastars colonize hydrothermally inactive (relict) chimneys on the East Pacific Rise (EPR), though their distribution relative to available hard substrata and proximity to hydrothermal activity is poorly documented. In this study, brisingid abundance on sulfide and basalt substrata was assessed along an ∼3,700 m ROV Jason II transect at the summit of Pito Seamount (SE Pacific; ∼2,275 m). Brisingids were non-randomly distributed, with highest densities (up to ∼300 m–2) on relict sulfides chimneys near active black smokers. Brisingids were relatively uncommon on basalt substrata, and absent on black smokers. We infer that both relict sulfide structures and proximity to black smokers play key roles in the maintenance of dense brisingid populations on Pito Seamount and in similar environments on the EPR. Our observations suggest that experimental introduction of “artificial” relict chimneys providing microtopographic relief could test whether such an approach might mitigate potential impacts of mineral extraction on populations of suspension-feeding invertebrates.

Description: his project was partially supported by the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative through the International Climate Initiative (IKI; grant no. 16_IV_049_Global_A_Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative GOBI). The Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMU) supports IKI on the basis of a decision adopted by the German Bundestag. DW was supported by Duke University funds to CV. CG’s participation was funded through WHOI’s Deep Ocean Exploration Institute. The AT37-08 cruise was funded by NSF OCE-1459462 (MC and BJ) and OCE-1459387 (J Gee, Scripps Institution of Oceanography).

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Zhang, Y., Hu, C., Kourafalou, V., Liu, Y., McGillicuddy, D., Barnes, B., & Hummon, J. Physical characteristics and evolution of a long-lasting mesoscale cyclonic eddy in the Straits of Florida. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, (2022): 779450, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.779450.

Description: Ocean eddies along the Loop Current (LC)/Florida Current (FC) front have been studied for decades, yet studies of the entire evolution of individual eddies are rare. Here, satellite altimetry and ocean color observations, Argo profiling float records and shipborne acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) measurements, together with high-resolution simulations from the global Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) are used to investigate the physical and biochemical properties, 3-dimensional (3-D) structure, and evolution of a long-lasting cyclonic eddy (CE) in the Straits of Florida (SoF) along the LC/FC front during April–August 2017. An Angular Momentum Eddy Detection Algorithm (AMEDA) is used to detect and track the CE during its evolution process. The long-lasting CE is found to form along the eastern edge of the LC on April 9th, and remained quasi-stationary for about 3 months (April 23 to July 15) off the Dry Tortugas (DT) until becoming much smaller due to its interaction with the FC and topography. This frontal eddy is named a Tortugas Eddy (TE) and is characterized with higher Chlorophyll (Chl) and lower temperature than surrounding waters, with a mean diameter of ∼100 km and a penetrating depth of ∼800 m. The mechanisms that contributed to the growth and evolution of this long-lasting TE are also explored, which reveal the significant role of oceanic internal instability.

Description: This work was supported by the NASA student fellowship program “Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology” (FINESST, 80NSSC19K1358), the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) UGOS-1 (2000009918), the NOAA IOOS SECOORA Program [IOOS.21(097)USF.BW.OBS.1], and the NOAA RESTORE Science Program (NA17NOS4510099).

Description: © The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Duguid, Z., & Camilli, R. Improving resource management for unattended observation of the marginal ice zone using autonomous underwater gliders. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 7, (2020): 579256, https://doi.org/10.3389/frobt.2020.579256.

Description: We present control policies for use with a modified autonomous underwater glider that are intended to enable remote launch/recovery and long-range unattended survey of the Arctic's marginal ice zone (MIZ). This region of the Arctic is poorly characterized but critical to the dynamics of ice advance and retreat. Due to the high cost of operating support vessels in the Arctic, the proposed glider architecture minimizes external infrastructure requirements for navigation and mission updates to brief and infrequent satellite updates on the order of once per day. This is possible through intelligent power management in combination with hybrid propulsion, adaptive velocity control, and dynamic depth band selection based on real-time environmental state estimation. We examine the energy savings, range improvements, decreased communication requirements, and temporal consistency that can be attained with the proposed glider architecture and control policies based on preliminary field data, and we discuss a future MIZ survey mission concept in the Arctic. Although the sensing and control policies presented here focus on under ice missions with an unattended underwater glider, they are hardware independent and are transferable to other robotic vehicle classes, including in aerial and space domains.

Description: Support for this research was provided through NASA PSTAR Grant #NNX16AL08G and the National Science Foundation Navigating the New Arctic grant #1839063.

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Cadigan, J., Bekkaye, J., Jafari, N., Zhu, L., Booth, A., Chen, Q., Raubenheimer, B., Harris, B., O’Connor, C., Lane, R., Kemp, G., Day, J., Day, J., & Ulloa, H. Impacts of coastal infrastructure on shoreline response to major hurricanes in southwest Louisiana. Frontiers in Built Environment, 8, (2022): 885215. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbuil.2022.885215.

Description: The Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, located along the Chenier Plain in Southwest Louisiana, was the location of the sequential landfall of two major hurricanes in the 2020 hurricane season. To protect the rapidly retreating coastline along the Refuge, a system of breakwaters was constructed, which was partially completed by the 2020 hurricane season. Multi-institutional, multi-disciplinary rapid response deployments of wave gauges, piezometers, geotechnical measurements, vegetation sampling, and drone surveys were conducted before and after Hurricanes Laura and Delta along two transects in the Refuge; one protected by a breakwater system and one which was the natural, unprotected shoreline. Geomorphological changes were similar on both transects after Hurricane Laura, while after Delta there was higher inland sediment deposition on the natural shoreline. Floodwaters drained from the transect with breakwater protection more slowly than the natural shoreline, though topography profiles are similar, indicating a potential dampening or complex hydrodynamic interactions between the sediment—wetland—breakwater system. In addition, observations of a fluidized mud deposit in Rollover Bayou in the Refuge are presented and discussed in context of the maintenance of wetland elevation and stability in the sediment starved Chenier Plain.

Description: Funding for the study has been partially provided by the National Science Foundation through grants NSF 2139882, 2139883, 1829136, 1848650, and 1939275, as well as through the United States Army Corps of Engineers Regional Sediment Management program. Student support provided through the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program and the Louisiana Coastal Science Assistantship Program.

Description: The IOC Committee on International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange held its Twenty-fifth Session (IODE-XXV) at the Iino Hall, Tokyo, Japan between 20 and 22 February 2019. The Session was preceded by a 2-day scientific conference 18-19 February 2019, attended by 150 participants. The IODE Session was attended by 100 participants from 39 IOC Member States and 7 Organizations. The Session adopted 4 decisions (+ 2 draft decisions for the IOC Assembly) and 5 recommendations. The decisions concerned (i) the establishment of an inter-sessional working group on the review of NODC health status; (ii) the revision of the IODE management structure; (iii) the establishment of the inter-sessional working group to develop the implementation plan and cost-benefit analysis for the IOC Ocean Data and Information System (ODIS). The Recommendations concerned (i) the JCOMM/IODE Global Data Assembly Centres; (ii) the revision of the terms of reference of he JCOMM/IODE ETDMP; (iii) the establishment of the IOC Ocean Data and Information System Catalogue of Sources (ODISCat); (iv) the establishment of an inter-sessional working group to propose a strategy on ocean data and information stewardship for the UN Ocean Decade; and (v) the IODE work plan and budget for 2019-2020. In addition a draft decision was prepared for the IOC Assembly on the revision of the IOC Oceanographic Data Exchange Policy as well as a draft decision on the establishment of the IOC Ocean Best Practices System project. The Committee elected Dr Sergey Belov (Russian Federation) and Mr Taco de Bruin (The Netherlands) as IODE Co-Chairs.

Description: OpenASFA input

Description: Published

Description: Not Known

Description: In pursuance of 38 C/Resolution 101 on Governance, procedures and working methods of the governing bodies of UNESCO, an intersessional open-ended working group was established to further examine views and proposals of Member States, the External Auditor’s report and other relevant evaluations and audits. Purpose of the document: This document presents background information to assist Member States in their discussions on reviewing the efficiency of the IOC governance and prepare a contribution to the work of the General Conference Working Group by the end of 2016.

Description: Published

Description: Non Refereed

Description: The Joint Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM) was established by its parent organizations, the World Meteorological Organization and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (of UNESCO) in 1999, to coordinate worldwide marine meteorological and oceanographic services and their supporting observational, data management, forecasting, analysis and capacity building programmes. JCOMM coordinates and recommends standards and procedures for a fully-integrated marine meteorology and ocean observing, data management, forecasting and analysis system which uses state-of-the-art technologies and capabilities. It is responsive to the evolving needs of all users of marine data and products, including an outreach programme to enhance the national capacity of all maritime countries. It aims to maximize the benefits for its Members/Member States in the projects, programmes and activities that it undertakes in their interest as well as those of the global community in general

Description: OpenASFA input

Description: Published

Description: Not Known

Description: Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2022. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 52(10), (2022): 2431-2444, https://doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-22-0024.1.

Description: A three-dimensional inertial model that conserves quasigeostrophic potential vorticity is proposed for wind-driven coastal upwelling along western boundaries. The dominant response to upwelling favorable winds is a surface-intensified baroclinic meridional boundary current with a subsurface countercurrent. The width of the current is not the baroclinic deformation radius but instead scales with the inertial boundary layer thickness while the depth scales as the ratio of the inertial boundary layer thickness to the baroclinic deformation radius. Thus, the boundary current scales depend on the stratification, wind stress, Coriolis parameter, and its meridional variation. In contrast to two-dimensional wind-driven coastal upwelling, the source waters that feed the Ekman upwelling are provided over the depth scale of this baroclinic current through a combination of onshore barotropic flow and from alongshore in the narrow boundary current. Topography forces an additional current whose characteristics depend on the topographic slope and width. For topography wider than the inertial boundary layer thickness the current is bottom intensified, while for narrow topography the current is wave-like in the vertical and trapped over the topography within the inertial boundary layer. An idealized primitive equation numerical model produces a similar baroclinic boundary current whose vertical length scale agrees with the theoretical scaling for both upwelling and downwelling favorable winds.

Description: This research is supported in part by the China Scholarship Council (201906330102). H. G. is financially supported by the China Scholarship Council to study at WHOI for 2 years as a guest student. M.S. is supported by the National Science Foundation Grant OCE-1922538. Z. C. is supported by the ‘Taishan/Aoshan’ Talents program (2017ASTCPES05) the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (202072001).

Description: 2023-03-30

Description: Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2022. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 52(10), (2022): 2325–2341, https://doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-21-0015.1.

Description: The ocean surface boundary layer is a gateway of energy transfer into the ocean. Wind-driven shear and meteorologically forced convection inject turbulent kinetic energy into the surface boundary layer, mixing the upper ocean and transforming its density structure. In the absence of direct observations or the capability to resolve subgrid-scale 3D turbulence in operational ocean models, the oceanography community relies on surface boundary layer similarity scalings (BLS) of shear and convective turbulence to represent this mixing. Despite their importance, near-surface mixing processes (and ubiquitous BLS representations of these processes) have been undersampled in high-energy forcing regimes such as the Southern Ocean. With the maturing of autonomous sampling platforms, there is now an opportunity to collect high-resolution spatial and temporal measurements in the full range of forcing conditions. Here, we characterize near-surface turbulence under strong wind forcing using the first long-duration glider microstructure survey of the Southern Ocean. We leverage these data to show that the measured turbulence is significantly higher than standard shear-convective BLS in the shallower parts of the surface boundary layer and lower than standard shear-convective BLS in the deeper parts of the surface boundary layer; the latter of which is not easily explained by present wave-effect literature. Consistent with the CBLAST (Coupled Boundary Layers and Air Sea Transfer) low winds experiment, this bias has the largest magnitude and spread in the shallowest 10% of the actively mixing layer under low-wind and breaking wave conditions, when relatively low levels of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) in surface regime are easily biased by wave events.

Description: This paper is VIMS Contribution 4103. Computational resources were provided by the VIMS Ocean-Atmosphere and Climate Change Research Fund. AUSSOM was supported by the OCE Division of the National Science Foundation (1558639).

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Cavanaugh, K. C., Bell, T., Costa, M., Eddy, N. E., Gendall, L., Gleason, M. G., Hessing-Lewis, M., Martone, R., McPherson, M., Pontier, O., Reshitnyk, L., Beas-Luna, R., Carr, M., Caselle, J. E., Cavanaugh, K. C., Miller, R. F., Hamilton, S., Heady, W. N., Hirsh, H. K., Hohman R., Lee L. C., Lorda J., Ray J., Reed D. C., Saccomanno V. R., Schroeder, S. B. A review of the opportunities and challenges for using remote sensing for management of surface-canopy forming kelps. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, (2021): 753531, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.753531.

Description: Surface-canopy forming kelps provide the foundation for ecosystems that are ecologically, culturally, and economically important. However, these kelp forests are naturally dynamic systems that are also threatened by a range of global and local pressures. As a result, there is a need for tools that enable managers to reliably track changes in their distribution, abundance, and health in a timely manner. Remote sensing data availability has increased dramatically in recent years and this data represents a valuable tool for monitoring surface-canopy forming kelps. However, the choice of remote sensing data and analytic approach must be properly matched to management objectives and tailored to the physical and biological characteristics of the region of interest. This review identifies remote sensing datasets and analyses best suited to address different management needs and environmental settings using case studies from the west coast of North America. We highlight the importance of integrating different datasets and approaches to facilitate comparisons across regions and promote coordination of management strategies.

Description: Funding was provided by the Nature Conservancy (Grant No. 02042019-5719), the U.S. National Science Foundation (Grant No. OCE 1831937), and the U.S. Department of Energy ARPA-E (Grant No. DE-AR0000922).

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Oliveira, T. C. A., Lin, Y.-T., & Porter, M. B. Underwater sound propagation modeling in a complex shallow water environment. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, (2021): 751327, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.751327.

Description: Three-dimensional (3D) effects can profoundly influence underwater sound propagation in shallow-water environments, hence, affecting the underwater soundscape. Various geological features and coastal oceanographic processes can cause horizontal reflection, refraction, and diffraction of underwater sound. In this work, the ability of a parabolic equation (PE) model to simulate sound propagation in the extremely complicated shallow water environment of Long Island Sound (United States east coast) is investigated. First, the 2D and 3D versions of the PE model are compared with state-of-the-art normal mode and beam tracing models for two idealized cases representing the local environment in the Sound: (i) a 2D 50-m flat bottom and (ii) a 3D shallow water wedge. After that, the PE model is utilized to model sound propagation in three realistic local scenarios in the Sound. Frequencies of 500 and 1500 Hz are considered in all the simulations. In general, transmission loss (TL) results provided by the PE, normal mode and beam tracing models tend to agree with each other. Differences found emerge with (1) increasing the bathymetry complexity, (2) expanding the propagation range, and (3) approaching the limits of model applicability. The TL results from 3D PE simulations indicate that sound propagating along sand bars can experience significant 3D effects. Indeed, for the complex shallow bathymetry found in some areas of Long Island Sound, it is challenging for the models to track the interference effects in the sound pattern. Results emphasize that when choosing an underwater sound propagation model for practical applications in a complex shallow-water environment, a compromise will be made between the numerical model accuracy, computational time, and validity.

Description: TO thanks FCT/MCTES for the financial support to CESAM (UIDP/50017/2020 + UIDB/50017/2020), through national funds. The funding support from the Office of Naval Research for Y-TL via the grant N00014-21-1-2416 was also acknowledged. MP was supported by the Office of Naval Research under contracts N68335-17-C-0553 and N00014-18-C-7007.

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Jiang, L.-Q., Pierrot, D., Wanninkhof, R., Feely, R. A., Tilbrook, B., Alin, S., Barbero, L., Byrne, R. H., Carter, B. R., Dickson, A. G., Gattuso, J.-P., Greeley, D., Hoppema, M., Humphreys, M. P., Karstensen, J., Lange, N., Lauvset, S. K., Lewis, E. R., Olsen, A., Pérez, F. F., Sabine, C., Sharp, J. D., Tanhua, T., Trull, T. W., Velo, A., Allegra, A. J., Barker, P., Burger, E., Cai, W-J., Chen, C-T. A., Cross, J., Garcia, H., Hernandez-Ayon J. M., Hu, X., Kozyr, A., Langdon, C., Lee., K, Salisbury, J., Wang, Z. A., & Xue, L. Best practice data standards for discrete chemical oceanographic observations. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, (2022): 705638, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.705638.

Description: Effective data management plays a key role in oceanographic research as cruise-based data, collected from different laboratories and expeditions, are commonly compiled to investigate regional to global oceanographic processes. Here we describe new and updated best practice data standards for discrete chemical oceanographic observations, specifically those dealing with column header abbreviations, quality control flags, missing value indicators, and standardized calculation of certain properties. These data standards have been developed with the goals of improving the current practices of the scientific community and promoting their international usage. These guidelines are intended to standardize data files for data sharing and submission into permanent archives. They will facilitate future quality control and synthesis efforts and lead to better data interpretation. In turn, this will promote research in ocean biogeochemistry, such as studies of carbon cycling and ocean acidification, on regional to global scales. These best practice standards are not mandatory. Agencies, institutes, universities, or research vessels can continue using different data standards if it is important for them to maintain historical consistency. However, it is hoped that they will be adopted as widely as possible to facilitate consistency and to achieve the goals stated above.

Description: Funding for L-QJ and AK was from NOAA Ocean Acidification Program (OAP, Project ID: 21047) and NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) through NOAA grant NA19NES4320002 [Cooperative Institute for Satellite Earth System Studies (CISESS)] at the University of Maryland/ESSIC. BT was in part supported by the Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS), enabled through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). AD was supported in part by the United States National Science Foundation. AV and FP were supported by BOCATS2 Project (PID2019-104279GB-C21/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) funded by the Spanish Research Agency and contributing to WATER:iOS CSIC interdisciplinary thematic platform. MH was partly funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under grant agreement N°821001 (SO-CHIC).

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Liu, S., Longnecker, K., Kujawinski, E., Vergin, K., Bolaños, L., Giovannoni, S., Parsons, R., Opalk, K., Halewood, E., Hansell, D., Johnson, R., Curry, R., & Carlson, C. Linkages among dissolved organic matter export, dissolved metabolites, and associated microbial community structure response in the northwestern Sargasso Sea on a seasonal scale. Frontiers in Microbiology, 13, (2022): 833252, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.833252.

Description: Deep convective mixing of dissolved and suspended organic matter from the surface to depth can represent an important export pathway of the biological carbon pump. The seasonally oligotrophic Sargasso Sea experiences annual winter convective mixing to as deep as 300 m, providing a unique model system to examine dissolved organic matter (DOM) export and its subsequent compositional transformation by microbial oxidation. We analyzed biogeochemical and microbial parameters collected from the northwestern Sargasso Sea, including bulk dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total dissolved amino acids (TDAA), dissolved metabolites, bacterial abundance and production, and bacterial community structure, to assess the fate and compositional transformation of DOM by microbes on a seasonal time-scale in 2016–2017. DOM dynamics at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study site followed a general annual trend of DOC accumulation in the surface during stratified periods followed by downward flux during winter convective mixing. Changes in the amino acid concentrations and compositions provide useful indices of diagenetic alteration of DOM. TDAA concentrations and degradation indices increased in the mesopelagic zone during mixing, indicating the export of a relatively less diagenetically altered (i.e., more labile) DOM. During periods of deep mixing, a unique subset of dissolved metabolites, such as amino acids, vitamins, and benzoic acids, was produced or lost. DOM export and compositional change were accompanied by mesopelagic bacterial growth and response of specific bacterial lineages in the SAR11, SAR202, and SAR86 clades, Acidimicrobiales, and Flavobacteria, during and shortly following deep mixing. Complementary DOM biogeochemistry and microbial measurements revealed seasonal changes in DOM composition and diagenetic state, highlighting microbial alteration of the quantity and quality of DOM in the ocean.

Description: This project was funded by the Simons Foundation International’s BIOS-SCOPE program and US National Science Foundation (NSF OCE-1756105 for BATS cruises).

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Matabos, M., Barreyre, T., Juniper, S., Cannat, M., Kelley, D., Alfaro-Lucas, J., Chavagnac, V., Colaço, A., Escartin, J., Escobar, E., Fornari, D., Hasenclever, J., Huber, J., Laës-Huon, A., Lantéri, N., Levin, L., Mihaly, S., Mittelstaedt, E., Pradillon, F., Lantéri, N., Levin, L. A., Mihaly, S., Mittelstaedt, E., Pradillon, F., Sarradin, P-M., Sarrazin, J., Tomasi, B., Venkatesan, R., & Vic, C. Integrating Multidisciplinary Observations in Vent Environments (IMOVE): decadal progress in deep-sea observatories at hydrothermal vents. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, (2022): 866422, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.866422.

Description: The unique ecosystems and biodiversity associated with mid-ocean ridge (MOR) hydrothermal vent systems contrast sharply with surrounding deep-sea habitats, however both may be increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activity (e.g., mining activities at massive sulphide deposits). Climate change can alter the deep-sea through increased bottom temperatures, loss of oxygen, and modifications to deep water circulation. Despite the potential of these profound impacts, the mechanisms enabling these systems and their ecosystems to persist, function and respond to oceanic, crustal, and anthropogenic forces remain poorly understood. This is due primarily to technological challenges and difficulties in accessing, observing and monitoring the deep-sea. In this context, the development of deep-sea observatories in the 2000s focused on understanding the coupling between sub-surface flow and oceanic and crustal conditions, and how they influence biological processes. Deep-sea observatories provide long-term, multidisciplinary time-series data comprising repeated observations and sampling at temporal resolutions from seconds to decades, through a combination of cabled, wireless, remotely controlled, and autonomous measurement systems. The three existing vent observatories are located on the Juan de Fuca and Mid-Atlantic Ridges (Ocean Observing Initiative, Ocean Networks Canada and the European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water column Observatory). These observatories promote stewardship by defining effective environmental monitoring including characterizing biological and environmental baseline states, discriminating changes from natural variations versus those from anthropogenic activities, and assessing degradation, resilience and recovery after disturbance. This highlights the potential of observatories as valuable tools for environmental impact assessment (EIA) in the context of climate change and other anthropogenic activities, primarily ocean mining. This paper provides a synthesis on scientific advancements enabled by the three observatories this last decade, and recommendations to support future studies through international collaboration and coordination. The proposed recommendations include: i) establishing common global scientific questions and identification of Essential Ocean Variables (EOVs) specific to MORs, ii) guidance towards the effective use of observatories to support and inform policies that can impact society, iii) strategies for observatory infrastructure development that will help standardize sensors, data formats and capabilities, and iv) future technology needs and common sampling approaches to answer today’s most urgent and timely questions.

Description: The first workshop in Bergen was additionally funded by the K.G. Jebsen Centre for Deep Sea Research and the University of Bergen. The second workshop was supported by ISblue project, Interdisciplinary graduate school for the blue planet (ANR-17-EURE-0015) and co-funded by a grant from the French government under the program “Investissements d’Avenir”. Additional funding was provided by Ifremer, and the départment du Finistère. The operation and maintenance of the EMSO-Azores observatory is funded by the by the EMSO-FR Research Infrastructure (MESR), which is managed by an Ifremer-CNRS collaboration. The operation and maintenance of the Endeavour observatory is funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s Major Science Infrastructure program and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (Canada). The operation and maintenance of the Axial Seamount observatory is funded by the National Science Foundation as part of the Ocean Observatories Initiative Regional Cabled Array. MM, JS and PMS acknowledge funding from the EU Horizon 2020 iAtlantic project (Grant Agreement No. 818123). AC was supported by the Operational Program AZORES 2020, through the Fund 01-0145-FEDER-1279 000140 “MarAZ Researchers: Consolidate a body of researchers in Marine Sciences in the Azores” of the European Union. She was also supported by FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., under the project UIDB/05634/2020 and UIDP/05634/2020 and through the Regional Government of the Azores through the initiative to support the Research Centers of the University of the Azores and through the project M1.1.A/REEQ.CIENTÍFICO UI&D/2021/010.

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Cohen, N., Alexander, H., Krinos, A., Hu, S., & Lampe, R. Marine microeukaryotem metatranscriptomics: sample processing and bioinformatic workflow recommendations for ecological applications. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, (2022): 867007, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.867007.

Description: Microeukaryotes (protists) serve fundamental roles in the marine environment as contributors to biogeochemical nutrient cycling and ecosystem function. Their activities can be inferred through metatranscriptomic investigations, which provide a detailed view into cellular processes, chemical-biological interactions in the environment, and ecological relationships among taxonomic groups. Established workflows have been individually put forth describing biomass collection at sea, laboratory RNA extraction protocols, and bioinformatic processing and computational approaches. Here, we present a compilation of current practices and lessons learned in carrying out metatranscriptomics of marine pelagic protistan communities, highlighting effective strategies and tools used by practitioners over the past decade. We anticipate that these guidelines will serve as a roadmap for new marine scientists beginning in the realms of molecular biology and/or bioinformatics, and will equip readers with foundational principles needed to delve into protistan metatranscriptomics.

Description: We acknowledge funding support from the University of Georgia Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (to NRC), National Science Foundation (NSF) (OCE-1948025 to HA), and Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (DE-SC0020347 to AIK). SKH participation was supported through NSF OCE-1947776.

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Cavaco, M. A., Bhatia, M. P., Hawley, A. K., Torres-Beltran, M., Johnson, W. M., Longnecker, K., Konwar, K., Kujawinski, E. B., & Hallam, S. J. Pathway-centric analysis of microbial metabolic potential and expression along nutrient and energy gradients in the western Atlantic Ocean. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, (2022): 867310, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.867310.

Description: Microbial communities play integral roles in driving nutrient and energy transformations in the ocean, collectively contributing to fundamental biogeochemical cycles. Although it is well known that these communities are stratified within the water column, there remains limited knowledge of how metabolic pathways are distributed and expressed. Here, we investigate pathway distribution and expression patterns from surface (5 m) to deep dark ocean (4000 m) at three stations along a 2765 km transect in the western South Atlantic Ocean. This study is based on new data, consisting of 43 samples for 16S rRNA gene sequencing, 20 samples for metagenomics and 19 samples for metatranscriptomics. Consistent with previous observations, we observed vertical zonation of microbial community structure largely partitioned between light and dark ocean waters. The metabolic pathways inferred from genomic sequence information and gene expression stratified with depth. For example, expression of photosynthetic pathways increased in sunlit waters. Conversely, expression of pathways related to carbon conversion processes, particularly those involving recalcitrant and organic carbon degradation pathways (i.e., oxidation of formaldehyde) increased in dark ocean waters. We also observed correlations between indicator taxa for specific depths with the selective expression of metabolic pathways. For example, SAR202, prevalent in deep waters, was strongly correlated with expression of the methanol oxidation pathway. From a biogeographic perspective, microbial communities along the transect encoded similar metabolic potential with some latitudinal stratification in gene expression. For example, at a station influenced by input from the Amazon River, expression of pathways related to oxidative stress was increased. Finally, when pairing distinct correlations between specific particulate metabolites (e.g., DMSP, AMP and MTA) and both the taxonomic microbial community and metatranscriptomic pathways across depth and space, we were able to observe how changes in the marine metabolite pool may be influenced by microbial function and vice versa. Taken together, these results indicate that marine microbial communities encode a core repertoire of widely distributed metabolic pathways that are differentially regulated along nutrient and energy gradients. Such pathway distribution patterns are consistent with robustness in microbial food webs and indicate a high degree of functional redundancy.

Description: This work was funded by the NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (Grant no. OCE-1154320 to EK and KL) and a small (“Microbial controls on marine organic carbon cycling”) and large (“Marine microbial communities from the Southern Atlantic Ocean transect to study dissolved organic matter and carbon cycling”) community sequencing grants from the Joint Genome Institute (US Department of Energy, Walnut Creek, CA) to SH and MB. MB was supported by an NSERC post-doctoral fellowship and a CIFAR Global Scholars fellowship. MC was supported by a Campus Alberta Innovates Program (CAIP) chair to MB.

Description: Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2021. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 102(10), (2021): E1897–E1935, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0316.1.

Description: Life on Earth vitally depends on the availability of water. Human pressure on freshwater resources is increasing, as is human exposure to weather-related extremes (droughts, storms, floods) caused by climate change. Understanding these changes is pivotal for developing mitigation and adaptation strategies. The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) defines a suite of essential climate variables (ECVs), many related to the water cycle, required to systematically monitor Earth’s climate system. Since long-term observations of these ECVs are derived from different observation techniques, platforms, instruments, and retrieval algorithms, they often lack the accuracy, completeness, and resolution, to consistently characterize water cycle variability at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Here, we review the capability of ground-based and remotely sensed observations of water cycle ECVs to consistently observe the hydrological cycle. We evaluate the relevant land, atmosphere, and ocean water storages and the fluxes between them, including anthropogenic water use. Particularly, we assess how well they close on multiple temporal and spatial scales. On this basis, we discuss gaps in observation systems and formulate guidelines for future water cycle observation strategies. We conclude that, while long-term water cycle monitoring has greatly advanced in the past, many observational gaps still need to be overcome to close the water budget and enable a comprehensive and consistent assessment across scales. Trends in water cycle components can only be observed with great uncertainty, mainly due to insufficient length and homogeneity. An advanced closure of the water cycle requires improved model–data synthesis capabilities, particularly at regional to local scales.

Description: WD acknowledges ESA’s QA4EO (ISMN) and CCI Soil Moisture projects. WD, CRV, AG, and KL acknowledge the G3P project, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement 870353. MIH and MS acknowledge ESA’s CCI Water Vapour project. MS and RH acknowledges the support by the EUMETSAT member states through CM SAF. DGM acknowledges support from the European Research Council (ERC) under Grant Agreement 715254 (DRY–2–DRY). Part of this research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NM0018D0004).

Description: 2022-04-01

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Caramanna, G., Sievert, S. M., & Buehring, S. I. Submarine shallow-water fluid emissions and their geomicrobiological imprint: a global overview. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, (2021): 727199, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.727199.

Description: Submarine fluids emissions in the form of geothermal vents are widespread in a variety of geological settings ranging from volcanic to tectonically active areas. This overview aims to describe representative examples of submarine vents in shallow-water areas around the globe. The areas described include: Iceland, Azores, Mediterranean Sea (Italy and Greece), Caribbean, Baja California, Japan, Papua, New Zealand, Taiwan. Common and divergent characteristics in terms of origin and geochemistry of the emitted fluids and their impact on the indigenous organisms and the surrounding environment have been identified. In the hottest vents seawater concentration is common as well as some water vapor phase separation. Carbon dioxide is the most common gas often associated with compounds of sulfur and methane. In several vents precipitation of minerals can be identified in the surrounding sediments. The analyses of the microbial communities often revealed putative chemoautotrophs, with Campylobacteria abundantly present at many vents where reduced sulfur compounds are available. The techniques that can be used for the detection and quantification of underwater vents are also described, including geophysical and geochemical tools. Finally, the main geobiological effects due to the presence of the hydrothermal activity and the induced changes in water chemistry are assessed.

Description: SMS was supported by the United States National Science Foundation (OCE-1124272) and the WHOI Investment in Science Fund and SIB by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Emmy Noether grant BU 2606/1).

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Robuck, A. R., Hudak, C. A., Agvent, L., Emery, G., Ryan, P. G., Perold, V., Powers, K. D., Pedersen, J., Thompson, M. A., Suca, J. J., Moore, M. J., Harms, C. A., Bugoni, L., Shield, G., Glass, T., Wiley, D. N., & Lohmann, R. Birds of a feather eat plastic together: high levels of plastic ingestion in Great Shearwater adults and juveniles across their annual migratory cycle. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, (2022): 719721, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.719721.

Description: Limited work to date has examined plastic ingestion in highly migratory seabirds like Great Shearwaters (Ardenna gravis) across their entire migratory range. We examined 217 Great Shearwaters obtained from 2008–2019 at multiple locations spanning their yearly migration cycle across the Northwest and South Atlantic to assess accumulation of ingested plastic as well as trends over time and between locations. A total of 2328 plastic fragments were documented in the ventriculus portion of the gastrointestinal tract, with an average of 9 plastic fragments per bird. The mass, count, and frequency of plastic occurrence (FO) varied by location, with higher plastic burdens but lower FO in South Atlantic adults and chicks from the breeding colonies. No fragments of the same size or morphology were found in the primary forage fish prey, the Sand Lance (Ammodytes spp., n = 202) that supports Great Shearwaters in Massachusetts Bay, United States, suggesting the birds directly ingest the bulk of their plastic loads rather than accumulating via trophic transfer. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy indicated that low- and high-density polyethylene were the most common polymers ingested, within all years and locations. Individuals from the South Atlantic contained a higher proportion of larger plastic items and fragments compared to analogous life stages in the NW Atlantic, possibly due to increased use of remote, pelagic areas subject to reduced inputs of smaller, more diverse, and potentially less buoyant plastics found adjacent to coastal margins. Different signatures of polymer type, size, and category between similar life stages at different locations suggests rapid turnover of ingested plastics commensurate with migratory stage and location, though more empirical evidence is needed to ground-truth this hypothesis. This work is the first to comprehensively measure the accumulation of ingested plastics by Great Shearwaters over the last decade and across multiple locations spanning their yearly trans-equatorial migration cycle and underscores their utility as sentinels of plastic pollution in Atlantic ecosystems.

Description: This project was supported by the NOAA Fisheries National Seabird Program and the Volgenau Foundation. AR acknowledges support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program (NOAA Award Number NA17NOS4290028), the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation, the STEEP Superfund Research Program (NIEHS Award Number P42ES027706), and the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) program. LB was funded by INCT-Mar COI and PQ Grant No. 311409/2018-0, both by the Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq). JS was funded by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship program.

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Yamhure, G. M., Reyns, N., & Pineda, J. High larval concentrations and onshore transport of barnacle cyprids associated with thermal stratification. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, (2021): 748389, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.748389.

Description: To better understand the hydrodynamic and hydrographic conditions experienced by larvae in the nearshore (within 1 km of shore), and the role that larval behavior plays in mediating shoreward transport to adult benthic habitats, we examined the vertical distribution and concentration of barnacle cyprids in a shallow, nearshore region in southern California, United States. We collected high-resolution physical measurements of currents and temperature at 3 stations (8, 5, and 4 m depths), and high-frequency measurements of barnacle larvae at a 4 m deep station ∼300 m from shore. Larvae were sampled from distinct 1 m depth intervals between the surface and the bottom (0–1 m, 1–2 m, 2–3 m, 3 m-bottom), each hour for overnight periods that ranged between 13 to 24 h in five cruises during the summers of 2017 and 2018. Barnacle cyprids of Chthamalus fissus predominated in all samples. Thermal stratification decreased closer to shore, but when the nearshore-most station remained stratified (Δ°C m–1 ≥ 0.1), C. fissus cyprid concentrations were high to extremely abundant (exceeding 200 and 4,000 individuals m–3, respectively). There were significant positive correlations between thermal stratification and the log-transformed C. fissus concentration at cruise-to-cruise scales, and between stratification and vertical variability in the high-frequency cross-shore currents at 2-day scales. Additionally, estimated larval transport was relatively high and shoreward when nearshore thermal stratification was greatest. Significant, albeit small, diel differences in cyprid distributions were also observed, with the proportion of cyprids increasing near the surface at night, and concentrations greater during the day than at night. Collectively, these results suggest that thermal stratification increases larval supply to the nearshore, and may enhance onshore larval transport to augment chances of successful settlement and recruitment to the intertidal adult habitat.

Description: This study was funded by the National Science Foundation under grants OCE-1357290, OCE-1357327, OCE-1630459, and OCE-1630474.

Description: Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2021. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society 102(10), (2021): E1936–E1951, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-20-0113.1.

Description: In the Bay of Bengal, the warm, dry boreal spring concludes with the onset of the summer monsoon and accompanying southwesterly winds, heavy rains, and variable air–sea fluxes. Here, we summarize the 2018 monsoon onset using observations collected through the multinational Monsoon Intraseasonal Oscillations in the Bay of Bengal (MISO-BoB) program between the United States, India, and Sri Lanka. MISO-BoB aims to improve understanding of monsoon intraseasonal variability, and the 2018 field effort captured the coupled air–sea response during a transition from active-to-break conditions in the central BoB. The active phase of the ∼20-day research cruise was characterized by warm sea surface temperature (SST 〉 30°C), cold atmospheric outflows with intermittent heavy rainfall, and increasing winds (from 2 to 15 m s−1). Accumulated rainfall exceeded 200 mm with 90% of precipitation occurring during the first week. The following break period was both dry and clear, with persistent 10–12 m s−1 wind and evaporation of 0.2 mm h−1. The evolving environmental state included a deepening ocean mixed layer (from ∼20 to 50 m), cooling SST (by ∼1°C), and warming/drying of the lower to midtroposphere. Local atmospheric development was consistent with phasing of the large-scale intraseasonal oscillation. The upper ocean stores significant heat in the BoB, enough to maintain SST above 29°C despite cooling by surface fluxes and ocean mixing. Comparison with reanalysis indicates biases in air–sea fluxes, which may be related to overly cool prescribed SST. Resolution of such biases offers a path toward improved forecasting of transition periods in the monsoon.

Description: This work was supported through the U.S. Office of Naval Research’s Departmental Research Initiative: Monsoon Intraseasonal Oscillations in the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ministry of Earth Science’s Ocean Mixing and Monsoons Program, and the Sri Lankan National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency. We thank the Captain and crew of the R/V Thompson for their help in data collection. Surface atmospheric fields included fluxes were quality controlled and processed by the Boundary Layer Observations and Processes Team within the NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Forecast analysis was completed by India Meteorological Department. Drone image was taken by Shreyas Kamat with annotations by Gualtiero Spiro Jaeger. We also recognize the numerous researchers who supported cruise- and land-based measurements. This work represents Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory contribution number 8503, and PMEL contribution number 5193.

Description: 2022-04-01

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Ketten, D. R., Simmons, J. A., Riquimaroux, H., & Simmons, A. M. Functional analyses of peripheral auditory system adaptations for echolocation in air vs. water. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 09, (2021): 661216, https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.661216.

Description: The similarity of acoustic tasks performed by odontocete (toothed whale) and microchiropteran (insectivorous bat) biosonar suggests they may have common ultrasonic signal reception and processing mechanisms. However, there are also significant media and prey dependent differences, notably speed of sound and wavelengths in air vs. water, that may be reflected in adaptations in their auditory systems and peak spectra of out-going signals for similarly sized prey. We examined the anatomy of the peripheral auditory system of two species of FM bat (big brown bat Eptesicus fuscus; Japanese house bat Pipistrellus abramus) and two toothed whales (harbor porpoise Phocoena phocoena; bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus) using ultra high resolution (11–100 micron) isotropic voxel computed tomography (helical and microCT). Significant differences were found for oval and round window location, cochlear length, basilar membrane gradients, neural distributions, cochlear spiral morphometry and curvature, and basilar membrane suspension distributions. Length correlates with body mass, not hearing ranges. High and low frequency hearing range cut-offs correlate with basilar membrane thickness/width ratios and the cochlear radius of curvature. These features are predictive of high and low frequency hearing limits in all ears examined. The ears of the harbor porpoise, the highest frequency echolocator in the study, had significantly greater stiffness, higher basal basilar membrane ratios, and bilateral bony support for 60% of the basilar membrane length. The porpoise’s basilar membrane includes a “foveal” region with “stretched” frequency representation and relatively constant membrane thickness/width ratio values similar to those reported for some bat species. Both species of bats and the harbor porpoise displayed unusual stapedial input locations and low ratios of cochlear radii, specializations that may enhance higher ultrasonic frequency signal resolution and deter low frequency cochlear propagation.

Description: MicroCT scanning, data analyses, and manuscript preparation were assisted by funding to DK from the Joint Industry Program (contract JIP22 III-16-08 – 55205300) and fellowships from the Hanse-Wissenschaftskolleg ICBM Fellowship and the Helmholtz International Fellow research programs. Big brown bat data collection and analysis were supported by an Office of Naval Research grant N00014-14-1-05880 to JS and an Office of Naval Research MURI grant N00014-17-1-2736 to JS and AS. Specimen collection, histology processing, and helical scanning related to the data reported in this study were supported through multiple grants and contracts since 2010 to DK from NIH, N45/LMRS-United States Navy Environmental Division (EnvDiv), Office of Naval Research, and ONR Global.

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Bongarts Lebbe, T., Rey-Valette, H., Chaumillon, E., Camus, G., Almar, R., Cazenave, A., Claudet, J., Rocle, N., Meur-Ferec, C., Viard, F., Mercier, D., Dupuy, C., Menard, F., Rossel, B. A., Mullineaux, L., Sicre, M.-A., Zivian, A., Gaill, F., & Euzen, A. Designing coastal adaptation strategies to tackle sea level rise. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, (2021): 740602, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.740602.

Description: Faced with sea level rise and the intensification of extreme events, human populations living on the coasts are developing responses to address local situations. A synthesis of the literature on responses to coastal adaptation allows us to highlight different adaptation strategies. Here, we analyze these strategies according to the complexity of their implementation, both institutionally and technically. First, we distinguish two opposing paradigms – fighting against rising sea levels or adapting to new climatic conditions; and second, we observe the level of integrated management of the strategies. This typology allows a distinction between four archetypes with the most commonly associated governance modalities for each. We then underline the need for hybrid approaches and adaptation trajectories over time to take into account local socio-cultural, geographical, and climatic conditions as well as to integrate stakeholders in the design and implementation of responses. We show that dynamic and participatory policies can foster collective learning processes and enable the evolution of social values and behaviors. Finally, adaptation policies rely on knowledge and participatory engagement, multi-scalar governance, policy monitoring, and territorial solidarity. These conditions are especially relevant for densely populated areas that will be confronted with sea level rise, thus for coastal cities in particular.

Description: This work was conducted as part of the project SEA’TIES led by the Ocean & Climate Platform. SEA’TIES is funded by the Prince Albert II Foundation (No. 3112), Veolia Foundation (No. 20EB2004), and Fondation de France, Monaco. It was coordinated by the CNRS, in the framework of the RTPi (International Multidisciplinary Thematic Network) which drives the scientific component of the SEA’TIES project.

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Kim, D., Ji, R., Park, H. J., Feng, Z., Jang, J., Lee, C. l, Kang, Y.-H., & Kang, C.-K. Impact of shifting subpolar front on phytoplankton dynamics in the western margin of East/Japan Sea. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, (2021): 790703, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.790703.

Description: A subpolar front (SPF) generated between the East Korea Warm Current (EKWC) and the North Korea Cold Current (NKCC) in the western margin of the East/Japan Sea has shifted northward in recent decades. This study investigated the biomass and composition of the phytoplankton assemblage in relation to hydrological and biogeochemical features in the shallow shelf and slope off the Korean coast from January to June in 2016 and 2017, to determine the mechanistic effects of SPF on spring–summer phytoplankton bloom dynamics. Monthly average depth-integrated chlorophyll a (Chl a) levels and the contribution of phytoplankton classes revealed bimodal diatom blooms in early spring and summer in the frontal zone. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that the distribution of high Chl a was associated with cold, low-salinity NKCC water in March 2016. No Chl a peak was observed in March 2017 when the warm saline EKWC water mass invaded. These results suggest that the NKCC intrusion acts as a forcing mechanism leading to enhanced phytoplankton biomass in the frontal zone. In contrast, positive correlations of Chl a concentration with water density and nutrient concentrations suggest that summer blooms were fed by the subsurface chlorophyll maximum (SCM) driven by shoaling of the pycnocline and nitracline. Varying water-column stratification determined the thickness of the SCM layer, driving year-to-year variability in the magnitude of diatom blooms. These findings further suggest that seasonal/interannual variability in the timing of algal blooms affects regional trophodynamics and hence could be an important factor in explaining ecosystem changes in this region.

Description: This research was supported by “Long-term change of structure and function in marine ecosystems of Korea” and “Walleye pollock stock management based on marine information and communication technology” funded by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, South Korea.

Description: © The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Bucklin, A., Batta-Lona, P., Questel, J., Wiebe, P., Richardson, D., Copley, N., & O’Brien, T. COI metabarcoding of zooplankton species diversity for time-series monitoring of the NW Atlantic continental shelf. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, (2022): 867893, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.867893.

Description: Marine zooplankton are rapid-responders and useful indicators of environmental variability and climate change impacts on pelagic ecosystems on time scales ranging from seasons to years to decades. The systematic complexity and taxonomic diversity of the zooplankton assemblage has presented significant challenges for routine morphological (microscopic) identification of species in samples collected during ecosystem monitoring and fisheries management surveys. Metabarcoding using the mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) gene region has shown promise for detecting and identifying species of some – but not all – taxonomic groups in samples of marine zooplankton. This study examined species diversity of zooplankton on the Northwest Atlantic Continental Shelf using 27 samples collected in 2002-2012 from the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and Mid-Atlantic Bight during Ecosystem Monitoring (EcoMon) Surveys by the NOAA NMFS Northeast Fisheries Science Center. COI metabarcodes were identified using the MetaZooGene Barcode Atlas and Database (https://metazoogene.org/MZGdb) specific to the North Atlantic Ocean. A total of 181 species across 23 taxonomic groups were detected, including a number of sibling and cryptic species that were not discriminated by morphological taxonomic analysis of EcoMon samples. In all, 67 species of 15 taxonomic groups had ≥ 50 COI sequences; 23 species had 〉1,000 COI sequences. Comparative analysis of molecular and morphological data showed significant correlations between COI sequence numbers and microscopic counts for 5 of 6 taxonomic groups and for 5 of 7 species with 〉1,000 COI sequences for which both types of data were available. Multivariate statistical analysis showed clustering of samples within each region based on both COI sequence numbers and EcoMon counts, although differences among the three regions were not statistically significant. The results demonstrate the power and potential of COI metabarcoding for identification of species of metazoan zooplankton in the context of ecosystem monitoring.

Description: This publication resulted in part from support provided by the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR). Funds were also contributed by the U.S. National Science Foundation (Grant OCE-1840868) and by national SCOR committees.

Description: Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2022. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 52(4), (2022): 597–616, https://doi.org/10.1175/jpo-d-21-0121.1.

Description: We provide a first-principles analysis of the energy fluxes in the oceanic internal wave field. The resulting formula is remarkably similar to the renowned phenomenological formula for the turbulent dissipation rate in the ocean, which is known as the finescale parameterization. The prediction is based on the wave turbulence theory of internal gravity waves and on a new methodology devised for the computation of the associated energy fluxes. In the standard spectral representation of the wave energy density, in the two-dimensional vertical wavenumber–frequency (m–ω) domain, the energy fluxes associated with the steady state are found to be directed downscale in both coordinates, closely matching the finescale parameterization formula in functional form and in magnitude. These energy transfers are composed of a “local” and a “scale-separated” contributions; while the former is quantified numerically, the latter is dominated by the induced diffusion process and is amenable to analytical treatment. Contrary to previous results indicating an inverse energy cascade from high frequency to low, at odds with observations, our analysis of all nonzero coefficients of the diffusion tensor predicts a direct energy cascade. Moreover, by the same analysis fundamental spectra that had been deemed “no-flux” solutions are reinstated to the status of “constant-downscale-flux” solutions. This is consequential for an understanding of energy fluxes, sources, and sinks that fits in the observational paradigm of the finescale parameterization, solving at once two long-standing paradoxes that had earned the name of “oceanic ultraviolet catastrophe.”

Description: The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the ONR Grant N00014-17-1-2852. YL gratefully acknowledges support from NSF DMS Award 2009418.

Description: 2022-09-25

Description: Central America lies between two oceans, the Pacific and the Atlantic through the Caribbean Sea. Although it has no records of great earthquakes (~8.0 to 9.0), a tsunami catalogue based on historical references for Central America lists more than 50 entries. Tsunamis caused damage and casualties in 1882 off the Caribbean coast of Panama, in 1991 in Costa Rica and Panama and in 1992 in the Pacific coast of Nicaragua. Coastal population has vastly increased in recent decades, along with tourism, increasing total exposure to tsunami. The outcomes of this meeting, organized by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), are initially intended to contribute with sound science inputs to the project "Building resilient communities and integrated Early Warning Systems for tsunamis and other ocean related hazards in Central America", funded by the European Commission's Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations department (ECHO) implemented by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and national counterparts in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, in close cooperation with Panama and Costa Rica.

Description: OpenASFA input

Description: Published

Description: Non Refereed

Description: The International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE)1 programme of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO2 maintains a global network of National Oceanographic Data Centres (NODC) and Associate Data Units (ADU) responsible for the collection, quality control, archive, and online publication of many millions of ocean and marine observations which are made available to Member States. In addition, it coordinates a network of marine information (library) managers. The IODE Committee has long held the view that there is a need for a quality management framework to ensure that NODCs and ADUs are established and operate according to defined principles, including adherence to agreed standards and the requirements of the IOC Oceanographic Data Exchange Policy. This will ensure NODCs and ADUs are able to provide data of known quality to meet the requirements of a broad community of users.

Description: OpenASFA input

Description: Published

Description: Not Known

Description: This report reports on the establishment and working of the Advisory Group during its first session. This working group is a very good opportunity for the WESTPAC experts in the date and communication field to get together to constructively find a way to promote the project.

Description: OpenASFA input

Description: Published

Description: Not Known

Description: Through Decisions EC-XLVII/6.2 and XXVIII/5.1, IOC decided to establish an Intersessional Working Group and to support the production of the Global Ocean Science Report, which presents baseline information on human and technical capacities, infrastructure and investment, as well as impacts of ocean science at the global and national level. The Global Ocean Science Report (GOSR) was published in June 2017 where the Executive Secretary launched it at the United Nations “Oceans Conference” on 8 June 2017 in six languages. It includes information gathered from Member States via questionnaires, a bibliometric analysis, as well as other published resources. As acknowledged by the Inter-agency Expert Group on SDG Indicators (IAEG-SDG), part of the information provided in the GOSR contains the data needed to report towards the SDG target 14.a for increasing scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology, and IOC was decided to be the custodian agency for the indicator 14.a.1. Continued support by IOC Member States would allow assessing the status of ocean science capacities, infrastructure and output in a regular analysis (each 4-5 years). In addition an endorsement by the IOC Assembly will enable and support Member States to submit and access the national data through the development of a GOSR data repository and data portal.

Description: OPENASFA INPUT Restricted Distribution; Item 5.1 of the Provisional Agenda of the 29th Session of the IOC Assembly held at UNESCO/IOC Headquarters in Paris between 21 and 29 June 2017.

Description: Published

Description: Non Refereed

Description: This document prepared by the Secretariat illustrates the continuous alignment and synergies between the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030) and relevant programmes and activities of the IOC, in particular the High-Level Objectives and Functions of IOC defined in its Medium-term Strategy and the Outcomes set out in the Decade Implementation Plan. This information is particularly noteworthy as the Ocean Decade has now received endorsement by the UN General Assembly at its 75th session in December 2021.

Description: OPENASFA INPUT

Description: Published

Description: Non Refereed

Description: For many years now, we have known we were running out of time to stop and revert the decline of ocean health and start managing the ocean in a sustainable way. The UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development is an initiative of all and for all stakeholders, embracing natural and social science disciplines, local and indigenous knowledge, science policy and innovation interfaces, technology and infrastructure, aimed to achieve sustainable management of the ocean and development. This Decade will be transformative and will create a paradigm shift in the generation of ocean related knowledge, based on the principles of synergies, co design and co development of actions towards the agreed goals in a multi-stakeholder environment From the very outset, data and information have been recognized between the key issues cutting across all other elements and dimensions of the Decade. The Decade will facilitate the exchange of ocean knowledge between generators and diverse users of ocean knowledge through new data, information and knowledge platforms and services. Amongst the identified outcomes, outcome #6 tackles an accessible ocean with open and equitable access to data, information, technology, and innovation, improving access to and quality control of data, knowledge and technology. Data and information is further referred to in two of the challenges identified in the implementation plan, namely Challenge 8: “Through multi-stakeholder collaboration, develop a comprehensive digital representation of the ocean, including a dynamic ocean map, which provides free and open access for exploring, discovering, and visualizing past, current, and future ocean conditions in a manner relevant to diverse stakeholders” and Challenge 9: “Ensure comprehensive capacity development and equitable access to data, information, knowledge and technology across all aspects of ocean science and for all stakeholders”. We have now an opportunity to build together a community of ocean related data and information practitioners that shares resources, experiences, guidelines, tools, ways of addressing recurring problems. In short, a shared practice, so we can address together, efficiently, and effectively, the challenges of the Decade.

Description: For bibliographic purposes this document should be cited as follows: UNESCO/IOC. 2020. International data sharing workshop for non-UN IGOs, Global and Regional organizations and projects, NGOs and private sector, Online meeting, 12 October 2020. Paris, UNESCO, 42 pp. (IOC Workshop Report No. 290) (English).

Description: OPENASFA INPUT

Description: Published

Description: Refereed

Description: This document was initially prepared in April 2020 by Dr M. A. Atmanand, Chairman of the IOC Regional Committee of the Central Indian Ocean (IOCINDIO), pursuant to IOC Assembly Decision IOC-XXX/3.3.4 (Paris, 26 June–4 July 2019) to consider the transformation of IOCINDIO, an IOC Regional Committee, into an IOC Sub-commission. The document benefitted from inputs from IOCINDIO Vice-chairpersons Faiza Al-Yamani, Kuwait, Mohammad Muslem Uddin, Bangladesh, and Satish S. C. Shenoi, IOC Vice-Chairperson, Electoral Group IV. The document was originally intended as a working document for the consideration of the Executive Council in 2020 before its postponement as a virtual session with a limited agenda in February 2021. Upon further reflection of the authors with the IOC Chair and senior staff of the Secretariat, a broad and inclusive consultation on this subject among IOC Member States was initiated through a virtual meeting (see IOC Circular Letter 2824) and a discussion at the next IOCINDIO session during the first quarter 2021. The progress on this issue will be reported by the Executive Secretary in his report to the Executive Council -53 and through a working document for the consideration of the Assembly in June 2021.

Description: OPENASFA INPUT

Description: Published

Description: Non Refereed

Description: This event entitled “Verso la Generazione Oceano” (Towards the Generation Ocean) was the first initiative organized in Italy to present the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (hereinafter the “Decade”). It was held on 22 October 2020 in Milan, Italy. Its goal was to illustrate to the Italian stakeholders the objectives and the plans of the Decade in order to pave the way for the creation of the Generation Ocean campaign (#versolagenerazioneoceano) that will be developed in Italy in 2021. Moreover, this event was organized with the aim to work with different stakeholders and sectors of the society in start developing ideas to be implemented during the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2031). This event was planned to take place in May 2020 and the preparatory work started in January 2020. However, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, it was postponed and rescheduled as a digital event to 22 October 2020. Nutrition, oxygen, energy, work, health: everything that allows us to live is linked to the ocean. To promote greater knowledge, conservation and sustainable use of the ocean and its resources, the United Nations declared 2021-2030 "Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development". The Decade aims to mobilise the scientific community, policymakers, business and civil society around a collaborative research and technological innovation programme. It will enable the coordination of research programmes, observation systems, capacity building, maritime spatial planning, and marine risk reduction, to improve the management of ocean and coastal zone resources. The Decade of Ocean Sciences should accelerate the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 for the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean, seas and marine resources. The goal is also to create together “the ocean we need, for the future we want”. With this in mind, the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO) represented by its Executive Secretary, Dr Vladimir Ryabinin, organised a popular event "Towards the Generation Ocean" to present in Italy the Decade of Ocean Science. In collaboration with various partners, the event aims to initiate a movement that gives voice to the importance of having a resilient ocean, a productive ocean and a healthy ocean. The event focussed on three great challenges: "climate change, food safety and human health". From the No’hma theatre in Milan, “Towards the Generation Ocean” gathered virtually from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., researchers, professionals, sustainable entrepreneurs, and also chefs, musicians, journalists and experts from various sectors of society. The time to act is now and we must act together! was the message. The event was an initiative dedicated to the role of marine scientific research as an essential tool to ensure the health of the planet and the announcement of a new era represented by the "Generation Ocean". It strived to spread greater awareness of the importance of the ocean and to promote innovative solutions to the challenges we will face in the coming years. At the end of the morning, the event hosted the award ceremony of Oceanthon, the digital hackathon aimed at students, researchers, developers, experts in communication, economics, marketing and design, participating in the design of innovative ideas for the conservation of the ocean. The highlight of the mobilisation event was the presentation of the Oceanthon Prize by Davide Villa, CMO and Board Member of E.ON Italia to the winning “River Cleaner” project by Blue Eco Line startup. The initiative mobilized institutions, companies, non-profit organizations, media and popular people with great interest in the objectives of the Decade. All of them are called to become the promoters of specific initiatives and helper of the IOC as coordinator of the Decade in raising awareness, and facilitating stakeholders’ commitments for the Decade. See related web article: https://en.unesco.org/news/towards-generation-ocean-united-create-ocean-we-need-future-we-want .

Description: OPENASFA INPUT For bibliographic purposes this document should be cited as follows: UNESCO-IOC. 2020. Italian Digital Mobilization Event for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development: “Towards the Generation Ocean”, 22 October 2020, Milan, Italy. Paris, UNESCO, (Workshop Reports, 292).

Description: Published

Description: Not Known

Description: The project 'Supporting internationally accepted maritime spatial planning guidance' - MSPglobal for short - is an initiative by UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC-UNESCO) and the European Commission's Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) to support their Joint Roadmap to Accelerate Marine / Maritime Spatial Planning processes worldwide (MSProadmap) (#OceanAction15346). Launched in November 2018 for a period of three years, MSPglobal aims to support international marine/maritime spatial planning (MSP) for the sustainable development of the blue economy, by enhancing cross-border and transboundary cooperation where it already exists and promoting MSP processes in areas where it is yet to be put in place. More specifically, it seeks to: - Develop a guidance on cross-border and transboundary MSP; - Increase awareness among governmental authorities and stakeholders about the importance of MSP; - Initiate an institutional coordinate dialogue between governmental authorities at regional, national and local levels, and - Increase cooperation between stakeholders. By providing the context for active and effective participation of policy-makers, scientists, businesses, citizens and other stakeholder, MSPglobal aims to improve governance at multiple levels and achieve an ecosystem-based approach in support of the blue economy. Doing so will require transparant data and information, sharing of best practices and new knowledge to inform, guide and support MSP at global scale.

Description: European Union

Description: OPENASFA INPUT This publication should be cited as follows: UNESCO/IOC. 2021. MSPglobal - Compendium of existing and emerging cross-border and transboundary MSP practices. Paris, UNESCO. (IOC/INF-1935).

Description: Published

Description: Refereed

Description: As a changing climate alters ocean conditions, the redistribution of marine ecosystem services and benefits will affect maritime activities and societal value chains. While the magnitude of the effects will be diverse and region-specific and vary across sectors, both humans and nature will be subjected to increasing and intense negative impacts. Furthermore, the impacts of a changing climate on maritime economies are yet largely unknown and there are uncertainties and limitations of climate and ocean management options, which are at a very early or experimental stage. Significant gaps in technical, institutional and financial capacities for climate change adaptation between developed and developing countries exist, pointing to an imbalanced response to the global climate crisis. Marine/Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP) is being developed and implemented worldwide as a way to foster sustainable ocean use and management. The spatial and temporal distribution of human uses in marine spaces through MSP aims to minimise conflicts and promote synergies among uses, as well as between uses and the environment. In addition to the many environmental and socio-economic challenges which MSP seeks to address, a changing climate must now be included. Mainstreaming climate change into MSP will allow for improved preparedness and response, as well as reduced vulnerability of marine systems. “Climate-smart MSP” refers to planning initiatives in the ocean space which integrate and may adapt to the effects of a changing climate. For MSP to become “climate-smart”, data and knowledge on the pathways through which climate change impacts marine ecosystems and human uses are needed at appropriate spatial scales. These should address the inherent uncertainties in planning scenarios themselves with regard to climate change, particularly in relation to their ability to adapt to changing ocean conditions. In this regard, the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) will play a key role, as one of its main objectives is filling the significant remaining gaps in marine knowledge, including the effects of climate change. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and other spatial marine management tools can also be used to promote specific adaptation-relevant features, while climate literacy can help build capacities and facilitate behavioural change to better cope with climate-related challenges. Increasing the knowledge base on the impacts of a changing climate is necessary. This includes building evidence on the uses most vulnerable to the effects of climate change and integrating their possible spatial relocation in MSP; knowledge on conservation priority species and keystone ecosystem components and including them in impact analysis assessments to promote their sustainability and resilience; and an understanding of the social and economic implications of climate change, particularly in communities highly dependent on marine resources for their livelihoods. It is also necessary to raise awareness on the effects of a changing climate on marine ecosystems and maritime activities, and fostering new behaviours and social norms in local communities to improve knowledge and skills on opportunities for sustainable mitigation and adaptation options, for enhancing climate literacy and promoting sustainable actions at the local level. This involves integrating strategic climate objectives into overall sustainable development and environmental policies using climate-smart, nature-inclusive MSP as a common framework for setting up meaningful and effective actions across regions, which may be achieved through establishing interdisciplinary MSP networks. Practical adaptation and mitigation strategies at appropriate scales, using fit-for-purpose, spatially explicit and operationally mature nature-based solutions, as well as strategic investments to achieve long-term visions reflected in climate-smart, nature-inclusive spatial plans, are also required.

Description: European Union (DG MARE)

Description: OPENASFA INPUT

Description: Published

Description: Refereed

Description: The Integrated Ocean Carbon Research (IOC-R) programme is a formal working group of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) that was formed in 2018 in response to the United Nations (UN) Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), “the Decade.” The IOC-R will contribute to the science elements of the overarching Implementation Plan for the Decade1. The Implementation Plan is a high-level framework to guide actions by which ocean science can more effectively deliver its contribution and co-development with other entities to achieve the societal outcomes outlined in the Decade plan and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the UN. Knowledge of the ocean carbon cycle is critical in light of its role in sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere and for meeting goals and targets such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Paris Agreement, the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the associated UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Increasing levels of CO2 in the ocean, predominantly due to human greenhouse gas emissions, and the partitioning of CO2 into organic and inorganic species have fundamental impacts on ocean carbon cycling and ecosystem health. The Integrated Ocean Carbon Research (IOC-R) effort aims to address key issues in ocean carbon research through investigative and observational goals. It takes advantage of the appreciable knowledge gained from studies over the last four decades of the ocean carbon cycle and its perturbations. IOC-R addresses the clear and urgent need to better understand and quantify the ocean carbon cycle in an integrative fashion in light of the rapid changes that are currently occurring and will occur in the near future. IOC-R can make significant breakthroughs, capitalizing on advances in modeling, data assimilation, remote sensing, and new in situ observing technologies, including novel biological observing techniques, artificial intelligence, and the use of bioinformatics. This IOC-R vision reflects an increasing appreciation for the significant role the ocean carbon cycle has on global well-being now and in the future, and for the critical need to study and monitor it in a holistic fashion.

Description: OPENASFA INPUT The complete report should be cited as follows: IOC-R. 2021. Integrated Ocean Carbon Research: A Summary of Ocean Carbon Research, and Vision of Coordinated Ocean Carbon Research and Observations for the Next Decade. R. Wanninkhof, C. Sabine and S. Aricò (eds.). Paris, UNESCO. 46 pp. (IOC Technical Series, 158 Rev.) doi:10.25607/h0gj-pq41.

Description: Published

Description: Refereed

Description: This report is an output of the Large Marine Ecosystems component of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme (TWAP)(2013-2015). TWAP conducted indicator-based assessments for transboundary water systems in five categories: aquifers, rivers, lakes, Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) and Open Oceans. These included assessment of governance arrangements and overall architecture for transboundary systems. This report covers the arrangements for LMEs, while its companion (Volume 2) covers arrangement for Open Ocean with a focus on Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ). Each report is summarised as a chapter in the overall assessment report for the respective water category (Open Ocean and LME).

Description: OpenASFA input

Description: Published

Description: Not Known

Description: In recent years, the Caribbean region has faced challenges from oil spills and an influx of floating sargassum seaweed. Large-scale oil spill incidents have included an April 2017 spill at Pointe-à-Pierre, Trinidad and Tobago and a July 2017 oil spill in Kingston Harbor, Jamaica. Illegal dumping of oil-contaminated waste by ships operating in the region is also a common occurrence. An increase in the frequency and volume of sargassum beachings and coastal overabundance has caused another challenge for the region with mats preventing the deployment and retrieval of fishing gear and clogging popular beaches, harbors and bays. Based on the amounts of Sargassum detected in the Central West Atlantic and the Caribbean and in January–April 2018, researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) predict high amounts of Sargassum in Caribbean in coming months. In response to these challenges, a meeting of 40 experts from 15 countries was held in May f this year to discuss sargassum and oil spill monitoring in the Caribbean and Adjacent egions. The participants included representatives from various United Nations entities, academia, governments, private companies and international initiatives. The workshop was organized by IOCARIBE of IOC UNESCO and its Global Ocean Observing System Regional Alliance, IOCARIBE-GOOS, and the GEO Blue Planet Initiative, and hosted by the Ministry of Education of Mexico and Mexico National Council of Sciences. The overarching goal of the workshop was to develop a plan for the development of a region-wide system for monitoring and forecasting oil spills and sargassum presence. At the workshop, experts reviewed the existing technologies and challenges for monitoring and forecasting oil spills and sargassum in the Caribbean and adjacent regions and ultimately drafted a plan to create an information system based on existing efforts. It was determined that the objective of the information service will be to provide a publicly available monitoring platform and alerting system for oil spills and sargassum based on publically available data (e.g. satellite data and in situ data from countries with open data sharing policies). The service will initially be based on existing technologies and activities, working to augment and improve the framework for information management and delivery and mechanisms for the region and demonstrate the utility of ocean observations and products. It was agreed that the initial development of the service would be done by partner organizations, and the NOAA CoastWatch program and the Caribbean Marine Atlas volunteered to host service components initially. The long-term goal is to have the information service coordinated and built upon by a regional body in a model similar to that of the International Tsunami Information Centre.

Description: Government of Mexico

Description: Government of Flanders

Description: NOAA

Description: Published

Description: Not Known

Description: This document outlines a framework for communication activities for 2015-2017 identifying new objectives while building on previous outcomes. It acknowledges the need to broaden the understanding of MIM by the wider IODE Data Management community and identify robust mechanisms, which will improve communication between IODE Officers and GE- MIM and with other relevant agencies in marine information management. This strategy will underpin the ability of GE-MIM to effectively raise its’ profile and ensure that there is an acknowledgement of the role of GE-MIM and the marine information profession and its potential contribution to the work of IODE. In this way, communications will directly contribute to the fulfilment of IODE programme goals and objectives with the aim to further build GE-MIM reputation and the credibility and relevance of its’ actions by formulating and disseminating messages on the activities and concerns of GE-MIM. Effective communications will allow GE-MIM to disseminate these outcomes in a targeted and efficient manner, thereby promoting marine information management.

Description: OpenASFA input

Description: Published

Description: Non Refereed

Description: During the second meeting of the Group of Experts on Capacity Development (GE-CD), a task team was established to conduct a review of the IOC Capacity Development Strategy 2015–2021, which is expiring at the end of December 2021. This information document presents a summary of the task team’s review, articulating the main elements that would justify a revision of the current Strategy: mainly the challenges and objectives promoted by the UN Ocean Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030) and the outcomes of the 2nd GE-CD survey. Feedback from consultations with other global and regional programmes were also considered in developing the recommendations contained in this report. Based on this analysis, the Task Team recommends that the GE-CD continue its work on revising the IOC CD Strategy for the period 2023–2030, extending the current Strategy until 2023.

Description: OPENASFA INUT

Description: Published

Description: Non Refereed

Description: This Scientific Summary on Multiple Ocean Stressors for Policy Makers offers a reference for all concerned stakeholders to understand and discuss all types of ocean stressors. This document will help coordinate action to better understand how multiple stressors interact and how the cumulative pressures they cause can be tackled and managed. It is a first step towards increased socio-ecological resilience to multiple ocean stressors (Figure 1). Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM)1 recognizes the complex and interconnected nature of ecosystems, and the integral role of humans in these ecosystems. EBM integrates ecological, social and governmental principles. It considers the tradeoffs and interactions between ocean stakeholders (e.g. fishing, shipping, energy extraction) and their goals, while addressing the reduction of conflicts and the negative cumulative impacts of human activities on ecosystem resilience and sustainability. Thus, EBM is an ideal science-based approach for managing the impacts of cumulative stressors on marine ecosystems. The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030; Ocean Decade), which is based on a multi-stakeholder consultative process, identified 10 Ocean Decade Challenges. Challenge 2: Understand the effects of multiple stressors on ocean ecosystems, and develop solutions to monitor, protect, manage and restore ecosystems and their biodiversity under changing environmental, social and climate conditions addresses the overall outcomes of the Decade. In particular, outcomes aimed at a clean, healthy and resilient, safe and predicted, sustainably harvested and productive, and accessible ocean, with open and equitable access to data, information and technology and innovation by 2030. This Scientific Summary for Policy Makers is also a call to action underlining the urgency to understand, model and manage multiple ocean stressors now. We cannot manage what we do not understand, and we cannot be efficient without prioritization of ocean actions appropriate to the place and time.

Description: OPENASFA INPUT The complete report should be cited as follows: IOC-UNESCO. 2022. Multiple Ocean Stressors: A Scientific Summary for Policy Makers. P.W. Boyd et al. (eds). Paris, UNESCO. 20 pp. (IOC Information Series, 1404) doi:10.25607/OBP-1724

Description: Published

Description: Refereed

Description: This document has been prepared by Laura Kong, Director International tsunami Information Centre (ITIC). The Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme is an international community-based recognition programme developed by UNESCO/IOC. It aims to build resilient communities through awareness and preparedness strategies that will protect life, livelihoods and property from tsunamis in different regions. In June 2021, the IOC Assembly through IOC Decision A-31/3.4.1 (Warning Mitigation Systems for Ocean Hazards) approved the establishment of the IOC Ocean Decade Tsunami Programme, with the aim of making 100% of communities at risk of tsunami prepared for and resilient to tsunamis by 2030 through the implementation of the UNESCO/IOC Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme and other initiatives. The implementation of the Tsunami Ready Recognition Programme will be a key contribution to achieving the societal outcome ‘A Safe Ocean’ of the Ocean Decade. This document presents the main features of a UNESCO/IOC Tsunami Ready Programme. It is presented to the TT DMP for discussion and approval for recommendation to the TOWS-WG-XV, for the establishment of the programme.

Description: OPENASFA INPUT Working Document from the Meeting of the Inter-ICG Task Team on Disaster Management and Preparedness held online on 21-22 February 2022, Proposal for endorsement by IOC.

Description: Published

Description: Not Known

Description: This document provides an overview of the IODE structural elements, programmes and projects between 1961 and 2003, showing also their evolution during that period. This document was produced as a background information document for the First Session of the Task Team on the Development of an IOC Strategic Plan for Oceanographic Data and Information Management (Paris, 23 June 2003).

Description: OPENASFA INPUT

Description: Published

Description: Non Refereed

Description: A series of severe earthquakes hit Central Chile on Saturday, 27th February 2010. The main shock off Concepcion at 06:34 UTC (3:34 AM local time) had a magnitude of 8.8 Mw. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center PTWC in Hawaii, USA issued a regional warning at 06:46 UTC (12 minutes after the event). This was the first ocean wide test of a system that was put in place nearly 45 years ago by UNESCO’s Member States through its Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), after a 9.5 magnitude earthquake on 22 May 22 1960 off Chile triggered a wide ocean tsunami that caused 61 fatalities in Hawaii and 142 fatalities in Japan, several hours after the earthquake. As indicated above, 12 minutes after the 27th February 2010 earthquake the Pacific Ocean Tsunami Warning System (PTWS) went into action, with timely and adequate information produced and disseminated across the Pacific Ocean. There were no fatalities reported far from the epicenter, however, near the epicenter off the Chilean coast, official accounts indicate over 156 fatalities due to the tsunami. Preliminary measures of a Rapid Survey Team deployed the week after the event by UNESCO showed run up measurements as high as 30 meters with most common measurements between 6 and 10 meters in the most affected area of the Chilean coast. This earthquake and tsunami event presented an ideal opportunity to assess the performance of the PTWS. To that end the UNESCO/IOC Secretariat for the PTWS sent out a post-event survey questionnaire to the Tsunami Warning Focal Points (TWFPs) and Tsunami National Contacts (TNCs) from its 32 Member States and territories. This report has been prepared by the Secretariat based on the responses received from 19 TWFPs and TNCs. Factual details of the earthquake event and the tsunami are presented and the results of the survey are listed in tables and displayed as timelines and maps. We underscore that all TWFPs received the first PTWC bulletin. In addition, most of the countries reported PTWC as source of awareness of the earthquake. Fourteen countries issued a tsunami warning and in 9 Member States coastal zones were evacuated. It would be pertinent that each Member State analyze if an evacuation would have been necessary in zones where no evacuation was made. In four countries, some areas were evacuated preventively (self-evacuation). Moreover, it was observed that sea level was monitored by most of the countries. In addition, some countries used results from numerical modelling and calculated earthquake parameters. Based on data and information collected from Member States the PTWS acted promptly and efficiently throughout the Pacific. However, and at the same time, this event demonstrated the need to reinforce the work of PTWS for near field events, particularly with denser sea level real time networks close to active subduction areas. Indeed, as it has been demonstrated by the case of the sea level station located in Talcahuano, Chile, sea level stations close to the epicenter may be partially or totally destroyed by the impact of an earthquake and/or a tsunami. Given the critical role sea level readings have in all tsunami warning systems, the sea level monitoring networks should be densified close to active subduction areas and redundancy of sensors and transmission paths be strongly considered. Most of the issues revealed by the survey can be addressed both by the PTWS and at the national level through increased regional cooperation and training where needed. Post-event assessments assist in this process by highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the PTWS at regional, national and local levels and by raising the awareness of how Member States responded, both individually and collectively. The true value of such assessments is that it allows Member States to share information and experiences for the mutual benefit of improving the PTWS performance for all members.

Description: OpenASFA input

Description: Published

Description: Non Refereed

Description: The Global Sea-level Observing System (GLOSS) was established by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1985 to provide oversight and coordination for global and regional sea-level networks in support of scien- tific research. The first GLOSS Implementation Plan (GIP) in 1990 established the GLOSS Core Network (GCN) of ~300 tide gauges distributed around the world, technical standards for GLOSS tide gauge stations, as well as the basic terms and obligations for Member States participating in GLOSS. The second GIP in 1997 expanded the GLOSS programme to include sub-networks focused on long historical records suitable for the detection of long-term sea- level trends and accelerations (GLOSS-LTT), a cali- bration network for satellite altimetry (GLOSS-ALT), and a network suitable for monitoring aspects of the global ocean circulation (GLOSS-OC). In addition, a strategy for integrating Global Positioning System (GPS) into monitoring of land levels at GLOSS tide gauges was developed. The focus of the GIP 2012 remains the GCN and the datasets that result from this network. The new plan calls for two significant upgrades to the GCN moti- vated by scientific and operational requirements: 1) all GCN stations are required to report data in near-real time, which will be tracked at a Sea-level Station Monitoring Facility. This will involve upgrades in power, data acquisition plat- forms, and communication packages; however, these upgrades are cost-effective in terms of the benefits that a real-time system will provide for ocean monitoring and improved station perfor- mance due to early detection of station malfunc- tions; 2) continuous measurements of the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), in particular the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), the Russian GLONASS, or the newly established European GALILEO, or equivalent systems, in the vicinity of the tide gauge benchmark (TGBM) are required for all GCN stations. This upgrade will support satellite altimetry calibration and research efforts aimed at determining geocentric global sea-level rise rates as well as regional changes in sea level. Most relevant, vertical land movements can signifi- cantly alter the rates of sea-level rise expected from the sole climatic contributions of ocean ther- mal expansion and land-based ice melting, possi- bly magnifying the impacts of sea-level rise on the coast. In many cases, this requirement can be met by taking advantage of existing GNSS receivers maintained by other groups, as long as a precise geodetic tie to the GCN tide gauge can be made using, e.g. conventional levelling. The organization of the plan is as follows. An over- view of the GLOSS programme (chapter 1) and a brief summary of the uses of tide gauge data (chapter 2) are presented. The current status of the GLOSS programme is considered (chapter 3), followed by a discussion of the sea-level monitoring requirements raised by advisory groups and panels (chapter 4), as well as a self-assessment based on specific research and operational applications (chapter 5). These requirements are used to develop implementation goals for the GLOSS networks and data centres (chapter 6). Minor modifications are proposed for the administrative structure of GLOSS aimed at providing improved oversight of the imple- mentation plan (chapter 7). The success of the plan depends critically on the participation of Member States, whose obligations are summarized (chapter 8). The successful Training, Education and Mutual Assistance programmes that have been a corner stone of GLOSS will be continued to help meet implementation requirements (chapter 9). Additional technical and programmatic details are included in a set of appendices.

Description: OpenASFA input

Description: Published

Description: Refereed

Description: The 26 December 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean killed over 230,000 people, displaced more than 1 million people and left a trail of destruction. Considering that the Caribbean is a region prone to tsunamis, and recognising the need for an early warning system, the Intergovernmental Coordination Group (ICG) for the Tsunami and other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions (CARIBE EWS) was established in 2005 as a subsidiary body of the IOC-UNESCO with the purpose of providing assistance to all Member States of the region to establish their own regional early warning system. The main objective of the CARIBE EWS is to identify and mitigate the hazards posed by local and distant tsunamis. The goal is to create a fully integrated end-to-end warning system comprising four key components: hazard monitoring and detection; hazard assessment; warning dissemination; and community preparedness and response. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) in Hawaii is the interim tsunami warning service provider for the Caribbean. The West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Centre (WC/ATWC) is providing tsunami warning service for the USA territories in the Caribbean region. The magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Haiti on the 12 January 2010 was one of the most severe earthquakes that occurred in this country in the last 100 years. It caused a large number of casualties and material destruction.In addition, the earthquake generated a tsunami that caused a runup of 3m at both Jacmel and Petit Paradis, Haiti and 1m in Pedernales, Dominican Republic. Furthermore, it was recorded with an amplitude of 12 cm (peak to trough) at the Santo Domingo sea level station in the Dominican Republic. The arrival time was at 22:40 UTC, namely 47 minutes after the earthquake occurred. This tsunami recalled the need to effectively implement the CARIBE EWS to be prepared for future potentially destructive tsunamis in the region. The event therefore presented an ideal opportunity to evaluate the performance of the CARIBE EWS to highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of the system, to identify areas that require further attention, and to provide a benchmark of the present status of the system. The UNESCO IOC Secretariat for the CARIBE EWS sent out a post-event survey questionnaire to Member States and territories that have identified their Tsunami Warning Focal Points (TWFP). Out of 28 questionnaires sent out, 23 responses were returned to the CARIBE EWS Secretariat in Paris. The objectives of the survey were to confirm that the NTWCs received bulletins from the interim advisory service in a timely manner, to determine what actions were taken by the NTWCs, and to find out if the Member States activated their emergency response plans based on the available information. The survey was very useful to get an overview of the current status of the CARIBE EWS. Tsunami bulletins were received timely by most of the countries that answered the survey. On the other hand, it was identified that sea level was scarcely monitored during the event, and that some National Warning Centres (NWC) do not know how to access sea level data over the GTS or over the IOC Sea Level Observation Facility website. Most NWCs did not use any numerical models during the event. It was observed, as well, that countries placed in watch level were able to distribute warnings and even preventively evacuate some areas. It is beyond the scope of this report to conduct a detailed interpretation of the results, and the survey results have been presented so that individual Member States and the ICG can draw conclusions from this exercise and decide on future action. Although progress has been made since 2005, it should be recognized that the CARIBE EWS is not yet fully implemented and much remains to be done to bring the system to full operational status. The ICG will continue to monitor the system to ensure continuous improvement during the development phase.

Description: OpenASFA input

Description: Published

Description: Non Refereed