ALBERT

Beschreibung: Lakes and reservoirs play an important role in the carbon cycle, and therefore monitoring their metabolic rates is essential. The triple oxygen-isotope anomaly of dissolved O2 [17Δ =  ln(1+δ17O) − 0.518  ×  ln(1 + δ18O)] offers a new, in situ, perspective on primary production, yet little is known about 17Δ from freshwater systems. We investigated the 17Δ together with the oxygen : argon ratio [Δ(O2 ∕ Ar)] in the subtropical Feitsui Reservoir in Taiwan from June 2014 to July 2015. Here, we present the seasonal variations in 17Δ, GP (gross production), NP (net production) and the NP ∕ GP (net to gross ratio) in association with environmental parameters. The 17Δ varied with depth and season, with values ranging between 26 and 205 per meg. The GP rates were observed to be higher (702 ± 107 mg C m−2 d−1) in winter than those (303 ± 66 mg C m−2 d−1) recorded during the summer. The overall averaged GP was 220 g C m−2 yr−1 and NP was −3 g C m−2 yr−1, implying the reservoir was net heterotrophic on an annual basis. This is due to negative NP rates from October to February (−198 ± 78 mg C m−2 d−1). Comparisons between GP rates obtained from the isotope mass balance approach and 14C bottle incubation method (14C–GP) showed consistent values on the same order of magnitude with a GP ∕ 14C–GP ratio of 1.2 ± 1.1. Finally we noted that, although typhoon occurrences were scarce, higher than average 17Δ values and GP rates were recorded after typhoon events.

Beschreibung: Ocean acidification (OA) is increasing due to anthropogenic CO2 emissions and poses a threat to marine species and communities worldwide. To better project the effects of acidification on organisms’ health and persistence, an understanding is needed of the 1) mechanisms underlying developmental and physiological tolerance and 2) potential populations have for rapid evolutionary adaptation. This is especially challenging in nonmodel species where targeted assays of metabolism and stress physiology may not be available or economical for large-scale assessments of genetic constraints. We used mRNA sequencing and a quantitative genetics breeding design to study mechanisms underlying genetic variability and tolerance to decreased seawater pH (-0.4 pH units) in larvae of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis. We used a gene ontology-based approach to integrate expression profiles into indirect measures of cellular and biochemical traits underlying variation in larval performance (i.e., growth rates). Molecular responses to OA were complex, involving changes to several functions such as growth rates, cell division, metabolism, and immune activities. Surprisingly, the magnitude of pH effects on molecular traits tended to be small relative to variation attributable to segregating functional genetic variation in this species. We discuss how the application of transcriptomics and quantitative genetics approaches across diverse species can enrich our understanding of the biological impacts of climate change.

Beschreibung: To the Editor: We congratulate Halsey et al. for their important discussion of the random nature of P values in an earlier issue of this journal1. P values from identical experiments can differ greatly in a way that is surprising to many2, 3, 4, 5, 6. The failure to appreciate this…

Beschreibung: Localized open-ocean low-oxygen “dead zones” in the eastern tropical North Atlantic are recently discovered ocean features that can develop in dynamically isolated water masses within cyclonic eddies (CE) and anticyclonic mode-water eddies (ACME). Analysis of a comprehensive oxygen dataset obtained from gliders, moorings, research vessels and Argo floats reveals that “dead-zone” eddies are found in surprisingly high numbers and in a large area from about 4 to 22° N, from the shelf at the eastern boundary to 38° W. In total, 173 profiles with oxygen concentrations below the minimum background concentration of 40 µmol kg−1 could be associated with 27 independent eddies (10 CEs; 17 ACMEs) over a period of 10 years. Lowest oxygen concentrations in CEs are less than 10 µmol kg−1 while in ACMEs even suboxic (〈 1 µmol kg−1) levels are observed. The oxygen minimum in the eddies is located at shallow depth from 50 to 150 m with a mean depth of 80 m. Compared to the surrounding waters, the mean oxygen anomaly in the core depth range (50 and 150 m) for CEs (ACMEs) is −38 (−79) µmol kg−1. North of 12° N, the oxygen-depleted eddies carry anomalously low-salinity water of South Atlantic origin from the eastern boundary upwelling region into the open ocean. Here water mass properties and satellite eddy tracking both point to an eddy generation near the eastern boundary. In contrast, the oxygen-depleted eddies south of 12° N carry weak hydrographic anomalies in their cores and seem to be generated in the open ocean away from the boundary. In both regions a decrease in oxygen from east to west is identified supporting the en-route creation of the low-oxygen core through a combination of high productivity in the eddy surface waters and an isolation of the eddy cores with respect to lateral oxygen supply. Indeed, eddies of both types feature a cold sea surface temperature anomaly and enhanced chlorophyll concentrations in their center. The low-oxygen core depth in the eddies aligns with the depth of the shallow oxygen minimum zone of the eastern tropical North Atlantic. Averaged over the whole area an oxygen reduction of 7 µmol kg−1 in the depth range of 50 to 150 m (peak reduction is 16 µmol kg−1 at 100 m depth) can be associated with the dispersion of the eddies. Thus the locally increased oxygen consumption within the eddy cores enhances the total oxygen consumption in the open eastern tropical North Atlantic Ocean and seems to be an contributor to the formation of the shallow oxygen minimum zone.

Beschreibung: The eastern Pacific benthic foraminifer Nonionella stella Cushman & Moyer, 1930 was recorded for the first time in the Skagerrak (North Sea) and its fjords. In this short note we evaluate its migration, considering both dispersal by propagules and ship ballast tanks. We suggest that the predominantly southward surface currents along the western European seaboard and Morocco would impede a wide-range dispersal of N. stella propagules and hypothesize transportation by ship ballast tanks as the possible vector of N. stella immigration into northern European seas.

Beschreibung: Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) that impinge on continental margins favor the release of phosphorus (P) from the sediments to the water column, enhancing primary productivity and the maintenance or expansion of low-oxygen waters. A comprehensive field program in the Peruvian OMZ was undertaken to identify the sources of benthic P at six stations, including the analysis of particles from the water column, surface sediments, and pore fluids, as well as in situ benthic flux measurements. A major fraction of solid-phase P was bound as particulate inorganic P (PIP) both in the water column and in sediments. Sedimentary PIP increased with depth in the sediment at the expense of particulate organic P (POP). The ratio of particulate organic carbon (POC) to POP exceeded the Redfield ratio both in the water column (202 ± 29) and in surface sediments (303 ± 77). However, the POC to total particulate P (TPP = POP + PIP) ratio was close to Redfield in the water column (103 ± 9) and in sediment samples (102 ± 15). This suggests that the relative burial efficiencies of POC and TPP are similar under low-oxygen conditions and that the sediments underlying the anoxic waters on the Peru margin are not depleted in P compared to Redfield. Benthic fluxes of dissolved P were extremely high (up to 1.04 ± 0.31 mmol m−2 d−1), however, showing that a lack of oxygen promotes the intensified release of dissolved P from sediments, whilst preserving the POC / TPP burial ratio. Benthic dissolved P fluxes were always higher than the TPP rain rate to the seabed, which is proposed to be caused by transient P release by bacterial mats that had stored P during previous periods when bottom waters were less reducing. At one station located at the lower rim of the OMZ, dissolved P was taken up by the sediments, indicating ongoing phosphorite formation. This is further supported by decreasing porewater phosphate concentrations with sediment depth, whereas solid-phase P concentrations were comparatively high.

Beschreibung: To understand how ocean acidification (OA) influences sediment microbial communities, naturally CO2-rich sites are increasingly being used as OA analogues. However, the characterization of these naturally CO2-rich sites is often limited to OA-related variables, neglecting additional environmental variables that may confound OA effects. Here, we used an extensive array of sediment and bottom water parameters to evaluate pH effects on sediment microbial communities at hydrothermal CO2seeps in Papua New Guinea. The geochemical composition of the sediment pore water showed variations in the hydrothermal signature at seep sites with comparable pH, allowing the identification of sites that may better represent future OA scenarios. At these sites, we detected a 60% shift in the microbial community composition compared with reference sites, mostly related to increases inChloroflexisequences. pH was among the factors significantly, yet not mainly, explaining changes in microbial community composition. pH variation may therefore often not be the primary cause of microbial changes when sampling is done along complex environmental gradients. Thus, we recommend an ecosystem approach when assessing OA effects on sediment microbial communities under natural conditions. This will enable a more reliable quantification of OA effects via a reduction of potential confounding effects

Beschreibung: To understand solar cycle signals on the Earth's surface and identify the physical mechanisms responsible, surface temperature variations from observations as well as climate model data are analyzed to characterize their spatial structure. The solar signal in the annual mean surface temperature is characterized by (i) mid-latitude warming and (ii) no warming in the tropics. The mid-latitude warming during solar maxima in both hemispheres is associated with a downward penetration of zonal mean zonal wind anomalies from the upper stratosphere during late winter. During Northern Hemisphere winter this is manifested in a modulation of the polar-night jet whereas in the Southern Hemisphere the subtropical jet plays the major role. Warming signals are particularly apparent over the Eurasian continent and ocean frontal zones, including a previously reported lagged response over the North Atlantic. In the tropics, local warming occurs over the Indian and central Pacific oceans during high solar activity. However, this warming is counter balanced by cooling over the cold tongue sectors in the southeastern Pacific and the South Atlantic, and results in a very weak zonally averaged tropical mean signal. The cooling in the ocean basins is associated with stronger cross-equatorial winds resulting from a northward shift of the ascending branch of the Hadley circulation during solar maxima. To understand the complex processes involved in the solar signal transfer, results of an idealized middle atmosphere–ocean coupled model experiment on the impact of stratospheric zonal wind changes are compared with solar signals in observations. The model results suggest that both tropical and extra-tropical solar surface signals can result from circulation changes in the upper stratosphere through (i) a downward migration of wave–zonal mean flow interactions and (ii) changes in the stratospheric mean meridional circulation. These experiments support earlier evidence of an indirect solar influence from the stratosphere.

Beschreibung: The stable carbon isotope composition of dissolved inorganic carbon (δ13C-DIC) can be used to quantify fluxes within the carbon system. For example, knowing the δ13C signature of the inorganic carbon pool can help in describing the amount of anthropogenic carbon in the water column. The measurements can also be used for evaluating modeled carbon fluxes, for making basin-wide estimates of anthropogenic carbon, and for studying seasonal and interannual variability or decadal trends in interior ocean biogeochemistry. For all these purposes, it is not only important to have a sufficient amount of data, but these data must also be internally consistent and of high quality. In this study, we present a δ13C-DIC dataset for the North Atlantic which has undergone secondary quality control. The data originate from oceanographic research cruises between 1981 and 2014. During a primary quality control step based on simple range tests, obviously bad data were flagged. In a second quality control step, biases between measurements from different cruises were quantified through a crossover analysis using nearby data of the respective cruises, and values of biased cruises were adjusted in the data product. The crossover analysis was possible for 24 of the 32 cruises in our dataset, and adjustments were applied to 11 cruises. The internal accuracy of this dataset is 0.017 ‰.

Beschreibung: Southeast Asian rivers convey large amounts of organic carbon, but little is known about the fate of this terrestrial material in estuaries. Although Southeast Asia is, by area, considered a hotspot of estuarine carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, studies in this region are very scarce. We measured dissolved and particulate organic carbon, as well as CO2 partial pressures and carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations in two tropical estuaries in Sarawak, Malaysia, whose coastal area is covered by carbon-rich peatlands. We surveyed the estuaries of the rivers Lupar and Saribas during the wet and dry season, respectively. Carbon-to-nitrogen ratios suggest that dissolved organic matter (DOM) is largely of terrestrial origin. We found evidence that a large fraction of this carbon is respired. The median pCO(2) in the estuaries ranged between 640 and 5065 mu atm with little seasonal variation. CO2 fluxes were determined with a floating chamber and estimated to amount to 14-268 mol m(-2) yr(-1), which is high compared to other studies from tropical and subtropical sites. Estimates derived from a merely wind-driven turbulent diffusivity model were considerably lower, indicating that these models might be inappropriate in estuaries, where tidal currents and river discharge make an important contribution to the turbulence driving water-air gas exchange. Although an observed diurnal variability of CO concentrations suggested that CO was photochemically produced, the overall concentrations and fluxes were relatively moderate (0.4-1.3 nmol L-1 and 0.7-1.8 mmol m(-2) yr(-1)) if compared to published data for oceanic or upwelling systems. We attributed this to the large amounts of suspended matter (4-5004 mg L-1), limiting the light penetration depth and thereby inhibiting CO photoproduction. We concluded that estuaries in this region function as an efficient filter for terrestrial organic carbon and release large amounts of CO2 to the atmosphere. The Lupar and Saribas rivers deliver 0.3 +/- 0.2 TgC yr(-1) to the South China Sea as organic carbon and their mid-estuaries release approximately 0.4 +/- 0.2 TgC yr(-1) into the atmosphere as CO2.