ALBERT

Description: The last deglaciation was characterized by a sequence of abrupt climate events thought to be linked to rapid changes in Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). The sequence includes a weakening of the AMOC after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) during Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1), which ends with an abrupt AMOC amplification at the transition to the Bølling/Allerød (B/A). This transition occurs despite persistent deglacial meltwater fluxes that counteract vigorous North Atlantic deep-water formation. Using the Earth system model COSMOS with a range of deglacial boundary conditions and reconstructed deglacial meltwater fluxes, we show that deglacial CO2 rise and ice sheet decline modulate the sensitivity of the AMOC to these fluxes. While declining ice sheets increase the sensitivity, increasing atmospheric CO2 levels tend to counteract this effect. Therefore, the occurrence of a weaker HS1 AMOC and an abrupt AMOC increase in the presence of meltwater, might be explained by these effects, as an alternative to or in combination with changes in the magnitude or routing of meltwater discharge.

Description: Ocean environmental conditions can be inferred from the chemical composition of bamboo coral skeletons. The high magnesium calcite internodes of these long-living octocorals may therefore represent a potential archive for seawater properties such as salinity or temperature where instrumental time series are absent. To extend these time series into the past using a natural archive the principles of temperature and salinity signal incorporation into cold-water coral skeletal material need to be investigated. Since skeletal Na and S concentrations have been proposed as environmental proxies, we mapped the spatial distribution and concentration of these elements in two Atlantic specimens of Keratoisis grayi (family Isididae). These measurements were conducted with an electron microprobe applying a spatial resolution of 4 μm. The mean apparent distribution coefficient of Na/Ca for the two samples was within 2.5 and 2.8*10−4, while that of S shows a similar depletion relative to seawater with 3.8 and 3.6*10−3. The two elements show an inverse correlation in bamboo coral skeletons. The mean apparent distribution coefficient of Na is similar to that of abiotic calcites. This similarity can be interpreted as the absence of significant vital effects for skeletal Na/Ca. Hence it corroborates the idea that the average skeletal composition of bamboo corals holds the potential to record past seawater conditions. In contrast, it appears unlikely that the spatial variations of the element distribution of seemingly simultaneously precipitated material along growth rings are exclusively controlled by environmental factors. We further exclude Rayleigh fractionation, ion-specific pumping, and Ca/proton exchange as the driver of Na and S distribution in bamboo corals. Instead, we adapt a calcification model originally proposed for scleractinians to bamboo corals. This model can explain the observed distribution of Na and S in the skeleton by a combination of Ca/proton pumping, bicarbonate active transport, and the formation of an organic skeletal matrix. The adapted model can further be used to predict the theoretical behaviour of other elements and disentangle vital effects from external factors influencing compositional features. It is therefore a useful tool for future studies on the potential of bamboo corals as environmental archives.

Description: Although often speculated, the link between theMiddle Triassic shoshonitic magmatismat the NE margin of the Adria plate and the subduction-related metasomatismof the Southern Alps Sub-Continental Lithospheric Mantle (SCLM) has never been constrained. In this paper, a detailed geochemical and petrological characterization of the lavas, dykes and ultramafic cumulates belonging to the shoshonitic magmatic event that shaped the Dolomites (Southern Alps) was used tomodel the composition and evolution of the underlying SCLMin the time comprised between the Variscan subduction and the opening of the Alpine Tethys. Geochemical models and numerical simulations enabled us to define that 5–7% partial melting of an amphibole + phlogopite-bearing spinel lherzolite, similar to the Finero phlogopite peridotite, can account for the composition of the primitive Mid-Triassic SiO2- saturated to -undersaturated melts with shoshonitic affinity (87Sr/86Sri = 0.7032–0.7058; 143Nd/144Ndi = 0.51219–0.51235; Mg # ~ 70; ~1.1 wt% H2O). By taking into account the H2O content documented in mineral phases from the Finero phlogopite peridotite, it is suggested that the Mid-Triassic SCLM source was able to preserve a significant enrichment and volatile content (600–800 ppm H2O) for more than 50 Ma, i.e. since the slab-related metasomatismconnected to the Variscan subduction. The partialmelting of a Finero-like SCLM represents the exhaustion of the subduction-related signature in the Southern Alps lithosphere that predated the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic asthenospheric upwelling related to the opening of the Alpine Tethys.

Description: Published

Description: 105856

Description: 2V. Struttura e sistema di alimentazione dei vulcani

Description: 3V. Proprietà chimico-fisiche dei magmi e dei prodotti vulcanici

Description: JCR Journal

Description: Excessive nonphysical energy dissipation is a problem in Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) when modeling free surface waves, resulting in a significant decrease in wave amplitude within a few wavelengths for progressive waves. This dissipation poses a limitation to the physical scale of SPH applications involving water wave propagation. Some prior solutions to this wave decay problem rely on elaborate schemes, which require a complex, or non-straightforward, implementation. Other approaches demand large smoothing lengths that lead to longer simulation times and potential degradation of the results. In this work we present an approach based on a kernel gradient correction. Our scheme is fully 3D and solves the main known drawbacks of kernel gradient corrections, such as instabilities and lack of momentum conservation. The latter is ensured by adopting an averaged correction matrix, so as to conserve reciprocity during particle interactions. We test our model with a standing wave in a basin and a progressive wave train in a wave tank, and in both cases no nonphysical decay occurs. A comparison to an approach based on large smoothing factors shows advantages both in quality of the results and simulation time.

Description: Published

Description: 104018

Description: 3IT. Calcolo scientifico

Description: JCR Journal

Description: The attention and demand for greater social protection is increasing among the populations of all European countries. It is difficult to identify which of the structures and infrastructures, sectors and regional budgets are inefficient and/or negligent in respect of providing more social protection. In the political sphere the problem is examined from a qualitative point of view, because it is essential to have a valid decisional support system that provides useful information for structural and economic intervention programs devised to improve social protection. Regional spending on social protection is a fundamental component of individual well-being. This work is precisely aimed at assessing individual well-being in terms of technical expenses efficiency in the Italian Regions. Stochastic frontier analysis and a nonparametric deterministic model structure are the tools used to investigate the social protection determinants in the paper.

Description: Published

Description: 100965

Description: 4TM. Web e Social

Description: JCR Journal

Description: The geometry, rates and kinematics of active faulting in the region close to the tip of a major crustal-scale normal fault in the Gulf of Corinth, Greece, are investigated using detailed fault mapping and new absolute dating. Fault offsets have been dated using a combination of 234U/230Th coral dates and in situ 36Cl cosmogenic exposure ages for sediments and wave-cut platforms deformed by the faults. Our results show that deformation in the tip zone is distributed across as many as eight faults arranged within ~700 m across strike, each of which deforms deposits and landforms associated with the 125 ka marine terrace of Marine Isotope Stage 5e. Summed throw-rates across strike achieve values as high as 0.3–1.6 mm/yr, values that are comparable to those at the centre of the crustal-scale fault (2–3 mm/yr from Holocene palaeoseismology and 3–4 mm/yr from GPS geodesy). The relatively high deformation rate and distributed deformation in the tip zone are discussed in terms of stress enhancement from rupture of neighbouring crustal-scale faults and in terms of how this should be considered during fault-based seismic hazard assessment.

Description: Published

Description: 104063

Description: 2T. Deformazione crostale attiva

Description: JCR Journal

Description: During the middle Eocene to early Oligocene Earth transitioned from a greenhouse to an icehouse climate state. The interval comprises the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO; ~40 Ma) and a subsequent long-term cooling trend that culminated in the Eocene-Oligocene transition (EOT; ~34 Ma) with the Oi-1 glaciation. Here, we present a refined calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy and an orbitally tuned age model for the Monte Cagnero (MCA) section spanning the middle Eocene to the early Oligocene (~41 to ~33 Ma). Spectral analysis of magnetic susceptibility (MS) data displays strong cyclicities in the orbital frequency band allowing us to tune the identified 405 kyr eccentricity minima in the MS record to their equivalents in the astronomical solution. Our orbitally tuned age model allows us to estimate the position and duration of polarity chrons (C18 to C13) and compare them with other standard and orbitally tuned ages. We were also able to constrain the timing and duration of the MECO event, which coincides with a minimum in the 2.4 Myr and 405 kyr eccentricity cycles. Our study corroborates the previous estimated age for the base of the Rupelian stage (33.9 Ma) and estimates the base of the Priabonian stage in the MCA section to be at 37.4 Ma. Finally, calcareous nannofossils with known paleoenvironmental preferences suggest a gradual shift from oligotrophic to meso-eutrophic conditions with an abrupt change at ~36.8 Ma. Besides, nannofossil assemblages suggest that enhanced nutrient availability pre- ceded water cooling at the late Eocene. Altogether, this evidence points to a poorly developed water column stratification prior to the cooling trend.

Description: Published

Description: 110563

Description: 1A. Geomagnetismo e Paleomagnetismo

Description: 5A. Ricerche polari e paleoclima

Description: JCR Journal

Description: The increasing dinosaur record from Italy questioned classic palaeogeographic scenarios for the Central Mediterranean area and suggest the proximity of landmass areas and a geographical connection between Gondwana and Laurasia during Cretaceous times. Besides several track-sites and exceptionally-preserved specimens (e.g. Scipionyx samniticus), the Italian dinosaur record also consists of isolated bones, among which the bone fragment of a theropod discovered in north-western Sicily. The bone occurs in a shallowwater carbonate succession (i.e. Pizzo Muletta, Palermo Mountains) pertaining to the Panormide Carbonate Platform (PCP). The bone was previously ascribed to the Cenomanian, strongly supporting the hypothesis of a land bridge connecting Gondwana and Adria via PCP. More recently, new sedimentological and biostratigraphic studies on the Pizzo Muletta succession have been carried out. The obtained results allow to predate the stratigraphic position of the dinosaur bone to the late Aptianeearly Albian and to assess a detailed AptianeCenomanian evolution of this sector of the PCP. In particular, the karstic overprint of Cenomanian rudist limestones indicate a subaerial exposure of the platform preceding its drowning during latest Cenomanian times. The new assumptions allow to extend the temporal duration of the intermittent land bridge between Gondwana and Laurasia at least from Aptian to Cenomanian times and to add further evidences of the dominant tectonic control affecting the Western Tethys during Cretaceous times.

Description: Published

Description: 104919

Description: 5T. Sismologia, geofisica e geologia per l'ingegneria sismica

Description: JCR Journal

Description: Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2022. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 127(7), (2022): e2021JC018276, https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JC018276.

Description: Coastal communities across the United States (U.S.) are experiencing an increase in the frequency of high-tide flooding (HTF). This increase is mainly due to sea-level rise (SLR), but other factors such as intra- to inter-annual mean sea level variability, tidal anomalies, and non-tidal residuals also contribute to HTF events. Here we introduce a novel decomposition approach to develop and then analyze a new database of different sea-level components. Those components represent processes that act on various timescales to contribute to HTF along the U.S. coastline. We find that the relative importance of components to HTF events strongly varies in space and time. Tidal anomalies contribute the most along the west and northeast coasts, where HTF events mostly occur in winter. Non-tidal residuals are most important along the Gulf of Mexico and mid-Atlantic coasts, where HTF events mostly occur in fall. We also quantify the minimum number of components that were required to cause HTF events in the past and how this number changed over time. The results highlight that at present, due to SLR, fewer components are needed to combine to push water levels above HTF thresholds, but tidal anomalies alone are still not sufficient to reach HTF thresholds in most locations. Finally, we explore how co-variability between different components leads to compounding effects. In some places, positive correlation between sea-level components leads to significantly more HTF events than would be expected if sea-level components were uncorrelated, whereas in other places negative correlation leads to fewer HTF events.

Description: his work was supported by NASA's Sea Level Change Team award number 80NSSC20K1241. S.L. also acknowledges support by the China Scholarship Council (no. 201904910413) and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China (grant no. 2011YQ120045).

Description: 2023-01-14

Description: Harmful Algae Blooms pose an increasing threat to the public health and economic stability of Southern Chile, particularly to the aquaculture industries. This fieldwork performed during the PROFAN expedition from 12th to 22nd November 2019 extends the knowledge on the distribution of marine toxin-producing species in the difficult to access Última Esperanza Province in the Magallanes Region. Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning toxins with high relative abundances of saxitoxin and lipophilic toxins dominated by yessotoxins, pectenotoxins and domoic acid were detected at nearly each sampling station. The respective toxin-producing organisms are mainly from the genus Alexandrium and Dinophysis. Furthermore, the first detection of pinnatoxin-G (PnTx-G) in Chilean waters strongly indicates the presence of the dinoflagellate Vulcanodinium rugosum.

Description: In this paper we present the ground response analyses (GRA) of a site where an industrial facility is planned. Because of its location on an active normal fault system known as a relevant seismic gap, the Mt. Morrone Fault system (MMF), and at the edge of a basin filled with slow velocity continental deposits, a inter-disciplinary and non-standard approach has been applied to assess the seismic input of the dynamic numerical analyses. It includes geological, seismological, geotechnical and engineering contributions. Two fault scenarios, MMF1 and MMF2, were considered and scenario-based (SSHA) and probabilistic (time-dependent, TD, and time-independent, TI) seismic hazard (PSHA) analyses were implemented. Comparison among the spectra corresponding to the 90th percentile of the SSHA statistical distribution and the PSHA average ones, shows that the MMF2 has values similar to the TD model. The SSHA 90th percentile distribution was selected as target spectra to retrieve the seismic input for GRA. Nonlinear numerical simulations of seismic wave propagation were implemented to derive surface ground motion parameters. GRA acceleration response spectra and their PGA are notably higher, and thus on the safety site, than those obtained following the Italian code approach for seismic resistant buildings. These results confirm that a scenario-based methodology can better capture the shaking effect in near-field conditions, avoiding possibly unconservative underestimations of the seismic actions and in view of a more robust performance-based approach used by engineers for either new design and/or assessment/retrofit purposes of the built environment.

Description: Published

Description: 106970

Description: 5T. Sismologia, geofisica e geologia per l'ingegneria sismica

Description: JCR Journal

Description: Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2022. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Research Letters 49(13), (2022): e2022GL098554, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098554.

Description: Summertime heavy rainfall and its resultant floods are among the most harmful natural hazards in the US Midwest, one of the world's primary crop production areas. However, seasonal forecasts of heavy rain, currently based on preseason sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs), remain unsatisfactory. Here, we present evidence that sea surface salinity anomalies (SSSAs) over the tropical western Pacific and subtropical North Atlantic are skillful predictors of summer time heavy rainfall one season ahead. A one standard deviation change in tropical western Pacific SSSA is associated with a 1.8 mm day−1 increase in local precipitation, which excites a teleconnection pattern to extratropical North Pacific. Via extratropical air-sea interaction and long memory of midlatitude SSTA, a wave train favorable for US Midwest heavy rain is induced. Combined with soil moisture feedbacks bridging the springtime North Atlantic salinity, the SSSA-based statistical prediction model improves Midwest heavy rainfall forecasts by 92%, complementing existing SSTA-based frameworks.

Description: This study is supported by the NSF PREEVENTS program under ICER-1663138 (LL) and ICER-1663704 (RWS and CCU).

Description: 2023-01-07

Description: Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2022. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 127(8), (2022): e2022JG006810, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022jg006810.

Description: Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) has been widely recognized as an important source of dissolved nutrients in coastal waters and affects nutrient biogeochemistry. In contrast, little information is available on SGD impacts on coastal carbon budgets. Here, we assessed the SGD and associated carbon (dissolved inorganic carbon [DIC] and total alkalinity [TA]) fluxes in Liaodong Bay (the largest bay of the Bohai Sea, China) and discussed their border implications for coastal DIC budget and buffering capacity. Based on 223Ra and 228Ra mass balance models, the SGD flux was estimated to be (0.92–1.43) × 109 m3 d−1. SGD was the largest contributor of DIC, accounting for 55%–77% of the total DIC sources. The low ratio (〈1) of SGD-derived TA to DIC fluxes and negative correlation between radium isotopes and pH in seawater implied that SGD would potentially reduce seawater pH in Liaodong Bay. Combining the groundwater carbon data in Liaodong Bay with literature data, we found that the SGD-derived DIC flux off China was 4–9 times greater than those from rivers. By analyzing the TA/DIC ratios in groundwater along the Chinese coast and related carbon fluxes, SGD was thought to partially reduce the CO2 buffer capacity in receiving seawater. These results obtained at the bay scale and national scale suggest that SGD is a significant component of carbon budget and may play a critical role in modulating coastal buffering capacity and atmospheric CO2 sequestration.

Description: his research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 42130703, 42007170) and the Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen (Grant No. 20200925174525002.

Description: 2023-01-20

Description: The presence of tipping points in ecological systems implies abrupt changes in the dynamics of the ecosystem. In these piecewise-smooth dynamical systems sliding dynamics, i.e., dynamics on the switching boundary, have been reported for population models. However, the question whether or not, and if so under which conditions, sliding dynamics may occur in an optimally controlled system have not yet been studied. We explore this issue in a simple harvesting model with two regimes, and find that optimal sliding may occur if regular steady states do not exist. Hence, sliding dynamics may be part of an optimal policy.

Description: We propose a procedure based on remote sensing Sentinel-1 InSAR data aiming at evaluating the variability of the moment tensor solutions provided by different agencies in case of light-to-moderate earthquake. We model the expected coseismic ground deformations from the available moment tensor solutions and compare them with the real ones retrieved with the InSAR data. Any differences between location and intensity of simulated and estimated seismic-induced deformation fields allow indirectly evaluating the variability of the solutions in terms of epicenter locations and kinematics of the causative faults. We applied this investigation method to several light (4〈Mw 〈 4.9) to moderate (5〈Mw 〈 5.9) earthquakes occurred along the Mediterranean area since the launch of the Sentinel-1A mission in 2014. The selected seismic events cover all the faulting mechanisms and are characterized by different estimated magnitudes and depths thus offering a synoptic view of the performance of the procedure in several cases. Thanks to the global coverage and the unprecedented revisit time of Sentinel-1 acquisitions, the proposed procedure can be easily extended to any seismic event occurred inland worldwide.

Description: Published

Description: 100057

Description: 3T. Fisica dei terremoti e Sorgente Sismica

Description: JCR Journal

Description: Permafrost is warming globally which leads to widespread permafrost thaw. Particularly ice-rich permafrost is vulnerable to rapid thaw and erosion, impacting whole landscapes and ecosystems. Retrogressive thaw slumps (RTS) are abrupt permafrost disturbances that expand by several meters each year and lead to an increased soil organic carbon release. Local Remote Sensing studies identified increasing RTS activity in the last two decades by increasing number of RTS or heightened RTS growth rates. However, a large-scale assessment across diverse permafrost regions and at high temporal resolution allowing to further determine RTS thaw dynamics and its main drivers is still lacking. In this study we apply the disturbance detection algorithm LandTrendr for automated large-scale RTS mapping and high temporal thaw dynamic assessment to North Siberia (8.1×106km2). We adapted and parametrised the temporal segmentation algorithm for abrupt disturbance detection to incorporate Landsat+Sentinel-2 mosaics, conducted spectral filtering, spatial masking and filtering, and a binary machine-learning object classification of the disturbance output to separate between RTS and false positives (F1 score: 0.609). Ground truth data for calibration and validation of the workflow was collected from 9 known RTS cluster sites using very high-resolution RapidEye and PlanetScope imagery. Our study presents the first automated detection and assessment of RTS and their temporal dynamics at large-scale for 2001–2019. We identified 50,895 RTS and a steady increase in RTS-affected area from 2001 to 2019 across North Siberia, with a more abrupt increase from 2016 onward. Overall the RTS-affected area increased by 331 compared to 2000 (2000: 20,158ha, 2001–2019: 66,699ha). Contrary to this, 5 focus sites show spatio-temporal variability in their annual RTS dynamics, with alternating periods of increased and decreased RTS development, indicating a close relationship to thaw drivers. The majority of identified RTS was active from 2000 onward and only a small proportion initiated during the assessment period, indicating that the increase in RTS-affected area was mainly caused by enlarging existing RTS and not by new RTS. The detected increase in RTS dynamics suggests advancing permafrost thaw and underlines the importance of assessing abrupt permafrost disturbances with high spatial and temporal resolution at large-scales. Obtaining such consistent disturbance products will help to parametrise regional and global climate change models.

Description: The redox speciation of iron was determined during the iron fertilization LOHAFEX and for the first time, the chemiluminescence assay of filtered and unfiltered samples was systematically compared. We hypothesize that higher chemiluminescence in unfiltered samples was caused by Fe(II) adsorbed onto biological particles. Dissolved and particulate Fe(II) increased in the mixed layer steadily 6-fold during the first two weeks and decreased back to initial levels by the end of LOHAFEX. Both Fe(II) forms did not show diel cycles downplaying the role of photoreduction. The chemiluminescence of unfiltered samples across the patch boundaries showed strong gradients, correlated significantly to biomass and the photosynthetic efficiency and were higher at night, indicative of a biological control. At 150 m deep, a secondary maximum of dissolved Fe(II) was associated with maxima of nitrite and ammonium despite high oxygen concentrations. We hypothesize that during LOHAFEX, iron redox speciation was mostly regulated by trophic interactions.

Description: Marine planktonic eukaryotes play critical roles in global biogeochemical cycles and climate. However, their poor representation in culture collections limits our understanding of the evolutionary history and genomic underpinnings of planktonic ecosystems. Here, we used 280 billion Tara Oceans metagenomic reads from polar, temperate, and tropical sunlit oceans to reconstruct and manually curate more than 700 abundant and widespread eukaryotic environmental genomes ranging from 10 Mbp to 1.3 Gbp. This genomic resource covers a wide range of poorly characterized eukaryotic lineages that complement long-standing contributions from culture collections while better representing plankton in the upper layer of the oceans. We performed the first, to our knowledge, comprehensive genome-wide functional classification of abundant unicellular eukaryotic plankton, revealing four major groups connecting distantly related lineages. Neither trophic modes of plankton nor its vertical evolutionary history could completely explain the functional repertoire convergence of major eukaryotic lineages that coexisted within oceanic currents for millions of years.

Description: Community engagement for disaster risk reduction has become central to participatory emergency management. In neoliberal contexts, publics are increasingly portrayed as responsible for preparing and responding to disasters, while at the same time and contradictorily, they are engaged by the state to encourage compliance with top-down policies and directives. This is happening while incremental budget cuts reinforce the operationalisation of community engagement as information dissemination and service delivery. In this paper we scrutinize the ways in which community engagement for disaster risk reduction has been governed and translated into practice in Australia, focusing on the experiences of the practitioners and community representatives doing community engagement in a peri-urban and multi-hazard area of Victoria. We identify and discuss the role of connectors—individuals fostering connections within and among state-led emergency services, local government, and publics—in negotiating change and building relationships. Our analysis shows how the political economy of state-led emergency management hinders the efforts of connectors, contributing to disconnection between publics, community representatives, and emergency agencies. In navigating the bureaucratic, temporal, and financial constraints of state-led community engagement, the emergency sector is missing opportunities to listen, learn, and work with connectors. The result is missed opportunities to build meaningful connections with publics for disaster risk reduction.

Description: Epibenthic dinoflagellates occur globally and include many toxin-producing species of concern to human health and benthic ecosystem function. Such benthic harmful algal blooms (BHABs) have been well described from tropical and sub-tropical coastal environments, but assessments from north temperate waters, e.g., northern Europe, and polar regions are scarce. The present study addressed the biodiversity and distribution of potentially toxic epibenthic dinoflagellate populations along the west coast of Sweden (Kattegat-Skagerrak) by morphological and molecular criteria. Morphological analysis conducted by light- and electron-microscopy was then linked by DNA barcoding of the V4 region of 18S rRNA gene sequences to interpret taxonomic and phylogenetic relationships. The presence of two potentially toxigenic epibenthic dinoflagellates, Prorocentrum lima (Ehrenberg) F.Stein and Coolia monotis Meunier was confirmed, along with a description of their spatial and temporal distribution. For P. lima, one third of the cell abundance values exceeded official alarm thresholds for potentially toxic BHAB events (〉1000 cells gr–1 of macroalgae fresh weight). The same species were recorded consecutively for two summers, but without significant temporal variation in cell densities. SEM analyses confirmed the presence of other benthic Prorocentrum species: P. fukuyoi complex, P. cf. foraminosum and P. cf. hoffmannianum. Analyses of the V4 region of the 18S rRNA gene also indicated the presence P. compressum, P. hoffmannianum, P. foraminosum, P. fukuyoi, and P. nanum. These findings provide the first biogeographical evidence of toxigenic benthic dinoflagellates along the west coast of Sweden, in the absence of ongoing monitoring to include epibenthic dinoflagellates. Harmful events due to the presence of Coolia at shellfish aquaculture sites along the Kattegat-Skagerrak are likely to be rather marginal because C. monotis is not known to be toxigenic. In any case, as a preliminary assessment, the results highlight the risk of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) events caused by P. lima, which may affect the development and sustainability of shellfish aquaculture in the region.

Description: The marine dinoflagellate Alexandrium Halim represents perhaps the most significant and intensively studied genus with respect to species diversity, life history strategies, toxigenicity, biogeographical distribution, and global magnitude and consequences harmful algal blooms (HABs). The socioeconomic impacts, environmental and human health risks, and mitigation strategies for toxigenic Alexandrium blooms have also been explored in recent years. Human adaptive actions based on future scenarios of bloom dynamics and shifts in biogeographical distribution under climate-change parameters remain under development and not yet implemented on a regional scale. In the CoCliME (Co-development of climate services for adaptation to changing marine ecosystems) project these issues were addressed with respect to past, current and anticipated future status of key HAB genera and expected benefits of enhanced monitoring. Data on the distribution and frequency of Alexandrium blooms related to paralytic shellfish toxin (PST) events from key CoCliME Case Study areas, comprising the North Sea and adjacent Kattegat-Skagerrak, Norwegian Sea, and Baltic Sea, and eastern North Atlantic marginal seas, were evaluated in a contemporary and historical context over the past several decades. The first evidence of possible biogeographical expansion of Alexandrium taxa into eastern Arctic gateways was provided from DNA barcoding signatures. Various key climate change indicators, such as salinity, temperature, and water-column stratification, relevant to Alexandrium bloom initiation and development were identified. The possible influence of changing variables on bloom dynamics, magnitude, frequency and spatial and temporal distribution were interpreted in the context of regional ocean climate models. These climate change impact indicators may play key roles in selecting for the occurrence and diversity of Alexandrium species within the broader microeukaryote communities. For example, shifts to higher temperature and lower salinity regimes predicted for the southern North Sea indicate the potential for increased Alexandrium blooms, currently absent from this area. Ecological and socioeconomic impacts of Alexandrium blooms and effects on fisheries and aquaculture resources and coastal ecosystem function are evaluated, and, where feasible, effective adaptation strategies are proposed herein as emerging climate services.

Description: A bloom of the fish-killing haptophyte Chrysochromulina leadbeateri in northern Norway during May and June 2019 was the most harmful algal event ever recorded in the region, causing massive mortalities of farmed salmon. Accordingly, oceanographic and biodiversity aspects of the bloom were studied in unprecedented detail, based on metabarcoding and physico-chemical and biotic factors related with the dynamics and distribution of the bloom. Light- and electron-microscopical observations of nanoplankton samples from diverse locations confirmed that C. leadbeateri was dominant in the bloom and the primary cause of associated fish mortalities. Cell counts by light microscopy and flow cytometry were obtained throughout the regional bloom within and adjacent to five fjord systems. Metabarcoding sequences of the V4 region of the 18S rRNA gene from field material collected during the bloom and a cultured isolate from offshore of Tromsøy island confirmed the species identification. Sequences from three genetic markers (18S, 28S rRNA gene and ITS region) verified the close if not identical genetic similarity to C. leadbeateri from a previous massive fish-killing bloom in 1991 in northern Norway. The distribution and cell abundance of C. leadbeateri and related Chrysochromulina species in the recent incident were tracked by integrating observations from metabarcoding sequences of the V4 region of the 18S rRNA gene. Metabarcoding revealed at least 14 distinct Chrysochromulina variants, including putative cryptic species. C. leadbeateri was by far the most abundant of these species, but with high intraspecific genetic variability. Highest cell abundance of up to 2.7 × 107 cells L − 1 of C. leadbeateri was found in Balsfjorden; the high cell densities were associated with stratification near the pycnocline (at ca. 12 m depth) within the fjord. The cell abundance of C. leadbeateri showed positive correlations with temperature, negative correlation with salinity, and a slightly positive correlation with ambient phosphate and nitrate concentrations. The spatio-temporal succession of the C. leadbeateri bloom suggests independent initiation from existing pre-bloom populations in local zones, perhaps sustained and supplemented over time by northeastward advection of the bloom from the fjords.

Description: Rapid changes of the biosphere observed in recent years are caused by both small and large scale drivers, like shifts in temperature, transformations in land-use, or changes in the energy budget of systems. While the latter processes are easily quantifiable, documentation of the loss of biodiversity and community structure is more difficult. Changes in organismal abundance and diversity are barely documented. Censuses of species are usually fragmentary and inferred by often spatially, temporally and ecologically unsatisfactory simple species lists for individual study sites. Thus, detrimental global processes and their drivers often remain unrevealed. A major impediment to monitoring species diversity is the lack of human taxonomic expertise that is implicitly required for large-scale and fine-grained assessments. Another is the large amount of personnel and associated costs needed to cover large scales, or the inaccessibility of remote but nonetheless affected areas. To overcome these limitations we propose a network of Automated Multisensor stations for Monitoring of species Diversity (AMMODs) to pave the way for a new generation of biodiversity assessment centers. This network combines cutting-edge technologies with biodiversity informatics and expert systems that conserve expert knowledge. Each AMMOD station combines autonomous samplers for insects, pollen and spores, audio recorders for vocalizing animals, sensors for volatile organic compounds emitted by plants (pVOCs) and camera traps for mammals and small invertebrates. AMMODs are largely self-containing and have the ability to pre-process data (e.g. for noise filtering) prior to transmission to receiver stations for storage, integration and analyses. Installation on sites that are difficult to access require a sophisticated and challenging system design with optimum balance between power requirements, bandwidth for data transmission, required service, and operation under all environmental conditions for years. An important prerequisite for automated species identification are databases of DNA barcodes, animal sounds, for pVOCs, and images used as training data for automated species identification. AMMOD stations thus become a key component to advance the field of biodiversity monitoring for research and policy by delivering biodiversity data at an unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution.

Description: The ubiquitous use of microplastics and their release into the environment especially the water bodies by anthropogenic/industrial activities are the major resources for microplastic contamination. The widespread and often injudicious use of antimicrobial drugs or antibiotics in various sectors including human health and hygiene, agriculture, animal husbandry and food industries are leading to the release of antibiotics into the wastewater/sewage and other water bodies, particularly in urban setups and thus leads to the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the microbes. Microplastics are emerging as the hubs as well as effective carriers of these microbial pathogens beside their AMR-genes (ARGs) in marine, freshwater, sewage/wastewater, and urban river ecosystems. These drug resistant bacteria interact with microplastics forming synthetic plastispheres, the ideal niche for biofilm formations which in turn facilitates the transfer of ARGs via horizontal gene transfer and further escalates the occurrence and levels of AMR. Microplastic-associated AMR is an emerging threat for human health and healthcare besides being a challenge for the research community for effective management/address of this menace. In this review, we encompass the increasing prevalence of microplastics in environment, emphasizing mainly on water environments, how they act as centers and vectors of microbial pathogens with their associated bacterial assemblage compositions and ultimately lead to AMR. It further discusses the mechanistic insights on how microplastics act as hosts of biofilms (creating the plastisphere). We have also presented the modern toolbox used for microplastic-biofilm analyses. A review on potential strategies for addressing microplastic-associated AMR is given with recent success stories, challenges and future prospects.

Description: The European Union cap-and-trade emissions trading system (EU ETS) faces two challenges in the context of the European Green Deal. First, to meet the Paris temperature target, emissions in the energy and industrial sectors must fall to net-zero and then even become net-negative. Second, there is a concern that excessive CO2 price spikes and volatility on this path will jeopardize the political acceptance and support for emissions trading as a climate policy instrument. Conditional supply of carbon removal credits (CRCs) to support dynamic carbon price caps would make it possible to stabilize the market in the transition from positive to net-negative emissions trading while keeping the net-emissions path unchanged. CRCs would be assigned for carbon removal achieved for example with methods like Direct Air Carbon Capture and Storage or Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage and would be used by companies under the EU ETS to compensate for their emissions. However, we suggest that there would be no direct exchange between emitting companies under the EU ETS and carbon removal companies, i.e., the demand and supply side of CRCs, during an initial phase. Instead, we suggest assigning an institutional mandate to for example a carbon central bank (CCB) to organize the supply of CRCs. Under this mandate, carbon removal would be procured, would be translated into a corresponding number of CRCs, and a fraction of it could be auctioned to the market at a later point in time, provided that market prices exceed a certain (dynamic) price cap.

Description: Algae synthesise structurally complex glycans to build a protective barrier, the extracellular matrix. One function of matrix glycans is to slow down microorganisms that try to enzymatically enter living algae and degrade and convert their organic carbon back to carbon dioxide. We propose that matrix glycans lock up carbon in the ocean by controlling degradation of organic carbon by bacteria and other microbes not only while algae are alive, but also after death. Data revised in this review shows accumulation of algal glycans in the ocean underscoring the challenge bacteria and other microbes face to breach the glycan barrier with carbohydrate active enzymes. Briefly we also update on methods required to certify the uncertain magnitude and unknown molecular causes of glycan-controlled carbon sequestration in a changing ocean.

Description: The depth of the Labrador Sea mixed layer during winter convection is a balance between atmospheric buoyancy loss and lateral buoyancy exchange, and is notoriously difficult to represent accurately in ocean and climate models. This study shows that lateral exchanges of heat and salt between the shelf and the interior are smaller in a regional coupled ocean–sea ice model at higher vertical resolution (75 levels compared with 50 levels), due in part to altered bathymetry along the Greenland shelf. Reduced lateral exchange results in a stronger stratification in the interior of the Labrador Sea, with stronger convection resistance which results in unrealistically shallow mixed layers. The westward fluxes of heat and salt associated with Irminger Water at Cape Farewell are 50 % and 33 % lower, respectively, with higher vertical resolution. Exchanges south of the Labrador Sea from the North Atlantic Current are also smaller, contributing to a reduction in salt and heat import into the Labrador Sea interior. When the high resolution model is forced with a stronger wintertime buoyancy loss at the ocean surface, this weakens the Labrador Sea stratification, allowing the forcing to break through the freshwater cap and increasing convection, bringing mixed layer depths back to observed values. A strong atmospheric forcing can therefore compensate for a reduction in lateral advection. The mixed layer depths, which are representative of convection and Labrador Sea water formation, will be the focus in this study. Therefore, this study suggests that convection and Labrador Sea Water formation is a complex interplay of surface and lateral fluxes, linked to stratification thresholds.

Description: Mussel aquaculture is heavily reliant on wild mussel populations that supply juveniles (spat) for seeding farms. However, little is often known about parent populations, representing a risk for the sustainability of the industry. We used hydrodynamic back-tracking models to identify potential parental areas that provision green-lipped mussel (Perna canaliculus) spat across a range of settlement sites in New Zealand's largest aquaculture area. Median parental area varied considerably between 19 km2 for sites located in enclosed bays and a maximum of 〉1150 km2 for sites located in open bays. Median distance to parent populations ranged between 1.8 and 21.4 km, with a maximum larval dispersal estimated to be ca. 100 km. Small seasonal variations in parental area and dispersal distance were detected in some regions, whereas inter-annual variability was relatively minor. Regional connectivity between settlement and parental regions ranged between a minimum of 45% of larvae originating in the same parental region, to maximum retention rates of 99.9% for sites in enclosed bays, implying a considerable regional variation in the potential for self-seeding and exporting mussel larvae other areas. Our results also delineate areas that support spatfall by identifying likely locations for wild or farmed parental populations, and by establishing the spatial extent where mussel reproduction and larval development through to settlement take place. These dispersal and connectivity patterns are crucial to support management decisions for the conservation and restoration of parental populations, and other environmental constraints, such as water quality, which are necessary to ensure the sustainability of spat catching operations that enable shellfish farming.

Description: Varying culture methods are commonly used for eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, aquaculture in the Northeast United States. Vibrio vulnificus and V. parahaemolyticus, two human pathogenic bacteria species, accumulate in this edible, filter feeding shellfish. This study examined the use of two methods in an intertidal area (oysters cultured in trays and in bags on sediment) and two methods in a subtidal area (oysters cultured in trays and loose on the sediment) in Massachusetts over the growing season in 2015. Abundance of total V. vulnificus along with total and pathogenic (tdh+/trh+) V. parahaemolyticus were determined in oysters, sediment and water using real-time PCR. Temperature, salinity, turbidity and chlorophyll were continually measured every 15 min at each location. There were significantly higher abundances of total and pathogenic V. parahaemolyticus in on-bottom cultured oysters, while significantly higher abundances of V. vulnificus were identified in oysters from off-bottom culture in a subtidal location in Duxbury Bay, MA. In an intertidal location, Wellfleet Bay, MA, significantly higher abundances of total and tdh+ V. parahaemolyticus were found in off-bottom oysters, but significantly higher abundances of V. vulnificus and trh+ V. parahaemolyticus were found in on-bottom oysters. Spearman's correlation indicated that temperature is positively associated with concentrations of Vibrio spp. in oysters, water and sediment, but positive correlations between salinity and Vibrio spp. was also observed. Conversely, turbidity had a negative effect on Vibrio spp. concentrations in all sample types. There was no observed relationship inferred between chlorophyll and Vibrio spp. abundances in oysters, water or sediment.

Description: Saccharina japonica is a commercially farmed seaweed of global importance. However, disease occurrence during different stages of cultivation can result in substantial economic losses. Identification of the causative agents of disease remains a significant bottleneck to the large scale cultivation of S. japonica. In this study, an aerobic heterotrophic, flagellated, rod-shaped Gram-negative bacterial strain X-8 was isolated from the bleaching diseased S. japonica sporelings. Pathogenecity of strain X-8 was tested by re-infection assay. The ultrastructural changes of infected S. japonica cells by strain X-8 indicated that chloroplasts were the first organelle responding to X-8 infection with deformed structure and later followed by fragmented nucleus. However, the ultra-structure of mitochondria and cell wall remained intact during the re-infection. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence, morphological and biochemical characteristics, strain X-8 was designated as Pseudoalteromonas piscicida X-8. The pathogenicity of P. piscicida X-8 was identified by Koch's Postulate under laboratory conditions. Our results will not only help to establish a stable experimental model between the pathogenic bacteria and the host S. japonica to further elucidate the virulence mechanisms, but will also provide information for disease management to effectively prevent and mitigate the occurrence of bleaching disease of S. japonica at nursery stage.

Description: How do people’s perceptions about when they work affect their intrinsic motivation? We find that working during non-standard work time (weekends/holidays) versus standard work time (Monday-Friday, 9-to-5) undermines people’s intrinsic motivation for their professional and academic pursuits. Working during non-standard work time decreases intrinsic motivation by causing people to consider better uses of their time. That is, people generate more upward counterfactual thoughts, which mediates the effect of work time on reduced intrinsic motivation. As a causal test of this process, increasing consideration of upward counterfactuals during standard work time reduces intrinsic motivation, whereas decreasing consideration of upward counterfactuals during non-standard work time helps employees and students maintain intrinsic motivation for their professional and academic pursuits. Overall, we identify a novel determinant of intrinsic motivation and address a real challenge many people face: How changing work schedules affect interest and enjoyment of work, with important consequences for work outcomes.

Description: Seagrasses are complex benthic coastal ecosystems that play a crucial role in organic matter cycling and carbon sequestration. However, little is known about how seagrasses influence the structure and carbon utilization potential of benthic bacterial communities. This study examined the bacterial communities in monospecific and mixed meadows of seagrasses and compared with bulk (unvegetated) sediments from Chilika, a brackish water coastal lagoon of India. High-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes revealed a vegetation effect in terms of differences in benthic bacterial community diversity, composition, and abundances in comparison with bulk sediments. Desulfobacterales, Chromatiales, Enterobacteriales, Clostridiales, Vibrionales, and Acidimicrobiales were major taxa that contributed to differences between seagrass and bulk sediments. Seagrasses supported ∼5.94 fold higher bacterial abundances than the bulk due to rich organic carbon stock in their sediments. Co-occurrence network demonstrated much stronger potential interactions and connectedness in seagrass bacterial communities compared to bulk. Chromatiales and Acidimicrobiales were identified as the top two keystone taxa in seagrass bacterial communities, whereas, Dehalococcoidales and Rhizobiales were in bulk communities. Seagrasses and local environmental factors, namely, water depth, water pH, sediment salinity, redox potential, total organic carbon, available nitrogen, sediment texture, sediment pH, and sediment core depth were the major drivers of benthic bacterial community composition. Carbon metabolic profiling revealed that heterotrophic bacteria in seagrass sediments were much more metabolically diverse and active than bulk. The utilization of carbon substrate guilds, namely, amino acids, amines, carboxylic acids, carbohydrates, polymers, and phenolic compounds was enhanced in seagrass sediments. Metabolic mapping predicted higher prevalence of sulfate-reducer and N2 fixation metabolic functions in seagrass sediments. Overall, this study showed that seagrasses control benthic bacterial community composition and diversity, enhance heterotrophic carbon substrate utilization, and play crucial roles in organic matter cycling including degradation of hydrocarbon and xenobiotics in coastal sediments.

Description: Ringed seals (Pusa hispida) are slowly recovering in the eastern and northern parts of the Baltic Sea after years of hunting pressure and contaminant exposure. Still, consequences of anthropogenic activities such as contaminant exposure and increasing temperatures are stressors that continue to have deleterious effects on their habitat and health. Transcription profiles of seven health-related genes involved in xenobiotic metabolism, endocrine disruption and stress were evaluated in blood, blubber, and liver of Baltic ringed seals in a multi-tissue approach. Selected persistent organic pollutants and total mercury concentrations were measured in blubber and liver, and muscle and liver of these animals, respectively. Concentrations of contaminants varied across tissues on a lipid weight basis but not with sex. mRNA transcript levels for all seven target genes did not vary between sexes or age classes. Transcript levels of thyroid hormone receptor alpha (TRα), retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARα) and heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) correlated with levels of persistent organic pollutants. TRα transcript levels also correlated positively with mercury concentrations in the liver. Of the three tissues assessed in this multi-tissue approach, blubber showed highest transcription levels of aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator (ARNT), thyroid stimulating hormone receptor beta (TSHβ), oestrogen receptor alpha (ESR1) and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (PPARα). The wide range of genes expressed highlights the value of minimally invasive sampling (e.g. biopsies) for assessing health endpoints in free-ranging marine wildlife and the importance of identifying optimal matrices for targeted gene expression studies. This gene transcript profile study has provided baseline information on transcript levels of biomarkers for early on-set health effects in ringed seals and will be a useful guide to assess the impacts of environmental change in Baltic pinnipeds for conservation and management.

Description: Highlights • Our data split method handles spatial autocorrelation and imposes prediction fairness. • The sets impose fair algorithms with similar difficulty in all machine learning steps. • Kriging variance is a surrogate of spatial prediction difficulty. • The resulting training and test sets are compatible with any machine learning model. Machine learning supports prediction and inference in multivariate and complex datasets where observations are spatially related to one another. Frequently, these datasets depict spatial autocorrelation that violates the assumption of identically and independently distributed data. Overlooking this correlation result in over-optimistic models that fail to account for the geographical configuration of data. Furthermore, although different data split methods account for spatial autocorrelation, these methods are inflexible, and the parameter training and hyperparameter tuning of the machine learning model is set with a different prediction difficulty than the planned real-world use of the model. In other words, it is an unfair training-testing process. We present a novel method that considers spatial autocorrelation and planned real-world use of the spatial prediction model to design a fair train-test split. Demonstrations include two examples of the planned real-world use of the model using a realistic multivariate synthetic dataset and the analysis of 148 wells from an undisclosed Equinor play. First, the workflow applies the semivariogram model of the target to compute the simple kriging variance as a proxy of spatial estimation difficulty based on the spatial data configuration. Second, the workflow employs a modified rejection sampling to generate a test set with similar prediction difficulty as the planned real-world use of the model. Third, we compare 100 test sets' realizations to the model's planned real-world use, using probability distributions and two divergence metrics: the Jensen-Shannon distance and the mean squared error. The analysis ranks the spatial fair train-test split method as the only one to replicate the difficulty (i.e., kriging variance) compared to the validation set approach and spatial cross-validation. Moreover, the proposed method outperforms the validation set approach, yielding a minor mean percentage error when predicting a target feature in an undisclosed Equinor play using a random forest model. The resulting outputs are training and test sets ready for model fit and assessment with any machine learning algorithm. Thus, the proposed workflow offers spatial aware sets ready for predictive machine learning problems with similar estimation difficulty as the planned real-world use of the model and compatible with any spatial data analysis task.

Description: Deep-sea polymetallic nodule mining is expected to start within the next decade. There is currently a pressing need to develop best practices to minimise the potential environmental impacts of this new industry. Project-specific environmental management processes, such as environmental impact assessment (EIA), and the associated environmental management and monitoring plan (EMMP), must be effective to sufficiently mitigate environmental impacts of deep-sea mining (DSM) projects. This paper identifies the key drivers, barriers, and enablers to polymetallic nodule mining from a review of recent literature and develops an environmental management framework prior to any exploitation licenses being approved. We explore how the drivers to polymetallic nodule mining are framed in a global context, including claims that it will facilitate clean energy transitions, increase mineral supply diversity, and improve life cycle sustainability. We highlight the key barriers to effective environmental management, including epistemic uncertainty about deep-sea ecosystems, assessment of harmful effects from mining activities, and stakeholder support for a social license. We identify three enablers, including the precautionary approach, the ecosystem approach, and adaptive management, all of which are highly interdependent and must be operationalised to address the identified barriers. The results of this analysis indicate a complex social-ecological narrative infused throughout recent literature, emphasising the need for systems-level thinking and broader stakeholder participation. We present an environmental management framework designed to support good industry practice and guide future research.

Description: Northern peatlands store 300–600 Pg C, of which approximately half are underlain by permafrost. Climate warming and, in some regions, soil drying from enhanced evaporation are progressively threatening this large carbon stock. Here, we assess future CO2 and CH4 fluxes from northern peatlands using five land surface models that explicitly include representation of peatland processes. Under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 2.6, northern peatlands are projected to remain a net sink of CO2 and climate neutral for the next three centuries. A shift to a net CO2 source and a substantial increase in CH4 emissions are projected under RCP8.5, which could exacerbate global warming by 0.21°C (range, 0.09–0.49°C) by the year 2300. The true warming impact of peatlands might be higher owing to processes not simulated by the models and direct anthropogenic disturbance. Our study highlights the importance of understanding how future warming might trigger high carbon losses from northern peatlands.

Description: Increased water temperature is considered an important cause of the loss of seagrass beds. This paper quantified the interactive influence of different combinations of water temperature and duration on the responses of Zostera marina plants in terms of survivorship, morphology, growth and physiology. The LT50 (lethal temperature that caused an increase in mortality to 50% of that of the control) and ET50 (effect time that caused a decrease in growth to 50% of that of the control) were calculated to reveal the quantitative relationship between temperature and duration that resulted in limiting effects on the survival and growth of Z. marina plants. Z. marina plants were exposed to different combinations of water temperature [23 (control), 25, 27, 29, and 31 °C] and duration (5, 10, 15 and 20 days), and then the plants were transferred to the control condition for over 30 days under laboratory conditions. The results showed that the survival rate of plants at the end of recovery were significantly lower than those of plants at the end of direct impact under the temperature levels of 29 and 31 °C in each duration, indicating that short-term periods of obviously increased water temperature would lead to long-term effects on the survival of Z. marina plants. Regression analysis revealed that the relationship between water temperature and duration that resulted in limiting effects on the survival and growth of Z. marina could be described as a strong power function. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the survival and growth of Z. marina plants exposed to different temperature levels were significantly correlated with leaf soluble sugar contents. This study will further develop our understanding of the degradation and disappearance of seagrass beds induced by increased temperature.

Description: Opportunities to include Cetancodontamorpha in the study of the evolution of the immune system in the clades of Artiodactylamorpha, Ruminantiamorpha, Suinamorpha, and Camelidamorpha have increased with the use of the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, as a sentinel species to study the effects of environmental pollutants on the health of marine mammals. Efforts are currently underway to increase the number reagents needed for detailed studies. Thus far, screening of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) made to leukocyte differentiation molecules (LDM) and the major histocompatibility (MHC) class I and class II molecules in Ruminantiamorpha have yielded some mAbs that recognize conserved epitopes expressed on orthologues in the bottlenose dolphin. More direct approaches are in progress to identify additional mAbs to bottlenose LDM and cytokines. As reported here, both direct and indirect approaches were used to identify mAbs specific for cytokines useful in monitoring the effects of environmental pollutants on the immune system. Immunization of mice with expressed bottlenose dolphin cytokines yielded mAbs specific for IFN-γ, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and IL-17A. Screening of previously developed mAbs used in livestock immunology research revealed mAbs developed against ovine IFN-γ and bovine IL-17 and IL-1β recognize conserved epitopes in bottlenose dolphin orthologues. The mAbs identified in the present study expand the reagents available to study the function of the immune system in bottlenose dolphins and cattle.

Description: Knowledge of the spatial distribution of dust aerosols and their effects on crops is important for policy formulation and food security. This study aims to investigate the impact of dust source susceptibility areas (DSSA) on the loss of agricultural crop and corresponding water consumption in terms of Water Footprint in the Great Salt Desert, Iran. To this goal, MODIS satellite images during the 2005–2020 period were used to identify dust sources and 135 dust source zones were identified. Machine learning algorithm viz. Random Forest (RF), generalized linear model (GLM), and Artificial neural network (ANN) were tested to reproduce DSSA. The best method was RF and applied to calculate and classify DSSA in five risk levels from very low to very high. The amount of wheat production under high risk of DSSA was estimated using the average crop yield from recent years using agriculture statistics. We calculated the loss of crops and corresponding water consumption for three scenarios, assuming a typical loss of 20, 40, and 60% of the wheat production for better crop loss estimation. Finally, the spatial relationships between wheat farmland and high-risk DSSA were assessed using ordinary least squares regression (OLS) and geographically weighted regression (GWR) at sub-watershed scale. The area of wheat cultivation in high and very high risk of DSSA is 10188.04 km2, which is 36% of all agricultural land for wheat in the region. Loss of wheat crop to DSSA meant that 1270.58 to 3811 million m3 water used for the production of wheat were lost, corresponding to 2%, to 7% of lost water compared to the total water consumption for wheat production in the study area.

Description: Pseudomonas is one the best studied bacterial genera, and it is the genus with the highest number of species among the gram-negative bacteria. Pseudomonas spp. are widely distributed and play relevant ecological roles; several species are commensal or pathogenic to humans, animals and plants. The main aim of the present minireview is the discussion of how the Pseudomonas taxonomy has evolved with the development of bacterial taxonomy since the first description of the genus in 1894. We discuss how the successive implementation of novel methodologies has influenced the taxonomy of the genus and, vice versa, how the taxonomic studies developed in Pseudomonas have introduced novel tools and concepts to bacterial taxonomy. Current phylogenomic analyses of the family Pseudomonadaceae demonstrate that a considerable number of named Pseudomonas spp. are not monophyletic with P. aeruginosa, the type species of the genus, and that a reorganization of several genera can be foreseen. Phylogenomics of Pseudomonas, Azomonas and Azotobacter within the Pseudomonadaceae is presented as a case study. Five new genus names are delineated to accommodate five well-defined phylogenetic branches that are supported by the shared genes in each group, and two of them can be differentiated by physiological and ecological properties: the recently described genus Halopseudomonas and the genus Stutzerimonas proposed in the present study. Five former Pseudomonas species are transferred to Halopseudomonas and 10 species to Stutzerimonas.

Description: Highlights • Broad analysis of bias propagation with seven irradiance data sets in PV model. • We identify seasonal and regional biases in irradiance and PV power. • There is no single data set performing best in all metrics for means and variability. Abstract Model estimates of expected photovoltaic (PV) power production rely on accurate irradiance data. Reanalysis and satellite products freely provide irradiance data with a high temporal and spatial resolution including locations for which no ground-based measurements are available. We assess differences in such gridded irradiance data and quantify the subsequent bias propagation from individual radiation components to capacity factors in a contemporary PV model. PV power production is simulated based on four reanalysis (ERA5, COSMO-REA6, COSMO-REA6pp, COSMO-REA2) and three satellite products (CAMS, SARAH-2, CERES Syn1Deg). The results are compared against simulations using measurements from 30 weather stations of the German Weather Service. We compute metrics characterizing biases in seasonal and annual means, day-to-day variability and extremes in PV power. Our results highlight a bias of −1.4% (COSMO-REA6) to ＋8.2% (ERA5) in annual and spatial means of PV power production for Germany. No single data set is best in all metrics, although SARAH-2 and the postprocessed COSMO-REA6 data (COSMO-REA6pp) outperform the other products for many metrics. SARAH-2 yields good results in summer, but overestimates PV output in winter by 16% averaged across all stations. COSMO-REA6pp represents day-to-day variability in the PV power production of a simulated PV fleet best and has a particularly small bias of 0.5% in annual means. This is at least in parts due to compensating biases in local and seasonal means. Our results imply that gridded irradiance data should be used with caution for site assessments and ideally be complemented by local measurements.

Description: Submarine geomorphology, the study of landforms and processes within the submarine domain, is a young discipline that owes its birth to technological achievements that made it possible to explore the underwater sphere of our Earth system. Submarine domains represent over 70% of Earth's surface, i.e. the largest geomorphic system on our planet (more than twice the size of what we can observe on Earth's land surface). From the middle of the last century onwards, technological advances have led to more and more high-performance acoustic equipment and robotic underwater systems, enabling us to depict and investigate, in ever greater detail, parts of the ocean floor long thought to be unfathomable. The present chapter gives an overview of the extent to which technological progress has strongly determined the way in which the study of landscapes and landforms within the submarine domain is approached, creating substantial differences to approaches used in classical studies of geomorphology. Main drivers of seafloor geomorphic changes are introduced to provide a representative summary of the variety of landforms generated by the action of a range of tectonic, sedimentary, and bio-geochemical processes, including the impact of human activity. The chapter concludes with a brief discussion on the relevance of the applied value of submarine geomorphological research, its new trends, and the key contribution it is providing to confirming the importance of geomorphology to the full range of Earth system sciences and environment-related topics.

Description: Hydrothermal vent areas are unique ecosystems with high productivity and high biodiversity that are subject to ongoing research. Hydrothermal vents form in areas with increased magmatic activity where superheated, mineral rich water leaks from the seafloor. Due to the rapid cooling of the water the metal sulfides precipitate and form a black or white plume that can be sensed several hundred meters away from the vent source. Finding and reliably following such plumes with autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) is a challenging task since the plume does not have a smooth concentration gradient but lots of local patches due to the turbulent particle flow. This paper presents an algorithm that combines biology inspired chemotaxis with Unscented Kalman filter (UKF) based extremum seeking control (ESC). The effectiveness is demonstrated by a simulation of a physics-based AUV model in a turbulent 3D Plume model.

Description: We review the current knowledge of the biodiversity of the ocean as well as the levels of decline and threat for species and habitats. The lack of understanding of the distribution of life in the ocean is identified as a significant barrier to restoring its biodiversity and health. We explore why the science of taxonomy has failed to deliver knowledge of what species are present in the ocean, how they are distributed and how they are responding to global and regional to local anthropogenic pressures. This failure prevents nations from meeting their international commitments to conserve marine biodiversity with the results that investment in taxonomy has declined in many countries. We explore a range of new technologies and approaches for discovery of marine species and their detection and monitoring. These include: imaging methods, molecular approaches, active and passive acoustics, the use of interconnected databases and citizen science. Whilst no one method is suitable for discovering or detecting all groups of organisms many are complementary and have been combined to give a more complete picture of biodiversity in marine ecosystems. We conclude that integrated approaches represent the best way forwards for accelerating species discovery, description and biodiversity assessment. Examples of integrated taxonomic approaches are identified from terrestrial ecosystems. Such integrated taxonomic approaches require the adoption of cybertaxonomy approaches and will be boosted by new autonomous sampling platforms and development of machine-speed exchange of digital information between databases.

Description: To limit global warming to 1.5 °C, vast amounts of CO2 will have to be removed from the atmosphere via Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR). Enhancing the CO2 sequestration of ecosystems will require not just one approach but a portfolio of CDR options, including so-called nature-based approaches alongside CDR options that are perceived as more technical. Creating a CDR “supply curve” would however imply that all carbon removals are considered to be perfect substitutes. The various co-benefits of nature-based CDR approaches militate against this. We discuss this aspect of nature-based solutions in connection with the enhancement of blue carbon ecosystems (BCE) such as mangrove or seagrass habitats. Enhancing BCEs can indeed contribute to CO2 sequestration, but the value of their carbon storage is low compared to the overall contribution of their ecosystem services to wealth. Furthermore, their property rights are often unclear, i.e. not comprehensively defined or not enforced. Hence, payment schemes that only compensate BCE carbon sequestration could create tradeoffs at the expense of other important, often local, ecosystem services and might not result in socially optimal outcomes. Accordingly, one chance for preserving and restoring BCEs lies in the consideration of all services in potential compensation schemes for local communities. Also, local contexts, management structures, and benefit-sharing rules are crucial factors to be taken into account when setting up international payment schemes to support the use of BCEs and other nature- or ecosystem-based CDR. However, regarding these options as the only hope of achieving more CDR will very probably not bring about the desired outcome, either for climate mitigation or for ecosystem preservation. Unhalted degradation, in turn, will make matters worse due to the large amounts of stored carbon that would be released. Hence, countries committed to climate mitigation in line with the Paris targets should not hide behind vague pledges to enhance natural sinks for removing atmospheric CO2 but commit to scaling up engineered CDR.

Description: Omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFA) are essential fatty acids for the growth, development and survival of virtually all organisms. There is increasing evidence that anthropogenic climate change has a direct and indirect impact on the availability of natural n-3 LC-PUFA. However, this information is fragmented and not well organized. Therefore, this article reviewed published data from laboratory experiments, field experiments and model simulations to reveal the impact of climate change on the global supply of natural n-3 LC-PUFA and how this will limit the availability of n-3 LC-PUFA in the future food web. In general, climate change can significantly reduce the availability of natural n-3 LC-PUFA in grazing food webs in the following ways: 1) decrease the total biomass of phytoplankton and shift the plankton community structure to a smaller size, which also reduce the biomass of animals in higher trophics; 2) reduce the n-3 LC-PUFA content and/or quality (n-3: n-6 ratio) of all marine organisms; 3) reduce the transfer efficiency of n-3 LC-PUFA in grazing food web. In addition, as an anthropogenic climate adaptation measure, this review also proposed some alternative sources of n-3 LC-PUFA and determined the direction of future research. The information in this article is very useful for providing a critical analysis of the impact of climate change on the supply of natural n-3 LC-PUFA. Such information will aid to establish climate adaptation or management measures, and determine the direction of future research.

Description: In recent years, deep learning methods have shown great promise in the field of geophysics, especially for seismic interpretation. However, there is very little information with regard to its application in the field of magnetic methods. Our research introduces the use of convolutional neural networks for the characterization of magnetic anomalies. The models developed allow the localization of magnetic dipoles, including counting the number of dipoles, their geographical position, and the prediction of their parameters (magnetic moment, depth, and declination). To go even further, we applied visualization tools to understand our model's predictions and its working principle. The Grad-CAM tool improved prediction performance by identifying several layers that had no influence on the prediction and the t-SNE tool confirmed the strong capacity of our model to differentiate between different parameter combinations. Then, we tested our model with real data to establish its limitations and application domain. Results demonstrate that our model detects dipolar anomalies in a real magnetic map even after learning from a synthetic database with a lower complexity, which indicates a significant generalization capability. We also noticed that it is unable to identify dipole anomalies of shapes and sizes different from those considered for the creation of the synthetic database. Finally, the perspectives for this work consist of creating a more complex database to approach the complexity traditionally observed in magnetic maps, using real data from multiple acquisition campaigns, and other applications with alternative geophysical methods.

Description: As environmental DNA (eDNA) approaches gain momentum for biodiversity analysis, validation becomes a key consideration. I focus on four facets of eDNA validation. Validation through technical processes, legal use, official statements, and ‘good enough’ scenarios can advance the field to aid societal issues such as climate emergency and biodiversity crisis.

Description: Seagrasses are capable of sanitizing coastal seawaters polluted by fecal bacteria. In this work, the reduction of Enterococci concentration in the presence of a seagrasses’ assemblage (Pacific Ocean) was related to the decrease in the probability of gastroenteritis. A linear model fitted to data extracted from the literature showed a 20% reduction of this probability in the presence of these plants. Seagrass sanitation effect was estimated to allow avoiding ca. 24 million gastroenteritis cases/year, globally. Considering a global cost of gastroenteritis of ca. US$ 372 million/year, the global avoided cost, assuming that the sanitation service was always effective, was estimated to be ca. US$ 74 million/year (2020 US$). The seagrass sanitation effect appears genera/geographic dependent, and the targeted pathogen may change as well. Thus, the global estimates were roughly adjusted, obtaining conservative figures of ca. 8 million avoided cases/year and ca. US$ 24 million/year of avoided cost. Considering the importance of this Ecosystem Service (ES) for public health and the potential global spreading of diseases driven by climate change, further research is needed to ascertain the scope of this seagrass ES worldwide.

Description: The aim of the study is to evaluate the 3D dynamic response of a finite geological region containing two structures and rested on a semi-infinite elastic layered half-space with a dynamic source radiating transient waves. The hybrid modelling approach is applied. It is based on the decomposition of the whole domain under consideration into two sub-regions: a finite-sized near-field elastic isotropic zone with two containment structures and the open semi-infinite far-field layered region. The far-field zone is a semi-infinite elastic isotropic arbitrary layered medium where the near-field finite geological region is located on. The 3D hybrid computational tool is based on the boundary element method (BEM) for the far-field layered zone and the finite element method (FEM) for the finite near-field domain. The model for the semi-infinite layered zone is further extended by the incorporation of a new condensation algorithm which makes it possible to handle 3D wave propagation through arbitrary layered half-space. The condensation algorithm is developed to avoid high computational memory cost while retaining the compatibility with the hybrid FEM-hosted procedure which facilitates the useful solution for the practical three-dimensional engineering problems. The BEM model of the dynamically active far-field zone is inserted as a macro-finite element (MFE) in the FEM commercial program ABAQUS. The accuracy and convergence study of the hybrid numerical scheme is presented. Numerical simulations convincingly illustrate that the dynamic response of structure-soil-structure system depends on different key factors and their mutual interplay. These factors are arbitrary layering of the far-field geological zone, the characteristics of the dynamic source, the site effects phenomena, the structure-soil-structure dynamic interaction, the type and geometrical disposition of foundations and structures and the 3D features of the dynamic motion.

Description: Gas production from hydrates induced by depressurization is a complex thermal-hydrodynamic-mechanical–chemical (THMC) coupled process. In this paper, we present a THMC coupled model to simulate the fluid flow in hydrate-bearing sediments (HBS) and the geomechanical behavior of HBS. The model is made of two subsystems, which are the fluid part of non-isothermal multi-phase flow with hydrate kinetic and solid part of geomechanical deformation. It accounts for two-way coupling effects between these two subsystems, i.e. the effect of pore pressure and hydrate dissociation on the solid mechanical behavior and the effect of stress on the hydraulic behavior. A new numerical method based on the hybrid control volume finite element method (CVFEM)-finite element method (FEM) is developed to solve the mathematical models. The local conservative CVFEM is used for the fluid part, and the standard FEM for the solid part. In the framework of hybrid CVFEM-FEM, the local conservation is reserved and the primary variables for the two subsystem are co-located. A multi-point flux approximation (MPFA) is adopted without orthogonal meshes so that it is very flexible to build complex geometrical models. The accuracy and reliability of the newly developed simulator QIMGHyd-THMC are tested by comparing with two experimental examples and a large-scale benchmark problem of other popular simulators.

Description: Single-crystal (U-Th)/He dating of 32 apatite and zircon crystals from an impact breccia yielded a weighted mean age of 663 ± 28 ka (n = 3; 4.2 % 2σ uncertainties) for the Monturaqui impact structure, Chile. This ∼350 m diameter simple crater preserves a small volume of impactite consisting of polymict breccias that are dominated by reworked target rock clasts. The small size, young age and limited availability of melt material for traditional geochronological techniques made Monturaqui a good test to define the lower limits of the (U-Th)/He system to successfully date impact events. Numerical modelling of 4He loss in apatite and zircon crystals shows that, for even small craters such as Monturaqui, the short-lived compressional stage and shock metamorphic stage can account for the observed partial to full resetting of (U-Th)/He ages in accessory minerals. Despite the distinctly different 4He diffusion parameters of apatite and zircon, the 2σ-overlapping youngest ages are recorded in both populations of minerals, which supports the inference that the weighted mean of the youngest (U-Th)/He population is the age of formation of this impact structure.

Description: Highlights: • From 1960 to 2020 reported costs of US biological invasions were at least $1.22 tril. • Annual invasion costs increased from $2 bil in 1960–69 to $21 bil in 2010–20. • Most costs were damages ($896 bil), with lower management investments ($47 bil). • Agriculture sector ($510 bil) and terrestrial habitat ($644 bil) were impacted most. • Knowledge gaps in reporting make these monetary costs severely underestimated. Abstract: The United States has thousands of invasive species, representing a sizable, but unknown burden to the national economy. Given the potential economic repercussions of invasive species, quantifying these costs is of paramount importance both for national economies and invasion management. Here, we used a novel global database of invasion costs (InvaCost) to quantify the overall costs of invasive species in the United States across spatiotemporal, taxonomic, and socioeconomic scales. From 1960 to 2020, reported invasion costs totaled $4.52 trillion (USD 2017). Considering only observed, highly reliable costs, this total cost reached $1.22 trillion with an average annual cost of $19.94 billion/year. These costs increased from $2.00 billion annually between 1960 and 1969 to $21.08 billion annually between 2010 and 2020. Most costs (73%) were related to resource damages and losses ($896.22 billion), as opposed to management expenditures ($46.54 billion). Moreover, the majority of costs were reported from invaders from terrestrial habitats ($643.51 billion, 53%) and agriculture was the most impacted sector ($509.55 billion). From a taxonomic perspective, mammals ($234.71 billion) and insects ($126.42 billion) were the taxonomic groups responsible for the greatest costs. Considering the apparent rising costs of invasions, coupled with increasing numbers of invasive species and the current lack of cost information for most known invaders, our findings provide critical information for policymakers and managers.

Description: Highlights • AUV geophysical mapping reveals complex patterns of Mn nodule distribution. • Geophysical and image-based data suggest that Mn nodule occurence relates to sediment thickness. • The role of sediment thickness in nodule development requires detailed geochemical investigation. Abstract The relationship between polymetallic nodules (Mn nodules) and deep-sea stratigraphy is relatively poorly studied and the role of sediment thickness in determining nodule occurrence is an active field of research. This study utilizes geophysical observations from three types of autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) data (multi-beam bathymetry, sub-bottom profiles and underwater photography) in order to assess this relationship. Multi-beam bathymetry was processed with a pattern recognition approach for producing objective geomorphometric classes of the seafloor for examining their relation to sediment thickness and nodule occurence. Sub-bottom profiles were used for extracting sediment thickness along a dense network of tracklines. Close-range AUV-photography data was used for automated counting of polymetallic nodules and their geometric features and it served as ground truth data. It was observed that higher nodule occurence were related to layers with increased sediment thickness. This evidence reveals the role of local seafloor heterogeneity in nodule formation and suggests that unique patterns of local stratigraphy may affect geochemical processes that promote polymetallic nodule development at local scales.

Description: PUBLIC SUMMARY: Endothermy has evolved multiple times not only in mammals and birds but also in fishes (teleosts and chondrichthyans) A chromosome-level genome sequence of the whole-body endothermic opah was generated, explaining genetic changes in heat production, sensory, and adaptive immune system Convergent evolution in endothermic vertebrate lineages was investigated, and genes essential for heart function and metabolic heat production were screened Analyses of the unique pectoral muscle of opah revealed that numerous proteins were co-opted from dorsal swimming muscles for thermogenesis and oxidative phosphorylation ABSTRACT: Few fishes have evolved elevated body temperatures compared to ambient temperatures and only in opah (Lampris spp) is the entire body affected. To understand the molecular basis of endothermy, we analyzed the opah genome and identified 23 genes with convergent amino acid substitutions across fish, birds, and mammals, including slc8b1, which encodes the mitochondrial Na+/Ca2+ exchanger and is essential for heart function and metabolic heat production. Among endothermic fishes, 44 convergent genes with suggestive metabolic functions were identified, such as glrx3, encoding a crucial protein for hemoglobin maturation. Numerous genes involved in the production and retention of metabolic heat were also found to be under positive selection. Analyses of opah’s unique inner heat-producing pectoral muscle layer, an evolutionary key-innovation, revealed that many proteins were co-opted from dorsal swimming muscles for thermogenesis and oxidative phosphorylation. Thus, the opah genome provides valuable resources and opportunities to uncover the genetic basis of thermal adaptations in fish.

Description: Highlights: • First study to compare microplastic effects over a wide biogeographical range • Comparison between natural inorganic microparticles and plastic microparticles • Significant effects on byssus production, respiration and clearance rates, but small effect sizes • No ecologically relevant difference between impact of plastic and natural inorganic microparticles on Mytilidae Abstract: Microplastics are ubiquitous in the marine environment and studies on their effects on benthic filter feeders at least partly revealed a negative influence. However, it is still unclear whether the effects of microplastics differ from those of natural suspended microparticles, which constitute a common stressor in many coastal environments. We present a series of experiments that compared the effects of six-week exposures of marine mussels to two types of natural particles (red clay and diatom shells) to two types of plastic particles (Polymethyl Methacrylate and Polyvinyl Chloride). Mussels of the family Mytilidae from temperate regions (Japan, Chile, Tasmania) through subtropical (Israel) to tropical environments (Cabo Verde) were exposed to concentrations of 1.5 mg/L, 15 mg/L and 150 mg/L of the respective microparticles. At the end of this period, we found significant effects of suspended particles on respiration rate, byssus production and condition index of the animals. There was no significant effect on clearance rate and survival. Surprisingly, we observed only small differences between the effects of the different types of particles, which suggests that the mussels were generally equally robust towards exposure to variable concentrations of suspended solids regardless of whether they were natural or plastic. We conclude, that microplastics and suspended solids elicit similar effects on the tested response variables, and that both types of microparticles mainly cause acute responses rather than more persistent carry-over effects.

Description: Ocean acidification (OA) is one of the most critical anthropogenic threats to marine ecosystems. While significant ecological responses of plankton communities to OA have been revealed mainly by small-scale laboratory approaches, the interactive effect of OA-related changes on zooplankton metabolism and their biogeochemical implications in the natural environment still remains less well understood. Here, we explore the responses of zooplankton respiration and ammonium excretion, two key processes in the nutrient cycling, to high pCO2 levels in a 9-week in situ mesocosm experiment conducted during the autumn oligotrophic season in the subtropical northeast Atlantic. By simulating an upwelling event halfway through the study, we further evaluated the combined effects of OA and nutrient availability on the physiology of micro-and mesozooplankton. OA conditions generally resulted in a reduction in the biomass-specific metabolic and enzymatic rates, particularly in the mesozooplankton community. The situation reversed after the nutrient-rich deep-water addition, which initially promoted a diatom bloom and increased heterotrophic activities in all mesocosms. Under high pCO2 conditions (〉800 μatm), however, the nutrient fertilization triggered the proliferation of the harmful alga Vicicitus globosus, with important consequences for the metabolic performance of the two zooplankton size classes. Here, the zooplankton contribution to the remineralization of organic matter and nitrogen regeneration dropped by 30% and 24%, respectively, during the oligotrophic period, and by 40% and 70% during simulated upwelling. Overall, our results indicate a potential reduction in the biogeochemical role of zooplankton under future ocean conditions, with more evident effects on the large mesozooplankton and during high productivity events

Description: It is widely accepted that iron (Fe)-binding organic ligands play a crucial role in Fe distribution in the marine environment and thus in Fe biogeochemistry. Although Competitive Ligand Equilibration – Adsorptive Cathodic Stripping Voltammetry (CLE-AdCSV) is a well-established technique to investigate Fe chemical speciation in marine samples, several impediments still need to be addressed. These include the extrapolation of laboratory measurements to in-situ conditions, the harmonization of the analytical procedures used, and the applicability of the methods over salinity ranges wider than seawater (e.g., sea ice). This work focusses on the calibration of 2-(2-thiazolylazo)-p-cresol (TAC), salicylaldoxime (SA) and 1-nitroso-2-naphthol (NN), along the salinity range 1–90, and titration of natural samples at two different temperatures (4 °C and 20 °C). The artificial ligand concentration was 10 μM for TAC and 5 μM for SA and NN. Calibrations showed that increasing salinity caused a decrease in the conditional stability constants (logK'Fe’AL) for NN and SA (although different behaviours were noted for the two species FeSA and FeSA2). Less accuracy was noted using TAC, which behaved inconsistently outside the 21 〈 S 〈 35 range, and its use is therefore discouraged in fresh and highly saline waters. Titrations of natural samples showed that only SA covered the salinity range selected, up to 78, and its use is therefore recommended in sea-ice studies. The side reaction coefficient (logα'Fe’AL) of each artificial ligand was found to be influenced by temperature differently: logα'Fe’SA was higher at lower temperature (4 °C), whereas logα'Fe’SA2 and logα'Fe’NN3 increased with increasing temperature (to 20 °C). Although titrations performed at 4 °C highlighted that the uncomplexed Fe fraction was 14% lower than at 20 °C, with potential consequences on primary productivity, the percentage of natural Fe complexed was 〉99%. Future investigations should consider the analysis of the samples at a temperature as close as possible to in-situ conditions to reduce the potential temperature effects.

Description: Serpentinization and carbonation of ultramafic formations is a ubiquitous phenomenon, which deeply influences the biogeochemical cycles of water, hydrogen, carbon…while supporting the particular biosphere around the oceanic hydrothermal vents. Carbonation of peridotites and other mafic and ultramafic rocks is also a hot topic in the current energy landscape as the engineered sequestration of mineral CO2 in these formations could help reduce the atmospheric emissions and cope with climate change. In this study, we present two reactive percolation experiments performed on a natural serpentinite dredged from the ultraslow South-West Indian Oceanic Ridge. The serpentinite cores (length 3–4 cm and dia. 5.6 mm) were subjected for about 10 days to the continuous injection of a NaHCO3-saturated brine at respectively 160 °C and 280 °C. Petrographic and petrophysical results as well as outlet fluid compositions were compared to numerical batch simulations performed with the PHREEQC open software allowing to reconstruct the mineralogical evolution of both cores. The most striking observation is the fast and dramatic decrease of the permeability for both experiments principally due to the precipitation of carbonates. On the contrary, serpentine was found to be less impacting as it precipitates in low-flow zones, out of the main percolation paths. In total, about 5.6% of the total injected CO2 was retained in the core, at 280 °C. In the same time, hydrogen was consistently produced with a total recovered H2 corresponding to 0.8% of the maximum H2 possible. The global behavior of the cores is interpreted as the result from an interplay between interacting spatio-temporal lengthscales controlled by the Damköhler number.

Description: Highlights: • Research interest and economic impacts of biological invasions are globally increasing. • Invasive alien species costs grew faster than reports of costs. • Invasive alien species cost trends differ across geographic regions. • Different taxonomic groups drive global and regional trends differently. Abstract: Invasive alien species (IAS) are a growing global ecological problem. Reports on the socio-economic impacts of biological invasions are accumulating, but our understanding of temporal trends across regions and taxa remains scarce. Accordingly, we investigated temporal trends in the economic cost of IAS and cost-reporting literature using the InvaCost database and meta-regression modelling approaches. Overall, we found that both the cost reporting literature and monetary costs increased significantly over time at the global scale, but costs increased faster than reports. Differences in global trends suggest that cost literature has accumulated most rapidly in North America and Oceania, while monetary costs have exhibited the steepest increase in Oceania, followed by Europe, Africa and North America. Moreover, the costs for certain taxonomic groups were more prominent than others and the distribution also differed spatially, reflecting a potential lack of generality in cost-causing taxa and disparate patterns of cost reporting. With regard to global trends within the Animalia and Plantae kingdoms, costs for flatworms, mammals, flowering and vascular plants significantly increased. Our results highlight significantly increasing research interest and monetary impacts of biological invasions globally, but uncover key regional differences driven by variability in reporting of costs across countries and taxa. Our findings also suggest that regions which previously had lower research effort (e.g., Africa) exhibit rapidly increasing costs, comparable to regions historically at the forefront of invasion research. While these increases may be driven by specific countries within regions, we illustrate that even after accounting for research effort (cost reporting), costs of biological invasions are rising.

Description: Highlights: • First time hybridization is detected in deep-water sponges (Phakellia) using SNPs. • Hybridization corroborated by morphological and microbial analyses. • Connectivity between shallow populations of Phakellia robusta spanning ca. 2,000 km. • Molecular connectivity explained by prevalent oceanographic currents. Abstract: Deep-sea North Atlantic sponge grounds are crucial components of the marine fauna providing a key role in ecosystem functioning. To properly develop effective conservation and management plans, it is crucial to understand the genetic diversity, molecular connectivity patterns and turnover at the population level of the species involved. Here we present the study of two congeneric sponges, Phakellia robusta and Phakellia hirondellei, using multiple sources of evidence. Our phylogenetic study using a fragment of COI placed these two species as sister. Haplotype network analysis using COI revealed no genetic structure for P. hirondellei in samples from the Cantabrian Sea (〈100 km). Contrastingly, P. robusta showed a clear genetic structure separating deep-water samples from the Cantabrian Sea and the Hatton-Rockall Basin, from samples from shallower waters from Kerry Head Reefs, NW of Orkney, and Norway. ddRADSeq-derived SNPs for P. robusta also segregated samples by bathymetry rather than by geographical distances, and detected a predominant northwards migration for shallow-water specimens connecting sites separated ca. 2,000 km, probably thanks to prevalent oceanographic currents. Importantly, our analysis using SNPs combining the datasets of the two species revealed the presence of potential hybrids, which was corroborated by morphological (spicule) and microbial (16S amplicon sequencing) analyses. Our data suggest that hybridization between these two species occurred at least two times in the past. We discuss the importance of using next-generation techniques to unveil hybridization and the implications of our results for conservation.

Description: Highlights • Chlorine isotopes were measured in melt inclusions along CAVA. • Melt inclusions have on average higher Cl than bulk rocks. • Aqueous fluids, melt-like component and metasomatized mantle form three distinct signatures. • The high Cl of the metasomatized mantle wedge suggests the presence of amphibole. • The amphibole signature in bulk rocks is diluted by late-stage processes. The isotopic composition of Cl, a highly hydrophilic and incompatible element, can provide new insights into the processes of element recycling in subduction zone settings. Samples from 13 localities in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, representing a ca. 1000 km long NW-SE segment along the Central American Volcanic Arc (CAVA), were selected. Ninety-seven melt inclusions, hosted by olivine Fo90−70, were measured for Cl isotope ratios and trace element concentrations. Melt inclusions from samples from Guatemala to northwest Nicaragua have a restricted range of Cl values (range 〈 1‰ within a sample) with values decreasing from Santa Maria (Guatemala) to San Miguel (El Salvador), whereas melt inclusions from Nicaragua and Costa Rica display larger variation within a sample (Cl value range 〉1‰, up to 3.8‰) and do not show any systematic variation along the arc. For some samples, the Cl in the melt inclusions is shifted by up to 2‰ to higher values compared to bulk rock data from the same volcanic center, for which the extent of Cl degassing is not known. The combination of Cl values in melt inclusions with trace elements and the existing knowledge about the slab contributions along the arc allows us to elucidate the Cl isotope composition of different endmembers in this subduction zone. From Guatemala to northwest Nicaragua, a fluid component, originating from serpentinite, has a Cl value close to +0.6‰. This value, similar to lithospheric serpentinites, confirms that despite the aqueous fluid migration through the entire slab, Cl isotopes do not fractionate significantly during transport. A melt-like component, present in the southern part of the arc, has negative Cl, possibly down to −2.5‰. This component has lower Cl than values of the oceanic crust but similar to sediments currently subducting beneath CAVA. Finally, a common component, most likely amphibole-bearing metasomatized mantle, is identified in samples with the highest Cl values (up to +3.0‰). The melting of amphibole, a mineral concentrating 37Cl over 35Cl, could explain the high Cl values. The difference between melt inclusions and bulk rock Cl in some volcanic centers probably results from late-stage processes such as mixing of different batches of magma at shallower levels after melt inclusions entrapment. Melt inclusions thus give a more comprehensive picture of Cl isotope systematics along the CAVA and in primitive subduction-related magmas.

Description: Highlights • Tunisian Coral Mounds: first known to develop during the last glacial in the Mediterranean. • High surface productivity and adequate AW-LIW interface depth forced mound formation. • Distance from mounds to AW-LIW interface key in defining their formation pace. Cold-water corals are key species of benthic ecosystems, sensitive to changes in climate and capable of recording them in the chemical composition of their skeletons. The study of cold-water coral mound development in relation to palaeoceanographic variations during the Pleistocene and Holocene stages in the Mediterranean Sea has mainly been focussed in the Alboran Sea (Western Mediterranean). The present study describes the coral deposits and corresponding ages of 3 gravity cores, acquired from the newly discovered Tunisian Coral Mound Province (Central Mediterranean), which comprises several ridge-like mounds. All the cores acquired displayed dense coral deposits, dominated by Desmophyllum pertusum fragments embedded within a muddy sediment matrix. Overall, 64 coral samples have been dated with the Usingle bondTh laser ablation MC-ICP-MS method, revealing corals of mostly Pleistocene age ranging from ~MIS 11 to 8.4 ka BP. Although coral mound formation was reduced for most of the last 400 kyr, a main stage of pronounced mound formation occurred during the last glacial period, which contrasts to the findings previously published for coral mounds in other regions of the Mediterranean Sea. Coral mound formation during the last glacial was most likely associated with a colder seawater temperature than the one observed in the present-day, an increased surface productivity and an appropriate depth of the interface between Atlantic Waters and Levantine Intermediate Waters. The combination of the data acquired here with that of previous mound formation studies from the Alboran Sea also suggests that cold-water coral mounds located at greater depths develop at slower rates than those found in shallower settings.

Description: Highlights: • Overview on oxidative treatment processes for different industrial applications • Compilation of disinfection by-product types/concentrations in marine water uses • Estimation of global DBP inputs into marine water from different industries • Comparison of anthropogenic bromoform production to emissions from natural sources Abstract: Oxidative treatment of seawater in coastal and shipboard installations is applied to control biofouling and/or minimize the input of noxious or invasive species into the marine environment. This treatment allows a safe and efficient operation of industrial installations and helps to protect human health from infectious diseases and to maintain the biodiversity in the marine environment. On the downside, the application of chemical oxidants generates undesired organic compounds, so-called disinfection by-products (DBPs), which are discharged into the marine environment. This article provides an overview on sources and quantities of DBP inputs, which could serve as basis for hazard analysis for the marine environment, human health and the atmosphere. During oxidation of marine water, mainly brominated DBPs are generated with bromoform (CHBr3) being the major DBP. CHBr3 has been used as an indicator to compare inputs from different sources. Total global annual volumes of treated seawater inputs resulting from cooling processes of coastal power stations, from desalination plants and from ballast water treatment in ships are estimated to be 470 – 800 × 109 m3, 46 × 109 m3 and 3.5 × 109 m3, respectively. Overall, the total estimated anthropogenic bromoform production and discharge adds up to 13.5 – 21.8 × 106 kg/a (kg per year) with contributions of 11.8 – 20.1 × 106 kg/a from cooling water treatment, 0.89 × 106 kg/a from desalination and 0.86 × 106 kg/a from ballast water treatment. This equals approximately 2 – 6 % of the natural bromoform emissions from marine water, which is estimated to be 385 – 870 × 106 kg/a.

Description: Highlights: • Climate model sensitivity experiments are performed using state-of-the-art ice sheet and freshwater reconstructions • Declining Northern Hemisphere ice sheets increase the sensitivity of the AMOC to North Atlantic meltwater discharge • Deglacial rise in atmospheric CO2 concentration decreases the sensitivity of the AMOC to North Atlantic meltwater discharge • Both effects provide a complementary perspective to existing explanations for abrupt AMOC transitions Abstract: The last deglaciation was characterized by a sequence of abrupt climate events thought to be linked to rapid changes in Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC). The sequence includes a weakening of the AMOC after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) during Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1), which ends with an abrupt AMOC amplification at the transition to the Bølling/Allerød (B/A). This transition occurs despite persistent deglacial meltwater fluxes that counteract vigorous North Atlantic deep-water formation. Using the Earth system model COSMOS with a range of deglacial boundary conditions and reconstructed deglacial meltwater fluxes, we show that deglacial CO2 rise and ice sheet decline modulate the sensitivity of the AMOC to these fluxes. While declining ice sheets increase the sensitivity, increasing atmospheric CO2 levels tend to counteract this effect. Therefore, the occurrence of a weaker HS1 AMOC and an abrupt AMOC increase in the presence of meltwater, might be explained by these effects, as an alternative to or in combination with changes in the magnitude or routing of meltwater discharge.

Description: Deep-sea mining may be just a few years away and yet society is struggling to assess the positive aspects, such as increasing the supply of metals for battery production to fuel the green revolution, versus the potentially large environmental impacts. Mining of polymetallic (manganese) nodules from the deep ocean is likely to be the first mineral resource targeted and will involve direct impacts to hundreds of km2 of seabed per mine per year. However, the mining activity will also cause the generation of large sediment plumes that will spread away from the mine site and have both immediate and long-term effects over much wider areas. We discuss what the impacts of plumes generated near the seabed by mining vehicles may be and how they might be measured in such challenging environments. Several different mining vehicles are under development around the world and depending on their design some may create larger plumes than others. We discuss how these vehicles could be compared so that better engineering designs could be selected and to encourage innovation in dealing with plume generation and spread. These considerations will aid the International Seabed Authority (ISA) that has the task of regulating mining activities in much of the deep sea in its commitment to promote the Best Available Technology (BAT) and Best Environmental Practice (BEP).

Description: Highlights • Photogrammetry is used to construct a 3D-model of the collapsed ‘Azure Window’ coastal arch. • The 3D-model enables reconstruction and understanding of the dynamics of the collapse event. • The collapse entailed erosion at the base of the pillar, collapsing in the southwest direction. • The bridge collapsed vertically upon loss of support from the pillar. • Breakup occurred along the lithological boundary and existing joints. Abstract The Azure Window was a natural arch situated in the west coast of Gozo (Maltese Archipelago) that collapsed in March 2017. We employ a Diver Propulsion Vehicle-mounted camera system to capture data for the 3D-modeling of this collapsed arch via photogrammetry. We demonstrate use of this method to document complex underwater geomorphology spread across a large area, and draw up a geomorphic assessment of the site and collapse event on the basis of this 3D-model. The methodology enables a reconstruction and understanding of the collapse event. On account of the high-resolution attained, we are able to cross-match the principal submerged components with their pre-collapse location; this enables an understanding of the dynamics of the collapse, confirmation of rock break-up along existing joints, and mapping the distribution of the rock and debris from the collapse event. We conclude that the key stages in the collapse of the Azure Window entailed erosion at the base of the pillar, leading to the latter's collapse in the southwest direction, breaking into two main sections that separated along the lithological boundary. We also find clear evidence that separation of some sections of the pillar followed pre-existing joints. The bridge collapsed vertically upon loss of support from the pillar, breaking into two main components and many other fragments. We also document further changes at the site post-collapse. We show that this approach can be utilised to understand and characterise such events even when significant time has elapsed since collapse, and rocks have already undergone erosion and significant marine growth.

Description: Highlights • First successful in situ DGT application in the deep ocean. • DGT-lability of dissolved (〈0.2 μm) Cu, Ni, Cd, Mn, As, V, REY differs depending on chemical speciation. • REY in deep ocean water can be almost quantitatively assessed with DGT. • Low Cu availability reflects dominating organic speciation. Abstract Geochemical behaviour and bio-availability of trace metals are closely related to their physical fractionation and chemical speciation. The DGT speciation technique allows the challenging assessment of labile concentrations of Mn, Cd, Cu, Ni, V, As, and REY in ocean waters. In this first deep-water in situ study of DGT-lability, we demonstrate the approach in bottom waters of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone in the central NE Pacific. In the dissolved fraction (〈0.2 μm), 70% to 100% of Cd, Ni, V, and REY, but only 25% of Cu and less than 50% of As were determined, reflecting their prevailing dominance of organic vs. inorganic complexation. This study demonstrates the applicability and sensitivity of DGT-passive samplers for trace metals as a suitable technique in monitoring of anthropogenic activities, such as deep seabed mining, as well as for natural process studies in abyssal environments.

Description: Coastal ecosystems globally are exposed to the most pervasive anthropogenic activities, caused by a suite of human infrastructure and enterprises such as shipping ports, aquaculture facilities, fishing, and tourism. These anthropogenic activities may lead to changes in ecosystem biodiversity, followed by loss of ecosystem functioning and services. Shipping industry and aquaculture have also been recognized as the main vectors for introduction of marine non-indigenous species (NIS) worldwide. In this study, we used DNA metabarcoding-based methods to investigate plankton biodiversity under varying anthropogenic pressures (shipping and bivalve aquaculture) along the eastern Adriatic coast (the northernmost part of the Mediterranean Sea). Our comparative assessment revealed similar community structures among investigated coastal locations (Northern, Central and Southern Adriatic). When the whole plankton communities were considered, they did not differ significantly between port and aquaculture sites. However, the proportion of the unique zOTUs in the port samples was remarkably higher than that in aquaculture sites (40.5% vs 8.2%), indicating that port areas may receive higher abundance and species richness of NIS than aquaculture sites. Further important difference between the two types of anthropogenically impacted habitats was a high abundance of three notorious invaders – M. leidyi, M. gigas, and H. elegans in late summer at the aquaculture site in Northern Adriatic. Therefore, the plankton community of the area is under pressure not only from aquaculture activities, but also establishment of NIS. Port areas are probably under greater introduction pressure from NIS, but aquaculture sites may experience greater community changes due to their establishment

Description: Highlights: • Allorecognition assessment of fish with (N. ophidion) and without (S. typhle) MHCII. • Using fin-transplantations of self and non-self tissue with transcriptomics. • Upregulated gene expression of cytotoxic T-cell/MHCI activity in S. typhle. • Indications of cytotoxic/MHCI gene upregulation in S. typhle allografts. • MHCI downregulation in N. ophidion autografts, suggests immunological tolerance. Abstract: Natural occurrences of immunodeficiency by definition should lead to compromised immune function. The major histocompatibility complexes (MHC) are key components of the vertebrate adaptive immune system, charged with mediating allorecognition and antigen presentation functions. To this end, the genomic loss of the MHC II pathway in Syngnathus pipefishes raises questions regarding their immunological vigilance and allorecognition capabilities. Utilising allograft and autograft fin-transplants, we compared the allorecognition immune responses of two pipefish species, with (Nerophis ophidion) and without (Syngnathus typhle) a functional MHC II. Transcriptome-wide assessments explored the immunological tolerance and potential compensatory measures occupying the role of the absent MHC II. Visual observations suggested a more acute rejection response in N. ophidion allografts compared with S. typhle allografts. Differentially expressed genes involved in innate immunity, angiogenesis and tissue recovery were identified among transplantees. The intriguing upregulation of the cytotoxic T-cell implicated gzma in S. typhle allografts, suggests a prominent MHC I related response, which may compensate for the MHC II and CD4 loss. MHC I related downregulation in N. ophidion autografts hints at an immunological tolerance related reaction. These findings may indicate alternative measures evolved to cope with the MHC II genomic loss enabling the maintenance of appropriate tolerance levels. This study provides intriguing insights into the immune and tissue recovery mechanisms associated with syngnathid transplantation, and can be a useful reference for future studies focusing on transplantation transcriptomics in non-model systems.

Description: Highlights • An artificial CO2 release demonstrated MMV techniques for offshore CCS. • Detection of leakage was demonstrated using acoustic, chemical and physical approaches. • Attribution of leakage was proved possible using artificial and natural tracer compounds. • Leakage quantification was possible using approaches not previously applied to CCS studies. • Non-catastrophic leaks were detected at levels below those that would cause environmental harm. Carbon capture and storage is a key mitigation strategy proposed for keeping the global temperature rise below 1.5 °C. Offshore storage can provide up to 13% of the global CO2 reduction required to achieve the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change goals. The public must be assured that potential leakages from storage reservoirs can be detected and that therefore the CO2 is safely contained. We conducted a controlled release of 675 kg CO2 within sediments at 120 m water depth, to simulate a leak and test novel detection, quantification and attribution approaches. We show that even at a very low release rate (6 kg day−1), CO2 can be detected within sediments and in the water column. Alongside detection we show the fluxes of both dissolved and gaseous CO2 can be quantified. The CO2 source was verified using natural and added tracers. The experiment demonstrates that existing technologies and techniques can detect, attribute and quantify any escape of CO2 from sub-seabed reservoirs as required for public assurance, regulatory oversight and emissions trading schemes.

Description: Highlights: • Pelvic brooding induces tissue-specific changes in gene expression • Inflammatory signaling characterizes transcriptome of the egg-anchoring plug • Similar to embryo implantation, the plug likely evolved from an inflammatory response • Mammalian placenta genes were independently co-opted into the plug Summary: The evolution of pregnancy exposes parental tissues to new, potentially stressful conditions, which can trigger inflammation.1 Inflammation is costly2,3 and can induce embryo rejection, which constrains the evolution of pregnancy.1 In contrast, inflammation can also promote morphological innovation at the maternal-embryonic interface as exemplified by co-option of pro-inflammatory signaling for eutherian embryo implantation.1,4,5 Given its dual function, inflammation could be a key process explaining how innovations such as pregnancy and placentation evolved many times convergently. Pelvic brooding ricefishes evolved a novel “plug” tissue,6,7 which forms inside the female gonoduct after spawning, anchors egg-attaching filaments, and enables pelvic brooders to carry eggs externally until hatching.6,8 Compared to pregnancy, i.e., internal bearing of embryos, external bearing should alleviate constraints on inflammation in the reproductive tract. We thus hypothesized that an ancestral inflammation triggered by the retention of attaching filaments gave rise to pathways orchestrating plug formation. In line with our hypothesis, histological sections of the developing plug revealed signs of gonoduct injuries by egg-attaching filaments in the pelvic brooding ricefish Oryzias eversi. Tissue-specific transcriptomes showed that inflammatory signaling dominates the plug transcriptome and inflammation-induced genes controlling vital processes for plug development such as tissue growth and angiogenesis were overexpressed in the plug. Finally, mammalian placenta genes were enriched in the plug transcriptome, indicating convergent gene co-option for building, attaching, and sustaining a transient tissue in the female reproductive tract. This study highlights the role of gene co-option and suggests that recruiting inflammatory signaling into physiological processes provides a fast-track to evolutionary innovation.

Description: Highlights: • Linking sightings of Mola mola to physical processes • Novel approach for classification of environmental conditions • Occurrence of Mola mola linked to inflows conditions • Main occurrence of warm water species Mola mola during autumn and winter Abstract: The Baltic Sea is one of the largest brackish water bodies in the world with salinity levels ranging from fresh water conditions in the northeast to full strength saline waters at its transition zone to the North Sea in the west. Most of the water exchange happens in the SW Baltic Sea, the Belt Sea and The Sound where less saline water exits the Baltic Sea at the surface, while higher saline water is entering the Baltic at depth. Thus, the species composition in the Baltic Sea is heavily influenced by the strong salinity gradient, and here several species occur at their limit of their physiological tolerance and preference. In this study, we focused on sightings of the ocean sunfish Mola mola recorded in the western Baltic Sea between 1978 and 2020. This species is regarded as vagrant in the Baltic Sea, i.e., it does not belong to the common species assemblage in this area. Hydrographic conditions, such as water temperature and salinity, were obtained from a highly spatio-temporally resolved hydrodynamic Baltic Sea model, covering a daily resolved 71-year time series. We investigated if the occurrence of M. mola correlates with the dynamics of water mass exchange between the Kattegat/Skagerrak and the SW Baltic Sea. Our analyses show that these occurrences could be related to the presence of anomalously high saline water masses. However, in autumn and winter water temperatures of the western Baltic Sea usually drop below 8 °C with further cooling in January and February to 4–5 °C and during strong winters even down to 〈2 °C. If M. mola will follow the same strategy as in the North Sea, i.e. migrating southward to avoid lethal temperatures, they will not be successful by entering the Baltic Sea, because during winter months temperature everywhere falls far below their thermal tolerance. As a consequence, southward transport or active migration of M. mola into the Baltic Sea will expose the respective specimens to adverse environmental conditions finally precluding survival.

Description: Dust storms are an important component of the global climate system. At the same time, they also bear a risk for human health by causing pulmonary diseases. Today, East Asian dust storms account for as much as half of the global dust emissions and temporarily affect highly populated areas. Therefore, understanding their mechanisms and predicting their evolution under warmer near-future climate conditions is of major interest. The mid-Pliocene Warm Period (mPWP; 3.264–3.025 Ma) is considered one of the best analogues from the past for anthropogenic climate change. Consequently, understanding the climate dynamics and associated environmental change during the mPWP can help with predicting the environmental effects of warmer-than-present climates. In order to reconstruct Asian dust storm evolution during the mPWP we have analyzed a sediment core from the northern South China Sea (SCS) for its elemental composition, grain-size variations and radiogenic isotope signature for the interval spanning from 3.69 to 2.96 Ma. We show that shortly after the first strong northern hemisphere glaciation (Marine Isotope Stage [MIS] M2; 3.25 Ma) atmospherically transported dust appeared in the northern SCS and this dust deposition prevailed throughout the mPWP. Atmospheric dust input further intensified with the onset of the MIS KM2 glaciation at 3.15 Ma, with distinct and strong dust storms occurring periodically from that time onwards. The increase in atmospherically transported dust can be attributed to the cooling and drying of interior Asia over the course of the mPWP along with an intensification of the East Asian Winter Monsoon and a potential southward shift of the westerlies.

Description: Highlights • A HIMU-like volcanism belt along the southwest Africa. • The HIMU-like volcanic complexes form age-progressive volcanic tracks. • EMI and HIMU mantle plumes are from different domains in the lower mantle. Abstract The origin of carbonatitic and highly silica-undersaturated volcanism, common along the SW coast of Africa extending from Angola through Namibia to the tip of South Africa, is still poorly understood. Here we present new geochemical data (major and trace element and Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf-O-C isotopes) from the Agate Mountain calcio- to magnesio‑carbonatites (∼83 Ma), Dicker Willem calcio‑carbonatites (49 Ma) and Swakopmund basanitic plugs (76–72 Ma) along the coast of Namibia that were emplaced after the EMI (enriched mantle one) type Etendeka flood basalts. The trace element and isotopic composition of Agate Mountain carbonatites and Swakopmund basanites indicate that they were derived from a HIMU-type (high time-integrated 238U/204Pb with radiogenic Pb isotope ratios) magma source, similar to the St. Helena global HIMU endmember in the South Atlantic. The Agate Mountain carbonatites form part of the late-stage Walvis Ridge HIMU hotspot track overlying the EM1-type Walvis Ridge basement forming part of the Tristan-Gough hotspot track. The Dicker Willem carbonatites, however, extend to higher 206Pb/204Pb than St. Helena, but have similar 206Pb/204Pb to Mangaia HIMU lavas in the Pacific. Compared to Mangaia HIMU, the Dicker Willem carbonatites with mantle-type O and C isotopes have higher 207Pb/204Pb and 87Sr/86Sr but lower 143Nd/144Nd, suggesting it may represent a new HIMU endmember flavor. The HIMU carbonatitic and silica-undersaturated rocks form a belt of age-progressive volcanic tracks, including: 1) from the Walvis Ridge, through NW Namibia to central Angola, 2) from the Vema Seamount via Dicker Willem carbonatite to Gibeon kimberlites and carbonatites, 3) from the Namaqualand to Bushmanland and to Warmbad volcanic centers in northwestern South Africa, and 4) along the older end of the Shona EMI-type volcanic track extending into South Africa. Geochemical and seismic tomographic data suggest that the EMI and HIMU mantle plumes are generated from different geochemical domains at the base of the lower mantle. The Tristan-Gough, Discovery and Shona EM1 volcanic tracks are derived from a common low-velocity anomaly (superplume-like structure with three branching arms) ascending from the outer margin, possibly lower primoridal layer, of the African large low-shear-velocity province (LLSVP). Seismic low-velocity anomalies can be traced from beneath the belt of HIMU volcanism to an internal and shallower part of the LLSVP, located ∼900–1200 km east of the outer LLSVP margin and suggest that HIMU-type (possibly subducted oceanic lithospheric) material overlies EMI-type (possibly primordial) material in the internal part of the LLSVP.

Description: Highlights: • Since 1960, management for biological invasions totalled at least $95.3 billion. • Damage costs from invasions were substantially higher ($1130.6 billion). • Pre-invasion management spending is 25-times lower than post-invasion. • Management and damage costs are increasing rapidly over time. • Proactive management substantially reduces future costs at the trillion-$ scale. Abstract: The global increase in biological invasions is placing growing pressure on the management of ecological and economic systems. However, the effectiveness of current management expenditure is difficult to assess due to a lack of standardised measurement across spatial, taxonomic and temporal scales. Furthermore, there is no quantification of the spending difference between pre-invasion (e.g. prevention) and post-invasion (e.g. control) stages, although preventative measures are considered to be the most cost-effective. Here, we use a comprehensive database of invasive alien species economic costs (InvaCost) to synthesise and model the global management costs of biological invasions, in order to provide a better understanding of the stage at which these expenditures occur. Since 1960, reported management expenditures have totalled at least US$95.3 billion (in 2017 values), considering only highly reliable and actually observed costs — 12-times less than damage costs from invasions ($1130.6 billion). Pre-invasion management spending ($2.8 billion) was over 25-times lower than post-invasion expenditure ($72.7 billion). Management costs were heavily geographically skewed towards North America (54%) and Oceania (30%). The largest shares of expenditures were directed towards invasive alien invertebrates in terrestrial environments. Spending on invasive alien species management has grown by two orders of magnitude since 1960, reaching an estimated $4.2 billion per year globally (in 2017 values) in the 2010s, but remains 1–2 orders of magnitude lower than damages. National management spending increased with incurred damage costs, with management actions delayed on average by 11 years globally following damage reporting. These management delays on the global level have caused an additional invasion cost of approximately $1.2 trillion, compared to scenarios with immediate management. Our results indicate insufficient management — particularly pre-invasion — and urge better investment to prevent future invasions and to control established alien species. Recommendations to improve reported management cost comprehensiveness, resolution and terminology are also made.

Description: Highlights: • Gelatinous zooplankton (GZ) is common in Eastern Tropical North Atlantic (ETNA). • Weak negative correlation between oxygen and key GZ groups with higher densities at lower oxygen conditions. • High GZ biomass also found at lowest oxygen concentration depths. • Strong positive correlation between temperature and key GZ group abundance. • GZ important component of oceanic ecosystems including low oxygenated waters. Physical and topographic characteristics can structure pelagic habitats and affect the plankton community composition. For example, oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) are expected to lead to a habitat compression for species with a high oxygen demand, while upwelling of nutrient-rich deep water at seamounts can locally increase productivity, especially in oligotrophic oceanic waters. Here we investigate the response of the gelatinous zooplankton (GZ) assemblage and biomass to differing oxygen conditions and to a seamount in the Eastern Tropical North Atlantic (ETNA) around the Cape Verde archipelago. A total of 16 GZ taxa (〉1100 specimens) were found in the upper 1000 m with distinct species-specific differences, such as the absence of deep-living species Atolla wyvillei and Periphylla periphylla above the shallow seamount summit. Statistical analyses considering the most prominent groups, present at all stations, namely Beroe spp., hydromedusae (including Zygocanna vagans, Halicreas minimum, Colobonema sericeum, Solmissus spp.) and total GZ, showed a strong positive correlation of abundance with temperature for all groups, whereas oxygen had a weak negative correlation only with abundances of Beroe spp. and hydromedusae. To account for size differences between species, we established length-weight regressions and investigated total GZ biomass changes in relation to physical (OMZ) and topographic characteristics. The highest GZ biomass was observed at depths of lowest oxygen concentrations and deepest depth strata at the southeastern flank of the seamount and at two stations south of the Cape Verde archipelago. Our data suggest that, irrespective of their patchy distribution, GZ organisms are ubiquitous food web members of the ETNA, and their habitat includes waters of low oxygen content.

Description: Picoeukaryotic communities respond rapidly to global climate change and play an important role in marine biological food webs and ecosystems. The formation of oxygen minimum zones (OMZ) is facilitated by the stratification of seawater and higher primary production in the surface layer, and the marine picoeukaryotic community this low-oxygen environment is topic of interest. To better understand the picoeukaryotic community assembly mechanisms in an OMZ, we collected samples from the Bay of Bengal (BOB) in October and November 2020 and used 18S rDNA to study the picoeukaryotic communities and their community assembly mechanisms that they are controlled by in deep-sea and hypoxic zones. The results show that deterministic and stochastic processes combine to shape picoeukaryotic communities in the BOB. We divided the water column into three vertical layers: the upper oxycline (UO), the OMZ, and the lower oxycline (LO), based on dissolved oxygen concentrations (dissolved oxygen: UO 〉 LO 〉 OMZ) at vertical depths (from 5 m to 2000 m). Deterministic processes controlled the picoeukaryotic community in the UO, while the picoeukaryotic communities in the OMZ and LO were dominated by stochastic processes. The OMZ had a stronger diffusional limitation and the habitat niche breadth in the UO was wider than that in OMZ and LO. We classified the picoeukaryotic community into three functional composition types (phototrophic, mixotrophic, and heterotrophic); heterotrophs were most abundant in the surveyed area, and the proportion of decreased significantly with increasing depth and decreasing dissolved oxygen. The picoeukaryotes in the investigated area also correlated with temperature, salinity, and nutrients (phosphate, silicate, nitrate, nitrite, and ammonium). These findings contribute to a better understanding of picoeukaryotic communities in deep-sea and low-oxygen environments, their functional structuring, as well as the effects of environmental changes on their community structure.

Description: Artificial light at night (ALAN) has the potential to change the day-night activity of marine benthic grazers, and can therefore alter the top-down control they exert on macroalgal communities. In laboratory experiments, we investigated the influence of three realistic ALAN regimes on food consumption and feeding rhythmicity in the sea urchins Arbacia lixula and Paracentrotus lividus as well as in the snail Cerithium spp. from the Adriatic Sea. Food consumption was assessed in assays with algal pellets, while feeding rhythms were documented with 24 h time-lapse photography. Both was done in ALAN-acclimated and in non-acclimated animals. We observed temporary and potential long-term changes in the feeding rhythms of Cerithium spp. and Paracentrotus lividus, respectively, but found no lasting influence of ALAN on consumption rates. Effects were weaker when ALAN was applied only part-night, which suggests a possible mitigation measure to reduce the impact of nighttime lighting on coastal ecosystems.

Description: Geochemical heterogeneities observed in the mantle are usually attributed to recycling of oceanic lithosphere through subduction. However, it remains hotly debated where recycled material stagnates, and how quickly it can be liberated back to surface. This knowledge gap hinders our understanding of mantle circulation and the chemical evolution of the Earth. Here we address these questions using a combination of geochronology and geochemistry from South China Sea (SCS) seamounts. The Shixingbei seamount lavas formed during active seafloor spreading at c. 19.1 Ma show limited geochemical variability, whereas the Zhenbei-Huangyan seamount chain formed during the post-spreading stage at c. 7.8 Ma and displays a wide range of compositions. However, melt inclusions in olivine and plagioclase from the Zhenbei-Huangyan basalts show considerably greater isotopic variability than seen in the whole rock compositions of both the SCS syn- and post-spreading lavas. A previously unidentified third mantle source component (FOZO) revealed by olivine-hosted melt inclusions along with both depleted (DMM) and enriched (EMII) mantle components is required in the source region to explain the observed isotopic and chemical variability. On the basis of our results, the age of the recycled ocean crust and sediments in this region are estimated to be c. 120 – 350 Ma. We infer that these enriched components in the SCS lavas come from the mantle transition zone. Variations in mantle source heterogeneity coupled with melting process control spatial–temporal (spreading vs. post-spreading stage) geochemical variations of lavas from the SCS and surrounding areas. Together with the results from published studies, we propose that marginal basins are one of the major locations on Earth where oceanic and/or continental lithosphere is transferred into the upper mantle and transition zone, representing an important source of upper mantle heterogeneity. We provide a simple conceptual model linking plate subduction and upper mantle heterogeneity and the volcanism in the SCS and surrounding areas.

Description: As the largest renewable electricity source, hydropower represents an alternative to fossil fuels to achieve a low-carbon future. However, increasing evidence suggests that hydropower reservoirs are an important source of biogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs), albeit with large uncertainties. Combining spatially resolved assessments of GHG fluxes and hydroelectric capacity databases, we assessed that global GHG emissions from reservoirs is 0.38 Pg CO2 eq.yr−1, accounting for 1.0% of global anthropogenic emissions. The median carbon intensity for hydropower is ∼63.0 kg CO2eq. MWh−1, which is lower than that for fossil fuels, but higher than that for other renewable energy sources. High carbon intensity is mostly linked to shallow (water storage depth 〈20 m) and eutrophic reservoirs. Furthermore, we found that the reservoir carbon intensity (CI) value would be markedly increased to 131.5 kg CO2eq. MWh−1 when considering the dams under construction and planning. A low-carbon future will benefit from optimal dam planning and management measures, i.e., applying sludge removal treatments, thereby reducing the proportion of shallow reservoirs and anthropogenic pollution.

Description: Macroalgae and their rocky substrates both support diverse and abundant microbiota, performing essential ecological functions in marine ecosystem. However, the differences in the epiphytic microbial communities on macroalgae and rocky substrate are still poorly understood. In this study, the epiphytic microbial communities on four macroalgae (Corallina officinalis, Rhodomela confervoides, Sargassum thunbergii, and Ulva linza) and their rocky substrates from Weihai coast zone were characterized using high-throughput sequencing technology. The results showed that the alpha diversity indices were greater in rocky substrates than that in macroalgae. The microbial similarities among macroalgae and rocky substrate groups tended to decrease from the high taxonomic ranks to lower ranks, only 22.69% of the total amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) were shared between them. The functional analysis revealed that the microbiotas were mainly involved in metabolic activities. This study would provide the theoretical foundation for macroalgal cultivation and algal reef applications.

Description: 40Ar/39Ar geochronology relies on magnetic sector mass spectrometers to determine relative isotopic abundances. Ongoing technological developments within noble gas mass spectrometers over the last decade have led to analysis of increasingly smaller samples and higher precision, but also result in more complex data correction and interpretation. We describe a new multi-collector noble gas spectrometer, the Isotopx NGX-600, that is configured to optimize 40Ar/39Ar measurements. The NGX-600 is equipped with 9 Faraday collectors and one ion counting electron multiplier. Each Faraday is equipped with Isotopx ATONA® amplifier technology, enabling measurements spanning a dynamic range of amplified beam current from below 10−16 A to above 10−9 A. The performance of the NGX-600 is evaluated using both a conventional Nier-type ion source, and a next generation low temperature ion source, which allows for trap current variation from 200 μA to 1000 μA. We have performed over 3000 analyses of atmospheric argon to: (1) assess optimal measurement and integration times for blanks, baselines, and air aliquots of various ion intensities, (2) quantify the sensitivity via measurements of first principles 40Ar/39Ar standards, (3) compare the sensitivity between the conventional and new low temperature Nier-type ion sources, and (4) evaluate corrections associated with inter-Faraday biases, instrumental mass bias, and Faraday-multiplier gain. In addition to optimization experiments, we report a comparative analysis of both single crystal fusion and incremental heating data from Quaternary volcanic rocks obtained using both the 5-collector Nu Instruments Noblesse and the NGX-600 spectrometers.

Description: Highlights • Microbe-mediated transformation of metal sulfide has enormous environmental impact. • Microbes provide templates for mineralization of metal sulfide crystals. • Sulfate reducing bacteria recover metal ions through metal sulfide precipitation. • Biosynthetic metal sulfide nanoparticles play a big role in pollutant sensing and treatment. • Metal sulfide-microbe biohybrid system has greater prospects in environmental field. Microorganisms play a key role in the natural circulation of various constituent elements of metal sulfides. Some microorganisms (such as Thiobacillus ferrooxidans) can promote the oxidation of metal sulfides to increase the release of heavy metals. However, other microorganisms (such as Desulfovibrio vulgaris) can transform heavy metals into metal sulfides crystals. Therefore, insight into the metal sulfides transformation mediated by microorganisms is of great significance to environmental protection. In this review, first, we discuss the mechanism and influencing factors of microorganisms transforming heavy metals into metal sulfides crystals in different environments. Then, we explore three microbe-mediated transformation forms of heavy metals to metal sulfides and their environmental applications: (1) transformation to metal sulfides precipitation for metal resource recovery; (2) transformation to metal sulfides nanoparticles (NPs) for pollutant treatment; (3) transformation to “metal sulfides-microbe” biohybrid system for clean energy production and pollutant remediation. Finally, we further provide critical views on the application of microbe-mediated metal sulfides transformation in the environmental field and discuss the need for future research.

Description: Models of the marine carbon cycle assume that virtually all heterotrophic production in the open ocean is derived from near-surface carbon fixation (primary production) by phytoplankton. However, current carbon budget estimates show that respiration throughout the ocean far exceeds surface primary production. This disconnect can be grouped into two categories: Inaccurate estimates of water column respiration and carbon transport from metazoans; and missing primary production sources and. heterotrophic processing in the dark ocean. In this review, we examine the contribution to the ocean carbon cycle of chemoautotrophic production, as well as secondary production and respiration from meso-zooplankton and micro-nekton below 400 m depth. About one-third of epipelagic biomass in the ocean migrates diurnally, distributing dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and total nitrogen (TN), along with about 30–80% of the particulate organic carbon (POC) flux, from the upper ocean. Although mostly this occurs in the upper 400 m, migration depths can extend to 3000 m. In addition, up to 80% of the biomass of secondary consumers in the open ocean live part of their life cycle at depths up to 2000 m, contributing significantly to deep-sea respiration and particle flux, particularly over fall/winter in temperate-subarctic oceans, submarine canyons, and deep seas such as the Mediterranean. This active flux provides fresh organic input to the deep ocean at a time of year when surface primary productivity, and thus organic carbon (OC) flux to the deep ocean, is low. The complex spatial, temporal and depth scales of horizontal and vertical migration make modelling of the global oceanic carbon cycle extremely complex, requiring consideration of biomass movements throughout the entire water column over diurnal, lunar and seasonal cycles over broad geographic regions. An additional 10 to 50% of surface primary production occurs within mid-depth oxygen minimum zones (OMZs), fuelled by ammonia excreted from vertically migrating zooplankton concentrated near OMZ boundaries. Crustal sources such as gas and methane seeps, hydrothermal vents and submarine volcanoes support active deep-sea food webs, as well as contributing to upper ocean productivity. Crustal sources are conservatively estimated to provide 〉30%, and probably up to 50%, of oceanic OC flux to the dark ocean. These estimates are still poorly constrained but can no longer be ignored in global oceanic carbon cycles.

Description: Highlights: • Temperature, dung mass and beetle density affected dung utilisation services. • Dung utilisation increased significantly with temperature and density. • Largest Khepher prodigiosus exhibited highest dung utilisation among species. • Emergent effects suggest species respond differently to warming and beetle density. • Ecosystem services provision requires surveillance under global climate change. Abstract: Increases in the frequency and magnitude of suboptimal temperatures as a result of climate change are subjecting insects to unprecedented stresses. This may negatively affect their fitness and the efficiency of their ecosystem service provision. Dung beetles are ecosystem service providers: through feeding on and burying dung, they facilitate nutrient recycling, secondary seed dispersal, parasite control, soil bioturbation and dung decomposition. As such, prediction of how dung beetles respond to multiple anthropogenic environmental changes is critical for the conservation of ecosystem services. Here, we quantified ecosystem services via dung utilisation and dung ball production in three telecoprid species: Allogymnopleurus indigaceous, Scarabaeus zambezianus and Khepher prodigiosus. We examined ecosystem service efficiency factorially under different beetle densities towards different dung masses and under three temperature treatments (21 °C, 28 °C and 35 °C). Khepher prodigiosus, exhibited greatest dung utilisation efficiency overall across dung masses, compared to both S. zambezianus and A. indigaceous. Dung removal was exhibited under all the tested temperatures by all tested species, and therefore the sub-optimal temperatures employed here did not fully inhibit ecosystem service delivery. However, emergent effects among temperatures, beetle species and beetle density further affected removal efficiency: S. zambezianus and A. indigaceous utilisation increased with both warming and beetle density, whereas K. prodigiosus performance was less temperature- and density-dependent. Beetles also tended to exhibit positive density-dependence as dung supply increased. The numbers of dung balls produced differed across species, and increased with temperature and densities, with S. zambezianus producing significantly most balls overall. Our study provides novel evidence for differential density-dependent ecosystem service delivery among species across stressful temperature regimes and emergent effects for dung mass utilisation. This information is essential for biodiversity-ecosystem-function and is critical for the conservation of functionally efficacious species, with implications for natural capital conservation policy in rapidly changing environments.

Description: Highlights • Gas hydrate systems modelling reproduces concentrated gas hydrates indicated by high amplitude seismic reflections. • Spatially variable rates in microbial gas generation beneath the hydrate stability zone drive gas hydrate formation. • Gas migration through faults and up-dip migration through permeable layers control gas hydrate distribution within ridges. • Gas hydrate accumulation is enhanced by gas recycling, leading to the formation of concentrated gas hydrates in 〈2 Ma. Abstract Gas hydrates are widespread along convergent margins, but their distribution is highly variable. This variability has been attributed to a range of factors, such as the source of gas and the occurrence of permeable faults and porous or fractured reservoirs. We test these concepts on the Hikurangi Margin, where gas hydrate occurrences of variable character are well-documented by seismic reflection datasets and scientific drilling. We use 3D gas hydrate systems modelling to reconstruct processes of gas generation, migration and gas hydrate formation through time in two thrust ridges at the deformation front (Glendhu and Honeycomb ridges). We compare the results of scenarios using different fault and rock properties with indications for concentrated gas hydrates in reflection seismic data. Gas hydrate distributions are best reproduced by models predicting focussed gas migration through thrust faults and permeable strata. The gas is predominantly sourced from microbial generation beneath the gas hydrate stability zone (HSZ) in sedimentary troughs adjacent to the ridges and migrates up-dip as free gas. During progressive ridge deformation, gas generation shifts to the landward side of the ridges, where strata are rapidly buried, while erosion occurs at the crest of the ridges. A prominent back-thrust in the structurally more mature Glendhu Ridge diverts migrating gas into the HSZ and leads to preferential gas hydrate formation in the landward side of the ridge. Recycling of gas at the base of the HSZ during the past 2 Myrs led to an enrichment of gas hydrates, first in the center of the anticlines and then progressively more in the landward limbs. We propose that this process of diverting gas migration into the HSZ during thrust ridge formation is a common feature not only at the southern Hikurangi Margin, but in many convergent margins with high sedimentation rates and a thick accretionary wedge.

Description: Highlights: • Salinity can be highly variable spatiotemporally in enclosed sea systems. • Functional response of invasive mud crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii quantified. • Invasive crab feeding followed a hyperbolic Type II functional response. • Feeding rates were highest at 10 ppt and 7 ppt compared to 4 ppt. • Ecological impacts are reduced at the lowest salinity level. Abstract: Environmental gradients may alter the ecological impacts of invasive alien species. In marine systems such as the Baltic Sea, current salinity is variable and seawater freshening is projected in future, potentially facilitating novel keystone predators. Here, we examine the influence of salinity variation in the western Baltic Sea (i.e. ambient 10, then 7 and 4 ppt) on the functional response (FR) of the Harris mud crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii towards benthic macroinvertebrate prey at different densities. Rhithropanopeus harrisii displayed a Type II FR across salinities towards larval chironomids, due to a consistently high resource consumption rate at low prey densities. Feeding rates were significantly reduced at 4 ppt (mean 6 chironomid prey killed day−1) compared to 10 ppt and 7 ppt (9 killed day−1). Search efficiencies tended to be greatest at 10 ppt, whereas handling times were shortest — and maximum feeding rate highest — at the intermediate 7 ppt. These results suggest a slight reduction in predatory impact by R. harrisii at lower salinities. Nevertheless, across most prey densities, FRs were not significantly different, indicating sustained interaction strength across a range of salinity regimes.

Description: Highlights • Munition compounds were detected in 〉98% of organisms collected in the southwest Baltic Sea (median 6 pmol/g or ~1 ng/g) • Tissue content of TNT, ADNT, and DANT were significantly elevated in a munitions dumpsite at Kolberger Heide • TNT was rarely detected in fish, whereas the transformation products ADNT and especially DANT were nearly ubiquitous • ADNT and DANT were higher in fish viscera than muscle, suggesting reduced risk to seafood consumers Relic munitions are a hazardous legacy of the two world wars present in coastal waters worldwide. The southwest Baltic Sea has an especially high prevalence of unexploded ordnance and dumped munition material, which represent a large potential source of toxic explosive chemicals (munition compounds, MC). In the current study, diverse biota (plankton, macroalgae, tunicate, sponge, mollusc, echinoderm, polychaete, anemone, crustacea, fish) were collected from the Kiel Bight and a munitions dumpsite at Kolberger Heide, Germany, to evaluate the potential bioaccumulation of explosives and their derivatives (2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, TNT; 2-amino-4,6-dinitrotoluene and 4-amino-2,6-dinitrotoluene, ADNT; 2,4-diamino-6-nitrotoluene and 2,6-diamino-4-nitrotoluene, DANT; 1,3-dinitrobenzene, DNB; and 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazinane, RDX). One or more MCs were detected in 〉98% of organisms collected throughout the study region (n = 178), at a median level of 6 pmol/g (approximately 1 ng/g) and up to 2 × 107 pmol/g (TNT in Asterias rubens collected from Kolberger Heide). In most cases, TNT and its transformation product compounds ADNT and DANT were significantly higher in biota from the munitions dumpsite compared with other locations. Generally, DNB and RDX were detected less frequently and at lower concentrations than TNT, ADNT, and DANT. In commercially important fish species (plaice, flounder) from Kolberger Heide, TNT and ADNT were detected in 17 and 33% of samples, respectively. In contrast DANT was detected in every fish sample, including those outside the dumpsite. Dinitrobenzene was the second most prevalent MC in fish tissue. Fish viscera (stomach, kidney, liver) showed higher levels of DANT than edible muscle flesh, with highest DANT in liver, suggesting reduced risk to seafood consumers. This study provides some of the first environmental evidence for widespread bioaccumulation of MC in a coastal marine food web. Although tissue MC content was generally low, corrosion of munition housings may lead to greater MC release in the future, and the ecological risk of this exposure is unknown.

Description: Highlights: • Field investigations of major pollutants along the coast of China were carried out. • The distributions of pollutants are correlated with specific industry sectors. • The distribution characteristics of pollutants varied in different climatic zones. • The ecological risks are affected by both climate and physicochemical properties. Abstract Coastal ecosystem health is of vital importance to human well-being. Field investigations of major pollutants along the whole coast of China were carried out to explore associations between coastal development activities and pollutant inputs. Measurements of target pollutants such as PFAAs and PAHs uncovered notable levels in small estuary rivers. The Yangtze River was identified to deliver the highest loads of these pollutants to the seas as a divide for the spatial distribution of pollutant compositions. Soil concentrations of the volatile and semi-volatile pollutants showed a cold-trapping effect in pace with increasing latitudinal gradient. The coastal ecosystem is facing high ecological risks from metal pollution, especially copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), while priority pollutants of high risks vary for different kinds of protected species, and the ecological risks were influenced by both climate and physicochemical properties of environmental matrices, which should be emphasized to protect and restore coastal ecosystem functioning.

Description: Uranium isotopes (δ238U values) in ancient sedimentary rocks (shales, carbonate rocks) are widely used as a tool to reconstruct paleo-redox conditions, but the behaviour of U isotopes under modern non-sulfidic anoxic vs. oxic conditions remains poorly constrained. We present U concentration and isotope data for modern sediments from the Peruvian margin, a highly productive open ocean environment with a range of redox conditions. To investigate U in different host fractions of the sediment (reactive, silicate, and HNO3-soluble fraction), we conducted a series of sequential extractions. Detrital-corrected authigenic U isotope compositions (δ238Uauth) in sediments deposited beneath an oxic water column show little deviation from the dissolved seawater U source, while anoxically deposited sediments have δ238Uauth values that are up to 0.4‰ heavier compared to seawater δ238U. Under anoxic, non-euxinic conditions, the U isotope offset between sediment and seawater is larger compared with oxic, but significantly smaller when compared with euxinic conditions from the literature. The results from sequential extractions show that the reactive sediment fraction records more pronounced differences in δ238Ureactive than δ238Uauth values depending on the oxidation state of the overlying water column. Furthermore, we found a strong correlation between total organic carbon (TOC) and both U concentrations (Uauth) and δ238Uauth values (R2 = 0.70 and 0.94, respectively) at the persistently anoxic site that we examined. These correlations can be caused by several processes including U isotope fractionation during microbially-mediated U reduction at the sediment-water interface (diffusive U input), during sorption onto and/or incorporation into organic matter in the water column (particulate U input) and diagenetic redistribution of U, or a combination of these processes. Our data show that several factors can influence δ238U values including oxidation state of U, the presence or absence of hydrogen sulfide and organic matter. These findings add new constraints to the degree of U isotope fractionation associated with U incorporation into sediments in different low-oxygen environments, thus aiding in interpretation of ancient paleo-redox conditions from U isotope data.

Description: Highlights: • Sightings of non-native of range expanding marine species in the SW Baltic Sea • Novel approach for classification of hydrographic conditions in the SW Baltic Sea • Linking sightings of species to hydrographic environmental anomalies Abstract: The Baltic Sea, located in northern Europe, is one of the largest brackish water bodies in the world. Salinity levels range from fresh water conditions in the northeast to full strength saline waters at its transition zone to the North Sea in the west. Most of the water exchange happens in the SW Baltic Sea, the Belt Sea, where fresh water exits the Baltic Sea at the surface, while high saline, oxygen rich water is entering the Baltic at depth. Due to the extended salinity gradient of the Baltic Sea, a variety of species occur at the limit of their physiological tolerance and preference, i.e. in areas and habitats not representing their marine or fresh water origin. Additionally, the Baltic Sea is known for its high share of non-indigenous species, which have established. In this study, we compiled extraordinary sightings of transient, non-native or potentially range expanding species in the SW Baltic Sea for a period from 2001 to 2018. We focused on jellyfish, squid, fishes and marine mammals and linked their occurrences to the local hydrography. Hydrographic conditions, such as water temperature and salinity, were obtained from a high spatio-temporally resolved hydrodynamic Baltic Sea model, covering a daily resolved 40-year time series. We investigated that changes in the occurrence of exceptional species reflect the dynamics of water mass exchange between the Kattegat/Skagerrak and the SW Baltic Sea. Our analyses show that these changes could be related to the presence of anomalously high saline water masses. However, only a minor part of the sightings was caused by major Baltic inflow events, which are important to sustain oxygen rich deep water in the central Baltic Sea. This documents that the hydrographically highly dynamic SW Baltic Sea needs special attention for monitoring of non-indigenous species, as (i) high saline and warm water intrusions are more frequent than currently believed and ii) can be linked to sightings of exceptional species in the SW Baltic Sea. Additionally, most of the recent sightings occurred during anomalously warm periods. This supports the hypothesis, that the Baltic Sea is presently a predominant receiver area for non-indigenous species from warmer regions of the world.

Description: Highlights: • Ultrahigh seawater DMS levels (〉40 nM) were detected near the Antarctic Peninsula. • Ultrahigh DMS was only found in waters of algal bloom and abundant microzooplankton. • Grazing of abundant microzooplankton possibly cause the ultrahigh seawater DMS. Oceanic dimethylsulfide (DMS) is hypothesized to impact cloud formation and consequently the solar radiation budget of Earth's surface. Ultrahigh seawater DMS concentrations, up to hundreds of nM, have been observed in the Southern Ocean, attributing to concurrent high phytoplankton biomass. However, phytoplankton biomass cannot fully explain the mechanism leading to those extreme values. Herein, measurements, including seawater DMS concentrations and other biological and environmental parameters, were collected in the water column during the austral summer of 2015–2016 at the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. Notably, large-scale ultrahigh seawater DMS concentrations (up to 85.2 nM and generally above 40 nM in the upper layer) was observed only in areas with co-existing phytoplankton blooms and abundant microzooplankton (indicated by ciliates, whose abundance and biomass were above 1000 ind L-1 and 2 μg L-1, respectively), implying that the grazing of abundant microzooplankton possibly causes the ultrahigh seawater DMS concentrations during the bloom seasons in the Southern Ocean.