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  • Nature Research  (243)
  • 2015-2019  (243)
  • 101
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    Nature Research
    In:  Nature Geoscience, 11 (7). pp. 467-473.
    Publication Date: 2021-02-08
    Description: Direct observations indicate that the global ocean oxygen inventory is decreasing. Climate models consistently confirm this decline and predict continuing and accelerating ocean deoxygenation. However, current models (1) do not reproduce observed patterns for oxygen changes in the ocean’s thermocline; (2) underestimate the temporal variability of oxygen concentrations and air–sea fluxes inferred from time-series observations; and (3) generally simulate only about half the oceanic oxygen loss inferred from observations. We here review current knowledge about the mechanisms and drivers of oxygen changes and their variation with region and depth over the world’s oceans. Warming is considered a major driver: in part directly, via solubility effects, and in part indirectly, via changes in circulation, mixing and oxygen respiration. While solubility effects have been quantified and found to dominate deoxygenation near the surface, a quantitative understanding of contributions from other mechanisms is still lacking. Current models may underestimate deoxygenation because of unresolved transport processes, unaccounted for variations in respiratory oxygen demand, or missing biogeochemical feedbacks. Dedicated observational programmes are required to better constrain biological and physical processes and their representation in models to improve our understanding and predictions of patterns and intensity of future oxygen change.
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  • 102
    Publication Date: 2021-02-08
    Description: What process triggered the Mediterranean Sea restriction remains debated since the discovery of the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC). Recent hypotheses infer that the MSC initiated after the closure of the Atlantic-Mediterranean Betic and Rifean corridors, being modulated through restriction at the Gibraltar Strait. These hypotheses however, do not integrate contemporaneous speciation patterns of the faunal exchange between Iberia and Africa and geological features like the evaporite distribution. Exchange of terrestrial biota occurred before, during and after the MSC, and speciation models support an exchange path across the East Alborán basin (EAB) located a few hundreds of km east of the Gibraltar Strait. Yet, a structure explaining jointly geological and biological observations has remained undiscovered. We present new seismic data showing the velocity structure of a well-differentiated 14-17-km thick volcanic arc in the EAB. Isostatic considerations support that the arc-crust buoyancy created an archipelago and filter bridge across the EAB. Sub-aerial erosional unconformities and onlap relationships support that the arc was active between ~10-6 Ma. Progressive arc build-up leading to an archipelago and its later subsidence can explain the extended exchange of terrestrial biota between Iberia and Africa (~7-3 Ma), and agrees with patterns of biota speciation and terrestrial fossil distribution before the MSC (10-6.2 Ma). In this scenario, the West Alboran Basin (WAB) could then be the long-postulated open-marine refuge for the Mediterranean taxa that repopulated the Mediterranean after the MSC, connected to the deep restricted Mediterranean basin through a sill at the Alboran volcanic arc archipelago.
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  • 103
    Publication Date: 2021-03-19
    Description: Optical imaging is a common technique in ocean research. Diving robots, towed cameras, drop-cameras and TV-guided sampling gear: all produce image data of the underwater environment. Technological advances like 4K cameras, autonomous robots, high-capacity batteries and LED lighting now allow systematic optical monitoring at large spatial scale and shorter time but with increased data volume and velocity. Volume and velocity are further increased by growing fleets and emerging swarms of autonomous vehicles creating big data sets in parallel. This generates a need for automated data processing to harvest maximum information. Systematic data analysis benefits from calibrated, geo-referenced data with clear metadata description, particularly for machine vision and machine learning. Hence, the expensive data acquisition must be documented, data should be curated as soon as possible, backed up and made publicly available. Here, we present a workflow towards sustainable marine image analysis. We describe guidelines for data acquisition, curation and management and apply it to the use case of a multi-terabyte deep-sea data set acquired by an autonomous underwater vehicle.
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  • 104
    Publication Date: 2021-02-08
    Description: Continental breakup represents the successful process of rifting and thinning of the continental lithosphere, leading to plate rupture and initiation of oceanic crust formation. Magmatism during breakup seems to follow a path of either excessive, transient magmatism (magma-rich margins) or of igneous starvation (magma-poor margins). The latter type is characterized by extreme continental lithospheric extension and mantle exhumation prior to igneous oceanic crust formation. Discovery of magma-poor margins has raised fundamental questions about the onset of ocean-floor type magmatism, and has guided interpretation of seismic data across many rifted margins, including the highly extended northern South China Sea margin. Here we report International Ocean Discovery Program drilling data from the northern South China Sea margin, testing the magma-poor margin model outside the North Atlantic. Contrary to expectations, results show initiation of Mid-Ocean Ridge basalt type magmatism during breakup, with a narrow and rapid transition into igneous oceanic crust. Coring and seismic data suggest that fast lithospheric extension without mantle exhumation generated a margin structure between the two endmembers. Asthenospheric upwelling yielding Mid-Ocean Ridge basalt-type magmatism from normal-temperature mantle during final breakup is interpreted to reflect rapid rifting within thin pre-rift lithosphere.
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  • 105
    Publication Date: 2021-04-23
    Description: Runoff from the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) is thought to enhance marine productivity by adding bioessential iron and silicic acid to coastal waters. However, experimental data suggest nitrate is the main summertime growth-limiting resource in regions affected by meltwater around Greenland. While meltwater contains low nitrate concentrations, subglacial discharge plumes from marine-terminating glaciers entrain large quantities of nitrate from deep seawater. Here, we characterize the nitrate fluxes that arise from entrainment of seawater within these plumes using a subglacial discharge plume model. The upwelled flux from 12 marine-terminating glaciers is estimated to be 〉1000% of the total nitrate flux from GrIS discharge. This plume upwelling effect is highly sensitive to the glacier grounding line depth. For a majority of Greenland’s marine-terminating glaciers nitrate fluxes will diminish as they retreat. This decline occurs even if discharge volume increases, resulting in a negative impact on nitrate availability and thus summertime marine productivity.
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  • 106
    Publication Date: 2021-04-23
    Description: Dissolved iron (DFe) concentrations in oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) of Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems are enhanced as a result of high supply rates from anoxic sediments. However, pronounced variations in DFe concentrations in anoxic coastal waters of the Peruvian OMZ indicate that there are factors in addition to dissolved oxygen concentrations (O2) that control Fe cycling. Our study demonstrates that sediment-derived reduced Fe (Fe(II)) forms the main DFe fraction in the anoxic/euxinic water column off Peru, which is responsible for DFe accumulations of up to 200 nmol L-1. Lowest DFe values were observed in anoxic shelf waters in the presence of nitrate and nitrite. This reflects oxidation of sediment-sourced Fe(II) associated with nitrate/nitrite reduction and subsequent removal as particulate Fe(III) oxyhydroxides. Unexpectedly, the highest DFe levels were observed in waters with elevated concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (up to 4 µmol L-1) and correspondingly depleted nitrate/nitrite concentrations (〈0.18 µmol L-1). Under these conditions, Fe removal was reduced through stabilization of Fe(II) as aqueous iron sulfide (FeSaqu) which comprises complexes (e.g., FeSH+) and clusters (e.g., Fe2S2|4H2O). Sulfidic events on the Peruvian shelf consequently enhance Fe availability, and may increase in frequency in future due to projected expansion and intensification of OMZs.
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  • 107
    Publication Date: 2021-03-19
    Description: Identification of benthic megafauna is commonly based on analysis of physical samples or imagery acquired by cameras mounted on underwater platforms. Physical collection of samples is difficult, particularly from the deep sea, and identification of taxonomic morphotypes from imagery depends on resolution and investigator experience. Here, we show how an Underwater Hyperspectral Imager (UHI) can be used as an alternative in situ taxonomic tool for benthic megafauna. A UHI provides a much higher spectral resolution than standard RGB imagery, allowing marine organisms to be identified based on specific optical fingerprints. A set of reference spectra from identified organisms is established and supervised classification performed to identify benthic megafauna semi-autonomously. The UHI data provide an increased detection rate for small megafauna difficult to resolve in standard RGB imagery. In addition, seafloor anomalies with distinct spectral signatures are also detectable. In the region investigated, sediment anomalies (spectral reflectance minimum at ~675 nm) unclear in RGB imagery were indicative of chlorophyll a on the seafloor. Underwater hyperspectral imaging therefore has a great potential in seafloor habitat mapping and monitoring, with areas of application ranging from shallow coastal areas to the deep sea.
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  • 108
    Publication Date: 2021-03-19
    Description: Widespread gas venting along the Cascadia margin is investigated from acoustic water column data and reveals a nonuniform regional distribution of over 1100 mapped acoustic flares. The highest number of flares occurs on the shelf, and the highest flare density is seen around the nutrition-rich outflow of the Juan de Fuca Strait. We determine similar to 430 flow-rates at similar to 340 individual flare locations along the margin with instantaneous in situ values ranging from similar to 6 mL min(-1) to similar to 18 L min(-1). Applying a tidal-modulation model, a depth-dependent methane density, and extrapolating these results across the margin using two normalization techniques yields a combined average in situ flow-rate of similar to 88 x 10(6) kg y(-1). The average methane flux-rate for the Cascadia margin is thus estimated to similar to 0.9 g y(-1) m(-2). Combined uncertainties result in a range of these values between 4.5 and 1800% of the estimated mean values.
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  • 109
    Publication Date: 2021-02-08
    Description: Hydrogen is one of the most common elements on Earth. The enzymes converting molecular hydrogen into protons and electrons are the hydrogenases. Hydrogenases are ubiquitously distributed in all three domains of life where they play a central role in cell metabolism. So far, the recovery of hydrogenases has been restricted to culture-dependent and sequence-based approaches. We have recently developed the only activity-based screen for seeking H-2-uptake enzymes from metagenomes without having to rely on enrichment and isolation of hydrogen-oxidizing microorganisms or prior metagenomic sequencing. When screening 14,400 fosmid clones from three hydrothermal vent metagenomes using this solely activity-based approach, four clones with H-2-uptake activity were identified with specific activities of up to 258 +/- 19 nmol H-2/min/mg protein of partially purified membrane fractions. The respective metagenomic fragments exhibited mostly very low or no similarities to sequences in the public databases. A search with hidden Markov models for different hydrogenase groups showed no hits for three of the four metagenomic inserts, indicating that they do not encode for classical hydrogenases. Our activity-based screen serves as a powerful tool for the discovery of (novel) hydrogenases which would not have been identified by the currently available techniques. This screen can be ideally combined with culture- and sequence-based approaches to investigate the tremendous hydrogen-converting potential in the environment.
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  • 110
    Publication Date: 2021-02-08
    Description: About 5 trillion plastic particles are present in our oceans, from the macro to the micro size. Like any other aquatic particulate, plastics and microplastics can create a micro-environment, within which microbial and chemical conditions differ significantly from the surrounding water. Despite the high and increasing abundance of microplastics in the ocean, their influence on the transformation and composition of marine organic matter is largely unknown. Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is the photo-reactive fraction of the marine dissolved organic matter (DOM) pool. Changes in CDOM quality and quantity have impacts on marine microbial dynamics and the underwater light environment. One major source of CDOM is produced by marine bacteria through their alteration of pre-existing DOM substrates. In a series of microcosm experiments in controlled marine conditions, we explored the impact of microplastics on the quality and quantity of microbial CDOM. In the presence of microplastics we observed an increased production of CDOM with changes in its molecular weight, which resulted from either an increased microbial CDOM production or an enhanced transformation of DOM from lower to higher molecular weight CDOM. Our results point to the possibility that marine microplastics act as localized hot spots for microbial activity, with the potential to influence marine carbon dynamics
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  • 111
    Publication Date: 2021-02-08
    Description: Current mitigation efforts and existing future commitments are inadequate to accomplish the Paris Agreement temperature goals. In light of this, research and debate are intensifying on the possibilities of additionally employing proposed climate geoengineering technologies, either through atmospheric carbon dioxide removal or farther-reaching interventions altering the Earth's radiative energy budget. Although research indicates that several techniques may eventually have the physical potential to contribute to limiting climate change, all are in early stages of development, involve substantial uncertainties and risks, and raise ethical and governance dilemmas. Based on present knowledge, climate geoengineering techniques cannot be relied on to significantly contribute to meeting the Paris Agreement temperature goals.
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  • 112
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    Nature Research
    In:  Scientific Reports, 8 . Art.Nr. 9985.
    Publication Date: 2021-03-19
    Description: The division of the earth’s surface into continents and oceans is a consequence of plate tectonics but a geological paradox exists at continent-ocean boundaries. Continental plate is thicker and lighter than oceanic plate, floating higher on the mantle asthenosphere, but it can rift apart by thinning and heating to form new oceans. In theory, continental plate subsides in proportion to the amount it is thinned and subsequently by the rate it cools down. However, seismic and borehole data from continental margins like the Atlantic show that the upper surface of many plates remains close to sea-level during rifting, inconsistent with its thickness, and subsides after breakup more rapidly than cooling predicts. Here we use numerical models to investigate the origin and nature of this puzzling behaviour with data from the Kwanza Basin, offshore Angola. We explore an idea where the continental plate is made increasingly buoyant during rifting by melt produced and trapped in the asthenosphere. Using finite element simulation, we demonstrate that partially molten asthenosphere combined with other mantle processes can counteract the subsidence effect of thinning plate, keeping it elevated by 2-3 km until breakup. Rapid subsidence occurs after breakup when melt is lost to the embryonic ocean ridge.
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  • 113
    Publication Date: 2021-02-08
    Description: Mitigating the detrimental effects of climate change is a collective problem that requires global cooperation. However, achieving cooperation is difficult since benefits are obtained in the future. The so-called collective-risk game, devised to capture dangerous climate change, showed that catastrophic economic losses promote cooperation when individuals know the timing of a single climatic event. In reality, the impact and timing of climate change is not certain; moreover, recurrent events are possible. Thus, we devise a game where the risk of a collective loss can recur across multiple rounds. We find that wait and see behavior is successful only if players know when they need to contribute to avoid danger and if contributions can eliminate the risks. In all other cases, act quickly is more successful, especially under uncertainty and the possibility of repeated losses. Furthermore, we incorporate influential factors such as wealth inequality and heterogeneity in risks. Even under inequality individuals should contribute early, as long as contributions have the potential to decrease risk. Most importantly, we find that catastrophic scenarios are not necessary to induce such immediate collective action.
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  • 114
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    Nature Research
    In:  Nature Geoscience, 11 (7). p. 462.
    Publication Date: 2021-02-08
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  • 115
    Publication Date: 2021-03-19
    Description: To assess the risk that mining of seafloor massive sulfides (SMS) from extinct hydrothermal vent environments has for changing the ecosystem irreversibly, we sampled SMS analogous habitats from the Kairei and the Pelagia vent fields along the Indian Ridge. In total 19.8 million 16S rRNA tags from 14 different sites were analyzed and the microbial communities were compared with each other and with publicly available data sets from other marine environments. The chimneys appear to provide habitats for microorganisms that are not found or only detectable in very low numbers in other marine habitats. The chimneys also host rare organisms and may function as a vital part of the ocean's seed bank. Many of the reads from active and inactive chimney samples were clustered into OTUs, with low or no resemblance to known species. Since we are unaware of the chemical reactions catalyzed by these unknown organisms, the impact of this diversity loss and bio-geo-coupling is hard to predict. Given that chimney structures can be considered SMS analogues, removal of sulfide deposits from the seafloor in the Kairei and Pelagia fields will most likely alter microbial compositions and affect element cycling in the benthic regions and probably beyond.
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  • 116
    Publication Date: 2021-04-23
    Description: Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus are the dominant primary producers in marine ecosystems and perform a significant fraction of ocean carbon fixation. These cyanobacteria interact with a diverse microbial community that coexists with them. Comparative genomics of cultivated isolates has helped address questions regarding patterns of evolution and diversity among microbes, but the fraction that can be cultivated is miniscule compared to the diversity in the wild. To further probe the diversity of these groups and extend the utility of reference sequence databases, we report a data set of single cell genomes for 489 Prochlorococcus, 50 Synechococcus, 9 extracellular virus particles, and 190 additional microorganisms from a diverse range of bacterial, archaeal, and viral groups. Many of these uncultivated single cell genomes are derived from samples obtained on GEOTRACES cruises and at well-studied oceanographic stations, each with extensive suites of physical, chemical, and biological measurements. The genomic data reported here greatly increases the number of available Prochlorococcus genomes and will facilitate studies on evolutionary biology, microbial ecology, and biological oceanography.
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  • 117
    Publication Date: 2021-02-08
    Description: There is compelling evidence that episodic deposition of large volumes of freshwater into the oceans strongly influenced global ocean circulation and climate variability during glacial periods1,2. In the North Atlantic region, episodes of massive freshwater discharge to the North Atlantic Ocean were related to distinct cold periods known as Heinrich Stadials1,2,3. By contrast, the freshwater history of the North Pacific region remains unclear, giving rise to persistent debates about the existence and possible magnitude of climate links between the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans during Heinrich Stadials4,5. Here we find that there was a strong connection between changes in North Atlantic circulation during Heinrich Stadials and injections of freshwater from the North American Cordilleran Ice Sheet to the northeastern North Pacific. Our record of diatom δ18O (a measure of the ratio of the stable oxygen isotopes 18O and 16O) over the past 50,000 years shows a decrease in surface seawater δ18O of two to three per thousand, corresponding to a decline in salinity of roughly two to four practical salinity units. This coincided with enhanced deposition of ice-rafted debris and a slight cooling of the sea surface in the northeastern North Pacific during Heinrich Stadials 1 and 4, but not during Heinrich Stadial 3. Furthermore, results from our isotope-enabled model6 suggest that warming of the eastern Equatorial Pacific during Heinrich Stadials was crucial for transmitting the North Atlantic signal to the northeastern North Pacific, where the associated subsurface warming resulted in a discernible freshwater discharge from the Cordilleran Ice Sheet during Heinrich Stadials 1 and 4. However, enhanced background cooling across the northern high latitudes during Heinrich Stadial 3—the coldest period in the past 50,000 years7—prevented subsurface warming of the northeastern North Pacific and thus increased freshwater discharge from the Cordilleran Ice Sheet. In combination, our results show that nonlinear ocean–atmosphere background interactions played a complex role in the dynamics linking the freshwater discharge responses of the North Atlantic and North Pacific during glacial periods.
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  • 118
    Publication Date: 2021-03-19
    Description: Large intraplate earthquakes in oceanic lithosphere are rare and usually related to regions of diffuse deformation within the oceanic plate. The 23 January 2018 MW 7.9 strike-slip Gulf of Alaska earthquake ruptured an oceanic fracture zone system offshore Kodiak Island. Bathymetric compilations show a muted topographic expression of the fracture zone due to the thick sediment that covers oceanic basement but the fracture zone system can be identified by offset N-S magnetic anomalies and E-W linear zones in the vertical gravity gradient. Back-projection from global seismic stations reveals that the initial rupture at first propagated from the epicenter to the north, likely rupturing along a weak zone parallel to the ocean crustal fabric. The rupture then changed direction to eastward directed with most energy emitted on Aka fracture zone resulting in an unusual multi-fault earthquake. Similarly, the aftershocks show complex behavior and are related to two different tectonic structures: (1) events along N-S trending oceanic fabric, which ruptured mainly strike-slip and additionally, in normal and oblique slip mechanisms and (2) strike-slip events along E-W oriented fracture zones. To explain the complex faulting behavior we adopt the classical stress and strain partitioning concept and propose a generalized model for large intra-oceanic strike-slip earthquakes of trench-oblique oriented fracture zones/ocean plate fabric near subduction zones. Taking the Kodiak asperity position of 1964 maximum afterslip and outer-rise Coulomb stress distribution into account, we propose that the unusual 2018 Gulf of Alaska moment release was stress transferred to the incoming oceanic plate from co- and post-processes of the nearby great 1964 MW 9.2 megathrust earthquake.
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  • 119
    Publication Date: 2021-02-08
    Description: Ecologists must understand how marine life responds to changing local conditions, rather than to overall global temperature rise, say Amanda E. Bates and 16 colleagues.
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  • 120
    Publication Date: 2021-03-19
    Description: The innate immune system helps animals to navigate the microbial world. The response to microbes relies on the specific recognition of microbial-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) by immune receptors. Sponges (phylum Porifera), as early-diverging animals, provide insights into conserved mechanisms for animal-microbe crosstalk. However, experimental data is limited. We adopted an experimental approach followed by RNA-Seq and differential gene expression analysis in order to characterise the sponge immune response. Two Mediterranean species, Aplysina aerophoba and Dysidea avara, were exposed to a “cocktail” of MAMPs (lipopolysaccharide and peptidoglycan) or to sterile artificial seawater (control) and sampled 1 h, 3 h, and 5 h post-treatment for RNA-Seq. The response involved, first and foremost, a higher number of differentially-expressed genes in A. aerophoba than D. avara. Secondly, while both species constitutively express a diverse repertoire of immune receptors, they differed in their expression profiles upon MAMP challenge. The response in D. avara was mediated by increased expression of two NLR genes, whereas the response in A. aerophoba involved SRCR and GPCR genes. From the set of annotated genes we infer that both species activated apoptosis in response to MAMPs while in A. aerophoba phagocytosis was additionally stimulated. Our study assessed for the first time the transcriptomic responses of sponges to MAMPs and revealed conserved and species-specific features of poriferan immunity as well as genes potentially relevant to animal-microbe interactions.
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  • 121
    Publication Date: 2021-02-08
    Description: Far more species of organisms are found in the tropics than in temperate and polar regions, but the evolutionary and ecological causes of this pattern remain controversial1,2. Tropical marine fish communities are much more diverse than cold-water fish communities found at higher latitudes3,4, and several explanations for this latitudinal diversity gradient propose that warm reef environments serve as evolutionary ‘hotspots’ for species formation5,6,7,8. Here we test the relationship between latitude, species richness and speciation rate across marine fishes. We assembled a time-calibrated phylogeny of all ray-finned fishes (31,526 tips, of which 11,638 had genetic data) and used this framework to describe the spatial dynamics of speciation in the marine realm. We show that the fastest rates of speciation occur in species-poor regions outside the tropics, and that high-latitude fish lineages form new species at much faster rates than their tropical counterparts. High rates of speciation occur in geographical regions that are characterized by low surface temperatures and high endemism. Our results reject a broad class of mechanisms under which the tropics serve as an evolutionary cradle for marine fish diversity and raise new questions about why the coldest oceans on Earth are present-day hotspots of species formation.
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  • 122
    Publication Date: 2021-02-08
    Description: The mobilization of glacial permafrost carbon during the last glacial–interglacial transition has been suggested by indirect evidence to be an additional and significant source of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, especially at times of rapid sea-level rise. Here we present the first direct evidence for the release of ancient carbon from degrading permafrost in East Asia during the last 17 kyrs, using biomarkers and radiocarbon dating of terrigenous material found in two sediment cores from the Okhotsk Sea. Upscaling our results to the whole Arctic shelf area, we show by carbon cycle simulations that deglacial permafrost-carbon release through sea-level rise likely contributed significantly to the changes in atmospheric CO2 around 14.6 and 11.5 kyrs BP.
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  • 123
    Publication Date: 2021-02-08
    Description: The ocean is the main source of thermal inertia in the climate system1. During recent decades, ocean heat uptake has been quantified by using hydrographic temperature measurements and data from the Argo float program, which expanded its coverage after 20072,3. However, these estimates all use the same imperfect ocean dataset and share additional uncertainties resulting from sparse coverage, especially before 20074,5. Here we provide an independent estimate by using measurements of atmospheric oxygen (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2)—levels of which increase as the ocean warms and releases gases—as a whole-ocean thermometer. We show that the ocean gained 1.33 ± 0.20 × 1022 joules of heat per year between 1991 and 2016, equivalent to a planetary energy imbalance of 0.83 ± 0.11 watts per square metre of Earth’s surface. We also find that the ocean-warming effect that led to the outgassing of O2 and CO2 can be isolated from the direct effects of anthropogenic emissions and CO2 sinks. Our result—which relies on high-precision O2 measurements dating back to 19916—suggests that ocean warming is at the high end of previous estimates, with implications for policy-relevant measurements of the Earth response to climate change, such as climate sensitivity to greenhouse gases7 and the thermal component of sea-level rise8.
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  • 124
    Publication Date: 2021-02-08
    Description: The island of Bali in Indonesia is home to two active stratovolcanoes, Agung and Batur, but relatively little is known of their underlying magma plumbing systems. Here we define magma storage depths and isotopic evolution of the 1963 and 1974 eruptions using mineral-melt equilibrium thermobarometry and oxygen and helium isotopes in mineral separates. Olivine crystallised from a primitive magma and has average δ18O values of 4.8‰. Clinopyroxene records magma storage at the crust-mantle boundary, and displays mantle-like isotope values for Helium (8.62 RA) and δ18O (5.0–5.8‰). Plagioclase reveals crystallisation in upper crustal storage reservoirs and shows δ18O values of 5.5–6.4‰. Our new thermobarometry and isotope data thus corroborate earlier seismic and InSAR studies that inferred upper crustal magma storage in the region. This type of multi-level plumbing architecture could drive replenishing magma to rapid volatile saturation, thus increasing the likelihood of explosive eruptions and the consequent hazard potential for the population of Bali.
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  • 125
    Publication Date: 2021-02-08
    Description: Changes in climate variability are as important for society to address as are changes in mean climate1. Contrasting temperature variability during the Last Glacial Maximum and the Holocene can provide insights into the relationship between the mean state of the climate and its variability2,3. However, although glacial–interglacial changes in variability have been quantified for Greenland2, a global view remains elusive. Here we use a network of marine and terrestrial temperature proxies to show that temperature variability decreased globally by a factor of four as the climate warmed by 3–8 degrees Celsius from the Last Glacial Maximum (around 21,000 years ago) to the Holocene epoch (the past 11,500 years). This decrease had a clear zonal pattern, with little change in the tropics (by a factor of only 1.6–2.8) and greater change in the mid-latitudes of both hemispheres (by a factor of 3.3–14). By contrast, Greenland ice-core records show a reduction in temperature variability by a factor of 73, suggesting influences beyond local temperature or a decoupling of atmospheric and global surface temperature variability for Greenland. The overall pattern of reduced variability can be explained by changes in the meridional temperature gradient, a mechanism that points to further decreases in temperature variability in a warmer future.
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  • 126
    Publication Date: 2021-04-23
    Description: Recent advances in understanding the ecology of marine systems have been greatly facilitated by the growing availability of metagenomic data, which provide information on the identity, diversity and functional potential of the microbial community in a particular place and time. Here we present a dataset comprising over 5 terabases of metagenomic data from 610 samples spanning diverse regions of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. One set of metagenomes, collected on GEOTRACES cruises, captures large geographic transects at multiple depths per station. The second set represents two years of time-series data, collected at roughly monthly intervals from 3 depths at two long-term ocean sampling sites, Station ALOHA and BATS. These metagenomes contain genomic information from a diverse range of bacteria, archaea, eukaryotes and viruses. The data's utility is strengthened by the availability of extensive physical, chemical, and biological measurements associated with each sample. We expect that these metagenomes will facilitate a wide range of comparative studies that seek to illuminate new aspects of marine microbial ecosystems.
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  • 127
    Publication Date: 2021-02-08
    Description: Stable water isotope records from Antarctica are key for our understanding of Quaternary climate variations. However, the exact quantitative interpretation of these important climate proxy records in terms of surface temperature, ice sheet height and other climatic changes is still a matter of debate. Here we report results obtained with an atmospheric general circulation model equipped with water isotopes, run at a high-spatial horizontal resolution of one-by-one degree. Comparing different glacial maximum ice sheet reconstructions, a best model data match is achieved for the PMIP3 reconstruction. Reduced West Antarctic elevation changes between 400 and 800 m lead to further improved agreement with ice core data. Our modern and glacial climate simulations support the validity of the isotopic paleothermometer approach based on the use of present-day observations and reveal that a glacial ocean state as displayed in the GLAMAP reconstruction is suitable for capturing the observed glacial isotope changes in Antarctic ice cores.
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  • 128
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    Nature Research
    In:  Nature, 561 (7722). p. 175.
    Publication Date: 2018-09-17
    Description: Henning Schmidgen praises a tome on Helmholtz, titan of nineteenth-century science.
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  • 129
    Publication Date: 2023-05-04
    Description: Methane sources and sinks in the Arctic are poorly quantified. In particular, methane emissions from the Arctic Ocean and the potential sink capacity are still under debate. In this context sea ice impact on and the intense cycling of methane between sea ice and Polar surface water (PSW) becomes pivotal. We report on methane super- and under-saturation in PSW in the Eurasian Basin (EB), strongly linked to sea ice-ocean interactions. In the southern EB under-saturation in PSW is caused by both inflow of warm Atlantic water and short-time contact with sea ice. By comparison in the northern EB long-time sea ice-PSW contact triggered by freezing and melting events induces a methane excess. We reveal the Ttranspolar Drift Stream as crucial for methane transport and show that inter-annual shifts in sea ice drift patterns generate inter-annually patchy methane excess in PSW. Using backward trajectories combined with δ18O signatures of sea ice cores we determine the sea ice source regions to be in the Laptev Sea Polynyas and the off shelf regime in 2011 and 2015, respectively. We denote the Transpolar Drift regime as decisive for the fate of methane released on the Siberian shelves.
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  • 130
    Publication Date: 2023-12-12
    Description: Autotrophic theories for the origin of life propose that CO2 was the carbon source for primordial biosynthesis. Among the six known CO2 fixation pathways in nature, the acetyl-CoA (AcCoA; or Wood–Ljungdahl) pathway is the most ancient, and relies on transition metals for catalysis. Modern microbes that use the AcCoA pathway typically fix CO2 with electrons from H2, which requires complex flavin-based electron bifurcation. This presents a paradox: how could primitive metabolic systems have fixed CO2 before the origin of proteins? Here, we show that native transition metals (Fe0, Ni0 and Co0) selectively reduce CO2 to acetate and pyruvate—the intermediates and end-products of the AcCoA pathway—in near millimolar concentrations in water over hours to days using 1–40 bar CO2 and at temperatures from 30 to 100 °C. Geochemical CO2 fixation from native metals could have supplied critical C2 and C3 metabolites before the emergence of enzymes.
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  • 131
    Publication Date: 2024-03-22
    Description: Brachiopod shells are the most widely used geological archive for the reconstruction of the temperature and the oxygen isotope composition of Phanerozoic seawater. However, it is not conclusive whether brachiopods precipitate their shells in thermodynamic equilibrium. In this study, we investigated the potential impact of kinetic controls on the isotope composition of modern brachiopods by measuring the oxygen and clumped isotope compositions of their shells. Our results show that clumped and oxygen isotope compositions depart from thermodynamic equilibrium due to growth rate-induced kinetic effects. These departures are in line with incomplete hydration and hydroxylation of dissolved CO2. These findings imply that the determination of taxon-specific growth rates alongside clumped and bulk oxygen isotope analyses is essential to ensure accurate estimates of past ocean temperatures and seawater oxygen isotope compositions from brachiopods.
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  • 132
    Publication Date: 2024-04-19
    Description: El Niño events are characterized by surface warming of the tropical Pacific Ocean and weakening of equatorial trade winds that occur every few years. Such conditions are accompanied by changes in atmospheric and oceanic circulation, affecting global climate, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, fisheries and human activities. The alternation of warm El Niño and cold La Niña conditions, referred to as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), represents the strongest year-to-year fluctuation of the global climate system. Here we provide a synopsis of our current understanding of the spatio-temporal complexity of this important climate mode and its influence on the Earth system.
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  • 133
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Environmental histories that span the last full glacial cycle and are representative of regional change in Australia are scarce, hampering assessment of environmental change preceding and concurrent with human dispersal on the continent ca. 47,000 years ago. Here we present a continuous 150,000-year record offshore south-western Australia and identify the timing of two critical late Pleistocene events: wide-scale ecosystem change and regional megafaunal population collapse. We establish that substantial changes in vegetation and fire regime occurred B70,000 years ago under a climate much drier than today. We record high levels of the dung fungus Sporormiella, a proxy for herbivore biomass, from 150,000 to 45,000 years ago, then a marked decline indicating megafaunal population collapse, from 45,000 to 43,100 years ago, placing the extinctions within 4,000 years of human dispersal across Australia. These findings rule out climate change, and implicate humans, as the primary extinction cause.
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  • 134
    Publication Date: 2020-06-18
    Description: The Ontong Java and Manihiki oceanic plateaus are believed to have formed through high-degree melting of a mantle plume head. Boninite-like, low-Ti basement rocks at Manihiki, however, imply a more complex magma genesis compared with Ontong Java basement lavas that can be generated by ∼30% melting of a primitive mantle source. Here we show that the trace element and isotope compositions of low-Ti Manihiki rocks can best be explained by re-melting of an ultra-depleted source (possibly a common mantle component in the Ontong Java and Manihiki plume sources) re-enriched by ≤1% of an ocean-island-basalt-like melt component. Unlike boninites formed via hydrous flux melting of refractory mantle at subduction zones, these boninite-like intraplate rocks formed through adiabatic decompression melting of refractory plume material that has been metasomatized by ocean-island-basalt-like melts. Our results suggest that caution is required before assuming all Archaean boninites were formed in association with subduction processes.
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  • 135
    Publication Date: 2020-06-18
    Description: Tectonically induced changes in oceanic seaways had profound effects on global and regional climate during the Late Neogene. The constriction of the Central American Seaway reached a critical threshold during the early Pliocene ~4.8–4 million years (Ma) ago. Model simulations indicate the strengthening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) with a signature warming response in the Northern Hemisphere and cooling in the Southern Hemisphere. Subsequently, between ~4–3 Ma, the constriction of the Indonesian Seaway impacted regional climate and might have accelerated the Northern Hemisphere Glaciation. We here present Pliocene Atlantic interhemispheric sea surface temperature and salinity gradients (deduced from foraminiferal Mg/Ca and stable oxygen isotopes, δ18O) in combination with a recently published benthic stable carbon isotope (δ13C) record from the southernmost extent of North Atlantic Deep Water to reconstruct gateway-related changes in the AMOC mode. After an early reduction of the AMOC at ~5.3 Ma, we show in agreement with model simulations of the impacts of Central American Seaway closure a strengthened AMOC with a global climate signature. During ~3.8–3 Ma, we suggest a weakening of the AMOC in line with the global cooling trend, with possible contributions from the constriction of the Indonesian Seaway.
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  • 136
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Enhanced atmospheric input of dust-borne nutrients and minerals to the remote surface ocean can potentially increase carbon uptake and sequestration at depth. Nutrients can enhance primary productivity, and mineral particles act as ballast, increasing sinking rates of particulate organic matter. Here we present a two-year time series of sediment trap observations of particulate organic carbon flux to 3,000 m depth, measured directly in two locations: the dust-rich central North Atlantic gyre and the dust-poor South Atlantic gyre. We find that carbon fluxes are twice as high and a higher proportion of primary production is exported to depth in the dust-rich North Atlantic gyre. Low stable nitrogen isotope ratios suggest that high fluxes result from the stimulation of nitrogen fixation and productivity following the deposition of dust-borne nutrients. Sediment traps in the northern gyre also collected intact colonies of nitrogen-fixing Trichodesmium species. Whereas ballast in the southern gyre is predominantly biogenic, dust-derived mineral particles constitute the dominant ballast element during the enhanced carbon fluxes in the northern gyre. We conclude that dust deposition increases carbon sequestration in the North Atlantic gyre through the fertilization of the nitrogen-fixing community in surface waters and mineral ballasting of sinking particles
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  • 137
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Folate-mediated one-carbon metabolism (FOCM) is an interconnected network of metabolic pathways, including those required for the de novo synthesis of dTMP and purine nucleotides and for remethylation of homocysteine to methionine. Mouse models of folate-responsive neural tube defects (NTDs) indicate that impaired de novo thymidylate (dTMP) synthesis through changes in SHMT expression is causative in folate-responsive NTDs. We have created a hybrid computational model comprised of ordinary differential equations and stochastic simulation. We investigated whether the de novo dTMP synthesis pathway was sensitive to perturbations in FOCM that are known to be associated with human NTDs. This computational model shows that de novo dTMP synthesis is highly sensitive to the common MTHFR C677T polymorphism and that the effect of the polymorphism on FOCM is greater in folate deficiency. Computational simulations indicate that the MTHFR C677T polymorphism and folate deficiency interact to increase the stochastic behavior of the FOCM network, with the greatest instability observed for reactions catalyzed by serine hydroxymethyltransferase (SHMT). Furthermore, we show that de novo dTMP synthesis does not occur in the cytosol at rates sufficient for DNA replication, supporting empirical data indicating that impaired nuclear de novo dTMP synthesis results in uracil misincorporation into DNA.
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  • 138
    Publication Date: 2021-04-23
    Description: Accurate pH measurements in polar waters and sea ice brines require pH indicator dyes characterized at near-zero and below-zero temperatures and high salinities. We present experimentally determined physical and chemical characteristics of purified meta-Cresol Purple (mCP) pH indicator dye suitable for pH measurements in seawater and conservative seawater-derived brines at salinities (S) between 35 and 100 and temperatures (T) between their freezing point and 298.15 K (25 °C). Within this temperature and salinity range, using purified mCP and a novel thermostated spectrophotometric device, the pH on the total scale (pHT) can be calculated from direct measurements of the absorbance ratio R of the dye in natural samples as pHT=−log(kT2e2)+log(R−e11−Re3e2) Based on the mCP characterization in these extended conditions, the temperature and salinity dependence of the molar absorptivity ratios and − log(kT2e2) of purified mCP is described by the following functions: e1 = −0.004363 + 3.598 × 10−5T, e3/e2 = −0.016224 + 2.42851 × 10−4T + 5.05663 × 10−5(S − 35), and − log(kT2e2) = −319.8369 + 0.688159 S −0.00018374 S2 + (10508.724 − 32.9599 S + 0.059082S2) T−1 + (55.54253 − 0.101639 S) ln T −0.08112151T. This work takes the characterisation of mCP beyond the currently available ranges of 278.15 K ≤ T ≤ 308.15 K and 20 ≤ S ≤ 40 in natural seawater, thereby allowing high quality pHT measurements in polar systems.
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  • 139
    Publication Date: 2020-06-18
    Description: Paleo-climate records and geodynamic modelling indicate the existence of complex interactions between glacial sea level changes, volcanic degassing and atmospheric CO2, which may have modulated the climate system's descent into the last ice age. Between ∼85 and 70 kyr ago, during an interval of decreasing axial tilt, the orbital component in global temperature records gradually declined, while atmospheric CO2, instead of continuing its long-term correlation with Antarctic temperature, remained relatively stable. Here, based on novel global geodynamic models and the joint interpretation of paleo-proxy data as well as biogeochemical simulations, we show that a sea level fall in this interval caused enhanced pressure-release melting in the uppermost mantle, which may have induced a surge in magma and CO2 fluxes from mid-ocean ridges and oceanic hotspot volcanoes. Our results reveal a hitherto unrecognized negative feedback between glaciation and atmospheric CO2 predominantly controlled by marine volcanism on multi-millennial timescales of ∼5,000-15,000 years.
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  • 140
    Publication Date: 2020-06-18
    Description: High primary productivity in the equatorial Atlantic and Pacific oceans is one of the key features of tropical ocean biogeochemistry and fuels a substantial flux of particulate matter towards the abyssal ocean. How biological processes and equatorial current dynamics shape the particle size distribution and flux, however, is poorly understood. Here we use high-resolution size-resolved particle imaging and Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler data to assess these influences in equatorial oceans. We find an increase in particle abundance and flux at depths of 300 to 600 m at the Atlantic and Pacific equator, a depth range to which zooplankton and nekton migrate vertically in a daily cycle. We attribute this particle maximum to faecal pellet production by these organisms. At depths of 1,000 to 4,000 m, we find that the particulate organic carbon flux is up to three times greater in the equatorial belt (1° S–1° N) than in off-equatorial regions. At 3,000 m, the flux is dominated by small particles less than 0.53 mm in diameter. The dominance of small particles seems to be caused by enhanced active and passive particle export in this region, as well as by the focusing of particles by deep eastward jets found at 2° N and 2° S. We thus suggest that zooplankton movements and ocean currents modulate the transfer of particulate carbon from the surface to the deep ocean.
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  • 141
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    Nature Research
    In:  Nature Ecology & Evolution, 1 (11). pp. 1600-1601.
    Publication Date: 2018-01-05
    Description: Comb jellies are remarkably different from other animals. Phylogenetic analyses of broadly sampled ctenophore transcriptome data provide additional evidence that they are the sister group to all other animals and reveal details of their evolutionary relationships to each other.
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  • 142
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Despite the importance of deep-sea corals, our current understanding of their ecology and evolution is limited due to difficulties in sampling and studying deep-sea environments. Moreover, a recent re-evaluation of habitat limitations has been suggested after characterization of deep-sea corals in the Red Sea, where they live at temperatures of above 20 °C at low oxygen concentrations. To gain further insight into the biology of deep-sea corals, we produced reference transcriptomes and studied gene expression of three deep-sea coral species from the Red Sea, i.e. Dendrophyllia sp., Eguchipsammia fistula, and Rhizotrochus typus. Our analyses suggest that deep-sea coral employ mitochondrial hypometabolism and anaerobic glycolysis to manage low oxygen conditions present in the Red Sea. Notably, we found expression of genes related to surface cilia motion that presumably enhance small particle transport rates in the oligotrophic deep-sea environment. This is the first study to characterize transcriptomes and in situ gene expression for deep-sea corals. Our work offers several mechanisms by which deep-sea corals might cope with the distinct environmental conditions present in the Red Sea As such, our data provide direction for future research and further insight to organismal response of deep-sea coral to environmental change and ocean warming.
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  • 143
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    Nature Research
    In:  Nature Chemical Biology, 13 (8). pp. 916-921.
    Publication Date: 2018-01-17
    Description: Alkylation of aromatic rings with alkyl halides is an important transformation in organic synthesis, yet an enzymatic equivalent is unknown. Here, we report that cylindrocyclophane biosynthesis in Cylindrospermum licheniforme ATCC 29412 involves chlorination of an unactivated carbon center by a novel halogenase, followed by a previously uncharacterized enzymatic dimerization reaction featuring sequential, stereospecific alkylations of resorcinol aromatic rings. Discovery of the enzymatic machinery underlying this unique biosynthetic carbon–carbon bond formation has implications for biocatalysis and metabolic engineering.
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  • 144
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: General concepts of larval fish ecology in temperate oceans predominantly associate dispersal and survival to exogenous mechanisms such as passive drift along ocean currents. However, for tropical reef fish larvae and species in inland freshwater systems behavioural aspects of habitat selection are evidently important components of dispersal. This study is focused on larval Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) distribution in a Baltic Sea retention area, free of lunar tides and directed current regimes, considered as a natural mesocosm. A Lorenz curve originally applied in socio-economics to describe demographic income distribution was adapted to a 20 year time-series of weekly larval herring distribution, revealing size-dependent spatial homogeneity. Additional quantitative sampling of distinct larval development stages across pelagic and littoral areas uncovered a loop in habitat use during larval ontogeny, revealing a key role of shallow littoral waters. With increasing rates of coastal change, our findings emphasize the importance of the littoral zone when considering reproduction of pelagic, ocean-going fish species; highlighting a need for more sensitive management of regional coastal zones.
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  • 145
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Our growing awareness of the microbial world’s importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earth’s microbial diversity.
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  • 146
    Publication Date: 2020-06-18
    Description: Coccolithophores—single-celled calcifying phytoplankton—are an important group of marine primary producers and the dominant builders of calcium carbonate globally. Coccolithophores form extensive blooms and increase the density and sinking speed of organic matter via calcium carbonate ballasting. Thereby, they play a key role in the marine carbon cycle. Coccolithophore physiological responses to experimental ocean acidification have ranged from moderate stimulation to substantial decline in growth and calcification rates, combined with enhanced malformation of their calcite platelets. Here we report on a mesocosm experiment conducted in a Norwegian fjord in which we exposed a natural plankton community to a wide range of CO2-induced ocean acidification, to test whether these physiological responses affect the ecological success of coccolithophore populations. Under high-CO2 treatments, Emiliania huxleyi, the most abundant and productive coccolithophore species, declined in population size during the pre-bloom period and lost the ability to form blooms. As a result, particle sinking velocities declined by up to 30% and sedimented organic matter was reduced by up to 25% relative to controls. There were also strong reductions in seawater concentrations of the climate-active compound dimethylsulfide in CO2-enriched mesocosms. We conclude that ocean acidification can lower calcifying phytoplankton productivity, potentially creating a positive feedback to the climate system.
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  • 147
    Publication Date: 2021-04-23
    Description: Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is present ubiquitously in marine surface waters where it is a reactive intermediate in the cycling of many trace elements. Photochemical processes are considered the dominant natural H2O2 source, yet cannot explain nanomolar H2O2 concentrations below the photic zone. Here, we determined the concentration of H2O2 in full depth profiles across three ocean basins (Mediterranean Sea, South Atlantic and South Pacific Oceans). To determine the accuracy of H2O2 measurements in the deep ocean we also re-assessed the contribution of interfering species to ‘apparent H2O2’, as analysed by the luminol based chemiluminescence technique. Within the vicinity of coastal oxygen minimum zones, accurate measurement of H2O2 was not possible due to interference from Fe(II). Offshore, in deep (〉1000 m) waters H2O2 concentrations ranged from 0.25 ± 0.27 nM (Mediterranean, Balearics-Algeria) to 2.9 ± 2.2 nM (Mediterranean, Corsica-France). Our results indicate that a dark, pelagic H2O2 production mechanism must occur throughout the deep ocean. A bacterial source of H2O2 is the most likely origin and we show that this source is likely sufficient to account for all of the observed H2O2 in the deep ocean.
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  • 148
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: The Mw 8.8 megathrust earthquake that occurred on 27 February 2010 offshore the Maule region of central Chile triggered a destructive tsunami. Whether the earthquake rupture extended to the shallow part of the plate boundary near the trench remains controversial. The up-dip limit of rupture during large subduction zone earthquakes has important implications for tsunami generation and for the rheological behavior of the sedimentary prism in accretionary margins. However, in general, the slip models derived from tsunami wave modeling and seismological data are poorly constrained by direct seafloor geodetic observations. We difference swath bathymetric data acquired across the trench in 2008, 2011 and 2012 and find ∼3-5 m of uplift of the seafloor landward of the deformation front, at the eastern edge of the trench. Modeling suggests this is compatible with slip extending seaward, at least, to within ∼6 km of the deformation front. After the Mw 9.0 Tohoku-oki earthquake, this result for the Maule earthquake represents only the second time that repeated bathymetric data has been used to detect the deformation following megathrust earthquakes, providing methodological guidelines for this relatively inexpensive way of obtaining seafloor geodetic data across subduction zone.
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  • 149
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    Nature Research
    In:  Nature, 544 (7651). p. 395.
    Publication Date: 2020-06-18
    Description: Planetariums are not just for education, or even astronomy: they could display all sorts of data, if only scientists thought to use them, says Tom Kwasnitschka.
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  • 150
    Publication Date: 2020-06-18
    Description: Transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) are a class of marine gel particles and important links between surface ocean biology and atmospheric processes. Derived from marine microorganisms, these particles can facilitate the biological pumping of carbon dioxide to the deep sea, or act as cloud condensation and ice nucleation particles in the atmosphere. Yet, environmental controls on TEP abundance in the ocean are poorly known. Here, we investigated some of these controls during the first multiyear time-series on TEP abundance for the Fram Strait, the Atlantic gateway to the Central Arctic Ocean. Data collected at the Long-Term Ecological Research observatory HAUSGARTEN during 2009 to 2014 indicate a strong biological control with highest abundance co-occurring with the prymnesiophyte Phaeocystis pouchetii. Higher occurrence of P. pouchetii in the Arctic Ocean has previously been related to northward advection of warmer Atlantic waters, which is expected to increase in the future. Our study highlights the role of plankton key species in driving climate relevant processes; thus, changes in plankton distribution need to be accounted for when estimating the ocean’s biogeochemical response to global change.
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  • 151
    Publication Date: 2020-06-18
    Description: The Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum(1,2) (PETM) was a global warming event that occurred about 56 million years ago, and is commonly thought to have been driven primarily by the destabilization of carbon from surface sedimentary reservoirs such as methane hydrates(3). However, it remains controversial whether such reservoirs were indeed the source of the carbon that drove the warming(1,3-5). Resolving this issue is key to understanding the proximal cause of the warming, and to quantifying the roles of triggers versus feedbacks. Here we present boron isotope data-a proxy for seawater pH-that show that the ocean surface pH was persistently low during the PETM. We combine our pH data with a paired carbon isotope record in an Earth system model in order to reconstruct the unfolding carbon-cycle dynamics during the event(6,7). We find strong evidence for a much larger (more than 10,000 petagrams)-and, on average, isotopically heavier-carbon source than considered previously(8,9). This leads us to identify volcanism associated with the North Atlantic Igneous Province(10,11), rather than carbon from a surface reservoir, as the main driver of the PETM. This finding implies that climate-driven amplification of organic carbon feedbacks probably played only a minor part in driving the event. However, we find that enhanced burial of organic matter seems to have been important in eventually sequestering the released carbon and accelerating the recovery of the Earth system(12).
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  • 152
    Publication Date: 2021-04-23
    Description: Inputs of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to marine waters continue to increase yet mechanisms of AgNPs toxicity to marine phytoplankton are still not well resolved. This study reports a series of toxicity experiments on a representative coastal marine diatom species Chaetoceros curvisetus using the reference AgNP, NM-300K. Exposure to AgNPs resulted in photosynthetic impairment and loss of diatom biomass in proportion to the supplied AgNP dose. The underlying mechanism of toxicity was explored via comparing biological responses in parallel experiments. Diatom responses to AgNP, free Ag(I) species, and dialysis bag-retained AgNP treatments showed marked similarity, pointing towards a dominant role of Ag(I) species uptake, rather than NPs themselves, in inducing the toxic response. In marked contrast to previous studies, addition of the organic complexing agent cysteine (Cys) alongside Ag only marginally moderated toxicity, implying AgCys− complexes were bioavailable to this diatom species. A preliminary field experiment with a natural phytoplankton community in the southeast Atlantic Ocean showed no significant toxic response at a NM-300 K concentration that resulted in ~40% biomass loss in the culture studies, suggesting a modulating effect of natural seawaters on Ag toxicity.
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  • 153
    Publication Date: 2021-04-23
    Description: Nutrient limitation of oceanic primary production exerts a fundamental control on marine food webs and the flux of carbon into the deep ocean1. The extensive boundaries of the oligotrophic sub-tropical gyres collectively define the most extreme transition in ocean productivity, but little is known about nutrient limitation in these zones1, 2, 3, 4. Here we present the results of full-factorial nutrient amendment experiments conducted at the eastern boundary of the South Atlantic gyre. We find extensive regions in which the addition of nitrogen or iron individually resulted in no significant phytoplankton growth over 48 hours. However, the addition of both nitrogen and iron increased concentrations of chlorophyll a by up to approximately 40-fold, led to diatom proliferation, and reduced community diversity. Once nitrogen–iron co-limitation had been alleviated, the addition of cobalt or cobalt-containing vitamin B12 could further enhance chlorophyll a yields by up to threefold. Our results suggest that nitrogen–iron co-limitation is pervasive in the ocean, with other micronutrients also approaching co-deficiency. Such multi-nutrient limitations potentially increase phytoplankton community diversity.
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  • 154
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: The western Indian Ocean has been warming faster than any other tropical ocean during the 20th century, and is the largest contributor to the global mean sea surface temperature (SST) rise. However, the temporal pattern of Indian Ocean warming is poorly constrained and depends on the historical SST product. As all SST products are derived from the International Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere dataset (ICOADS), it is challenging to evaluate which product is superior. Here, we present a new, independent SST reconstruction from a set of Porites coral geochemical records from the western Indian Ocean. Our coral reconstruction shows that the World War II bias in the historical sea surface temperature record is the main reason for the differences between the SST products, and affects western Indian Ocean and global mean temperature trends. The 20th century Indian Ocean warming pattern portrayed by the corals is consistent with the SST product from the Hadley Centre (HadSST3), and suggests that the latter should be used in climate studies that include Indian Ocean SSTs. Our data shows that multi-core coral temperature reconstructions help to evaluate the SST products. Proxy records can provide estimates of 20th century SST that are truly independent from the ICOADS data base.
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  • 155
    Publication Date: 2020-06-18
    Description: Many marine invertebrates including ctenophores are capable of extensive body regeneration when injured. However, as for the invasive ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi, there is a constant subportion of individuals not undergoing whole body regeneration but forming functionally stable half-animals instead. Yet, the driving factors of this phenomenon have not been addressed so far. This study sheds new light on how differences in food availability affect self-repair choice and regeneration success in cydippid larvae of M. leidyi. As expected, high food availability favored whole-body regeneration. However, under low food conditions half-animals became the preferential self-repair mode. Remarkably, both regenerating and half-animals showed very similar survival chances under respective food quantities. As a consequence of impaired food uptake after injury, degeneration of the digestive system would often occur indicating limited energy storage capacities. Taken together, this indicates that half-animals may represent an alternative energy-saving trajectory which implies self-repair plasticity as an adaptive trade-off between high regeneration costs and low energy storage capacities. We conclude that self-repair plasticity could lead to higher population fitness of ctenophores under adverse conditions such as in ships’ ballast water tanks which is postulated to be the major vector source for the species’ spreading around the globe.
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  • 156
    Publication Date: 2020-06-18
    Description: In marine oxygen (O2) minimum zones (OMZs), the transfer of particulate organic carbon (POC) to depth via the biological carbon pump might be enhanced as a result of slower remineralisation under lower dissolved O2 concentrations (DO). In parallel, nitrogen (N) loss to the atmosphere through microbial processes, such as denitrification and anammox, is directly linked to particulate nitrogen (PN) export. However it is unclear (1) whether DO is the only factor that potentially enhances POC transfer in OMZs, and (2) if particle fluxes are sufficient to support observed N loss rates. We performed a degradation experiment on sinking particles collected from the Baltic Sea, where anoxic zones are observed. Sinking material was harvested using surface-tethered sediment traps and subsequently incubated in darkness at different DO levels, including severe suboxia (〈0.5 mg l−1 DO). Our results show that DO plays a role in regulating POC and PN degradation rates. POC(PN) degradation was reduced by approximately 100% from the high to low DO to the lowest DO. The amount of NH4+ produced from the pool of remineralising organic N matched estimations of NH4+ anammox requirements during our experiment. This anammox was likely fueled by DON degradation rather than PON degradation.
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  • 157
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Methane emission from the geosphere is generally characterized by a radiocarbon-free signature and might preserve information on the deep carbon cycle on Earth. Here we report a clear relationship between the origin of methane-rich natural gases and the geodynamic setting of the West Pacific convergent plate boundary. Natural gases in the frontal arc basin (South Kanto gas fields, Northeast Japan) show a typical microbial signature with light carbon isotopes, high CH4/C2H6 and CH4/³He ratios. In the Akita-Niigata region – which corresponds to the slope stretching from the volcanic-arc to the back-arc –a thermogenic signature characterize the gases, with prevalence of heavy carbon isotopes, low CH4/C2H6 and CH4/³He ratios. Natural gases from mud volcanoes in South Taiwan at the collision zone show heavy carbon isotopes, middle CH4/C2H6 ratios and low CH4/³He ratios. On the other hand, those from the Tokara Islands situated on the volcanic front of Southwest Japan show the heaviest carbon isotopes, middle CH4/C2H6 ratios and the lowest CH4/³He ratios. The observed geochemical signatures of natural gases are clearly explained by a mixing of microbial, thermogenic and abiotic methane. An increasing contribution of abiotic methane towards more tectonically active regions of the plate boundary is suggested.
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  • 158
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: The extent to which water and halogens in Earth’s mantle have primordial origins, or are dominated by seawater-derived components introduced by subduction is debated. About 90% of non-radiogenic xenon in the Earth’s mantle has a subducted atmospheric origin, but the degree to which atmospheric gases and other seawater components are coupled during subduction is unclear. Here we present the concentrations of water and halogens in samples of magmatic glasses collected from mid-ocean ridges and ocean islands globally. We show that water and halogen enrichment is unexpectedly associated with trace element signatures characteristic of dehydrated oceanic crust, and that the most incompatible halogens have relatively uniform abundance ratios that are different from primitive mantle values. Taken together, these results imply that Earth’s mantle is highly processed and that most of its water and halogens were introduced by the subduction of serpentinized lithospheric mantle associated with dehydrated oceanic crust.
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  • 159
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    Nature Research
    In:  Nature, 542 (7641). pp. 335-339.
    Publication Date: 2020-06-18
    Description: Ocean models predict a decline in the dissolved oxygen inventory of the global ocean of one to seven per cent by the year 2100, caused by a combination of a warming-induced decline in oxygen solubility and reduced ventilation of the deep ocean1, 2. It is thought that such a decline in the oceanic oxygen content could affect ocean nutrient cycles and the marine habitat, with potentially detrimental consequences for fisheries and coastal economies3, 4, 5, 6. Regional observational data indicate a continuous decrease in oceanic dissolved oxygen concentrations in most regions of the global ocean1, 7, 8, 9, 10, with an increase reported in a few limited areas, varying by study1, 10. Prior work attempting to resolve variations in dissolved oxygen concentrations at the global scale reported a global oxygen loss of 550 ± 130 teramoles (1012 mol) per decade between 100 and 1,000 metres depth based on a comparison of data from the 1970s and 1990s10. Here we provide a quantitative assessment of the entire ocean oxygen inventory by analysing dissolved oxygen and supporting data for the complete oceanic water column over the past 50 years. We find that the global oceanic oxygen content of 227.4 ± 1.1 petamoles (1015 mol) has decreased by more than two per cent (4.8 ± 2.1 petamoles) since 1960, with large variations in oxygen loss in different ocean basins and at different depths. We suggest that changes in the upper water column are mostly due to a warming-induced decrease in solubility and biological consumption. Changes in the deeper ocean may have their origin in basin-scale multi-decadal variability, oceanic overturning slow-down and a potential increase in biological consumption11, 12.
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  • 160
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    Nature Research
    In:  Nature Geoscience, 10 (3). pp. 158-159.
    Publication Date: 2020-06-18
    Description: Mining the deep seabed is fraught with challenges. Untapped mineral potential under the shallow, more accessible continental shelf could add a new dimension to offshore mining and help meet future mineral demand.
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  • 161
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    Nature Research
    In:  The ISME Journal, 11 . pp. 2167-2174.
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: On contemplating the adaptive capacity of reef organisms to a rapidly changing environment, the microbiome offers significant and greatly unrecognised potential. Microbial symbionts contribute to the physiology, development, immunity and behaviour of their hosts, and can respond very rapidly to changing environmental conditions, providing a powerful mechanism for acclimatisation and also possibly rapid evolution of coral reef holobionts. Environmentally acquired fluctuations in the microbiome can have significant functional consequences for the holobiont phenotype upon which selection can act. Environmentally induced changes in microbial abundance may be analogous to host gene duplication, symbiont switching / shuffling as a result of environmental change can either remove or introduce raw genetic material into the holobiont; and horizontal gene transfer can facilitate rapid evolution within microbial strains. Vertical transmission of symbionts is a key feature of many reef holobionts and this would enable environmentally acquired microbial traits to be faithfully passed to future generations, ultimately facilitating microbiome-mediated transgenerational acclimatisation (MMTA) and potentially even adaptation of reef species in a rapidly changing climate. In this commentary, we highlight the capacity and mechanisms for MMTA in reef species, propose a modified Price equation as a framework for assessing MMTA and recommend future areas of research to better understand how microorganisms contribute to the transgenerational acclimatisation of reef organisms, which is essential if we are to reliably predict the consequences of global change for reef ecosystems.
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  • 162
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    Nature Research
    In:  Nature Chemical Biology, 13 (5). pp. 453-454.
    Publication Date: 2017-06-08
    Description: A new signal–receptor pair involved in regulating biofilm formation and virulence was detected in Vibrio cholerae. Both the signal and the transcription factor belong to common classes of natural products and receptor proteins, suggesting widespread importance of related systems in nature.
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  • 163
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: The expansion of global aquaculture activities is important for the wellbeing of future generations in terms of employment and food security. Rearing animals in open-exchange cages permits the release of organic wastes, some of which ultimately reaches the underlying sediments. The development of rapid, quantitative and objective monitoring techniques is therefore central to the environmentally sustainable growth of the aquaculture industry. Here, we demonstrate that fish farm-derived organic wastes can be readily detected at the seafloor by quantifying sediment phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) and their carbon stable isotope signatures. Observations across five farms reveal that farm size and/or distance away from it influence the spatial distribution of the generated organic wastes and their effect on benthic bacterial biomass. Comparison to the isotopic signatures of fish feed-derived PLFAs indicates that 16:0 and 18:1(n-9) are potential biomarkers for fish farm-derived organic wastes. Our results suggest that stable isotope analysis of sediment PLFAs has potential for monitoring the environmental performance of aquaculture activities, particularly given the increasing prevalence of terrigenous organic matter in aquaculture feed stocks because it is isotopically district to marine organic matter.
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  • 164
    Publication Date: 2020-06-18
    Description: Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a climate relevant trace gas, and its production in the ocean generally increases under suboxic conditions. The Atlantic Ocean is well ventilated, and unlike the major oxygen minimum zones (OMZ) of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, dissolved oxygen and N2O concentrations in the Atlantic OMZ are relatively high and low, respectively. This study, however, demonstrates that recently discovered low oxygen eddies in the eastern tropical North Atlantic (ETNA) can produce N2O concentrations much higher (up to 115 nmol L−1) than those previously reported for the Atlantic Ocean, and which are within the range of the highest concentrations found in the open-ocean OMZs of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. N2O isotope and isotopomer signatures, as well as molecular genetic results, also point towards a major shift in the N2O cycling pathway in the core of the low oxygen eddy discussed here, and we report the first evidence for potential N2O cycling via the denitrification pathway in the open Atlantic Ocean. Finally, we consider the implications of low oxygen eddies for bulk, upper water column N2O at the regional scale, and point out the possible need for a reevaluation of how we view N2O cycling in the ETNA.
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  • 165
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: The loss of Arctic sea ice is a conspicuous example of climate change. Climate models project ice-free conditions during summer this century under realistic emission scenarios, reflecting the increase in seasonality in ice cover. To quantify the increased seasonality in the Arctic-Subarctic sea ice system, we define a non-dimensional seasonality number for sea ice extent, area, and volume from satellite data and realistic coupled climate models. We show that the Arctic-Subarctic, i.e. The northern hemisphere, sea ice now exhibits similar levels of seasonality to the Antarctic, which is in a seasonal regime without significant change since satellite observations began in 1979. Realistic climate models suggest that this transition to the seasonal regime is being accompanied by a maximum in Arctic amplification, which is the faster warming of Arctic latitudes compared to the global mean, in the 2010s. The strong link points to a peak in sea-ice-related feedbacks that occurs long before the Arctic becomes ice-free in summer.
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  • 166
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Microbes associated with deep-sea corals remain poorly studied. The lack of symbiotic algae suggests that associated microbes may play a fundamental role in maintaining a viable coral host via acquisition and recycling of nutrients. Here we employed 16 S rRNA gene sequencing to study bacterial communities of three deep-sea scleractinian corals from the Red Sea, Dendrophyllia sp., Eguchipsammia fistula, and Rhizotrochus typus. We found diverse, species-specific microbiomes, distinct from the surrounding seawater. Microbiomes were comprised of few abundant bacteria, which constituted the majority of sequences (up to 58% depending on the coral species). In addition, we found a high diversity of rare bacteria (taxa at 〈1% abundance comprised 〉90% of all bacteria). Interestingly, we identified anaerobic bacteria, potentially providing metabolic functions at low oxygen conditions, as well as bacteria harboring the potential to degrade crude oil components. Considering the presence of oil and gas fields in the Red Sea, these bacteria may unlock this carbon source for the coral host. In conclusion, the prevailing environmental conditions of the deep Red Sea (〉20 °C, 〈2 mg oxygen L−1) may require distinct functional adaptations, and our data suggest that bacterial communities may contribute to coral functioning in this challenging environment.
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  • 167
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Despite the importance of deep-sea corals, our current understanding of their ecology and evolution is limited due to difficulties in sampling and studying deep-sea environments. Moreover, a recent re-evaluation of habitat limitations has been suggested after characterization of deep-sea corals in the Red Sea, where they live at temperatures of above 20 °C at low oxygen concentrations. To gain further insight into the biology of deep-sea corals, we produced reference transcriptomes and studied gene expression of three deep-sea coral species from the Red Sea, i.e. Dendrophyllia sp., Eguchipsammia fistula, and Rhizotrochus typus. Our analyses suggest that deep-sea coral employ mitochondrial hypometabolism and anaerobic glycolysis to manage low oxygen conditions present in the Red Sea. Notably, we found expression of genes related to surface cilia motion that presumably enhance small particle transport rates in the oligotrophic deep-sea environment. This is the first study to characterize transcriptomes and in situ gene expression for deep-sea corals. Our work offers several mechanisms by which deep-sea corals might cope with the distinct environmental conditions present in the Red Sea As such, our data provide direction for future research and further insight to organismal response of deep-sea coral to environmental change and ocean warming.
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  • 168
    Publication Date: 2020-06-18
    Description: The reliable production of marine fish larvae is one of the major bottlenecks in aquaculture due to high mortalities mainly caused by infectious diseases. To evaluate if the compound poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) might be a suitable immunoprophylactic measure in fish larviculture, its capacity to improve immunity and performance in European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) yolk-sac larvae was explored. PHB was applied from mouth opening onwards to stimulate the developing larval immune system at the earliest possible point in time. Larval survival, growth, microbiota composition, gene expression profiles and disease resistance were assessed. PHB administration improved larval survival and, furthermore, altered the larva-associated microbiota composition. The bacterial challenge test using pathogenic Vibrio anguillarum revealed that the larval disease resistance was not influenced by PHB. The expression profiles of 26 genes involved e.g. in the immune response showed that PHB affected the expression of the antimicrobial peptides ferritin (fer) and dicentracin (dic), however, the response to PHB was inconsistent and weaker than previously demonstrated for sea bass post-larvae. Hence, the present study highlights the need for more research focusing on the immunostimulation of different early developmental stages for gaining a more comprehensive picture and advancing a sustainable production of high quality fry.
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  • 169
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    Nature Research
    In:  Scientific Reports, 7 (13338 ).
    Publication Date: 2020-06-18
    Description: Poly-metallic nodules are a marine resource considered for deep sea mining. Assessing nodule abundance is of interest for mining companies and to monitor potential environmental impact. Optical seafloor imaging allows quantifying poly-metallic nodule abundance at spatial scales from centimetres to square kilometres. Towed cameras and diving robots acquire high-resolution imagery that allow detecting individual nodules and measure their sizes. Spatial abundance statistics can be computed from these size measurements, providing e.g. seafloor coverage in percent and the nodule size distribution. Detecting nodules requires segmentation of nodule pixels from pixels showing sediment background. Semi-supervised pattern recognition has been proposed to automate this task. Existing nodule segmentation algorithms employ machine learning that trains a classifier to segment the nodules in a high-dimensional feature space. Here, a rapid nodule segmentation algorithm is presented. It omits computation-intense feature-based classification and employs image processing only. It exploits a nodule compactness heuristic to delineate individual nodules. Complex machine learning methods are avoided to keep the algorithm simple and fast. The algorithm has successfully been applied to different image datasets. These data sets were acquired by different cameras, camera platforms and in varying illumination conditions. Their successful analysis shows the broad applicability of the proposed method.
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  • 170
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    Nature Research
    In:  Nature Microbiology, 2 (6). p. 17058.
    Publication Date: 2017-12-08
    Description: The prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms that drive the pelagic ocean's biogeochemical cycles are currently facing an unprecedented set of comprehensive anthropogenic changes. Nearly every important control on marine microbial physiology is currently in flux, including seawater pH, pCO2, temperature, redox chemistry, irradiance and nutrient availability. Here, we examine how microorganisms with key roles in the ocean carbon and nitrogen cycles may respond to these changes in the Earth's largest ecosystem. Some functional groups such as nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria and denitrifiers may be net beneficiaries of these changes, while others such as calcifiers and nitrifiers may be negatively impacted. Other groups, such as heterotrophic bacteria, may be relatively resilient to changing conditions. The challenge for marine microbiologists will be to predict how these divergent future responses of marine microorganisms to complex multiple variable interactions will be expressed through changing biogeography, community structure and adaptive evolution, and ultimately through large-scale alterations of the ocean's carbon and nutrient cycles.
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  • 171
    Publication Date: 2020-06-18
    Description: Understanding mollusk calcification sensitivity to ocean acidification (OA) requires a better knowledge of calcification mechanisms. Especially in rapidly calcifying larval stages, mechanisms of shell formation are largely unexplored—yet these are the most vulnerable life stages. Here we find rapid generation of crystalline shell material in mussel larvae. We find no evidence for intracellular CaCO3 formation, indicating that mineral formation could be constrained to the calcifying space beneath the shell. Using microelectrodes we show that larvae can increase pH and [CO32−] beneath the growing shell, leading to a ~1.5-fold elevation in calcium carbonate saturation state (Ωarag). Larvae exposed to OA exhibit a drop in pH, [CO32−] and Ωarag at the site of calcification, which correlates with decreased shell growth, and, eventually, shell dissolution. Our findings help explain why bivalve larvae can form shells under moderate acidification scenarios and provide a direct link between ocean carbonate chemistry and larval calcification rate.
    Type: Article , PeerReviewed , info:eu-repo/semantics/article
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  • 172
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Microbes associated with deep-sea corals remain poorly studied. The lack of symbiotic algae suggests that associated microbes may play a fundamental role in maintaining a viable coral host via acquisition and recycling of nutrients. Here we employed 16 S rRNA gene sequencing to study bacterial communities of three deep-sea scleractinian corals from the Red Sea, Dendrophyllia sp., Eguchipsammia fistula, and Rhizotrochus typus. We found diverse, species-specific microbiomes, distinct from the surrounding seawater. Microbiomes were comprised of few abundant bacteria, which constituted the majority of sequences (up to 58% depending on the coral species). In addition, we found a high diversity of rare bacteria (taxa at 〈1% abundance comprised 〉90% of all bacteria). Interestingly, we identified anaerobic bacteria, potentially providing metabolic functions at low oxygen conditions, as well as bacteria harboring the potential to degrade crude oil components. Considering the presence of oil and gas fields in the Red Sea, these bacteria may unlock this carbon source for the coral host. In conclusion, the prevailing environmental conditions of the deep Red Sea (〉20 °C, 〈2 mg oxygen L−1) may require distinct functional adaptations, and our data suggest that bacterial communities may contribute to coral functioning in this challenging environment.
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  • 173
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    Nature Research
    In:  Scientific Reports, 7 . Art. Nr. 44952.
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Feeding strategies and predator-prey interactions of many deep-sea pelagic organisms are still unknown. This is also true for pelagic cephalopods, some of which are very abundant in oceanic ecosystems and which are known for their elaborate behaviors and central role in many foodwebs. We report on the first observations of the giant deep-sea octopus Haliphron atlanticus with prey. Using remotely operated vehicles, we saw these giant octopods holding medusae in their arms. One of the medusae could be identified as Phacellophora camtschatica (the egg-yolk jelly). Stomach content analysis confirmed predation on cnidarians and gelatinous organisms. The relationship between medusae and H. atlanticus is discussed, also in comparison with other species of the Argonautoidea, all of which have close relationships with gelatinous zooplankton
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  • 174
    Publication Date: 2020-06-18
    Description: Investigating past interglacial climates not only help to understand how the climate system operates in general, it also forms a vital basis for climate predictions. We reconstructed vertical stratification changes in temperature and salinity in the North Atlantic for a period some 400 ka ago (MIS11), an interglacial time analogue of a future climate. As inferred from a unique set of biogeochemical, geochemical, and faunal data, the internal upper ocean stratification across MIS 11 shows distinct depth-dependent dynamical changes related to vertical as well as lateral shifts in the upper Atlantic meridional circulation system. Importantly, transient cold events are recognized near the end of the long phase of postglacial warming at surface, subsurface, mid, and deeper water layers. These data demonstrate that MIS 11 coolings over the North Atlantic were initially triggered by freshwater input at the surface and expansion of cold polar waters into the Subpolar Gyre. The cooling signal was then transmitted downwards into mid-water depths. Since the cold events occurred after the main deglacial phase we suggest that their cause might be related to continuous melting of the Greenland ice sheet, a mechanism that might also be relevant for the present and upcoming climate.
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  • 175
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Accelerated warming and melting of Arctic sea-ice has been associated with significant increases in phytoplankton productivity in recent years. Here, utilizing a multiproxy approach, we reconstruct an annually resolved record of Labrador Sea productivity related to sea-ice variability in Labrador, Canada that extends well into the Little Ice Age (LIA; 1646 AD). Barium-to-calcium ratios (Ba/Ca) and carbon isotopes (δ13C) measured in long-lived coralline algae demonstrate significant correlations to both observational and proxy records of sea-ice variability, and show persistent patterns of co-variability broadly consistent with the timing and phasing of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). Results indicate reduced productivity in the Subarctic Northwest Atlantic associated with AMO cool phases during the LIA, followed by a step-wise increase from 1910 to present levels—unprecedented in the last 363 years. Increasing phytoplankton productivity is expected to fundamentally alter marine ecosystems as warming and freshening is projected to intensify over the coming century.
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  • 176
    Publication Date: 2021-04-23
    Description: In certain regions of the predominantly nitrogen limited ocean, microbes can become co-limited by phosphorus. Within such regions, a proportion of the dissolved organic phosphorus pool can be accessed by microbes employing a variety of alkaline phosphatase (APase) enzymes. In contrast to the PhoA family of APases that utilize zinc as a cofactor, the recent discovery of iron as a cofactor in the more widespread PhoX and PhoD implies the potential for a biochemically dependant interplay between oceanic zinc, iron and phosphorus cycles. Here we demonstrate enhanced natural community APase activity following iron amendment within the low zinc and moderately low iron Western North Atlantic. In contrast we find no evidence for trace metal limitation of APase activity beneath the Saharan dust plume in the Eastern Atlantic. Such intermittent iron limitation of microbial phosphorus acquisition provides an additional facet in the argument for iron controlling the coupling between oceanic nitrogen and phosphorus cycles.
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  • 177
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Subducting slabs carry water into the mantle and are a major gateway in the global geochemical water cycle. Fluid transport and release can be constrained with seismological data. Here we use joint active-source/local-earthquake seismic tomography to derive unprecedented constraints on multi-stage fluid release from subducting slow-spread oceanic lithosphere. We image the low P-wave velocity crustal layer on the slab top and show that it disappears beneath 60–100 km depth, marking the depth of dehydration metamorphism and eclogitization. Clustering of seismicity at 120–160 km depth suggests that the slab’s mantle dehydrates beneath the volcanic arc, and may be the main source of fluids triggering arc magma generation. Lateral variations in seismic properties on the slab surface suggest that serpentinized peridotite exhumed in tectonized slow-spread crust near fracture zones may increase water transport to sub-arc depths. This results in heterogeneous water release and directly impacts earthquakes generation and mantle wedge dynamics.
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  • 178
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Despite an increased understanding of functions in sponge microbiomes, the interactions among the symbionts and between symbionts and host are not well characterized. Here we reconstructed the metabolic interactions within the sponge Cymbastela concentrica microbiome in the context of functional features of symbiotic diatoms and the host. Three genome bins (CcPhy, CcNi and CcThau) were recovered from metagenomic data of C. concentrica, belonging to the proteobacterial family Phyllobacteriaceae, the Nitrospira genus and the thaumarchaeal order Nitrosopumilales. Gene expression was estimated by mapping C. concentrica metatranscriptomic reads. Our analyses indicated that CcPhy is heterotrophic, while CcNi and CcThau are chemolithoautotrophs. CcPhy expressed many transporters for the acquisition of dissolved organic compounds, likely available through the sponge's filtration activity and symbiotic carbon fixation. Coupled nitrification by CcThau and CcNi was reconstructed, supported by the observed close proximity of the cells in fluorescence in situ hybridization. CcPhy facultative anaerobic respiration and assimilation by diatoms may consume the resulting nitrate. Transcriptional analysis of diatom and sponge functions indicated that these organisms are likely sources of organic compounds, for example, creatine/creatinine and dissolved organic carbon, for other members of the symbiosis. Our results suggest that organic nitrogen compounds, for example, creatine, creatinine, urea and cyanate, fuel the nitrogen cycle within the sponge. This study provides an unprecedented view of the metabolic interactions within sponge-microbe symbiosis, bridging the gap between cell- and community-level knowledge.
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  • 179
    Publication Date: 2020-06-18
    Description: Marine sponges are ancient metazoans that are populated by distinct and highly diverse microbial communities. In order to obtain deeper insights into the functional gene repertoire of the Mediterranean sponge Aplysina aerophoba, we combined Illumina short-read and PacBio long-read sequencing followed by un-targeted metagenomic binning. We identified a total of 37 high-quality bins representing 11 bacterial phyla and two candidate phyla. Statistical comparison of symbiont genomes with selected reference genomes revealed a significant enrichment of genes related to bacterial defense (restriction-modification systems, toxin-antitoxin systems) as well as genes involved in host colonization and extracellular matrix utilization in sponge symbionts. A within-symbionts genome comparison revealed a nutritional specialization of at least two symbiont guilds, where one appears to metabolize carnitine and the other sulfated polysaccharides, both of which are abundant molecules in the sponge extracellular matrix. A third guild of symbionts may be viewed as nutritional generalists that perform largely the same metabolic pathways but lack such extraordinary numbers of the relevant genes. This study characterizes the genomic repertoire of sponge symbionts at an unprecedented resolution and it provides greater insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying microbial-sponge symbiosis.
    Type: Article , PeerReviewed , info:eu-repo/semantics/article
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  • 180
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    Nature Research
    In:  Scientific Reports, 7 (1). Art.Nr. 6212.
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Cooperation in collective action dilemmas usually breaks down in the absence of additional incentive mechanisms. This tragedy can be escaped if cooperators have the possibility to invest in reward funds that are shared exclusively among cooperators (prosocial rewarding). Yet, the presence of defectors who do not contribute to the public good but do reward themselves (antisocial rewarding) deters cooperation in the absence of additional countermeasures. A recent simulation study suggests that spatial structure is sufficient to prevent antisocial rewarding from deterring cooperation. Here we reinvestigate this issue assuming mixed strategies and weak selection on a game-theoretic model of social interactions, which we also validate using individual-based simulations. We show that increasing reward funds facilitates the maintenance of prosocial rewarding but prevents its invasion, and that spatial structure can sometimes select against the evolution of prosocial rewarding. Our results suggest that, even in spatially structured populations, additional mechanisms are required to prevent antisocial rewarding from deterring cooperation in public goods dilemmas.
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  • 181
    Publication Date: 2017-09-07
    Description: The core properties of microbial genomes, including GC content and genome size, are known to vary widely among different bacteria and archaea1,2. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain this genomic variability, but the fundamental drivers that shape bacterial and archaeal genomic properties remain uncertain3,4,5,6,7. Here, we report the existence of a sharp genomic transition zone below the photic zone, where bacterial and archaeal genomes and proteomes undergo a community-wide punctuated shift. Across a narrow range of increasing depth of just tens of metres, diverse microbial clades trend towards larger genome size, higher genomic GC content, and proteins with higher nitrogen but lower carbon content. These community-wide changes in genome features appear to be driven by gradients in the surrounding environmental energy and nutrient fields. Collectively, our data support hypotheses invoking nutrient limitation as a central driver in the evolution of core bacterial and archaeal genomic and proteomic properties.
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  • 182
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Large marine protected areas (〉30,000 km2) have a high profile in marine conservation, yet their contribution to conservation is contested. Assessing the overlap of large marine protected areas with 14,172 species, we found large marine protected areas cover 4.4% of the ocean and at least some portion of the range of 83.3% of the species assessed. Of all species within large marine protected areas, 26.9% had at least 10% of their range represented, and this was projected to increase to 40.1% in 2100. Cumulative impacts were significantly higher within large marine protected areas than outside, refuting the critique that they only occur in pristine areas. We recommend future large marine protected areas be sited based on systematic conservation planning practices where possible and include areas beyond national jurisdiction, and provide five key recommendations to improve the long-term representation of all species to meet critical global policy goals (e.g., Convention on Biological Diversity's Aichi Targets)
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  • 183
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Mantle-derived serpentinites have been detected at magma-poor rifted margins and above subduction zones, where they are usually produced by fluids released from the slab to the mantle wedge. Here we show evidence of a new class of serpentinite diapirs within the external subduction system of the Calabrian Arc, derived directly from the lower plate. Mantle serpentinites rise through lithospheric faults caused by incipient rifting and the collapse of the accretionary wedge. Mantle-derived diapirism is not linked directly to subduction processes. The serpentinites, formed probably during Mesozoic Tethyan rifting, were carried below the subduction system by plate convergence; lithospheric faults driving margin segmentation act as windows through which inherited serpentinites rise to the sub-seafloor. The discovery of deep-seated seismogenic features coupled with inherited lower plate serpentinite diapirs, provides constraints on mechanisms exposing altered products of mantle peridotite at the seafloor long time after their formation.
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  • 184
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Pseudotrichonympha is a large and structurally complex genus of parabasalian protists that play a key role in the digestion of lignocellulose in the termite hindgut. Like many termite symbionts, it has a conspicuous body plan that makes genus-level identification relatively easy, but species-level diversity of Pseudotrichonympha is understudied. Molecular surveys have suggested the diversity is much greater than the current number of described species, and that many “species” described in multiple hosts are in fact different, but gene sequences from formally described species remain a rarity. Here we describe three new species from Coptotermes and Prorhinotermes hosts, including small subunit ribosomal RNA (SSU rRNA) sequences from single cells. Based on host identification by morphology and DNA barcoding, as well as the morphology and phylogenetic position of each symbiont, all three represent new Pseudotrichonympha species: P. leei, P. lifesoni, and P. pearti. Pseudotrichonympha leei and P. lifesoni, both from Coptotermes, are closely related to other Coptotermes symbionts including the type species, P. hertwigi. Pseudotrichonympha pearti is the outlier of the trio, more distantly related to P. leei and P. lifesoni than they are to one another, and contains unique features, including an unusual rotating intracellular structure of unknown function.
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  • 185
    Publication Date: 2021-01-08
    Description: The Southern Ocean houses a diverse and productive community of organisms. Unicellular eukaryotic diatoms are the main primary producers in this environment, where photosynthesis is limited by low concentrations of dissolved iron and large seasonal fluctuations in light, temperature and the extent of sea ice. How diatoms have adapted to this extreme environment is largely unknown. Here we present insights into the genome evolution of a cold-Adapted diatom from the Southern Ocean, Fragilariopsis cylindrus, based on a comparison with temperate diatoms. We find that approximately 24.7 per cent of the diploid F. cylindrus genome consists of genetic loci with alleles that are highly divergent (15.1 megabases of the total genome size of 61.1 megabases). These divergent alleles were differentially expressed across environmental conditions, including darkness, low iron, freezing, elevated temperature and increased CO 2 . Alleles with the largest ratio of non-synonymous to synonymous nucleotide substitutions also show the most pronounced condition-dependent expression, suggesting a correlation between diversifying selection and allelic differentiation. Divergent alleles may be involved in adaptation to environmental fluctuations in the Southern Ocean. © 2017 Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature. All rights reserved.
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  • 186
    Publication Date: 2020-01-02
    Description: Protists, which are single-celled eukaryotes, critically influence the ecology and chemistry of marine ecosystems, but genome-based studies of these organisms have lagged behind those of other microorganisms. However, recent transcriptomic studies of cultured species, complemented by meta-omics analyses of natural communities, have increased the amount of genetic information available for poorly represented branches on the tree of eukaryotic life. This information is providing insights into the adaptations and interactions between protists and other microorganisms and macroorganisms, but many of the genes sequenced show no similarity to sequences currently available in public databases. A better understanding of these newly discovered genes will lead to a deeper appreciation of the functional diversity and metabolic processes in the ocean. In this Review, we summarize recent developments in our understanding of the ecology, physiology and evolution of protists, derived from transcriptomic studies of cultured strains and natural communities, and discuss how these novel large-scale genetic datasets will be used in the future. © 2016 Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature. All rights reserved.
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  • 187
    Publication Date: 2021-01-08
    Description: The genome of the cold-adapted diatom Fragilariopsis cylindrus is characterized by highly diverged haplotypes that intersperse its homozygous genome. Here, we describe how a combination of PacBio DNA and Illumina RNA sequencing can be used to resolve this complex genomic landscape locally into the highly diverged haplotypes, and how to map various environmentally controlled transcripts onto individual haplotypes. We assembled PacBio sequence data with the FALCON assembler and created a haplotype resolved annotation of the assembly using annotations of a Sanger sequenced F. cylindrus genome. RNA-seq datasets from six different growth conditions were used to resolve allele-specifc gene expression in F. cylindrus. This approach enables to study differential expression of alleles in a complex genomic landscape and provides a useful tool to study how diverged haplotypes in diploid organisms are used for adaptation and evolution to highly variable environments.
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  • 188
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Proxy-based indicators of past climate change show that current global climate models systematically underestimate Holocene-epoch climate variability on centennial to multi-millennial timescales, with the mismatch increasing for longer periods1,2,3,4,5. Proposed explanations for the discrepancy include ocean–atmosphere coupling that is too weak in models6, insufficient energy cascades from smaller to larger spatial and temporal scales7, or that global climate models do not consider slow climate feedbacks related to the carbon cycle or interactions between ice sheets and climate4. Such interactions, however, are known to have strongly affected centennial- to orbital-scale climate variability during past glaciations8,9,10,11, and are likely to be important in future climate change12,13,14. Here we show that fluctuations in Antarctic Ice Sheet discharge caused by relatively small changes in subsurface ocean temperature can amplify multi-centennial climate variability regionally and globally, suggesting that a dynamic Antarctic Ice Sheet may have driven climate fluctuations during the Holocene. We analysed high-temporal-resolution records of iceberg-rafted debris derived from the Antarctic Ice Sheet, and performed both high-spatial-resolution ice-sheet modelling of the Antarctic Ice Sheet and multi-millennial global climate model simulations. Ice-sheet responses to decadal-scale ocean forcing appear to be less important, possibly indicating that the future response of the Antarctic Ice Sheet will be governed more by long-term anthropogenic warming combined with multi-centennial natural variability than by annual or decadal climate oscillations.
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  • 189
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: The modern state of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation promotes a northerly maximum of tropical rainfall associated with the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). For continental regions, abrupt millennial–scale meridional shifts of this rainbelt are well documented, but the behavior of its oceanic counterpart is unclear due the lack of a robust proxy and high temporal resolution records. Here we show that the Atlantic ITCZ leaves a distinct signature in planktonic foraminifera assemblages. We applied this proxy to investigate the history of the Atlantic ITCZ for the last 30,000 years based on two high temporal resolution records from the western Atlantic Ocean. Our reconstruction indicates that the shallowest mixed layer associated with the Atlantic ITCZ unambiguously shifted meridionally in response to changes in the strength of the Atlantic meridional overturning with a southward displacement during Heinrich Stadials 2–1 and the Younger Dryas. We conclude that the Atlantic ITCZ was located at ca. 1°S (ca. 5° to the south of its modern annual mean position) during Heinrich Stadial 1. This supports a previous hypothesis, which postulates a southern hemisphere position of the oceanic ITCZ during climatic states with substantially reduced or absent cross-equatorial oceanic meridional heat transport.
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  • 190
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Palaeo data suggest that Greenland must have been largely ice free during Marine Isotope Stage 11 (MIS-11). However, regional summer insolation anomalies were modest during this time compared to MIS-5e, when the Greenland ice sheet likely lost less volume. Thus it remains unclear how such conditions led to an almost complete disappearance of the ice sheet. Here we use transient climate–ice sheet simulations to simultaneously constrain estimates of regional temperature anomalies and Greenland’s contribution to the MIS-11 sea-level highstand. We find that Greenland contributed 6.1 m (3.9–7.0 m, 95% credible interval) to sea level, ∼7 kyr after the peak in regional summer temperature anomalies of 2.8 °C (2.1–3.4 °C). The moderate warming produced a mean rate of mass loss in sea-level equivalent of only around 0.4 m per kyr, which means the long duration of MIS-11 interglacial conditions around Greenland was a necessary condition for the ice sheet to disappear almost completely.
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  • 191
    facet.materialart.
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    Nature Research
    In:  Nature Communications, 8 (1). Art.Nr. 1015.
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Changes in tropical zonal atmospheric (Walker) circulation induce shifts in rainfall patterns along with devastating floods and severe droughts that dramatically impact the lives of millions of people. Historical records and observations of the Walker circulation over the 20th century disagree on the sign of change and therefore, longer climate records are necessary to better project tropical circulation changes in response to global warming. Here we examine proxies for thermocline depth and rainfall in the eastern tropical Indian Ocean during the globally colder Last Glacial Maximum (19–23 thousand years ago) and for the past 3000 years. We show that increased thermocline depth and rainfall indicate a stronger-than-today Walker circulation during the Last Glacial Maximum, which is supported by an ensemble of climate simulations. Our findings underscore the sensitivity of tropical circulation to temperature change and provide evidence for a further weakening of the Walker circulation in response to greenhouse warming.
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  • 192
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Glacial climate is marked by abrupt, millennial-scale climate changes known as Dansgaard–Oeschger cycles. The most pronounced stadial coolings, Heinrich events, are associated with massive iceberg discharges to the North Atlantic. These events have been linked to variations in the strength of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. However, the factors that lead to abrupt transitions between strong and weak circulation regimes remain unclear. Here we show that, in a fully coupled atmosphere–ocean model, gradual changes in atmospheric CO2 concentrations can trigger abrupt climate changes, associated with a regime of bi-stability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation under intermediate glacial conditions. We find that changes in atmospheric CO2 concentrations alter the transport of atmospheric moisture across Central America, which modulates the freshwater budget of the North Atlantic and hence deep-water formation. In our simulations, a change in atmospheric CO2 levels of about 15 ppmv—comparable to variations during Dansgaard–Oeschger cycles containing Heinrich events—is sufficient to cause transitions between a weak stadial and a strong interstadial circulation mode. Because changes in the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation are thought to alter atmospheric CO2 levels, we infer that atmospheric CO2 may serve as a negative feedback to transitions between strong and weak circulation modes.
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  • 193
    facet.materialart.
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    Nature Research
    In:  Scientific Data, 4 . Art.Nr. 170109.
    Publication Date: 2018-12-17
    Description: Census counts of marine microfossils in surface sediments represent an invaluable resource for paleoceanography and for the investigation of macroecological processes. A prerequisite for such applications is the provision of data syntheses for individual microfossil groups. Specific to such syntheses is the necessity of taxonomical harmonisation across the constituent datasets, coupled with dereplication of previous compilations. Both of these aspects require expert knowledge, but with increasing number of records involved in such syntheses, the application of expert knowledge via manual curation is not feasible. Here we present a synthesis of planktonic foraminifera census counts in surface sediment samples, which is taxonomically harmonised, dereplicated and treated for numerical and other inconsistencies. The data treatment is implemented as an objective and largely automated pipeline, allowing us to reduce the initial 6,984 records to 4,205 counts from unique sites and informative technical or true replicates. We provide the final product and document the procedure, which can be easily adopted for other microfossil data syntheses.
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  • 194
    Publication Date: 2020-02-06
    Description: Coinciding with global warming, Arctic sea ice has rapidly decreased during the last four decades and climate scenarios suggest that sea ice may completely disappear during summer within the next about 50–100 years. Here we produce Arctic sea ice biomarker proxy records for the penultimate glacial (Marine Isotope Stage 6) and the subsequent last interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 5e). The latter is a time interval when the high latitudes were significantly warmer than today. We document that even under such warmer climate conditions, sea ice existed in the central Arctic Ocean during summer, whereas sea ice was significantly reduced along the Barents Sea continental margin influenced by Atlantic Water inflow. Our proxy reconstruction of the last interglacial sea ice cover is supported by climate simulations, although some proxy data/model inconsistencies still exist. During late Marine Isotope Stage 6, polynya-type conditions occurred off the major ice sheets along the northern Barents and East Siberian continental margins, contradicting a giant Marine Isotope Stage 6 ice shelf that covered the entire Arctic Ocean.
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  • 195
    Publication Date: 2019-07-19
    Description: Slope failure like in the Hinlopen/Yermak Megaslide is one of the major geohazards in a changing Arctic environment. We analysed hydroacoustic and 2D high-resolution seismic data from the apparently intact continental slope immediately north of the Hinlopen/Yermak Megaslide for signs of past and future instabilities. Our new bathymetry and seismic data show clear evidence for incipient slope instability. Minor slide deposits and an internally-deformed sedimentary layer near the base of the gas hydrate stability zone imply an incomplete failure event, most probably about 30000 years ago, contemporaneous to or shortly after the Hinlopen/Yermak Megaslide. An active gas reservoir at the base of the gas hydrate stability zone demonstrate that over-pressured fluids might have played a key role in the initiation of slope failure at the studied slope, but more importantly also for the giant HYM slope failure. To date, it is not clear, if the studied slope is fully preconditioned to fail completely in future or if it might be slowly deforming and creeping at present. We detected widespread methane seepage on the adjacent shallow shelf areas not sealed by gas hydrates.
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  • 196
    Publication Date: 2019-02-01
    Description: Polymetallic nodule mining at abyssal depths in the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone (Eastern Central Pacific) will impact one of the most remote and least known environments on Earth. Since vast areas are being targeted by concession holders for future mining, large-scale effects of these activities are expected. Hence, insight into the fauna associated with nodules is crucial to support effective environmental management. In this study video surveys were used to compare the epifauna from sites with contrasting nodule coverage in four license areas. Results showed that epifaunal densities are more than two times higher at dense nodule coverage (〉25 versus ≤10 individuals per 100 m2), and that taxa such as alcyonacean and antipatharian corals are virtually absent from nodule-free areas. Furthermore, surveys conducted along tracks from trawling or experimental mining simulations up to 37 years old, suggest that the removal of epifauna is almost complete and that its full recovery is slow. By highlighting the importance of nodules for the epifaunal biodiversity of this abyssal area, we urge for cautious consideration of the criteria for determining future preservation zones.
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  • 197
    Publication Date: 2019-02-01
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  • 198
    Publication Date: 2019-02-01
    Description: The potential of the diverse chemistries present in natural products (NP) for biotechnology and medicine remains untapped because NP databases are not searchable with raw data and the NP community has no way to share data other than in published papers. Although mass spectrometry (MS) techniques are well-suited to high-throughput characterization of NP, there is a pressing need for an infrastructure to enable sharing and curation of data. We present Global Natural Products Social Molecular Networking (GNPS; http://gnps.ucsd.edu), an open-access knowledge base for community-wide organization and sharing of raw, processed or identified tandem mass (MS/MS) spectrometry data. In GNPS, crowdsourced curation of freely available community-wide reference MS libraries will underpin improved annotations. Data-driven social-networking should facilitate identification of spectra and foster collaborations. We also introduce the concept of 'living data' through continuous reanalysis of deposited data.
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  • 199
    Publication Date: 2019-02-01
    Description: Synthetic biology has boomed since the early 2000s when it started being shown that it was possible to efficiently synthetize compounds of interest in a much more rapid and effective way by using other organisms than those naturally producing them. However, to thus engineer a single organism, often a microbe, to optimise one or a collection of metabolic tasks may lead to difficulties when attempting to obtain a production system that is efficient, or to avoid toxic effects for the recruited microorganism. The idea of using instead a microbial consortium has thus started being developed in the last decade. This was motivated by the fact that such consortia may perform more complicated functions than could single populations and be more robust to environmental fluctuations. Success is however not always guaranteed. In particular, establishing which consortium is best for the production of a given compound or set thereof remains a great challenge. This is the problem we address in this paper. We thus introduce an initial model and a method that enable to propose a consortium to synthetically produce compounds that are either exogenous to it, or are endogenous but where interaction among the species in the consortium could improve the production line.
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  • 200
    Publication Date: 2019-02-01
    Description: The Early Eocene Climate Optimum (EECO, which occurred about 51 to 53 million years ago)1, was the warmest interval of the past 65 million years, with mean annual surface air temperature over ten degrees Celsius warmer than during the pre-industrial period2,3,4. Subsequent global cooling in the middle and late Eocene epoch, especially at high latitudes, eventually led to continental ice sheet development in Antarctica in the early Oligocene epoch (about 33.6 million years ago). However, existing estimates place atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels during the Eocene at 500–3,000 parts per million5,6,7, and in the absence of tighter constraints carbon–climate interactions over this interval remain uncertain. Here we use recent analytical and methodological developments8,9,10,11 to generate a new high-fidelity record of CO2 concentrations using the boron isotope (δ11B) composition of well preserved planktonic foraminifera from the Tanzania Drilling Project, revising previous estimates6. Although species-level uncertainties make absolute values difficult to constrain, CO2 concentrations during the EECO were around 1,400 parts per million. The relative decline in CO2 concentration through the Eocene is more robustly constrained at about fifty per cent, with a further decline into the Oligocene12. Provided the latitudinal dependency of sea surface temperature change for a given climate forcing in the Eocene was similar to that of the late Quaternary period13, this CO2 decline was sufficient to drive the well documented high- and low-latitude cooling that occurred through the Eocene14. Once the change in global temperature between the pre-industrial period and the Eocene caused by the action of all known slow feedbacks (apart from those associated with the carbon cycle) is removed2,3,4, both the EECO and the late Eocene exhibit an equilibrium climate sensitivity relative to the pre-industrial period of 2.1 to 4.6 degrees Celsius per CO2 doubling (66 per cent confidence), which is similar to the canonical range (1.5 to 4.5 degrees Celsius15), indicating that a large fraction of the warmth of the early Eocene greenhouse was driven by increased CO2 concentrations, and that climate sensitivity was relatively constant throughout this period.
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