ALBERT

Description: This chapter provides an overview of near-surface geochemical processes operating on Earth, with special emphasis placed on (i) marine weathering such as alteration and dissolution of silicates, carbonates and terrigenous riverine particles in the ocean, complemented by (ii) reverse weathering reactions leading to marine authigenic clay formation, and the impact of these phenomena on ocean alkalinity budget and the chemical and isotope composition of seawater. Model simulations of the above processes provide estimates of the global marine fluxes of major cations (Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+) and alkalinity in the ocean induced by silicate weathering and dissolution of terrigenous material in seawater. Additional constraints on silicate vs. carbonate weathering, oceanic/coastal CaCO3 cycling, and paleo-seawater reconstructions are provided via the stable and radiogenic isotope systems of alkali and alkaline earth metals (Li, K, Mg, Ca, and Sr isotopes) that are discussed within the context of marine and reverse weathering in the present and past ocean. Key points • Impact of weathering processes on marine elemental cycles and the ocean alkalinity budget. • Alteration and dissolution of silicate minerals and riverine particles in the ocean quantified via thermodynamic equilibrium (PHREEQC) calculations, in seawater and top sediment settings. • Estimates of global ocean fluxes of dissolved cations (Na+ , K+ , Mg 2+ , Ca2+ ) and alkalinity induced by alteration and dissolution of terrigenous material in seawater and marine sediments. • Principles and mechanisms of isotope variability in nature (mass-dependent and radiogenic isotope effects) observed for alkali and alkaline earth metals. • Silicate vs. carbonate weathering and coastal carbon/carbonate cycling constrained via stable and radiogenic Ca and Sr, and Li isotopes. • Oceanic processes, marine carbonate chemistry (alkalinization vs. acidification), and paleo-seawater reconstructions constrained via d44 Ca, d88 Sr, d26 Mg proxies and numerical (MATLAB) modeling. • Emerging metal isotope proxies (d41 K) for silicate and reverse weathering in the ocean.

Description: Using pollen analysis and metabarcoding of plant sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNa), we infer the floristic diversity in the vicinity of Lake Balyktukel, Ulagan Plateau, the Altai Mountains, over the last 7 kyr. The SedaDNA method identified 200% more taxa than found by morphological pollen analysis. In particular, it revealed that the dominant tree for the last 7 kyr was Larix rather than Pinus, which was less frequent in the vicinity of Lake Balyktukel. About 7 ka, larch forest mixed with dwarf birch was widespread on the Ulagan Plateau. The period between 5.3 and 3.4 kyr BP was characterized by the maximal spread of larch forest with an understorey cover of Vaccinium vitis-idaea. Pollen-based annual precipitation reconstruction indicates the most humid phase was between 6.95 and 4.3 ka, and generally coincides with maximal phytodiversity. The most bioproductive period of the lake was from 7 to 6 ka. After that, the trophicity of the lake decreased until 4.5 ka. The appearance of Hippuris vulgaris and increase in Ranunculus subgen. Batrachium at about 5.3–5 ka may indicate the extension of shallow-water ecotopes. Between 3.7 and 3.5 ka, the cyanobacterium Anabaena – an indicator of increased organic matter and algal blooms – was widespread. A planktic thermophilic cladoceran Bosmina longirostris appeared after 1.8 ka and colonized the lake, suggesting an increase in lake trophicity. The last 100 years have been characterized by dramatic changes in the cladoceran community reflecting significant warming of climate.

Description: The macrofauna in soft sediments of the deep seafloor is generally diverse and represents a comparatively well-studied faunal group of deep-sea ecosystems. In the abyss of the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCFZ) in the NE Pacific, macrofauna are major contributors to benthic biodiversity. Their distribution, composition, and diversity have been frequently investigated to assess the potential impacts of future mining activities on the resident fauna. In this study, patterns of densities and community structure of CCFZ macrobenthic infauna and their relationships with a range of environmental and climatic variables were examined, with a special focus on communities from the eastern German contract area (referred to as BGR CA). However, comparisons were also made with other contractor areas (e.g., IFREMER, IOM, GSR) and one Area of Particular Environmental Interest (APEI3). Material for this study was obtained by means of a box corer during six expeditions to the CCFZ between 2013 and 2018 resulting in 148 samples. Our study uncovered notable spatial and temporal variations in both faunal densities and community composition. While areas within the BGR CA exhibited a similar community composition, slight differences were observed between the various CAs and APEI3. Surprisingly, we found an unexpected negative correlation between food availability and both macrofaunal density and community structure that may be attributed to differences in sampling methodologies and pronounced temporal variation. Furthermore, we explored the impact of climatic fluctuations associated with the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on macrofaunal densities, observing an increase during warm (El Niño) events. Our findings underscore the challenges of accurately assessing spatial and temporal variations in the absence of standardised sampling protocols. Hence, we emphasize the importance of adopting standardised protocols to enhance data comparability, thereby fostering a deeper understanding of the underlying factors influencing spatial and temporal changes in macrofauna community structure within the CCFZ.

Description: Predatory non-indigenous species (NIS) have profound impacts on global ecosystems, potentially leading to native prey extinction and reshaping community dynamics. Among mechanisms potentially mediating predator impacts and prey invasion success are predator preferences between native vs. non-indigenous prey, a topic still underexplored. Using functional response and prey preference experiments, this study focused on the predation by the non-indigenous Japanese brush-clawed shore crab, Hemigrapsus takanoi, between the native gammarid Gammarus duebeni and the analogous non-indigenous Gammarus tigrinus. Although H. takanoi showed subtle differences in its functional response type between the two prey species, its preferences across their environmental frequencies were not strongly influenced by the prey invasion scenario. The findings highlight the need for a comprehensive understanding of interactions in ecosystems with multiple NIS, offering fresh insights into complex feeding interactions within marine environments.

Description: Highlights • a high-fidelity RANS CFD method is used to simulate the flow through netting panels. • The influence of netting solidity, twine diameter, mesh opening angle and incident angle is examined. • Mesh opening angle, solidity and angle of incidence greatly influence the hydrodynamic force coefficients and efficiency. To ensure the economic and environmental sustainability of the fisheries and aquaculture industries, it is necessary to address issues related to fuel consumption, environmental degradation, and fish welfare. Hence, we need a thorough understanding of the filtration efficiency and the hydrodynamic forces acting on towed fishing gears and netting structures. Here we apply a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) CFD method to model the flow through netting panels, where we vary the operational and design parameters of flow speed, netting solidity, twine diameter, mesh opening angle and the incidence angle of the flow to the panel. Thus, we create a simulated data set which we analyze to provide a fundamental understanding of the functional relationships for the pressure drop and tangential drag coefficients, and the flow deflection in terms of these parameters. We pay particular attention to the effect of mesh opening angle, a parameter that has not received much attention in the literature. We demonstrate that it has a large influence on the drag and lift coefficients and consequently on the hydrodynamic efficiency of netting panels. These results will be particularly useful for reducing the hydrodynamic forces on netting structures and improving the fuel efficiency of towed fishing gear operations.

Description: Gypsum makes up about one fifth of giant salt deposits formed by evaporation of seawater throughout Earth’s history. Although thermodynamic calculations and precipitation experiments predict that gypsum precipitates when the salinity of evaporating seawater attains about 110 g kg-1, gypsum deposits of the Mediterranean Salt Giant often bear the geochemical signature of precipitation from less saline water masses. Addressing this geochemical riddle is important because marine gypsum deposition and continental gypsum erosion affect the global carbon cycle. We investigated gypsum deposits formed in the marginal basins of the Mediterranean Sea during the Messinian Salinity Crisis (about 6 million years ago). These often bear low-salinity fluid inclusions and isotopically light crystallization water, confirming previous published reports that the Mediterranean Salt Giant harbors low-salinity gypsum deposits. A geochemical model constrained by fluid inclusion salinity and isotope (87Sr/86Sr, δ34SSO4, δ18OH2O, δDH2O) measurements excludes that Ca2+- and SO42--enriched continental runoff alone provides the trigger for gypsum precipitation at low salinity. We propose that, concurrent with the prevalent evaporative conditions and with Ca2+- and SO42--bearing runoff, the biogeochemical sulfur cycle is capable of producing a spatially-restricted and temporally-transient increase of Ca2+ and SO42- within benthic microbial mats, creating local chemical conditions conductive to gypsum precipitation. This hypothesis is supported by the presence of dense packages of fossils of colorless sulfur bacteria within gypsum in several Mediterranean marginal basins, together with independent geochemical and petrographic evidence for an active biogeochemical sulfur cycle in the same basins. Should this scenario be confirmed, it would expand the range of environments that promote marine gypsum deposition; it would also imply that an additional, biological coupling between the calcium, sulfur and carbon cycles exists.

Description: The dynamic processes associated with subducting tectonic plates and rising plumes of hot material are typically treated separately in dynamical models and seismological studies. However, various types of observations and related models indicate these processes overlap spatially. Here we use precursors to PP and SS reflecting off mantle transition zone discontinuities to map deflections of these discontinuities near three subduction zones surrounding the Caribbean Plate: 1) Lesser Antilles, 2) Middle America and 3) northern South American subduction zones. In all three regions slow seismic anomalies are present behind the sinking slab within the transition zone in tomographic images. Using array methods, we identify precursors and verify their in-plane propagation for MW ≥ 5.8 events occurring between the years 2000 and 2020 by generating a large number of source receiver combinations with reflection points in the area, including crossing ray paths. The measured time lag between PP/SS arrivals and their corresponding precursors on robust stacks are used to measure the depth of the mantle transition zone discontinuities. In all three areas we find evidence for upward deflection of the 660 discontinuity behind the sinking slab, consistent with the presence of hot plume material (average temperature anomalies of 180 to 620 K), while there is not a corresponding downward deflection of the 410 km discontinuity. One interpretation of these disparate observations is suggested based on comparison to existing models of mantle convection and subduction: plume material rising across 660 km discontinuity could be entrained by lateral flow in the transition zone induced by the nearby sinking slab, and thus delaying the rise of hot material across the 410 km discontinuity.

Description: Highlights • Ankaramites are Ca-rich and Ni-poor porphyritic basalts that are common in oceanic arcs. • Melt inclusions from Kibblewhite Volcano show similar compositions to ankaramites. • Ankaramite is a primary magma component in oceanic arcs. • Interaction between melt and mantle can produce ankaramitic melts. • Harzburgite formed by melt-mantle interactions is the source of high-Mg andesites. Abstract Ankaramites, which are clinopyroxene-rich basalts with primitive whole-rock compositions (Mg# 〉65), are common in oceanic arcs and are characterized by high whole-rock CaO/Al2O3 (〉1.0) ratios and olivine crystals with anomalously low nickel contents (〈0.2 wt% NiO). These geochemical characteristics cannot be explained by the melting of ordinary mantle peridotite. However, their origin is critical for understanding the formation of primary magmas in oceanic arcs. Here, we investigated olivine-hosted melt inclusions (MIs) from ankaramites and magnesian andesites of the Kibblewhite Volcano in the Kermadec arc. The MIs from the ankaramites have similar major and trace element characteristics to the host rocks, indicating that the ankaramites did not result from an accumulation of mafic minerals but rather represent the primary magma in the Kibblewhite Volcano. The MIs from the magnesian andesites were hosted in forsteritic olivine xenocrysts with a wide range of NiO contents (Fo90–92; 0.13–0.39 wt% NiO) and have similar major element compositions to the ankaramites but exhibit a wide range of CaO/Al2O3 (0.85–1.54). The trace element characteristics of the MIs from the magnesian andesites do not match those of the host rocks, indicating that they are not primary melts of the magnesian andesites but primitive basaltic melts generated before the magnesian andesites formed. Interestingly, the CaO/Al2O3 ratio of MIs from the magnesian andesites was negatively correlated with the NiO content of their host olivines. This correlation suggests that the composition of the primary basaltic magmas of the Kibblewhite Volcano changed continuously from peridotite-derived to ankaramitic. This correlation could not be explained by grain-scale process, crustal anatexis, or contribution of slab-derived carbonate-rich fluids. Instead, we propose that this correlation can be explained by the interaction of the ascending primary basaltic melts with the lithospheric mantle. During melt-mantle interaction, the assimilation of clinopyroxene and fractionation of olivine and orthopyroxene caused the CaO/Al2O3 ratio to increase in the melt and the Ni content to decrease. Furthermore, because the magnesian andesites have low CaO/Al2O3 ratios and could be derived from a clinopyroxene-poor mantle lithology, the interaction between the melt and mantle may also be closely related to the origin of the magnesian andesites at Kibblewhite Volcano. This interpretation provides a new perspective on the origin of the oceanic arc ankaramites and why primary andesitic and basaltic magmas coexist in the Kibblewhite Volcano.

Description: Yedoma is a permafrost deposit widely distributed across the Arctic and found exclusively within the unglaciated regions in northern Siberia, Alaska, and the Yukon, which are the core regions of Beringia. Yedoma deposits accumulated during the late Pleistocene Stage and are characterized by their predominantly fine-grained texture and association with syngenetic perma-frost formation. The very high ground ice content is most commonly present as pore ice and wedge ice that formed contemporaneously with sediment deposition. In the last decade, research has transitioned from debates about the origin of the Yedoma deposits towards increasing attention on the large carbon and nitrogen pools in Yedoma, their vulnerability to thaw, and increasing mobilization as the climate has warmed across the Arctic. In addition to classical cryolithological and sedimentological research, new methods such as stable isotope paleoclimate reconstruction and ancient sedimentary DNA studies have been more widely applied to better understand the characteristics of Yedoma deposits and helped emphasize their value as archives of Quaternary climate and paleoecological conditions during Ice Age Beringia.