Bioluminescent bacteria, the most abundant light-emitting organisms in the ocean, can be free-living, be symbiotic or colonize organic particles. This review suggests that they act as a visual target and may indirectly influence the sequestration of biogenic carbon in oceans by increasing the attraction rate for consumers. We summarize the instrumentation available to quantify this impact in future studies and propose synthetic figures integrating these ecological and biogeochemical concepts.

Over the past century, estuaries have experienced global (atmospheric CO₂ concentrations and temperature) and regional changes (river inputs, land use), but their relative impact remains poorly known. In the Chesapeake Bay, we find that global and regional changes have worked together to enhance how much atmospheric CO₂ is taken up by the estuary. The increased uptake is roughly equally due to the global and regional changes, providing crucial perspective for managers of the bay's watershed.

To extend the knowledge on circumpolar deep permafrost carbon storage, we examined two deep permafrost deposit types (Yedoma and alas) in central Yakutia. We found little but partially undecomposed organic carbon as a result of largely changing sedimentation processes. The carbon stock of the examined Yedoma deposits is about 50 % lower than the general Yedoma domain mean, implying a very hetererogeneous Yedoma composition, while the alas is approximately 80 % below the thermokarst deposit mean.

We observed that variation in the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) over 11 years showed a relationship with the species composition of hard-shelled phytoplankton in the seasonal ice zone (SIZ) of the Southern Ocean. Phytoplankton in the SIZ are productive during the southern spring and summer when the area is ice-free, with production feeding most Antarctic life. The SAM is known to be increasing with climate change, and changes in phytoplankton in the SIZ may have implications for higher life forms.

The coastal ecosystem of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) is especially vulnerable to the effects of ocean acidification and climate change. To improve our conceptual understanding of the system, we developed a new regional biogeochemical model setup for the GOA. Model output suggests that bottom water is seasonally high in CO₂ between June and January. Such extensive periods of reoccurring high CO₂ may be harmful to ocean acidification-sensitive organisms.

In this study, we provide a holistic view of soil responses to precipitation changes. A total of 16 meta-analyses focusing on the effects of precipitation changes on 42 soil response variables were compared. A strong agreement was found that the belowground carbon and nitrogen cycling accelerate under increased precipitation and slow under decreased precipitation, while bacterial and fungal communities are relatively resistant to decreased precipitation. Knowledge gaps were also identified.

About half of the global CO₂ sequestration due to chemical weathering occurs in warm and high-runoff regions. To evaluate the temporary and net sinks of atmospheric CO₂ due to chemical weathering, we selected a typical subtropical catchment as our study area and did fieldwork to sample surface water along the main channel and major tributaries in 1 hydrological year. The result of mass balance calculation showed that human activities dramatically decreased the CO₂ net sink.

Fungi have recently been identified to produce the greenhouse gas methane. Here, we investigated the stable carbon isotope values of methane produced by saprotrophic fungi. Our results show that stable isotope values of methane from fungi are dependent on the fungal species and the metabolized substrate. They cover a broad range and overlap with stable carbon isotope values of methane reported for methanogenic archaea, the thermogenic degradation of organic matter, and other eukaryotes.

We measured the effect of photosynthesis, the largest flux in the carbon cycle, on the triple oxygen isotope composition of atmospheric CO₂ at the leaf level during gas exchange using three plant species. The main factors that limit the impact of land vegetation on the triple oxygen isotope composition of atmospheric CO₂ are identified, characterized and discussed. The effect of photosynthesis on the isotopic composition of CO₂ is commonly quantified as discrimination (ΔA).

Ocean acidification is the process by which the oceans are changing due to carbon dioxide emissions from human activities. Studying this process in the Arctic Ocean is essential as this ocean and its ecosystems are more vulnerable to the effects of acidification. Water chemistry measurements made in recent years show that waters in and around the Canadian Arctic Archipelago are considerably affected by this process and show dynamic conditions that might have an impact on local marine organisms.

Environmental exposure histories can affect organismal sensitivity to climate change and ocean deoxygenation. The natural variability of environmental conditions for nearshore deep-sea habitats is poorly known due to technological challenges. We develop and test a novel, autonomous, hand-deployable lander outfitted with environmental sensors and a camera system and use it to characterize high-frequency oxygen, temperature, and pH variability at 100–400 m as well as seafloor community responses.