Articles | Volume 21, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1517-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1517-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
22 Mar 2024
Research article |
| 22 Mar 2024
| 22 Mar 2024
Loss of nitrogen via anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) in the California Current system during the late Quaternary
Zoë Rebecca van Kemenade
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, the Netherlands
Zeynep Erdem
Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, the Netherlands
Ellen Christine Hopmans
Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, the Netherlands
Jaap Smede Sinninghe Damsté
Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, the Netherlands
Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Princetonlaan 8a, 3584 CB, Utrecht, the Netherlands
Darci Rush
Department of Marine Microbiology and Biogeochemistry, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), P.O. Box 59, 1790 AB, Den Burg, the Netherlands
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Zoë R. van Kemenade, Laura Villanueva, Ellen C. Hopmans, Peter Kraal, Harry J. Witte, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Darci Rush
Biogeosciences, 19, 201–221, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-201-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-201-2022, 2022
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Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is an important nitrogen-removal process in the ocean. We assess the distribution of bacteriohopanetetrol-x (BHT-x), used to trace past anammox, along a redox gradient in the water column of the Benguela upwelling system. BHT-x / BHT ratios of >0.18 correspond to the presence of living anammox bacteria and oxygen levels <50 μmol L−1. This allows for a more robust application of BHT-x to trace past marine anammox and deoxygenation in dynamic marine systems.
Szabina Karancz, Lennart J. de Nooijer, Bas van der Wagt, Marcel T. J. van der Meer, Sambuddha Misra, Rick Hennekam, Zeynep Erdem, Julie Lattaud, Negar Haghipour, Stefan Schouten, and Gert-Jan Reichart
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Changes in upwelling intensity of the Benguela upwelling region during the last glacial motivated us to investigate the local CO2 history during the last glacial-to-interglacial transition. Using various geochemical tracers on archives from both subsurface and surface waters reveals enhanced storage of carbon at depth during the Last Glacial Maximum. An efficient biological pump likely prevented outgassing of CO2 from intermediate depth to the atmosphere.
Babette A.A. Hoogakker, Catherine Davis, Yi Wang, Stephanie Kusch, Katrina Nilsson-Kerr, Dalton S. Hardisty, Allison Jacobel, Dharma Reyes Macaya, Nicolaas Glock, Sha Ni, Julio Sepúlveda, Abby Ren, Alexandra Auderset, Anya V. Hess, Katrin J. Meissner, Jorge Cardich, Robert Anderson, Christine Barras, Chandranath Basak, Harold J. Bradbury, Inda Brinkmann, Alexis Castillo, Madelyn Cook, Kassandra Costa, Constance Choquel, Paula Diz, Jonas Donnenfield, Felix J. Elling, Zeynep Erdem, Helena L. Filipsson, Sebastián Garrido, Julia Gottschalk, Anjaly Govindankutty Menon, Jeroen Groeneveld, Christian Hallmann, Ingrid Hendy, Rick Hennekam, Wanyi Lu, Jean Lynch-Stieglitz, Lélia Matos, Alfredo Martínez-García, Giulia Molina, Práxedes Muñoz, Simone Moretti, Jennifer Morford, Sophie Nuber, Svetlana Radionovskaya, Morgan Reed Raven, Christopher J. Somes, Anja S. Studer, Kazuyo Tachikawa, Raúl Tapia, Martin Tetard, Tyler Vollmer, Xingchen Wang, Shuzhuang Wu, Yan Zhang, Xin-Yuan Zheng, and Yuxin Zhou
Biogeosciences, 22, 863–957, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-863-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-863-2025, 2025
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Paleo-oxygen proxies can extend current records, constrain pre-anthropogenic baselines, provide datasets necessary to test climate models under different boundary conditions, and ultimately understand how ocean oxygenation responds on longer timescales. Here we summarize current proxies used for the reconstruction of Cenozoic seawater oxygen levels. This includes an overview of the proxy's history, how it works, resources required, limitations, and future recommendations.
Anna Cutmore, Nicole Bale, Rick Hennekam, Bingjie Yang, Darci Rush, Gert-Jan Reichart, Ellen C. Hopmans, and Stefan Schouten
Clim. Past Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2024-59, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-2024-59, 2024
Revised manuscript accepted for CP
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As human activities lower marine oxygen levels, understanding the impact on the marine nitrogen cycle is vital. The Black Sea, which became oxygen-deprived 9,600 years ago, offers key insights. By studying organic compounds linked to nitrogen cycle processes, we found that 7,200 years ago, the Black Sea's nitrogen cycle significantly altered due to severe deoxygenation. This suggests that continued marine oxygen decline could similarly alter the marine nitrogen cycle, affecting vital ecosystems.
Allix J. Baxter, Francien Peterse, Dirk Verschuren, Aihemaiti Maitituerdi, Nicolas Waldmann, and Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté
Biogeosciences, 21, 2877–2908, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2877-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2877-2024, 2024
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This study investigates the impact of long-term lake-system evolution on the climate signal recorded by glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs), a popular biomarker in paleoclimate research. It compares downcore changes in GDGTs in the 250 000 year sediment sequence of Lake Chala (Kenya/Tanzania) to independent data for lake mixing and water-column chemistry. These factors influence the GDGT proxies in the earliest depositional phases (before ~180 ka), confounding the climate signal.
Nora Richter, Ellen C. Hopmans, Danica Mitrović, Pedro M. Raposeiro, Vítor Gonçalves, Ana C. Costa, Linda A. Amaral-Zettler, Laura Villanueva, and Darci Rush
Biogeosciences, 20, 2065–2098, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2065-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2065-2023, 2023
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Bacteriohopanepolyols (BHPs) are a diverse class of lipids produced by bacteria across a wide range of environments. This study characterizes the diversity of BHPs in lakes and coastal lagoons in the Azores Archipelago, as well as a co-culture enriched for methanotrophs. We highlight the potential of BHPs as taxonomic markers for bacteria associated with certain ecological niches, which can be preserved in sedimentary records.
Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, Lisa A. Warden, Carlo Berg, Klaus Jürgens, and Matthias Moros
Clim. Past, 18, 2271–2288, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2271-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-2271-2022, 2022
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Reconstruction of past climate conditions is important for understanding current climate change. These reconstructions are derived from proxies, enabling reconstructions of, e.g., past temperature, precipitation, vegetation, and sea surface temperature (SST). Here we investigate a recently developed SST proxy based on membrane lipids of ammonium-oxidizing archaea in the ocean. We show that low salinities substantially affect the proxy calibration by examining Holocene Baltic Sea sediments.
Zoë R. van Kemenade, Laura Villanueva, Ellen C. Hopmans, Peter Kraal, Harry J. Witte, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Darci Rush
Biogeosciences, 19, 201–221, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-201-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-201-2022, 2022
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Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) is an important nitrogen-removal process in the ocean. We assess the distribution of bacteriohopanetetrol-x (BHT-x), used to trace past anammox, along a redox gradient in the water column of the Benguela upwelling system. BHT-x / BHT ratios of >0.18 correspond to the presence of living anammox bacteria and oxygen levels <50 μmol L−1. This allows for a more robust application of BHT-x to trace past marine anammox and deoxygenation in dynamic marine systems.
Charlotte L. Spencer-Jones, Erin L. McClymont, Nicole J. Bale, Ellen C. Hopmans, Stefan Schouten, Juliane Müller, E. Povl Abrahamsen, Claire Allen, Torsten Bickert, Claus-Dieter Hillenbrand, Elaine Mawbey, Victoria Peck, Aleksandra Svalova, and James A. Smith
Biogeosciences, 18, 3485–3504, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3485-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3485-2021, 2021
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Long-term ocean temperature records are needed to fully understand the impact of West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapse. Glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) are powerful tools for reconstructing ocean temperature but can be difficult to apply to the Southern Ocean. Our results show active GDGT synthesis in relatively warm depths of the ocean. This research improves the application of GDGT palaeoceanographic proxies in the Southern Ocean.
Nadine T. Smit, Laura Villanueva, Darci Rush, Fausto Grassa, Caitlyn R. Witkowski, Mira Holzheimer, Adriaan J. Minnaard, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Stefan Schouten
Biogeosciences, 18, 1463–1479, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1463-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1463-2021, 2021
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Soils from an everlasting fire (gas seep) in Sicily, Italy, reveal high relative abundances of novel uncultivated mycobacteria and unique 13C-depleted mycocerosic acids (multi-methyl branched fatty acids) close to the main gas seep. Our results imply that mycocerosic acids in combination with their depleted δ13C values offer a new biomarker tool to study the role of soil mycobacteria as hydrocarbon consumers in the modern and past global carbon cycle.
Loes G. J. van Bree, Francien Peterse, Allix J. Baxter, Wannes De Crop, Sigrid van Grinsven, Laura Villanueva, Dirk Verschuren, and Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté
Biogeosciences, 17, 5443–5463, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5443-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-5443-2020, 2020
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Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) are used as a paleothermometer based on their temperature dependence in global soils, but aquatic production complicates their use in lakes. BrGDGTs in the water column of Lake Chala, East Africa, respond to oxygen conditions and mixing. Changes in their signal can be linked to bacterial community composition rather than membrane adaptation to changing conditions. Their integrated signal in the sediment reflects mean air temperature.
Zeynep Erdem, Joachim Schönfeld, Anthony E. Rathburn, Maria-Elena Pérez, Jorge Cardich, and Nicolaas Glock
Biogeosciences, 17, 3165–3182, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3165-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3165-2020, 2020
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Recent observations from today’s oceans revealed that oxygen concentrations are decreasing, and oxygen minimum zones are expanding together with current climate change. With the aim of understanding past climatic events and their relationship with oxygen content, we looked at the fossils, called benthic foraminifera, preserved in the sediment archives from the Peruvian margin and quantified the bottom-water oxygen content for the last 22 000 years.
Elisabeth Dietze, Kai Mangelsdorf, Andrei Andreev, Cornelia Karger, Laura T. Schreuder, Ellen C. Hopmans, Oliver Rach, Dirk Sachse, Volker Wennrich, and Ulrike Herzschuh
Clim. Past, 16, 799–818, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-799-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-799-2020, 2020
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Long-term climate change impacts on fire, vegetation and permafrost in the Arctic are uncertain. Here, we show the high potential of organic compounds from low-temperature biomass burning to serve as proxies for surface fires in lake deposits. During warm periods of the last 430 000 years, surface fires are closely linked to the larch taiga forest with its moss–lichen ground vegetation that isolates the permafrost. They have reduced in warm–wet, spruce–dominated and cool–dry steppe environments.
Emily Dearing Crampton-Flood, Lars J. Noorbergen, Damian Smits, R. Christine Boschman, Timme H. Donders, Dirk K. Munsterman, Johan ten Veen, Francien Peterse, Lucas Lourens, and Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté
Clim. Past, 16, 523–541, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-523-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-523-2020, 2020
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The mid-Pliocene warm period (mPWP; 3.3–3.0 million years ago) is thought to be the last geological interval with similar atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations as the present day. Further, the mPWP was 2–3 °C warmer than present, making it a good analogue for estimating the effects of future climate change. Here, we construct a new precise age model for the North Sea during the mPWP, and provide a detailed reconstruction of terrestrial and marine climate using a multi-proxy approach.
Tamara L. Fletcher, Lisa Warden, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, Kendrick J. Brown, Natalia Rybczynski, John C. Gosse, and Ashley P. Ballantyne
Clim. Past, 15, 1063–1081, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1063-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-1063-2019, 2019
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The last time atmospheric CO2 was similar to the present was 3–4 million years ago. The Arctic was warmer compared to the global average, and the causes are not fully known. To investigate this, we reconstructed summer temperature, forest fire and vegetation at a 3.9 Ma fen peat in Arctic Canada. The summer temperatures averaged 15.4 °C, and charcoal was abundant. Interactions between vegetation and climate were mediated by fire and may contribute to high Arctic temperatures during the Pliocene.
Darci Rush, Helen M. Talbot, Marcel T. J. van der Meer, Ellen C. Hopmans, Ben Douglas, and Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté
Biogeosciences, 16, 2467–2479, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2467-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2467-2019, 2019
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Sapropels are layers of sediment that regularly occur in the Mediterranean. They indicate periods when the Mediterranean Sea water contained no oxygen, a gas vital for most large organisms. This research investigated a key process in the nitrogen cycle (anaerobic ammonium oxidation, anammox), which removes nitrogen – an important nutrient to algae – from the water, during sapropel events. Using lipids to trace this process, we found that anammox was active during the no-oxygen times.
Gabriella M. Weiss, David Chivall, Sebastian Kasper, Hideto Nakamura, Fiz da Costa, Philippe Soudant, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, Stefan Schouten, and Marcel T. J. van der Meer
Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2019-147, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2019-147, 2019
Preprint withdrawn
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In this study, we used four different haptophyte species and six different organic compounds to investigate the relationship between organic matter synthesis and salinity. We showed that creation in different parts of the cell (chloroplast versus cytosol) determined which compounds retain a correlation between their hydrogen isotopes and salinity. This is important for using hydrogen isotopes to reconstruct salinity in the geologic record.
Marijke W. de Bar, Jenny E. Ullgren, Robert C. Thunnell, Stuart G. Wakeham, Geert-Jan A. Brummer, Jan-Berend W. Stuut, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Stefan Schouten
Biogeosciences, 16, 1705–1727, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-1705-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-1705-2019, 2019
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We analyzed sediment traps from the Cariaco Basin, the tropical Atlantic and the Mozambique Channel to evaluate seasonal imprints in the concentrations and fluxes of long-chain diols (LDIs), in addition to the long-chain diol index proxy (sea surface temperature proxy) and the diol index (upwelling indicator). Despite significant degradation, LDI-derived temperatures were very similar for the sediment traps and seafloor sediments, and corresponded to annual mean sea surface temperatures.
Marijke W. de Bar, Dave J. Stolwijk, Jerry F. McManus, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Stefan Schouten
Clim. Past, 14, 1783–1803, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1783-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-1783-2018, 2018
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We present a past sea surface temperature and paleoproductivity record over the last 150 000 years for ODP Site 1234 (Chilean margin). We tested the applicability of long-chain diol proxies for the reconstrucion of SST (LDI), past upwelling conditions (diol index), and nutrient concentrations (NDI). The LDI likely reflects past temperature changes, but the diol index and NDI are perhaps more indicative of Proboscia diatom productivity rather than upwelling and/or nutrient conditions.
Sergio Balzano, Julie Lattaud, Laura Villanueva, Sebastiaan W. Rampen, Corina P. D. Brussaard, Judith van Bleijswijk, Nicole Bale, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Stefan Schouten
Biogeosciences, 15, 5951–5968, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5951-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5951-2018, 2018
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We tried to identify the microbes which biosynthesize a class of lipids widespread in seawater, the long chain alkyl diols (LCDs). We could not find any microorganism likely involved in the production of LCDs. The amounts of LCDs found are too high to be produced by living organisms and are likely to be part of the refractory organic matter persisting for long periods in the water column.
Julie Lattaud, Frédérique Kirkels, Francien Peterse, Chantal V. Freymond, Timothy I. Eglinton, Jens Hefter, Gesine Mollenhauer, Sergio Balzano, Laura Villanueva, Marcel T. J. van der Meer, Ellen C. Hopmans, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Stefan Schouten
Biogeosciences, 15, 4147–4161, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-4147-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-4147-2018, 2018
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Long-chain diols (LCDs) are biomarkers that occur widespread in marine environments and also in lakes and rivers. In this study, we looked at the distribution of LCDs in three river systems (Godavari, Danube, and Rhine) in relation to season, precipitation, and temperature. We found out that the LCDs are likely being produced in calm areas of the river systems and that marine LCDs have a different distribution than riverine LCDs.
Marc A. Besseling, Ellen C. Hopmans, R. Christine Boschman, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Laura Villanueva
Biogeosciences, 15, 4047–4064, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-4047-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-4047-2018, 2018
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Benthic archaea comprise a significant part of the total prokaryotic biomass in marine sediments. Here, we compared the archaeal diversity and intact polar lipid (IPL) composition in both surface and subsurface sediments with different oxygen regimes in the Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone. The oxygenated sediments were dominated by Thaumarchaeota and IPL-GDGT-0. The anoxic sediment contained highly diverse archaeal communities and high relative abundances of IPL-GDGT-1 to -4.
Timme H. Donders, Niels A. G. M. van Helmond, Roel Verreussel, Dirk Munsterman, Johan ten Veen, Robert P. Speijer, Johan W. H. Weijers, Francesca Sangiorgi, Francien Peterse, Gert-Jan Reichart, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, Lucas Lourens, Gesa Kuhlmann, and Henk Brinkhuis
Clim. Past, 14, 397–411, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-397-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-14-397-2018, 2018
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The buildup and melting of ice during the early glaciations in the Northern Hemisphere, around 2.5 million years ago, were far shorter in duration than during the last million years. Based on molecular compounds and microfossils from sediments dating back to the early glaciations we show that the temperature on land and in the sea changed simultaneously and was a major factor in the ice buildup in the Northern Hemisphere. These data provide key insights into the dynamics of early glaciations.
Nicole J. Bale, Tracy A. Villareal, Ellen C. Hopmans, Corina P. D. Brussaard, Marc Besseling, Denise Dorhout, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Stefan Schouten
Biogeosciences, 15, 1229–1241, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1229-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1229-2018, 2018
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Associations between diatoms and N-fixing cyanobacteria (diatom–diazotroph associations, DDAs) play an important role in the N cycle of the tropical North Atlantic. Heterocysts are the site of N fixation and contain unique glycolipids. We measured these glycolipids in the water column and surface sediment from the tropical North Atlantic. We found a significant correlation between the concentration of glycolipid and of DDAs, strengthening their application as biomarkers.
Martina Sollai, Ellen C. Hopmans, Nicole J. Bale, Anchelique Mets, Lisa Warden, Matthias Moros, and Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté
Biogeosciences, 14, 5789–5804, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-5789-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-5789-2017, 2017
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The Baltic Sea is characterized by recurring summer phytoplankton blooms, dominated by a few cyanobacterial species. These bacteria are able to use dinitrogen gas as the source for nitrogen and produce very specific lipids. We analyzed these lipids in a sediment core to study their presence over the past 7000 years. This reveals that cyanobacterial blooms have not only occurred in the last decades but were common at times when the Baltic was connected to the North Sea.
Gabriella M. Weiss, Eva Y. Pfannerstill, Stefan Schouten, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Marcel T. J. van der Meer
Biogeosciences, 14, 5693–5704, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-5693-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-5693-2017, 2017
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Algal-derived compounds allow us to make assumptions about environmental conditions in the past. In order to better understand how organisms record environmental conditions, we grew microscopic marine algae at different light intensities, salinities, and alkalinities in a temperature-controlled environment. We determined how these environmental parameters affected specific algal-derived compounds, especially their relative deuterium content, which seems to be mainly affected by salinity.
Julie Lattaud, Denise Dorhout, Hartmut Schulz, Isla S. Castañeda, Enno Schefuß, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, and Stefan Schouten
Clim. Past, 13, 1049–1061, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1049-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-1049-2017, 2017
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The study of past sedimentary records from coastal margins allows us to reconstruct variations in terrestrial input into the marine realm and to gain insight into continental climatic variability. The study of two sediment cores close to river mouths allowed us to show the potential of long-chain diols as riverine input proxy.
Lisa Warden, Jung-Hyun Kim, Claudia Zell, Geert-Jan Vis, Henko de Stigter, Jérôme Bonnin, and Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté
Biogeosciences, 13, 5719–5738, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5719-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5719-2016, 2016
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Enhanced analytical techniques were applied to characterize fossilized microbial cell membrane lipids from samples in the Tagus River basin spanning the last 6000 years. Using the novel methods and calibration, the pH estimates were improved upon, and this study reveals new factors that should be considered when using this proxy as well as affirms the importance of examining the provenance of these lipids before applying them for paleoclimate reconstructions.
Sandra Mariam Heinzelmann, Nicole Jane Bale, Laura Villanueva, Danielle Sinke-Schoen, Catharina Johanna Maria Philippart, Jaap Smede Sinninghe Damsté, Stefan Schouten, and Marcel Teunis Jan van der Meer
Biogeosciences, 13, 5527–5539, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5527-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5527-2016, 2016
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In order to understand microbial communities in the environment it is necessary to assess their metabolic potential. The hydrogen isotopic composition of fatty acids has been shown to be promising tool to study the general metabolism of microorganisms in pure culture. Here we showed that it is possible to study seasonal changes in the general metabolism of the whole community by studying the hydrogen isotopic composition of fatty acids.
Douwe S. Maat, Nicole J. Bale, Ellen C. Hopmans, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, Stefan Schouten, and Corina P. D. Brussaard
Biogeosciences, 13, 1667–1676, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1667-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-1667-2016, 2016
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This study shows that the phytoplankter Micromonas pusilla alters its lipid composition when the macronutrient phosphate is in low supply. This reduction in phospholipids is directly dependent on the strength of the limitation. Furthermore we show that, when M. pusilla is infected by viruses, lipid remodeling is lower. The study was carried out to investigate how phytoplankton and its viruses are affected by environmental factors and how this affects food web dynamics.
J. Schönfeld, W. Kuhnt, Z. Erdem, S. Flögel, N. Glock, M. Aquit, M. Frank, and A. Holbourn
Biogeosciences, 12, 1169–1189, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-1169-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-1169-2015, 2015
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Today’s oceans show distinct mid-depth oxygen minima while whole oceanic basins became transiently anoxic in the Mesozoic. To constrain past bottom-water oxygenation, we compared sediments from the Peruvian OMZ with the Cenomanian OAE 2 from Morocco. Corg accumulation rates in laminated OAE 2 sections match Holocene rates off Peru. Laminated deposits are found at oxygen levels of < 7µmol kg-1; crab burrows appear at 10µmol kg-1 today, both defining threshold values for palaeoreconstructions.
J. Friedrich, F. Janssen, D. Aleynik, H. W. Bange, N. Boltacheva, M. N. Çagatay, A. W. Dale, G. Etiope, Z. Erdem, M. Geraga, A. Gilli, M. T. Gomoiu, P. O. J. Hall, D. Hansson, Y. He, M. Holtappels, M. K. Kirf, M. Kononets, S. Konovalov, A. Lichtschlag, D. M. Livingstone, G. Marinaro, S. Mazlumyan, S. Naeher, R. P. North, G. Papatheodorou, O. Pfannkuche, R. Prien, G. Rehder, C. J. Schubert, T. Soltwedel, S. Sommer, H. Stahl, E. V. Stanev, A. Teaca, A. Tengberg, C. Waldmann, B. Wehrli, and F. Wenzhöfer
Biogeosciences, 11, 1215–1259, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-1215-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-1215-2014, 2014
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Ocean alkalinity enhancement impacts: regrowth of marine microalgae in alkaline mineral concentrations simulating the initial concentrations after ship-based dispersions
Inadequacies in the representation of sub-seasonal phytoplankton dynamics in Earth system models
Climatic controls on metabolic constraints in the ocean
Effects of grain size and seawater salinity on magnesium hydroxide dissolution and secondary calcium carbonate precipitation kinetics: implications for ocean alkalinity enhancement
Hybrid model estimate of the ocean carbon sink from 1959 to 2022
Relationships between the concentration of particulate organic nitrogen and the inherent optical properties of seawater in oceanic surface waters
Short-term response of Emiliania huxleyi growth and morphology to abrupt salinity stress
Assessing the impact of CO2-equilibrated ocean alkalinity enhancement on microbial metabolic rates in an oligotrophic system
Phosphomonoesterase and phosphodiesterase activities in the eastern Mediterranean in two contrasting seasonal situations
Net primary production annual maxima in the North Atlantic projected to shift in the 21st century
Testing the influence of light on nitrite cycling in the eastern tropical North Pacific
Technical note: Assessment of float pH data quality control methods – a case study in the subpolar northwest Atlantic Ocean
Linking northeastern North Pacific oxygen changes to upstream surface outcrop variations
Ocean alkalinity enhancement in an open ocean ecosystem: Biogeochemical responses and carbon storage durability
Underestimation of multi-decadal global O2 loss due to an optimal interpolation method
Reviews and syntheses: expanding the global coverage of gross primary production and net community production measurements using Biogeochemical-Argo floats
Characteristics of surface physical and biogeochemical parameters within mesoscale eddies in the Southern Ocean
Seasonal dynamics and annual budget of dissolved inorganic carbon in the northwestern Mediterranean deep-convection region
The fingerprint of climate variability on the surface ocean cycling of iron and its isotopes
Reconstructing the ocean's mesopelagic zone carbon budget: sensitivity and estimation of parameters associated with prokaryotic remineralization
Seasonal cycles of biogeochemical fluxes in the Scotia Sea, Southern Ocean: a stable isotope approach
Absence of photophysiological response to iron addition in autumn phytoplankton in the Antarctic sea-ice zone
Optimal parameters for the ocean's nutrient, carbon, and oxygen cycles compensate for circulation biases but replumb the biological pump
Importance of multiple sources of iron for the upper-ocean biogeochemistry over the northern Indian Ocean
Exploring the role of different data types and timescales in the quality of marine biogeochemical model calibration
All about nitrite: exploring nitrite sources and sinks in the eastern tropical North Pacific oxygen minimum zone
Fossil coccolith morphological attributes as a new proxy for deep ocean carbonate chemistry
Reconstructing ocean carbon storage with CMIP6 Earth system models and synthetic Argo observations
Using machine learning and Biogeochemical-Argo (BGC-Argo) floats to assess biogeochemical models and optimize observing system design
The representation of alkalinity and the carbonate pump from CMIP5 to CMIP6 Earth system models and implications for the carbon cycle
Model estimates of metazoans' contributions to the biological carbon pump
Tracing differences in iron supply to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge valley between hydrothermal vent sites: implications for the addition of iron to the deep ocean
Nitrite cycling in the primary nitrite maxima of the eastern tropical North Pacific
Hotspots and drivers of compound marine heatwaves and low net primary production extremes
Ecosystem impacts of marine heat waves in the northeast Pacific
Tracing the role of Arctic shelf processes in Si and N cycling and export through the Fram Strait: insights from combined silicon and nitrate isotopes
Controls on the relative abundances and rates of nitrifying microorganisms in the ocean
The response of diazotrophs to nutrient amendment in the South China Sea and western North Pacific
Huailin Deng, Koji Suzuki, Ichiro Yasuda, Hiroshi Ogawa, and Jun Nishioka
Biogeosciences, 22, 1495–1508, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1495-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1495-2025, 2025
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Iron (Fe) and nitrate are vital for primary production in the North Pacific. Sedimentary Fe is carried by North Pacific Intermediate Water to the North Pacific, but the nutrient return path and its effect on phytoplankton are unclear. By combining Fe and macronutrient fluxes with phytoplankton composition, this study firstly revealed that Fe supply from the subsurface greatly controls diatom abundance and identified the nutrient return path in the subarctic gyre and Kuroshio–Oyashio transition area.
Alexandre Accardo, Rémi Laxenaire, Alberto Baudena, Sabrina Speich, Rainer Kiko, and Lars Stemmann
Biogeosciences, 22, 1183–1201, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1183-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1183-2025, 2025
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The open ocean helps mitigate climate change by storing CO2 via the biological carbon pump (BCP), which involves processes like organic carbon production at the surface and transferring it to the deep ocean via various pathways. By deploying an autonomous platform, we found significant marine snow accumulation from the surface to the mesopelagic zone in frontal regions between eddies. We suggest that the coupling of hydrodynamics at eddy edges and biological activity may enhance this process.
Naoya Kanna, Kazutaka Tateyama, Takuji Waseda, Anna Timofeeva, Maria Papadimitraki, Laura Whitmore, Hajime Obata, Daiki Nomura, Hiroshi Ogawa, Youhei Yamashita, and Igor Polyakov
Biogeosciences, 22, 1057–1076, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1057-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1057-2025, 2025
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This article presents data on iron and manganese, essential micronutrients for primary producers in the Arctic Laptev and East Siberian seas (LESS). There, observations were made through international cooperation with the Nansen and Amundsen Basin Observational System expedition during the late summer of 2021. The results from this study indicate that the major sources controlling the iron and manganese distributions on the LESS continental margins are river discharge and shelf sediment input.
Ben J. Fisher, Alex J. Poulton, Michael P. Meredith, Kimberlee Baldry, Oscar Schofield, and Sian F. Henley
Biogeosciences, 22, 975–994, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-975-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-975-2025, 2025
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The Southern Ocean is a rapidly warming environment, with subsequent impacts on ecosystems and biogeochemical cycling. This study examines changes in phytoplankton and biogeochemistry using a range of climate models. Under climate change, the Southern Ocean will be warmer, more acidic and more productive and will have reduced nutrient availability by 2100. However, there is substantial variability between models across key productivity parameters. We propose ways of reducing this uncertainty.
David Curbelo-Hernández, Fiz F. Pérez, Melchor González-Dávila, Sergey V. Gladyshev, Aridane G. González, David González-Santana, Antón Velo, Alexey Sokov, and J. Magdalena Santana-Casiano
Biogeosciences, 21, 5561–5589, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5561-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-5561-2024, 2024
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The study evaluated CO2–carbonate system dynamics in the North Atlantic subpolar gyre during 2009–2019. Significant ocean acidification, largely due to rising anthropogenic CO2 levels, was found. Cooling, freshening, and enhanced convective processes intensified this trend, affecting calcite and aragonite saturation. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of ocean acidification and improve our knowledge about its impact on marine ecosystems.
Medhavi Pandey, Haimanti Biswas, Daniel Birgel, Nicole Burdanowitz, and Birgit Gaye
Biogeosciences, 21, 4681–4698, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4681-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4681-2024, 2024
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We analysed sea surface temperature (SST) proxy and plankton biomarkers in sediments that accumulate sinking material signatures from surface waters in the central Arabian Sea (21°–11° N, 64° E), a tropical basin impacted by monsoons. We saw a north–south SST gradient, and the biological proxies showed more organic matter from larger algae in the north. Smaller algae and zooplankton were more numerous in the south. These trends were related to ocean–atmospheric processes and oxygen availability.
Allison Hogikyan and Laure Resplandy
Biogeosciences, 21, 4621–4636, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4621-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4621-2024, 2024
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Rising atmospheric CO2 influences ocean carbon chemistry, leading to ocean acidification. Global warming introduces spatial patterns in the intensity of ocean acidification. We show that the most prominent spatial patterns are controlled by warming-driven changes in rainfall and evaporation, not by the direct effect of warming on carbon chemistry and pH. These evaporation and rainfall patterns oppose acidification in saltier parts of the ocean and enhance acidification in fresher regions.
Shunya Koseki, Lander R. Crespo, Jerry Tjiputra, Filippa Fransner, Noel S. Keenlyside, and David Rivas
Biogeosciences, 21, 4149–4168, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4149-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4149-2024, 2024
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We investigated how the physical biases of an Earth system model influence the marine biogeochemical processes in the tropical Atlantic. With four different configurations of the model, we have shown that the versions with better SST reproduction tend to better represent the primary production and air–sea CO2 flux in terms of climatology, seasonal cycle, and response to climate variability.
Lyuba Novi, Annalisa Bracco, Takamitsu Ito, and Yohei Takano
Biogeosciences, 21, 3985–4005, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3985-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3985-2024, 2024
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We explored the relationship between oxygen and stratification in the North Pacific Ocean using a combination of data mining and machine learning. We used isopycnic potential vorticity (IPV) as an indicator to quantify ocean ventilation and analyzed its predictability, a strong O2–IPV connection, and predictability for IPV in the tropical Pacific. This opens new routes for monitoring ocean O2 through few observational sites co-located with more abundant IPV measurements in the tropical Pacific.
Winfred Marshal, Jing Xiang Chung, Nur Hidayah Roseli, Roswati Md Amin, and Mohd Fadzil Bin Mohd Akhir
Biogeosciences, 21, 4007–4035, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4007-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4007-2024, 2024
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This study stands out for thoroughly examining CMIP6 ESMs' ability to simulate biogeochemical variables in the southern South China Sea, an economically important region. It assesses variables like chlorophyll, phytoplankton, nitrate, and oxygen on annual and seasonal scales. While global assessments exist, this study addresses a gap by objectively ranking 13 CMIP6 ocean biogeochemistry models' performance at a regional level, focusing on replicating specific observed biogeochemical variables.
Jens Terhaar
Biogeosciences, 21, 3903–3926, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3903-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3903-2024, 2024
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Despite the ocean’s importance in the carbon cycle and hence the climate, observing the ocean carbon sink remains challenging. Here, I use an ensemble of 12 models to understand drivers of decadal trends of the past, present, and future ocean carbon sink. I show that 80 % of the decadal trends in the multi-model mean ocean carbon sink can be explained by changes in decadal trends in atmospheric CO2. The remaining 20 % are due to internal climate variability and ocean heat uptake.
Reiner Steinfeldt, Monika Rhein, and Dagmar Kieke
Biogeosciences, 21, 3839–3867, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3839-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3839-2024, 2024
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We calculate the amount of anthropogenic carbon (Cant) in the Atlantic for the years 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020. Cant is the carbon that is taken up by the ocean as a result of humanmade CO2 emissions. To determine the amount of Cant, we apply a technique that is based on the observations of other humanmade gases (e.g., chlorofluorocarbons). Regionally, changes in ocean ventilation have an impact on the storage of Cant. Overall, the increase in Cant is driven by the rising CO2 in the atmosphere.
Stephanie Delacroix, Tor Jensen Nystuen, August E. Dessen Tobiesen, Andrew L. King, and Erik Höglund
Biogeosciences, 21, 3677–3690, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3677-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3677-2024, 2024
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The addition of alkaline minerals into the ocean might reduce excessive anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Magnesium hydroxide can be added in large amounts because of its low seawater solubility without reaching harmful pH levels. The toxicity effect results of magnesium hydroxide, by simulating the expected concentrations from a ship's dispersion scenario, demonstrated low impacts on both sensitive and local assemblages of marine microalgae when compared to calcium hydroxide.
Madhavan Girijakumari Keerthi, Olivier Aumont, Lester Kwiatkowski, and Marina Levy
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2294, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2294, 2024
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Our study assesses the capability of CMIP6 models to reproduce satellite observations of sub-seasonal chlorophyll variability. Models struggle to reproduce the sub-seasonal variance and its contribution across timescales. Some models overestimate sub-seasonal variance and exaggerate its role in annual fluctuations, while others underestimate it. Underestimation is likely due to the coarse resolution of models, while overestimation may result from intrinsic oscillations in biogeochemical models.
Precious Mongwe, Matthew Long, Takamitsu Ito, Curtis Deutsch, and Yeray Santana-Falcón
Biogeosciences, 21, 3477–3490, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3477-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3477-2024, 2024
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We use a collection of measurements that capture the physiological sensitivity of organisms to temperature and oxygen and a CESM1 large ensemble to investigate how natural climate variations and climate warming will impact the ability of marine heterotrophic marine organisms to support habitats in the future. We find that warming and dissolved oxygen loss over the next several decades will reduce the volume of ocean habitats and will increase organisms' vulnerability to extremes.
Charly A. Moras, Tyler Cyronak, Lennart T. Bach, Renaud Joannes-Boyau, and Kai G. Schulz
Biogeosciences, 21, 3463–3475, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3463-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3463-2024, 2024
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We investigate the effects of mineral grain size and seawater salinity on magnesium hydroxide dissolution and calcium carbonate precipitation kinetics for ocean alkalinity enhancement. Salinity did not affect the dissolution, but calcium carbonate formed earlier at lower salinities due to the lower magnesium and dissolved organic carbon concentrations. Smaller grain sizes dissolved faster but calcium carbonate precipitated earlier, suggesting that medium grain sizes are optimal for kinetics.
Jens Terhaar
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2171, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2171, 2024
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The ocean is a major natural carbon sink. Despite its importance, estimates of the ocean carbon sink remain uncertain. Here, I present a hybrid model estimate of the ocean carbon sink from 1959 to 2022. By combining ocean models in hindcast mode and Earth System Models, I keep the strength of each approach and remove the respective weaknesses. This hybrid model estimate is similar in magnitude than the best estimate of the Global Carbon Budget but 70 % less uncertain.
Alain Fumenia, Hubert Loisel, Rick Allen Reynolds, and Dariusz Stramski
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2218, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2218, 2024
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Particulate organic nitrogen (PON) in the ocean refers to nitrogen contained in particles suspended such as phytoplankton, zooplankton, bacteria, viruses, and organic detritus. We used field measurements to determine relationships between PON and inherent optical properties of seawater across a broad range of marine environments. The presented relationships are expected to have application in the assessment of PON distribution and variations from in situ and satellite optical observations
Rosie M. Sheward, Christina Gebühr, Jörg Bollmann, and Jens O. Herrle
Biogeosciences, 21, 3121–3141, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3121-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3121-2024, 2024
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How quickly do marine microorganisms respond to salinity stress? Our experiments with the calcifying marine plankton Emiliania huxleyi show that growth and cell morphology responded to salinity stress within as little as 24–48 hours, demonstrating that morphology and calcification are sensitive to salinity over a range of timescales. Our results have implications for understanding the short-term role of E. huxleyi in biogeochemical cycles and in size-based paleoproxies for salinity.
Laura Marín-Samper, Javier Arístegui, Nauzet Hernández-Hernández, Joaquín Ortiz, Stephen D. Archer, Andrea Ludwig, and Ulf Riebesell
Biogeosciences, 21, 2859–2876, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2859-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2859-2024, 2024
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Our planet is facing a climate crisis. Scientists are working on innovative solutions that will aid in capturing the hard to abate emissions before it is too late. Exciting research reveals that ocean alkalinity enhancement, a key climate change mitigation strategy, does not harm phytoplankton, the cornerstone of marine ecosystems. Through meticulous study, we may have uncovered a positive relationship: up to a specific limit, enhancing ocean alkalinity boosts photosynthesis by certain species.
France Van Wambeke, Pascal Conan, Mireille Pujo-Pay, Vincent Taillandier, Olivier Crispi, Alexandra Pavlidou, Sandra Nunige, Morgane Didry, Christophe Salmeron, and Elvira Pulido-Villena
Biogeosciences, 21, 2621–2640, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2621-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2621-2024, 2024
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Phosphomonoesterase (PME) and phosphodiesterase (PDE) activities over the epipelagic zone are described in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in winter and autumn. The types of concentration kinetics obtained for PDE (saturation at 50 µM, high Km, high turnover times) compared to those of PME (saturation at 1 µM, low Km, low turnover times) are discussed in regard to the possible inequal distribution of PDE and PME in the size continuum of organic material and accessibility to phosphodiesters.
Jenny Hieronymus, Magnus Hieronymus, Matthias Gröger, Jörg Schwinger, Raffaele Bernadello, Etienne Tourigny, Valentina Sicardi, Itzel Ruvalcaba Baroni, and Klaus Wyser
Biogeosciences, 21, 2189–2206, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2189-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2189-2024, 2024
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The timing of the net primary production annual maxima in the North Atlantic in the period 1750–2100 is investigated using two Earth system models and the high-emissions scenario SSP5-8.5. It is found that, for most of the region, the annual maxima occur progressively earlier, with the most change occurring after the year 2000. Shifts in the seasonality of the primary production may impact the entire ecosystem, which highlights the need for long-term monitoring campaigns in this area.
Nicole M. Travis, Colette L. Kelly, and Karen L. Casciotti
Biogeosciences, 21, 1985–2004, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1985-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1985-2024, 2024
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We conducted experimental manipulations of light level on microbial communities from the primary nitrite maximum. Overall, while individual microbial processes have different directions and magnitudes in their response to increasing light, the net community response is a decline in nitrite production with increasing light. We conclude that while increased light may decrease net nitrite production, high-light conditions alone do not exclude nitrification from occurring in the surface ocean.
Cathy Wimart-Rousseau, Tobias Steinhoff, Birgit Klein, Henry Bittig, and Arne Körtzinger
Biogeosciences, 21, 1191–1211, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1191-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1191-2024, 2024
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The marine CO2 system can be measured independently and continuously by BGC-Argo floats since numerous pH sensors have been developed to suit these autonomous measurements platforms. By applying the Argo correction routines to float pH data acquired in the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean, we report the uncertainty and lack of objective criteria associated with the choice of the reference method as well the reference depth for the pH correction.
Sabine Mecking and Kyla Drushka
Biogeosciences, 21, 1117–1133, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1117-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1117-2024, 2024
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This study investigates whether northeastern North Pacific oxygen changes may be caused by surface density changes in the northwest as water moves along density horizons from the surface into the subsurface ocean. A correlation is found with a lag that about matches the travel time of water from the northwest to the northeast. Salinity is the main driver causing decadal changes in surface density, whereas salinity and temperature contribute about equally to long-term declining density trends.
Allanah Joy Paul, Mathias Haunost, Silvan Urs Goldenberg, Jens Hartmann, Nicolás Sánchez, Julieta Schneider, Niels Suitner, and Ulf Riebesell
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-417, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-417, 2024
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Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) is being assessed for its potential to absorb atmospheric CO2 and store it for a long time. OAE still needs comprehensive assessment of its safety and effectiveness. We studied an idealised OAE application in a natural low nutrient ecosystem over one month. Our results showed that biogeochemical functioning remained mostly stable, but that the long-term capability for storing carbon may be limited at high alkalinity concentration.
Takamitsu Ito, Hernan E. Garcia, Zhankun Wang, Shoshiro Minobe, Matthew C. Long, Just Cebrian, James Reagan, Tim Boyer, Christopher Paver, Courtney Bouchard, Yohei Takano, Seth Bushinsky, Ahron Cervania, and Curtis A. Deutsch
Biogeosciences, 21, 747–759, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-747-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-747-2024, 2024
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This study aims to estimate how much oceanic oxygen has been lost and its uncertainties. One major source of uncertainty comes from the statistical gap-filling methods. Outputs from Earth system models are used to generate synthetic observations where oxygen data are extracted from the model output at the location and time of historical oceanographic cruises. Reconstructed oxygen trend is approximately two-thirds of the true trend.
Robert W. Izett, Katja Fennel, Adam C. Stoer, and David P. Nicholson
Biogeosciences, 21, 13–47, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-13-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-13-2024, 2024
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This paper provides an overview of the capacity to expand the global coverage of marine primary production estimates using autonomous ocean-going instruments, called Biogeochemical-Argo floats. We review existing approaches to quantifying primary production using floats, provide examples of the current implementation of the methods, and offer insights into how they can be better exploited. This paper is timely, given the ongoing expansion of the Biogeochemical-Argo array.
Qian Liu, Yingjie Liu, and Xiaofeng Li
Biogeosciences, 20, 4857–4874, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4857-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4857-2023, 2023
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In the Southern Ocean, abundant eddies behave opposite to our expectations. That is, anticyclonic (cyclonic) eddies are cold (warm). By investigating the variations of physical and biochemical parameters in eddies, we find that abnormal eddies have unique and significant effects on modulating the parameters. This study fills a gap in understanding the effects of abnormal eddies on physical and biochemical parameters in the Southern Ocean.
Caroline Ulses, Claude Estournel, Patrick Marsaleix, Karline Soetaert, Marine Fourrier, Laurent Coppola, Dominique Lefèvre, Franck Touratier, Catherine Goyet, Véronique Guglielmi, Fayçal Kessouri, Pierre Testor, and Xavier Durrieu de Madron
Biogeosciences, 20, 4683–4710, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4683-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4683-2023, 2023
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Deep convection plays a key role in the circulation, thermodynamics, and biogeochemical cycles in the Mediterranean Sea, considered to be a hotspot of biodiversity and climate change. In this study, we investigate the seasonal and annual budget of dissolved inorganic carbon in the deep-convection area of the northwestern Mediterranean Sea.
Daniela König and Alessandro Tagliabue
Biogeosciences, 20, 4197–4212, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4197-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4197-2023, 2023
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Using model simulations, we show that natural and anthropogenic changes in the global climate leave a distinct fingerprint in the isotopic signatures of iron in the surface ocean. We find that these climate effects on iron isotopes are often caused by the redistribution of iron from different external sources to the ocean, due to changes in ocean currents, and by changes in algal growth, which take up iron. Thus, isotopes may help detect climate-induced changes in iron supply and algal uptake.
Chloé Baumas, Robin Fuchs, Marc Garel, Jean-Christophe Poggiale, Laurent Memery, Frédéric A. C. Le Moigne, and Christian Tamburini
Biogeosciences, 20, 4165–4182, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4165-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4165-2023, 2023
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Through the sink of particles in the ocean, carbon (C) is exported and sequestered when reaching 1000 m. Attempts to quantify C exported vs. C consumed by heterotrophs have increased. Yet most of the conducted estimations have led to C demands several times higher than C export. The choice of parameters greatly impacts the results. As theses parameters are overlooked, non-accurate values are often used. In this study we show that C budgets can be well balanced when using appropriate values.
Anna Belcher, Sian F. Henley, Katharine Hendry, Marianne Wootton, Lisa Friberg, Ursula Dallman, Tong Wang, Christopher Coath, and Clara Manno
Biogeosciences, 20, 3573–3591, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3573-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3573-2023, 2023
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The oceans play a crucial role in the uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide, particularly the Southern Ocean. The biological pumping of carbon from the surface to the deep ocean is key to this. Using sediment trap samples from the Scotia Sea, we examine biogeochemical fluxes of carbon, nitrogen, and biogenic silica and their stable isotope compositions. We find phytoplankton community structure and physically mediated processes are important controls on particulate fluxes to the deep ocean.
Asmita Singh, Susanne Fietz, Sandy J. Thomalla, Nicolas Sanchez, Murat V. Ardelan, Sébastien Moreau, Hanna M. Kauko, Agneta Fransson, Melissa Chierici, Saumik Samanta, Thato N. Mtshali, Alakendra N. Roychoudhury, and Thomas J. Ryan-Keogh
Biogeosciences, 20, 3073–3091, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3073-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3073-2023, 2023
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Despite the scarcity of iron in the Southern Ocean, seasonal blooms occur due to changes in nutrient and light availability. Surprisingly, during an autumn bloom in the Antarctic sea-ice zone, the results from incubation experiments showed no significant photophysiological response of phytoplankton to iron addition. This suggests that ambient iron concentrations were sufficient, challenging the notion of iron deficiency in the Southern Ocean through extended iron-replete post-bloom conditions.
Benoît Pasquier, Mark Holzer, Matthew A. Chamberlain, Richard J. Matear, Nathaniel L. Bindoff, and François W. Primeau
Biogeosciences, 20, 2985–3009, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2985-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2985-2023, 2023
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Modeling the ocean's carbon and oxygen cycles accurately is challenging. Parameter optimization improves the fit to observed tracers but can introduce artifacts in the biological pump. Organic-matter production and subsurface remineralization rates adjust to compensate for circulation biases, changing the pathways and timescales with which nutrients return to the surface. Circulation biases can thus strongly alter the system’s response to ecological change, even when parameters are optimized.
Priyanka Banerjee
Biogeosciences, 20, 2613–2643, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2613-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2613-2023, 2023
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This study shows that atmospheric deposition is the most important source of iron to the upper northern Indian Ocean for phytoplankton growth. This is followed by iron from continental-shelf sediment. Phytoplankton increase following iron addition is possible only with high background levels of nitrate. Vertical mixing is the most important physical process supplying iron to the upper ocean in this region throughout the year. The importance of ocean currents in supplying iron varies seasonally.
Iris Kriest, Julia Getzlaff, Angela Landolfi, Volkmar Sauerland, Markus Schartau, and Andreas Oschlies
Biogeosciences, 20, 2645–2669, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2645-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2645-2023, 2023
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Global biogeochemical ocean models are often subjectively assessed and tuned against observations. We applied different strategies to calibrate a global model against observations. Although the calibrated models show similar tracer distributions at the surface, they differ in global biogeochemical fluxes, especially in global particle flux. Simulated global volume of oxygen minimum zones varies strongly with calibration strategy and over time, rendering its temporal extrapolation difficult.
John C. Tracey, Andrew R. Babbin, Elizabeth Wallace, Xin Sun, Katherine L. DuRussel, Claudia Frey, Donald E. Martocello III, Tyler Tamasi, Sergey Oleynik, and Bess B. Ward
Biogeosciences, 20, 2499–2523, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2499-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2499-2023, 2023
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Nitrogen (N) is essential for life; thus, its availability plays a key role in determining marine productivity. Using incubations of seawater spiked with a rare form of N measurable on a mass spectrometer, we quantified microbial pathways that determine marine N availability. The results show that pathways that recycle N have higher rates than those that result in its loss from biomass and present new evidence for anaerobic nitrite oxidation, a process long thought to be strictly aerobic.
Amanda Gerotto, Hongrui Zhang, Renata Hanae Nagai, Heather M. Stoll, Rubens César Lopes Figueira, Chuanlian Liu, and Iván Hernández-Almeida
Biogeosciences, 20, 1725–1739, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1725-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1725-2023, 2023
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Based on the analysis of the response of coccolithophores’ morphological attributes in a laboratory dissolution experiment and surface sediment samples from the South China Sea, we proposed that the thickness shape (ks) factor of fossil coccoliths together with the normalized ks variation, which is the ratio of the standard deviation of ks (σ) over the mean ks (σ/ks), is a robust and novel proxy to reconstruct past changes in deep ocean carbon chemistry.
Katherine E. Turner, Doug M. Smith, Anna Katavouta, and Richard G. Williams
Biogeosciences, 20, 1671–1690, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1671-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1671-2023, 2023
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We present a new method for reconstructing ocean carbon using climate models and temperature and salinity observations. To test this method, we reconstruct modelled carbon using synthetic observations consistent with current sampling programmes. Sensitivity tests show skill in reconstructing carbon trends and variability within the upper 2000 m. Our results indicate that this method can be used for a new global estimate for ocean carbon content.
Alexandre Mignot, Hervé Claustre, Gianpiero Cossarini, Fabrizio D'Ortenzio, Elodie Gutknecht, Julien Lamouroux, Paolo Lazzari, Coralie Perruche, Stefano Salon, Raphaëlle Sauzède, Vincent Taillandier, and Anna Teruzzi
Biogeosciences, 20, 1405–1422, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1405-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1405-2023, 2023
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Numerical models of ocean biogeochemistry are becoming a major tool to detect and predict the impact of climate change on marine resources and monitor ocean health. Here, we demonstrate the use of the global array of BGC-Argo floats for the assessment of biogeochemical models. We first detail the handling of the BGC-Argo data set for model assessment purposes. We then present 23 assessment metrics to quantify the consistency of BGC model simulations with respect to BGC-Argo data.
Alban Planchat, Lester Kwiatkowski, Laurent Bopp, Olivier Torres, James R. Christian, Momme Butenschön, Tomas Lovato, Roland Séférian, Matthew A. Chamberlain, Olivier Aumont, Michio Watanabe, Akitomo Yamamoto, Andrew Yool, Tatiana Ilyina, Hiroyuki Tsujino, Kristen M. Krumhardt, Jörg Schwinger, Jerry Tjiputra, John P. Dunne, and Charles Stock
Biogeosciences, 20, 1195–1257, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1195-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1195-2023, 2023
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Ocean alkalinity is critical to the uptake of atmospheric carbon and acidification in surface waters. We review the representation of alkalinity and the associated calcium carbonate cycle in Earth system models. While many parameterizations remain present in the latest generation of models, there is a general improvement in the simulated alkalinity distribution. This improvement is related to an increase in the export of biotic calcium carbonate, which closer resembles observations.
Jérôme Pinti, Tim DeVries, Tommy Norin, Camila Serra-Pompei, Roland Proud, David A. Siegel, Thomas Kiørboe, Colleen M. Petrik, Ken H. Andersen, Andrew S. Brierley, and André W. Visser
Biogeosciences, 20, 997–1009, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-997-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-997-2023, 2023
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Large numbers of marine organisms such as zooplankton and fish perform daily vertical migration between the surface (at night) and the depths (in the daytime). This fascinating migration is important for the carbon cycle, as these organisms actively bring carbon to depths where it is stored away from the atmosphere for a long time. Here, we quantify the contributions of different animals to this carbon drawdown and storage and show that fish are important to the biological carbon pump.
Alastair J. M. Lough, Alessandro Tagliabue, Clément Demasy, Joseph A. Resing, Travis Mellett, Neil J. Wyatt, and Maeve C. Lohan
Biogeosciences, 20, 405–420, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-405-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-405-2023, 2023
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Iron is a key nutrient for ocean primary productivity. Hydrothermal vents are a source of iron to the oceans, but the size of this source is poorly understood. This study examines the variability in iron inputs between hydrothermal vents in different geological settings. The vents studied release different amounts of Fe, resulting in plumes with similar dissolved iron concentrations but different particulate concentrations. This will help to refine modelling of iron-limited ocean productivity.
Nicole M. Travis, Colette L. Kelly, Margaret R. Mulholland, and Karen L. Casciotti
Biogeosciences, 20, 325–347, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-325-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-325-2023, 2023
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The primary nitrite maximum is a ubiquitous upper ocean feature where nitrite accumulates, but we still do not understand its formation and the co-occurring microbial processes involved. Using correlative methods and rates measurements, we found strong spatial patterns between environmental conditions and depths of the nitrite maxima, but not the maximum concentrations. Nitrification was the dominant source of nitrite, with occasional high nitrite production from phytoplankton near the coast.
Natacha Le Grix, Jakob Zscheischler, Keith B. Rodgers, Ryohei Yamaguchi, and Thomas L. Frölicher
Biogeosciences, 19, 5807–5835, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5807-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5807-2022, 2022
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Compound events threaten marine ecosystems. Here, we investigate the potentially harmful combination of marine heatwaves with low phytoplankton productivity. Using satellite-based observations, we show that these compound events are frequent in the low latitudes. We then investigate the drivers of these compound events using Earth system models. The models share similar drivers in the low latitudes but disagree in the high latitudes due to divergent factors limiting phytoplankton production.
Abigale M. Wyatt, Laure Resplandy, and Adrian Marchetti
Biogeosciences, 19, 5689–5705, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5689-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5689-2022, 2022
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Marine heat waves (MHWs) are a frequent event in the northeast Pacific, with a large impact on the region's ecosystems. Large phytoplankton in the North Pacific Transition Zone are greatly affected by decreased nutrients, with less of an impact in the Alaskan Gyre. For small phytoplankton, MHWs increase the spring small phytoplankton population in both regions thanks to reduced light limitation. In both zones, this results in a significant decrease in the ratio of large to small phytoplankton.
Margot C. F. Debyser, Laetitia Pichevin, Robyn E. Tuerena, Paul A. Dodd, Antonia Doncila, and Raja S. Ganeshram
Biogeosciences, 19, 5499–5520, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5499-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5499-2022, 2022
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We focus on the exchange of key nutrients for algae production between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans through the Fram Strait. We show that the export of dissolved silicon here is controlled by the availability of nitrate which is influenced by denitrification on Arctic shelves. We suggest that any future changes in the river inputs of silica and changes in denitrification due to climate change will impact the amount of silicon exported, with impacts on Atlantic algal productivity and ecology.
Emily J. Zakem, Barbara Bayer, Wei Qin, Alyson E. Santoro, Yao Zhang, and Naomi M. Levine
Biogeosciences, 19, 5401–5418, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5401-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5401-2022, 2022
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We use a microbial ecosystem model to quantitatively explain the mechanisms controlling observed relative abundances and nitrification rates of ammonia- and nitrite-oxidizing microorganisms in the ocean. We also estimate how much global carbon fixation can be associated with chemoautotrophic nitrification. Our results improve our understanding of the controls on nitrification, laying the groundwork for more accurate predictions in global climate models.
Zuozhu Wen, Thomas J. Browning, Rongbo Dai, Wenwei Wu, Weiying Li, Xiaohua Hu, Wenfang Lin, Lifang Wang, Xin Liu, Zhimian Cao, Haizheng Hong, and Dalin Shi
Biogeosciences, 19, 5237–5250, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5237-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5237-2022, 2022
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Fe and P are key factors controlling the biogeography and activity of marine N2-fixing microorganisms. We found lower abundance and activity of N2 fixers in the northern South China Sea than around the western boundary of the North Pacific, and N2 fixation rates switched from Fe–P co-limitation to P limitation. We hypothesize the Fe supply rates and Fe utilization strategies of each N2 fixer are important in regulating spatial variability in community structure across the study area.
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Short summary
The California Current system (CCS) hosts the eastern subtropical North Pacific oxygen minimum zone (ESTNP OMZ). This study shows anaerobic ammonium oxidizing (anammox) bacteria cause a loss of bioavailable nitrogen (N) in the ESTNP OMZ throughout the late Quaternary. Anammox occurred during both glacial and interglacial periods and was driven by the supply of organic matter and changes in ocean currents. These findings may have important consequences for biogeochemical models of the CCS.
The California Current system (CCS) hosts the eastern subtropical North Pacific oxygen minimum...
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