Articles | Volume 21, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1601-2024
© 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-21-1601-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Technical note
| 
28 Mar 2024
Technical note |
| 28 Mar 2024
| 28 Mar 2024
Technical note: A comparison of methods for estimating coccolith mass
Celina Rebeca Valença
Department of Oceanography, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, 50740-550, Brazil
Luc Beaufort
Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, IRD, INRAE, CEREGE, Aix-en-Provence, France
Gustaaf Marinus Hallegraeff
Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 129, TAS 7001, Australia
Marius Nils Müller
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Oceanography, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, 50740-550, Brazil
Macau Environmental Research Institute, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau SAR, China
Related authors
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Pauline Cornuault, Luc Beaufort, Heiko Pälike, Torsten Bickert, Karl-Heinz Baumann, and Michal Kucera
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-198, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-198, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Biogeosciences (BG).
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We present new high-resolution data of the relative contribution of the two main pelagic carbonate producers (coccoliths and foraminifera) to the total pelagic carbonate production from the tropical Atlantic in past warm periods since the Miocene. Our findings suggests that the two groups responded differently to orbital forcing and oceanic changes in tropical ocean, but their proportion changes did not drive the changes in overall pelagic carbonate deposition.
Luc Beaufort and Anta-Clarisse Sarr
Clim. Past, 20, 1283–1301, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1283-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-1283-2024, 2024
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At present, under low eccentricity, the tropical ocean experiences a limited seasonality. Based on eight climate simulations of sea surface temperature and primary production, we show that, during high-eccentricity times, significant seasons existed in the tropics due to annual changes in the Earth–Sun distance. Those tropical seasons are slowly shifting in the calendar year to be distinct from classical seasons. Their past dynamics should have influenced phenomena like ENSO and monsoons.
Martin Tetard, Laetitia Licari, Ekaterina Ovsepyan, Kazuyo Tachikawa, and Luc Beaufort
Biogeosciences, 18, 2827–2841, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2827-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2827-2021, 2021
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Oxygen minimum zones are oceanic regions almost devoid of dissolved oxygen and are currently expanding due to global warming. Investigation of their past behaviour will allow better understanding of these areas and better prediction of their future evolution. A new method to estimate past [O2] was developed based on morphometric measurements of benthic foraminifera. This method and two other approaches based on foraminifera assemblages and porosity were calibrated using 45 core tops worldwide.
Luc Beaufort, Yves Gally, Baptiste Suchéras-Marx, Patrick Ferrand, and Julien Duboisset
Biogeosciences, 18, 775–785, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-775-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-775-2021, 2021
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The coccoliths are major contributors to the particulate inorganic carbon in the ocean. They are extremely difficult to weigh because they are too small to be manipulated. We propose a universal method to measure thickness and weight of fine calcite using polarizing microscopy that does not require fine-tuning of the light or a calibration process. This method named "bidirectional circular polarization" uses two images taken with two directions of a circular polarizer.
Martin Tetard, Ross Marchant, Giuseppe Cortese, Yves Gally, Thibault de Garidel-Thoron, and Luc Beaufort
Clim. Past, 16, 2415–2429, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2415-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2415-2020, 2020
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Radiolarians are marine micro-organisms that produce a siliceous shell that is preserved in the fossil record and can be used to reconstruct past climate variability. However, their study is only possible after a time-consuming manual selection of their shells from the sediment followed by their individual identification. Thus, we develop a new fully automated workflow consisting of microscopic radiolarian image acquisition, image processing and identification using artificial intelligence.
Xinquan Zhou, Stéphanie Duchamp-Alphonse, Masa Kageyama, Franck Bassinot, Luc Beaufort, and Christophe Colin
Clim. Past, 16, 1969–1986, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1969-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1969-2020, 2020
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We provide a high-resolution primary productivity (PP) record of the northeastern Bay of Bengal over the last 26 000 years. Combined with climate model outputs, we show that PP over the glacial period is controlled by river input nutrients under low sea level conditions and after the Last Glacial Maximum is controlled by upper seawater salinity stratification related to monsoon precipitation. During the deglaciation the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation is the main forcing factor.
Priscilla Le Mézo, Luc Beaufort, Laurent Bopp, Pascale Braconnot, and Masa Kageyama
Clim. Past, 13, 759–778, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-759-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-13-759-2017, 2017
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This paper focuses on the relationship between Arabian Sea biological productivity and the Indian summer monsoon in climates of the last 72 kyr. A general circulation model coupled to a biogeochemistry model simulates the changes in productivity and monsoon intensity and pattern. The paradigm stating that a stronger summer monsoon enhances productivity is not always verified in our simulations. This work highlights the importance of considering the monsoon pattern in addition to its intensity.
K. J. S. Meier, L. Beaufort, S. Heussner, and P. Ziveri
Biogeosciences, 11, 2857–2869, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-2857-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-2857-2014, 2014
C. J. O'Brien, J. A. Peloquin, M. Vogt, M. Heinle, N. Gruber, P. Ajani, H. Andruleit, J. Arístegui, L. Beaufort, M. Estrada, D. Karentz, E. Kopczyńska, R. Lee, A. J. Poulton, T. Pritchard, and C. Widdicombe
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 5, 259–276, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-5-259-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-5-259-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Biogeochemistry: Environmental Microbiology
Ideas and perspectives: Microorganisms in the air through the lenses of atmospheric chemistry and microphysics
Clouds influence the functioning of airborne microorganisms
Effects of surface water interactions with karst groundwater on microbial biomass, metabolism, and production
Overview: Global change effects on terrestrial biogeochemistry at the plant–soil interface
Grazing mortality as a controlling factor in the uncultured non-cyanobacterial diazotroph (Gamma A) around the Kuroshio region
Changes in diazotrophic community structure associated with Kuroshio succession in the northern South China Sea
Animal burrowing at cold seep ecotones boosts productivity by linking macromolecule turnover with chemosynthesis and nutrient cycling
Technical note: Flow cytometry assays for the detection, counting and cell-sorting of polyphosphate-accumulating bacteria
Fractionation of stable carbon isotopes during formate consumption in anoxic rice paddy soils and lake sediments
Characteristics of bacterial and fungal communities and their associations with sugar compounds in atmospheric aerosols at a rural site in northern China
Responses of globally important phytoplankton species to olivine dissolution products and implications for carbon dioxide removal via ocean alkalinity enhancement
Differentiation of cognate bacterial communities in thermokarst landscapes: implications for ecological consequences of permafrost degradation
A multi-phase biogeochemical model for mitigating earthquake-induced liquefaction via microbially induced desaturation and calcium carbonate precipitation
Phosphorus regulates ectomycorrhizal fungi biomass production in a Norway spruce forest
Reallocation of elemental content and macromolecules in the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi to acclimate to climate change
Abrasion of sedimentary rocks as a source of hydrogen peroxide and nutrients to subglacial ecosystems
Nitrous oxide (N2O) synthesis by the freshwater cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa
Interdisciplinary strategy to assess the impact of meteorological variables on the biochemical composition of the rain and the dynamics of a small eutrophic lake under rain forcing
Depth-related patterns in microbial community responses to complex organic matter in the western North Atlantic Ocean
Assessing the influence of ocean alkalinity enhancement on a coastal phytoplankton community
Eddy-enhanced primary production sustains heterotrophic microbial activities in the Eastern Tropical North Atlantic
Composition and niche-specific characteristics of microbial consortia colonizing Marsberg copper mine in the Rhenish Massif
Diversity and assembly processes of microbial eukaryotic communities in Fildes Peninsula Lakes (West Antarctica)
Nitrophobic ectomycorrhizal fungi are associated with enhanced hydrophobicity of soil organic matter in a Norway spruce forest
Physiological control on carbon isotope fractionation in marine phytoplankton
Implementation of mycorrhizal mechanisms into soil carbon model improves the prediction of long-term processes of plant litter decomposition
Impact of dust addition on the microbial food web under present and future conditions of pH and temperature
Fractionation of stable carbon isotopes during acetate consumption by methanogenic and sulfidogenic microbial communities in rice paddy soils and lake sediments
Hydrothermal trace metal release and microbial metabolism in the northeastern Lau Basin of the South Pacific Ocean
Sedimentation rate and organic matter dynamics shape microbiomes across a continental margin
Disturbance triggers non-linear microbe–environment feedbacks
Hydrographic fronts shape productivity, nitrogen fixation, and microbial community composition in the southern Indian Ocean and the Southern Ocean
Microbial and geo-archaeological records reveal the growth rate, origin and composition of desert rock surface communities
Metagenomic insights into the metabolism of microbial communities that mediate iron and methane cycling in Lake Kinneret iron-rich methanic sediments
Spatiotemporal patterns of N2 fixation in coastal waters derived from rate measurements and remote sensing
Biotic and abiotic transformation of amino acids in cloud water: experimental studies and atmospheric implications
Potential bioavailability of organic matter from atmospheric particles to marine heterotrophic bacteria
Microbial functional signature in the atmospheric boundary layer
New insight to niche partitioning and ecological function of ammonia oxidizing archaea in subtropical estuarine ecosystem
Impact of reactive surfaces on the abiotic reaction between nitrite and ferrous iron and associated nitrogen and oxygen isotope dynamics
Reviews and syntheses: Bacterial bioluminescence – ecology and impact in the biological carbon pump
Salinity-dependent algae uptake and subsequent carbon and nitrogen metabolisms of two intertidal foraminifera (Ammonia tepida and Haynesina germanica)
On giant shoulders: how a seamount affects the microbial community composition of seawater and sponges
Spatial variations in sedimentary N-transformation rates in the North Sea (German Bight)
Patterns of (trace) metals and microorganisms in the Rainbow hydrothermal vent plume at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Co-occurrence of Fe and P stress in natural populations of the marine diazotroph Trichodesmium
Senescence as the main driver of iodide release from a diverse range of marine phytoplankton
Reviews and syntheses: Biological weathering and its consequences at different spatial levels – from nanoscale to global scale
Deep-sea sponge grounds as nutrient sinks: denitrification is common in boreo-Arctic sponges
Inducing the attachment of cable bacteria on oxidizing electrodes
Barbara Ervens, Pierre Amato, Kifle Aregahegn, Muriel Joly, Amina Khaled, Tiphaine Labed-Veydert, Frédéric Mathonat, Leslie Nuñez López, Raphaëlle Péguilhan, and Minghui Zhang
Biogeosciences, 22, 243–256, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-243-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-243-2025, 2025
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Atmospheric microorganisms are a small fraction of Earth's microbiome, with bacteria being a significant part. Aerosolized bacteria are airborne for a few days, encountering unique chemical and physical conditions affecting stress levels and survival. We explore chemical and microphysical conditions bacteria encounter, highlighting potential nutrient and oxidant limitations and diverse effects by pollutants, which may ultimately impact the microbiome's role in global ecosystems and biodiversity.
Raphaëlle Péguilhan, Florent Rossi, Muriel Joly, Engy Nasr, Bérénice Batut, François Enault, Barbara Ervens, and Pierre Amato
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2338, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2338, 2024
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Using comparative metagenomics/metatranscriptomics, we examined the functioning of airborne microorganisms in clouds and clear atmosphere; clouds are atmospheric volumes where multiple microbial processes are promoted compared with clear atmosphere; Overrepresented microbial functions of interest include the processing of chemical compounds, biomass production and the regulation of oxidants; - this has implications for biogeochemical cycles and microbial ecology.
Adrian Barry-Sosa, Madison K. Flint, Justin C. Ellena, Jonathan B. Martin, and Brent C. Christner
Biogeosciences, 21, 3965–3984, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3965-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3965-2024, 2024
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This study examined springs in north central Florida focusing on how interactions between the surface and subsurface affected the properties of groundwater microbes. We found that microbes reproduced at rates that greatly exceed those documented for any other aquifer. Although the groundwater discharged to spring runs contains low concentrations of nutrients, our results indicate that microbes have access to sources of energy and produce new cells at rates similar to surface waterbodies.
Lucia Fuchslueger, Emily Francesca Solly, Alberto Canarini, and Albert Carles Brangarí
Biogeosciences, 21, 3959–3964, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3959-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-3959-2024, 2024
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This overview of the special issue “Global change effects on terrestrial biogeochemistry at the plant–soil interface” features empirical, conceptual and modelling-based studies and outlines key findings on plant responses to elevated CO2; soil organism responses to warming; impacts on soil organic carbon, nitrogen and mineral nutrient cycling; and water level changes affecting greenhouse gas emissions, from the Arctic to the tropics, which are crucial for deciphering feedbacks to global change.
Takuya Sato, Tamaha Yamaguchi, Kiyotaka Hidataka, Sayaka Sogawa, Takashi Setou, Taketoshi Kodama, Takuhei Shiozaki, and Kazutaka Takahashi
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1294, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1294, 2024
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Gamma A is a widespread non-cyanobacterial diazotroph and plays a crucial role for marine ecosystems, but its controlling factors are still largely unknown. This study, for the first time, quantified microzooplankton grazing on Gamma A and revealed significance of grazing pressure on Gamma A distribution around the Kuroshio region. It highlights the importance of top-down controls on Gamma A abundance and the associated nitrogen cycle.
Han Zhang, Guangming Mai, Weicheng Luo, Meng Chen, Ran Duan, and Tuo Shi
Biogeosciences, 21, 2529–2546, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2529-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-2529-2024, 2024
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We report taxon-specific biogeography of N2-fixing microbes (diazotrophs) driven by Kuroshio intrusion (Kl) into the South China Sea. We show that the composition and distribution of distinct diazotrophic taxa shift with Kl-induced variations in physicochemical parameters of seawater and that Kl shapes diazotrophic community primarily as a stochastic process. This study thus has implications for the distribution of diazotrophs in a future warming ocean, as Kls are projected to intensify.
Maxim Rubin-Blum, Eyal Rahav, Guy Sisma-Ventura, Yana Yudkovski, Zoya Harbozov, Or Bialik, Oded Ezra, Anneleen Foubert, Barak Herut, and Yizhaq Makovsky
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1285, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1285, 2024
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Geochemical cycles and biodiversity are altered at transition zones of chemosynthetic ecosystems, chemotones. We asked if burrowing alters the functionality of these habitats. We surveyed the seafloor, analyzed sediment properties, and explored microbial communities in ghost shrimp burrows. We made an exciting discovery of chemosynthetic biofilms, linking them to macromolecule turnover and nutrient cycling, using metagenomics. This phenomenon may play an important role in biogeochemical cycles.
Clémentin Bouquet, Hermine Billard, Cécile Bidaud, Jonathan Colombet, Young-Tae Chang, Karim Benzerara, Fériel Skouri-Panet, Elodie Duprat, and Anne-Catherine Lehours
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1085, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1085, 2024
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In the context of the ecological sustainability of phosphorus (P), the ubiquitous presence of polyphosphate-accumulating bacteria (PAB) in natural environments invites efforts to reveal their unknown roles in the biogeochemical cycle of P. In this study, we provide a generic protocol for the detection, quantification, and cell sorting of PAB by combining efficient staining of intracellular polyphosphate (polyP) granules in PAB and their subsequent detection by flow cytometry.
Ralf Conrad and Peter Claus
Biogeosciences, 21, 1161–1172, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1161-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-1161-2024, 2024
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Knowledge of carbon isotope fractionation is important for the assessment of the pathways involved in the degradation of organic matter. Formate is an important intermediate during this process. It was mainly converted to carbon dioxide and acetate both in the presence and absence of sulfate. Methane was only a minor product and was mainly formed from the acetate. The acetate was depleted in the heavy carbon atom relative to formate, while the carbon dioxide was enriched.
Mutong Niu, Shu Huang, Wei Hu, Yajie Wang, Wanyun Xu, Wan Wei, Qiang Zhang, Zihan Wang, Donghuan Zhang, Rui Jin, Libin Wu, Junjun Deng, Fangxia Shen, and Pingqing Fu
Biogeosciences, 20, 4915–4930, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4915-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4915-2023, 2023
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Sugar compounds in air can trace the source of bioaerosols that affect public health and climate. In rural north China, we observed increased fungal activity at night and less variable bacterial community diversity. Certain night-increasing sugar compounds were more closely related to fungi than bacteria. The fungal community greatly influenced sugar compounds, while bacteria played a limited role. Caution is advised when using sugar compounds to trace airborne microbes, particularly bacteria.
David A. Hutchins, Fei-Xue Fu, Shun-Chung Yang, Seth G. John, Stephen J. Romaniello, M. Grace Andrews, and Nathan G. Walworth
Biogeosciences, 20, 4669–4682, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4669-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4669-2023, 2023
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Applications of the mineral olivine are a promising means to capture carbon dioxide via coastal enhanced weathering, but little is known about the impacts on important marine phytoplankton. We examined the effects of olivine dissolution products on species from three major phytoplankton groups: diatoms, coccolithophores, and cyanobacteria. Growth and productivity were generally either unaffected or stimulated, suggesting the effects of olivine on key phytoplankton are negligible or positive.
Ze Ren, Shudan Ye, Hongxuan Li, Xilei Huang, and Luyao Chen
Biogeosciences, 20, 4241–4258, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4241-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4241-2023, 2023
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Permafrost thaw initiates thermokarst landscape formation, resulting in distinct new habitats, including degraded permafrost soil, thermokarst lake sediments, and lake water. These distinct habitats harbored differentiated bacterial communities that originated from the same source, differing in diversity, assembly mechanisms, and environmental influences. The results imply ecological consequences of permafrost degradation in the face of further climate change.
Caitlyn A. Hall, Andre van Turnhout, Edward Kavazanjian Jr., Leon A. van Paassen, and Bruce Rittmann
Biogeosciences, 20, 2903–2917, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2903-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2903-2023, 2023
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Earthquake-induced soil liquefaction poses a significant global threat. Microbially induced desaturation and precipitation (MIDP) via denitrification is a potentially sustainable, non-disruptive bacteria-driven ground improvement technique under existing structures. We developed a next-generation biogeochemical model to understand and predict the behavior of MIDP in the natural environment to design field-based hazard mitigation treatments.
Juan Pablo Almeida, Lorenzo Menichetti, Alf Ekblad, Nicholas P. Rosenstock, and Håkan Wallander
Biogeosciences, 20, 1443–1458, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1443-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1443-2023, 2023
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In forests, trees allocate a significant amount of carbon belowground to support mycorrhizal symbiosis. In northern forests nitrogen normally regulates this allocation and consequently mycorrhizal fungi growth. In this study we demonstrate that in a conifer forest from Sweden, fungal growth is regulated by phosphorus instead of nitrogen. This is probably due to an increase in nitrogen deposition to soils caused by decades of human pollution that has altered the ecosystem nutrient regime.
Yong Zhang, Yong Zhang, Shuai Ma, Hanbing Chen, Jiabing Li, Zhengke Li, Kui Xu, Ruiping Huang, Hong Zhang, Yonghe Han, and Jun Sun
Biogeosciences, 20, 1299–1312, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1299-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1299-2023, 2023
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We found that increasing light intensity compensates for the negative effects of low phosphorus (P) availability on cellular protein and nitrogen contents. Reduced P availability, increasing light intensity, and ocean acidification act synergistically to increase cellular contents of carbohydrate and POC and the allocation of POC to carbohydrate. These regulation mechanisms in Emiliania huxleyi could provide vital information for evaluating carbon cycle in marine ecosystems under global change.
Beatriz Gill-Olivas, Jon Telling, Mark Skidmore, and Martyn Tranter
Biogeosciences, 20, 929–943, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-929-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-929-2023, 2023
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Microbial ecosystems have been found in all subglacial environments sampled to date. Yet, little is known of the sources of energy and nutrients that sustain these microbial populations. This study shows that crushing of sedimentary rocks, which contain organic carbon, carbonate and sulfide minerals, along with previously weathered silicate minerals, produces a range of compounds and nutrients which can be utilised by the diverse suite of microbes that inhabit glacier beds.
Federico Fabisik, Benoit Guieysse, Jonathan Procter, and Maxence Plouviez
Biogeosciences, 20, 687–693, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-687-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-687-2023, 2023
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We show, for the first time, that pure cultures of the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa can synthesize the potent greenhouse gas N2O using nitrite as substrate. Our findings have broad environmental implications because M. aeruginosa is globally found in freshwater ecosystems and is often the dominant species found in algae blooms. Further research is now needed to determine the occurrence and significance of N2O emissions from ecosystems rich with M. aeruginosa.
Fanny Noirmain, Jean-Luc Baray, Frédéric Tridon, Philippe Cacault, Hermine Billard, Guillaume Voyard, Joël Van Baelen, and Delphine Latour
Biogeosciences, 19, 5729–5749, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5729-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5729-2022, 2022
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We present a study linking rain, meteorology, and mountain lake phytoplankton dynamics on the basis of a case study at Aydat (France) in September 2020. The air mass origin mainly influences the rain chemical composition, which depends on the type of rain, convective or stratiform. Our results also highlighted a non-negligible presence of photosynthetic cells in rainwater. The impact of the atmospheric forcing on the lake could play a key role in phytoplankton dynamics in the temperate zone.
Sarah A. Brown, John Paul Balmonte, Adrienne Hoarfrost, Sherif Ghobrial, and Carol Arnosti
Biogeosciences, 19, 5617–5631, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5617-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5617-2022, 2022
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Bacteria use extracellular enzymes to cut large organic matter to sizes small enough for uptake. We compared the enzymatic response of surface, mid-water, and deep-ocean bacteria to complex natural substrates. Bacteria in surface and mid-depth waters produced a much wider range of enzymes than those in the deep ocean and may therefore consume a broader range of organic matter. The extent to which organic matter is recycled by bacteria depends in part on its residence time at different depths.
Aaron Ferderer, Zanna Chase, Fraser Kennedy, Kai G. Schulz, and Lennart T. Bach
Biogeosciences, 19, 5375–5399, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5375-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5375-2022, 2022
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Ocean alkalinity enhancement has the capacity to remove vast quantities of carbon from the atmosphere, but its effect on marine ecosystems is largely unknown. We assessed the effect of increased alkalinity on a coastal phytoplankton community when seawater was equilibrated and not equilibrated with atmospheric CO2. We found that the phytoplankton community was moderately affected by increased alkalinity and equilibration with atmospheric CO2 had little influence on this effect.
Quentin Devresse, Kevin W. Becker, Arne Bendinger, Johannes Hahn, and Anja Engel
Biogeosciences, 19, 5199–5219, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5199-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5199-2022, 2022
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Eddies are ubiquitous in the ocean and alter physical, chemical, and biological processes. However, how they affect organic carbon production and consumption is largely unknown. Here we show how an eddy triggers a cascade effect on biomass production and metabolic activities of phyto- and bacterioplankton. Our results may contribute to the improvement of biogeochemical models used to estimate carbon fluxes in the ocean.
Sania Arif, Heiko Nacke, Elias Schliekmann, Andreas Reimer, Gernot Arp, and Michael Hoppert
Biogeosciences, 19, 4883–4902, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4883-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4883-2022, 2022
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The natural enrichment of Chloroflexi (Ktedonobacteria) at the Kilianstollen Marsberg copper mine rocks being exposed to the acidic sulfate-rich leachate led to an investigation of eight metagenomically assembled genomes (MAGs) involved in copper and other transition heavy metal resistance in addition to low pH resistance and aromatic compounds degradation. The present study offers functional insights about a novel cold-adapted Ktedonobacteria MAG extremophily along with other phyla MAGs.
Chunmei Zhang, Huirong Li, Yinxin Zeng, Haitao Ding, Bin Wang, Yangjie Li, Zhongqiang Ji, Yonghong Bi, and Wei Luo
Biogeosciences, 19, 4639–4654, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4639-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4639-2022, 2022
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The unique microbial eukaryotic community structure and lower diversity have been demonstrated in five freshwater lakes of the Fildes Peninsula, Antarctica. Stochastic processes and biotic co-occurrence patterns were shown to be important in shaping microbial eukaryotic communities in the area. Our study provides a better understanding of the dynamic patterns and ecological assembly processes of microbial eukaryotic communities in Antarctic oligotrophic lakes (Fildes Peninsula).
Juan Pablo Almeida, Nicholas P. Rosenstock, Susanne K. Woche, Georg Guggenberger, and Håkan Wallander
Biogeosciences, 19, 3713–3726, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3713-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3713-2022, 2022
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Fungi living in symbiosis with tree roots can accumulate belowground, forming special tissues than can repel water. We measured the water repellency of organic material incubated belowground and correlated it with fungal growth. We found a positive association between water repellency and root symbiotic fungi. These results are important because an increase in soil water repellency can reduce the release of CO2 from soils into the atmosphere and mitigate the effects of greenhouse gasses.
Karen M. Brandenburg, Björn Rost, Dedmer B. Van de Waal, Mirja Hoins, and Appy Sluijs
Biogeosciences, 19, 3305–3315, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3305-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3305-2022, 2022
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Reconstructions of past CO2 concentrations rely on proxy estimates, with one line of proxies relying on the CO2-dependence of stable carbon isotope fractionation in marine phytoplankton. Culturing experiments provide insights into which processes may impact this. We found, however, that the methods with which these culturing experiments are performed also influence 13C fractionation. Caution should therefore be taken when extrapolating results from these experiments to proxy applications.
Weilin Huang, Peter M. van Bodegom, Toni Viskari, Jari Liski, and Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia
Biogeosciences, 19, 1469–1490, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1469-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1469-2022, 2022
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This work focuses on one of the essential pathways of mycorrhizal impact on C cycles: the mediation of plant litter decomposition. We present a model based on litter chemical quality which precludes a conclusive examination of mycorrhizal impacts on soil C. It improves long-term decomposition predictions and advances our understanding of litter decomposition dynamics. It creates a benchmark in quantitatively examining the impacts of plant–microbe interactions on soil C dynamics.
Julie Dinasquet, Estelle Bigeard, Frédéric Gazeau, Farooq Azam, Cécile Guieu, Emilio Marañón, Céline Ridame, France Van Wambeke, Ingrid Obernosterer, and Anne-Claire Baudoux
Biogeosciences, 19, 1303–1319, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1303-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1303-2022, 2022
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Saharan dust deposition of nutrients and trace metals is crucial to microbes in the Mediterranean Sea. Here, we tested the response of microbial and viral communities to simulated dust deposition under present and future conditions of temperature and pH. Overall, the effect of the deposition was dependent on the initial microbial assemblage, and future conditions will intensify microbial responses. We observed effects on trophic interactions, cascading all the way down to viral processes.
Ralf Conrad, Pengfei Liu, and Peter Claus
Biogeosciences, 18, 6533–6546, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-6533-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-6533-2021, 2021
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Acetate is an important intermediate during the anaerobic degradation of organic matter. It is consumed by methanogenic and sulfidogenic microorganisms accompanied by stable carbon isotope fractionation. We determined isotope fractionation under different conditions in two paddy soils and two lake sediments and also determined the composition of the microbial communities. Despite a relatively wide range of experimental conditions, the range of fractionation factors was quite moderate.
Natalie R. Cohen, Abigail E. Noble, Dawn M. Moran, Matthew R. McIlvin, Tyler J. Goepfert, Nicholas J. Hawco, Christopher R. German, Tristan J. Horner, Carl H. Lamborg, John P. McCrow, Andrew E. Allen, and Mak A. Saito
Biogeosciences, 18, 5397–5422, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5397-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5397-2021, 2021
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A previous study documented an intense hydrothermal plume in the South Pacific Ocean; however, the iron release associated with this plume and the impact on microbiology were unclear. We describe metal concentrations associated with multiple hydrothermal plumes in this region and protein signatures of plume-influenced microbes. Our findings demonstrate that resources released from these systems can be transported away from their source and may alter the physiology of surrounding microbes.
Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, Tarunendu Mapder, Svetlana Fernandes, Chayan Roy, Jagannath Sarkar, Moidu Jameela Rameez, Subhrangshu Mandal, Abhijit Sar, Amit Kumar Chakraborty, Nibendu Mondal, Sumit Chatterjee, Bomba Dam, Aditya Peketi, Ranadhir Chakraborty, Aninda Mazumdar, and Wriddhiman Ghosh
Biogeosciences, 18, 5203–5222, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5203-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5203-2021, 2021
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Physicochemical determinants of microbiome architecture across continental shelves–slopes are unknown, so we explored the geomicrobiology along 3 m sediment horizons of seasonal (shallow coastal) and perennial (deep sea) hypoxic zones of the Arabian Sea. Nature, concentration, and fate of the organic matter delivered to the sea floor were found to shape the microbiome across the western Indian margin, under direct–indirect influence of sedimentation rate and water column O2 level.
Aditi Sengupta, Sarah J. Fansler, Rosalie K. Chu, Robert E. Danczak, Vanessa A. Garayburu-Caruso, Lupita Renteria, Hyun-Seob Song, Jason Toyoda, Jacqueline Hager, and James C. Stegen
Biogeosciences, 18, 4773–4789, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4773-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4773-2021, 2021
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Conceptual models link microbes with the environment but are untested. We test a recent model using riverbed sediments. We exposed sediments to disturbances, going dry and becoming wet again. As the length of dry conditions got longer, there was a sudden shift in the ecology of microbes, chemistry of organic matter, and rates of microbial metabolism. We propose a new model based on feedbacks initiated by disturbance that cascade across biological, chemical, and functional aspects of the system.
Cora Hörstmann, Eric J. Raes, Pier Luigi Buttigieg, Claire Lo Monaco, Uwe John, and Anya M. Waite
Biogeosciences, 18, 3733–3749, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3733-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3733-2021, 2021
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Microbes are the main drivers of productivity and nutrient cycling in the ocean. We present a combined approach assessing C and N uptake and microbial community diversity across ecological provinces in the Southern Ocean and southern Indian Ocean. Provinces showed distinct genetic fingerprints, but microbial activity varied gradually across regions, correlating with nutrient concentrations. Our study advances the biogeographic understanding of microbial diversity across C and N uptake regimes.
Nimrod Wieler, Tali Erickson Gini, Osnat Gillor, and Roey Angel
Biogeosciences, 18, 3331–3342, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3331-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-3331-2021, 2021
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Biological rock crusts (BRCs) are common microbial-based assemblages covering rocks in drylands. BRCs play a crucial role in arid environments because of the limited activity of plants and soil. Nevertheless, BRC development rates have never been dated. Here we integrated archaeological, microbiological and geological methods to provide a first estimation of the growth rate of BRCs under natural conditions. This can serve as an affordable dating tool in archaeological sites in arid regions.
Michal Elul, Maxim Rubin-Blum, Zeev Ronen, Itay Bar-Or, Werner Eckert, and Orit Sivan
Biogeosciences, 18, 2091–2106, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2091-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-2091-2021, 2021
Mindaugas Zilius, Irma Vybernaite-Lubiene, Diana Vaiciute, Donata Overlingė, Evelina Grinienė, Anastasija Zaiko, Stefano Bonaglia, Iris Liskow, Maren Voss, Agneta Andersson, Sonia Brugel, Tobia Politi, and Paul A. Bukaveckas
Biogeosciences, 18, 1857–1871, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1857-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1857-2021, 2021
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In fresh and brackish waters, algal blooms are often dominated by cyanobacteria, which have the ability to utilize atmospheric nitrogen. Cyanobacteria are also unusual in that they float to the surface and are dispersed by wind-driven currents. Their patchy and dynamic distribution makes it difficult to track their abundance and quantify their effects on nutrient cycling. We used remote sensing to map the distribution of cyanobacteria in a large Baltic lagoon and quantify their contributions.
Saly Jaber, Muriel Joly, Maxence Brissy, Martin Leremboure, Amina Khaled, Barbara Ervens, and Anne-Marie Delort
Biogeosciences, 18, 1067–1080, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1067-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-1067-2021, 2021
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Our study is of interest to atmospheric scientists and environmental microbiologists, as we show that clouds can be considered a medium where bacteria efficiently degrade and transform amino acids, in competition with chemical processes. As current atmospheric multiphase models are restricted to chemical degradation of organic compounds, our conclusions motivate further model development.
Kahina Djaoudi, France Van Wambeke, Aude Barani, Nagib Bhairy, Servanne Chevaillier, Karine Desboeufs, Sandra Nunige, Mohamed Labiadh, Thierry Henry des Tureaux, Dominique Lefèvre, Amel Nouara, Christos Panagiotopoulos, Marc Tedetti, and Elvira Pulido-Villena
Biogeosciences, 17, 6271–6285, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6271-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6271-2020, 2020
Romie Tignat-Perrier, Aurélien Dommergue, Alban Thollot, Olivier Magand, Timothy M. Vogel, and Catherine Larose
Biogeosciences, 17, 6081–6095, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6081-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6081-2020, 2020
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The adverse atmospheric environmental conditions do not appear suited for microbial life. We conducted the first global comparative metagenomic analysis to find out if airborne microbial communities might be selected by their ability to resist these adverse conditions. The relatively higher concentration of fungi led to the observation of higher proportions of stress-related functions in air. Fungi might likely resist and survive atmospheric physical stress better than bacteria.
Yanhong Lu, Shunyan Cheung, Ling Chen, Shuh-Ji Kao, Xiaomin Xia, Jianping Gan, Minhan Dai, and Hongbin Liu
Biogeosciences, 17, 6017–6032, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6017-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-6017-2020, 2020
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Through a comprehensive investigation, we observed differential niche partitioning among diverse ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) sublineages in a typical subtropical estuary. Distinct AOA communities observed at DNA and RNA levels suggested that a strong divergence in ammonia-oxidizing activity among different AOA groups occurs. Our result highlights the importance of identifying major ammonia oxidizers at RNA level in future studies.
Anna-Neva Visser, Scott D. Wankel, Pascal A. Niklaus, James M. Byrne, Andreas A. Kappler, and Moritz F. Lehmann
Biogeosciences, 17, 4355–4374, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4355-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4355-2020, 2020
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This study focuses on the chemical reaction between Fe(II) and nitrite, which has been reported to produce high levels of the greenhouse gas N2O. We investigated the extent to which dead biomass and Fe(II) minerals might enhance this reaction. Here, nitrite reduction was highest when both additives were present but less pronounced if only Fe(II) minerals were added. Both reaction systems show distinct differences, rather low N2O levels, and indicated the abiotic production of N2.
Lisa Tanet, Séverine Martini, Laurie Casalot, and Christian Tamburini
Biogeosciences, 17, 3757–3778, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3757-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3757-2020, 2020
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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.
Michael Lintner, Bianca Biedrawa, Julia Wukovits, Wolfgang Wanek, and Petra Heinz
Biogeosciences, 17, 3723–3732, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3723-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3723-2020, 2020
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Foraminifera are unicellular marine organisms that play an important role in the marine element cycle. Changes of environmental parameters such as salinity or temperature have a significant impact on the faunal assemblages. Our experiments show that changing salinity in the German Wadden Sea immediately influences the foraminiferal community. It seems that A. tepida is better adapted to salinity fluctuations than H. germanica.
Kathrin Busch, Ulrike Hanz, Furu Mienis, Benjamin Mueller, Andre Franke, Emyr Martyn Roberts, Hans Tore Rapp, and Ute Hentschel
Biogeosciences, 17, 3471–3486, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3471-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-3471-2020, 2020
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Seamounts are globally abundant submarine structures that offer great potential to study the impacts and interactions of environmental gradients at a single geographic location. In an exemplary way, we describe potential mechanisms by which a seamount can affect the structure of pelagic and benthic (sponge-)associated microbial communities. We conclude that the geology, physical oceanography, biogeochemistry, and microbiology of seamounts are even more closely linked than currently appreciated.
Alexander Bratek, Justus E. E. van
Beusekom, Andreas Neumann, Tina Sanders, Jana Friedrich, Kay-Christian Emeis, and Kirstin Dähnke
Biogeosciences, 17, 2839–2851, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2839-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2839-2020, 2020
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The following paper highlights the importance of benthic N-transformation rates in different sediment types in the southern North Sea as a source of fixed nitrogen for primary producers and also as a sink of fixed nitrogen. Sedimentary fluxes of dissolved inorganic nitrogen support ∼7 to 59 % of the average annual primary production. Semi-permeable and permeable sediments contribute ∼68 % of the total benthic N2 production rates, counteracting eutrophication in the southern North Sea.
Sabine Haalboom, David M. Price, Furu Mienis, Judith D. L. van Bleijswijk, Henko C. de Stigter, Harry J. Witte, Gert-Jan Reichart, and Gerard C. A. Duineveld
Biogeosciences, 17, 2499–2519, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2499-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2499-2020, 2020
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Mineral mining in deep-sea hydrothermal settings will lead to the formation of plumes of fine-grained, chemically reactive, suspended matter. Understanding how natural hydrothermal plumes evolve as they disperse from their source, and how they affect their surrounding environment, may help in characterising the behaviour of the diluted part of mining plumes. The natural plume provided a heterogeneous, geochemically enriched habitat conducive to the development of a distinct microbial ecology.
Noelle A. Held, Eric A. Webb, Matthew M. McIlvin, David A. Hutchins, Natalie R. Cohen, Dawn M. Moran, Korinna Kunde, Maeve C. Lohan, Claire Mahaffey, E. Malcolm S. Woodward, and Mak A. Saito
Biogeosciences, 17, 2537–2551, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2537-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2537-2020, 2020
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Trichodesmium is a globally important marine nitrogen fixer that stimulates primary production in the surface ocean. We surveyed metaproteomes of Trichodesmium populations across the North Atlantic and other oceans, and we found that they experience simultaneous phosphate and iron stress because of the biophysical limits of nutrient uptake. Importantly, nitrogenase was most abundant during co-stress, indicating the potential importance of this phenotype to global nitrogen and carbon cycling.
Helmke Hepach, Claire Hughes, Karen Hogg, Susannah Collings, and Rosie Chance
Biogeosciences, 17, 2453–2471, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2453-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-2453-2020, 2020
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Tropospheric iodine takes part in numerous atmospheric chemical cycles, including tropospheric ozone destruction and aerosol formation. Due to its significance for atmospheric processes, it is crucial to constrain its sources and sinks. This paper aims at investigating and understanding features of biogenic iodate-to-iodide reduction in microalgal monocultures. We find that phytoplankton senescence may play a crucial role in the release of iodide to the marine environment.
Roger D. Finlay, Shahid Mahmood, Nicholas Rosenstock, Emile B. Bolou-Bi, Stephan J. Köhler, Zaenab Fahad, Anna Rosling, Håkan Wallander, Salim Belyazid, Kevin Bishop, and Bin Lian
Biogeosciences, 17, 1507–1533, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1507-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1507-2020, 2020
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Effects of biological activity on mineral weathering operate at scales ranging from short-term, microscopic interactions to global, evolutionary timescale processes. Microorganisms have had well-documented effects at large spatio-temporal scales, but to establish the quantitative significance of microscopic measurements for field-scale processes, higher-resolution studies of liquid chemistry at local weathering sites and improved upscaling to soil-scale dissolution rates are still required.
Christine Rooks, James Kar-Hei Fang, Pål Tore Mørkved, Rui Zhao, Hans Tore Rapp, Joana R. Xavier, and Friederike Hoffmann
Biogeosciences, 17, 1231–1245, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1231-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1231-2020, 2020
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Sponge grounds are known as nutrient sources, providing nitrate and ammonium to the ocean. We found that they also can do the opposite: in six species from Arctic and North Atlantic sponge grounds, we measured high rates of denitrification, which remove these nutrients from the sea. Rates were highest when the sponge tissue got low in oxygen, which happens when sponges stop pumping because of stress. Sponge grounds may become nutrient sinks when exposed to stress.
Cheng Li, Clare E. Reimers, and Yvan Alleau
Biogeosciences, 17, 597–607, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-597-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-597-2020, 2020
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Novel filamentous cable bacteria that grow in the top layer of intertidal mudflat sediment were attracted to electrodes poised at a positive electrical potential. Several diverse morphologies of Desulfobulbaceae filaments, cells, and colonies were observed on the electrode surface. These observations provide information to suggest conditions that will induce cable bacteria to perform electron donation to an electrode, informing future experiments that culture cable bacteria outside of sediment.
Cited articles
Aloisi, G.: Covariation of metabolic rates and cell size in coccolithophores, Biogeosciences, 12, 4665–4692, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-4665-2015, 2015.
Bach, L. T., Bauke, C., Meier, K. J. S., Riebesell, U., and Schulz, K. G.: Influence of changing carbonate chemistry on morphology and weight of coccoliths formed by Emiliania huxleyi, Biogeosciences, 9, 3449–3463, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-3449-2012, 2012.
Bach, L. T., Riebesell, U., Gutowska, M. A., Federwisch, L., and Schulz, K. G.: A unifying concept of coccolithophore sensitivity to changing carbonate chemistry embedded in an ecological framework, Prog. Oceanogr., 135, 125–138, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2015.04.012, 2015.
Beaufort, L.: Weight estimates of coccoliths using the optical properties (birefringence) of calcite, Micropaleontology, 51, 289–297, https://doi.org/10.2113/gsmicropal.51.4.289, 2005.
Beaufort, L. and Dollfus, D.: Automatic recognition of coccoliths by dynamical neural networks, Mar. Micropaleontol., 51, 57–73, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marmicro.2003.09.003, 2004.
Beaufort, L., Probert, I., De Garidel-Thoron, T., Bendif, E. M., Ruiz-Pino, D., Metzl, N., Goyet, C., Buchet, N., Coupel, P., Grelaud, M., Rost, B., Rickaby, R. E. M., and De Vargas, C.: Sensitivity of coccolithophores to carbonate chemistry and ocean acidification, Nature, 476, 80–83, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10295, 2011.
Beaufort, L., Barbarin, N., and Gally, Y.: Optical measurements to determine the thickness of calcite crystals and the mass of thin carbonate particles such as coccoliths, Nat. Prot., 9, 633–642, https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2014.028, 2014.
Beaufort, L., Gally, Y., Suchéras-Marx, B., Ferrand, P., and Duboisset, J.: Technical note: A universal method for measuring the thickness of microscopic calcite crystals, based on bidirectional circular polarization, Biogeosciences, 18, 775–785, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-775-2021, 2021.
Beaufort, L., Bolton, C. T., Sarr, A. C., Suchéras-Marx, B., Rosenthal, Y., Donnadieu, Y., Barbarin, N., Bova, S., Cornuault, P., Gally, Y., Gray, E., Mazur, J. C., and Tetard, M.: Cyclic evolution of phytoplankton forced by changes in tropical seasonality, Nature, 601, 79–84, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04195-7, 2022.
Bendif, E. M., Probert, I., Archontikis, O. A., Young, J. R., Beaufort, L., Rickaby, R. E., and Filatov, D.: Rapid diversification underlying the global dominance of a cosmopolitan phytoplankton, ISME J., 17, 630–640, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-023-01365-5, 2023.
Beuvier, T., Probert, I., Beaufort, L., Suchéras-Marx, B., Chushkin, Y, Zontone, F., and Gibaud, A.: X-ray nanotomography of coccolithophores reveals that coccolith mass and segment number correlate with grid size, Nat. Commun., 10, 751, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-08635-x, 2019.
Bollmann, J.: Technical note: weight approximation of coccoliths using a circular polarizer and interference colour derived retardation estimates – (the cpr method), Biogeosciences, 11, 1899–1910, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-1899-2014, 2014.
Bolton, C. T., Hernández-Sánchez, M., Fuertes, M., González-Lemos, S., Abrevaya, L., Mendez-Vicente, A., Flores, J., Probert, I. Giosan, L., Johnson, J., and Stoll, H. M.: Decrease in coccolithophore calcification and CO2 since the middle miocene, Nat. Commun., 7, 10284, https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms10284, 2016.
Caamaño, J., Muñoz, M., Díez, C., and Gómez, E.: Polarized light microscopy in mammalian oocytes, Reprod. Domest. Anim., 45, 49–56, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0531.2010.01621.x, 2010.
Charalampopoulou, A., Poulton, A. J., Bakker, D. C. E., Lucas, M. I., Stinchcombe, M. C., and Tyrrell, T.: Environmental drivers of coccolithophore abundance and calcification across Drake Passage (Southern Ocean), Biogeosciences, 13, 5917–5935, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-5917-2016, 2016.
Chevin, L., Decorzent, G., and Lenormand, T.: Niche dimensionality and the genetics of ecological speciation, Evolution, 68, 1244–1256, https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.12346, 2014.
Cook, S. S., Whittock, L., Wright, S. W., and Hallegraeff, G. M.: Photosynthetic pigment and genetic differences between two Southern Ocean morphotypes of Emiliania huxleyi (Haptophyta), J. Phycol., 47, 615–626, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1529-8817.2011.00992.x, 2011.
Cook, S. S., Jones, R. C., Vaillancourt, R. E., and Hallegraeff, G. M.: Genetic differentiation among Australian and Southern Ocean populations of the ubiquitous coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi (Haptophyta), Phycologia, 52, 368–374, https://doi.org/10.2216/12-111.1, 2013.
Çopuroğlu, O.: Revealing the dark side of portlandite clusters in cement paste by circular polarization microscopy, Materials, 9, 176, https://doi.org/10.3390/ma9030176, 2016.
Cubillos, J. C., Wright, S. W., Nash, G., De Salas, M. F., Griffiths, B., Tilbrook, B., Poisson, A., and Hallegraeff, G. M.: Calcification morphotypes of the coccolithophorid Emiliania huxleyi in the Southern Ocean: Changes in 2001 to 2006 compared to historical data, Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser., 348, 47–54, https://doi.org/10.3354/meps07058, 2007.
D'Amario, B., Ziveri, P., Grelaud, M., and Oviedo, A.: Emiliania huxleyi coccolith calcite mass modulation by morphological changes and ecology in the Mediterranean Sea, Plos One, 13, e0201161, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201161, 2018.
Fan, X., Batchelor-McAuley, C., Yang, M., Barton, S. G., Rickaby, R. E. M., Bouman, H. A., and Compton, R. G.: Quantifying the extent of calcification of a coccolithophore using a coulter counter, Anal. Chem., 94, 12664–12672, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.2c01971, 2022.
Faucher, G., Hoffmann, L., Bach, L. T., Bottini, C., Erba, E., and Riebesell, U.: Impact of trace metal concentrations on coccolithophore growth and morphology: laboratory simulations of Cretaceous stress, Biogeosciences, 14, 3603–3613, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-3603-2017, 2017.
Faucher, G., Riebesell, U., and Bach, L. T.: Can morphological features of coccolithophores serve as a reliable proxy to reconstruct environmental conditions of the past?, Clim. Past, 16, 1007–1025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-1007-2020, 2020.
Fielding, S. R., Herrle, J. O., Bollmann, J., Worden, R. H., and Montagnesd, D. J. S.: Assessing the applicability of Emiliania huxleyi coccolith morphology as a sea-surface salinity proxy, Limnol. Oceanogr., 54, 1475–1480, https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2009.54.5.1475, 2009.
Gordon, H. and Du, T.: Light scattering by nonspherical particles: application to coccoliths detached from Emiliania huxleyi, Limnol. Oceanogr., 46, 1438–1454, https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2001.46.6.1438, 2001.
Henderiks, J. and Pagani, M.: Coccolithophore cell size and the Paleogene decline in atmospheric CO2, Earth Planet. Sc. Lett., 269, 576–584, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2008.03.016, 2008.
Hermoso, M. and Minoletti, F.: Mass and fine-scale morphological changes induced by changing seawater pH in the coccolith Gephyrocapsa oceanica, J. Geophys. Res.-Biogeo., 123, 2761–2774, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018jg004535, 2018.
Hoffmann, R., Kirchlechner, C., Langer, G., Wochnik, A. S., Griesshaber, E., Schmahl, W. W., and Scheu, C.: Insight into Emiliania huxleyi coccospheres by focused ion beam sectioning, Biogeosciences, 12, 825–834, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-825-2015, 2015.
Horigome, M. T., Ziveri, P., Grelaud, M., Baumann, K.-H., Marino, G., and Mortyn, P. G.: Environmental controls on the Emiliania huxleyi calcite mass, Biogeosciences, 11, 2295–2308, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-2295-2014, 2014.
Jin, X., Liu, C., Poulton, A., Dai, M., and Guo, X.: Coccolithophore responses to environmental variability in the south china sea: species composition and calcite content, Biogeosciences, 13, 4843–4861, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4843-2016, 2016.
Linge Johnsen, S. A. and Bollmann, J.: Coccolith mass and morphology of different Emiliania huxleyi morphotypes: A critical examination using Canary Islands material, Plos One, 15, e0230569, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0230569, 2020.
Litchman, E., Pinto, P. d. T., Edwards, K. F., Klausmeier, C. A., Kremer, C. T., and Thomas, M. K.: Global biogeochemical impacts of phytoplankton: a trait-based perspective, J. Ecol., 103, 1384–1396, https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12438, 2015.
Mackinder, L., Wheeler, G., Schroeder, D., von Dassow, P., Riebesell, U., and Brownlee, C.: Expression of biomineralization-related ion transport genes in Emiliania huxleyi, Environ. Microbiol., 13, 3250–3265, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2011.02561.x, 2011.
Meier, K. J. S., Beaufort, L., Heussner, S., and Ziveri, P.: The role of ocean acidification in Emiliania huxleyi coccolith thinning in the Mediterranean Sea, Biogeosciences, 11, 2857–2869, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-2857-2014, 2014.
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Short summary
Coccolithophores contribute to the global carbon cycle and their calcite structures (coccoliths) are used as a palaeoproxy to understand past oceanographic conditions. Here, we compared three frequently used methods to estimate coccolith mass from the model species Emiliania huxleyi and the results allow for a high level of comparability between the methods, facilitating future comparisons and consolidation of mass changes observed from ecophysiological and biogeochemical studies.
Coccolithophores contribute to the global carbon cycle and their calcite structures (coccoliths)...
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