Articles | Volume 22, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-1821-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-22-1821-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
14 Apr 2025
Research article |
| 14 Apr 2025
| 14 Apr 2025
Low sensitivity of a heavily calcified coccolithophore under increasing CO2: the case study of Helicosphaera carteri
Stefania Bianco
Department of Science, Technology and Society, University School for Advanced Studies IUSS Pavia, Pavia, 27100, Italy
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, 27100, Italy
Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), Barcelona, 08193, Spain
Manuela Bordiga
Oceanography Section, National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics – OGS, Trieste, 34151, Italy
Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), Barcelona, 08193, Spain
Patrizia Ziveri
Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (ICTA-UAB), Barcelona, 08193, Spain
Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Barcelona, 08010, Spain
Federica Cerino
Oceanography Section, National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics – OGS, Trieste, 34151, Italy
Andrea Di Giulio
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, 27100, Italy
Claudia Lupi
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, 27100, Italy
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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Biogeosciences (BG).
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This study is the first to explore seasonal changes in coccolithophores, microscopic algae important for ocean life and the carbon cycle, off the coast of Nigeria. Their abundance and diversity increased during the rainy season, driven by shifts in the Intertropical Convergence Zone. Despite regional differences, these coastal communities show patterns similar to other parts of the world, revealing possible shared environmental pressures.
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Short summary
In September 2021, the Italian Arctic Research Programme funded a multidisciplinary study along 75° N in the Greenland Sea as part of the CASSANDRA project and the Synoptic Arctic Survey (SAS) programme. This study emphasises the spatial variability of water properties, nutrient distribution, and biological communities determined by oceanographic dynamics in a region influenced by sea ice melting, Atlantic Water inflow, and climatic teleconnections during a record low summer sea ice extent.
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Short summary
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Coccolithophores are important marine CaCO3 producers and their biominerals, the coccoliths, partly dissolve in the upper water column where dissolution is unexpected. Studying coccolith dissolution in field samples is hampered by a paucity of experimental studies describing dissolution morphologies. Here we fill this gap by experimentally dissolving different coccolithophores and applying our results to field samples.
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Short summary
This work focuses on the response in culture experiments to increasing CO2 of the coccolithophore species Helicosphaera carteri, a unicellular marine calcifying microalgae. The absence of significant changes in coccolith malformations, along with stable size, shape, and calcification-to-photosynthesis ratio, is indicative of H. carteri low sensitivity to CO2 rise, together with its ability to maintain a stable contribution to the marine rain ratio under future climate changes.
This work focuses on the response in culture experiments to increasing CO2 of the...
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