Articles | Volume 23, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-1159-2026
© Author(s) 2026. 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-23-1159-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
09 Feb 2026
Research article |
| 09 Feb 2026
| 09 Feb 2026
Carbon burial in two Greenland fjords shows no direct link to glacier type
Marine Biology Research Group, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281, S8 9000, Gent, Belgium
Emil De Borger
Marine Biology Research Group, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281, S8 9000, Gent, Belgium
Lorenz Meire
Greenland Climate Research Centre, Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, Kivioq 2, 3900 Nuuk, Greenland
Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (NIOZ), Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Korringaweg 7, P.O. Box 140, 4401, NT, Yerseke, the Netherlands
Samuel Bodé
Isotope Bioscience Laboratory (ISOFYS), Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
Antonio Schirone
ENEA, Department of Sustainability, Marine Environment Research Centre S. Teresa, Via Santa Teresa 1, 19032 Pozzuolo di Lerici, Italy
Karline Soetaert
Royal Netherlands Institute of Sea Research (NIOZ), Department of Estuarine and Delta Systems, Korringaweg 7, P.O. Box 140, 4401, NT, Yerseke, the Netherlands
Ann Vanreusel
Marine Biology Research Group, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281, S8 9000, Gent, Belgium
Ulrike Braeckman
Marine Biology Research Group, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281, S8 9000, Gent, Belgium
Institute of Natural Sciences, Operational Directorate Natural Environment, Vautierstraat 29, 1000, Brussels, Belgium
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Emil De Borger, Karline Soetaert, Esther Cepeda Gamella, Arthur Capet, Jan Vanaverbeke, and Ulrike Braeckman
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3576, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-3576, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Biogeosciences (BG).
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We developed a new computer model to better understand how sandy seabed sediments process organic matter. Then, we used field measurements around an offshore wind turbine in the North Sea to guide model simulations. It showed that sediments closest to turbines receive more organic material throughout the year, that is efficiently processed. This modelling approach improves our ability to quantify seabed carbon cycling in dynamic coastal environments.
Qi Liu, Karline Soetaert, Lucille Hoogerdijk, Valle Perez-Rodriguez, and Lubos Polerecky
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4452, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4452, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Biogeosciences (BG).
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Coastal mudflats store carbon and recycle nutrients, but their functioning is strongly affected by changing environmental conditions. We developed a computer model, supported by laboratory measurements, to predict how oxygen changes under different light, temperature, and tidal conditions. Our results identify the main processes controlling oxygen cycling and provide an open-source tool for predicting how coastal ecosystems may respond to environmental change.
Olivier Beauchard and Karline Soetaert
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-444, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2026-444, 2026
Preprint under review for ESSD
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Biological trait data often represent the bottleneck of biodiversity research. Given the growing demand for such data and the absence of worldwide data standard for the marine benthos, we propose a detailed terminology and provide a corresponding data base that covers the ecology of 1893 marine invertebrate species for 41 traits expressing life history, dwelling mode and ecosystem function.
Tjitske J. Kooistra, Anna-Maartje de Boer, Tjeerd J. Bouma, Natascia Pannozzo, Stuart G. Pearson, Ad van der Spek, Henko de Stigter, Jakob Wallinga, Rob Witbaard, and Karline Soetaert
Biogeosciences, 23, 2477–2501, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-2477-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-2477-2026, 2026
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On intertidal flats, it is hard to distinguish sediment mixing by animals from reworking by waves and currents. We combined tracers to identify reworking of grains of different sizes on the short- and long term. Coarse (sand) grains were less mobile than fine (mud) grains, and partly kept their layering after deposition. The luminescence properties of sand grains can be used for sediment dating and can show sediment mixing, but this method needs to be tested more for young, intertidal sediments.
Marilaure Grégoire, Luc Vandenbulcke, Séverine Chevalier, Mathurin Choblet, Ilya Drozd, Jean-François Grailet, Evgeny Ivanov, Loïc Macé, Polina Verezemskaya, Haolin Yu, Lauranne Alaerts, Ny Riana Randresihaja, Victor Mangeleer, Guillaume Maertens de Noordhout, Arthur Capet, Catherine Meulders, Anne Mouchet, Guy Munhoven, and Karline Soetaert
Geosci. Model Dev., 19, 2137–2175, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-2137-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-2137-2026, 2026
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This paper describes the ocean BiogeochemicAl Model for Hypoxic and Benthic Influenced areas (BAMHBI). BAMHBI is a moderate complexity marine biogeochemical model that describes the cycling of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, silicon and oxygen through the marine foodweb. BAMHBI is a stand-alone biogeochemical model that can be coupled to any hydrodynamical model and is particularly appropriate for modelling low oxygen environments and the generation of sulfidic waters.
Evert de Froe, Christian Mohn, Karline Soetaert, Anna-Selma van der Kaaden, Gert-Jan Reichart, Laurence H. De Clippele, Sandra R. Maier, and Dick van Oevelen
Ocean Sci., 22, 843–870, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-843-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-843-2026, 2026
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Cold-water corals are important reef-building animals in the deep sea and are distributed globally. Until now, scientists have been mapping and predicting where cold-water corals can be found using video transects and statistical models. This study provides the first process-based model in which corals are predicted based on ocean currents and food particle movement. The results show that resupply of food by tidal currents near the seafloor is crucial for predicting where corals can grow.
Aurora Patchett, Louise Rütting, Tobias Rütting, Samuel Bodé, Sara Hallin, Jaanis Juhanson, C. Florian Stange, Mats P. Björkman, Pascal Boeckx, Gunhild Rosqvist, and Robert G. Björk
Biogeosciences, 22, 6841–6860, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-6841-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-6841-2025, 2025
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This study explores how different types of fungi and plant species affect nitrogen cycling in Arctic soils. By removing certain plants, we found that fungi associated with shrubs speed up nitrogen processes more than those with grasses. Dominant plant species enhance nitrogen recycling, while rare species increase nitrogen loss. These findings help predict how Arctic ecosystems respond to climate change, highlighting the importance of fungi and plant diversity in regulating ecosystem processes.
Corina Wieber, Lasse Z. Jensen, Leendert Vergeynst, Lorenz Meire, Thomas Juul-Pedersen, Kai Finster, and Tina Šantl-Temkiv
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3327–3346, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3327-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3327-2025, 2025
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The Arctic region is subject to profound changes due to a warming climate. Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) in the seawater can get transported to the atmosphere and impact cloud formation. However, the sources of characteristics of INPs in the marine areas are poorly understood. We investigated the INPs in seawater from Greenlandic fjords and identified a seasonal variability, with highly active INPs originating from terrestrial sources such as glacial and soil runoff.
Sarah Paradis, Justin Tiano, Emil De Borger, Antonio Pusceddu, Clare Bradshaw, Claudia Ennas, Claudia Morys, and Marija Sciberras
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 16, 3547–3563, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3547-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-16-3547-2024, 2024
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DISOM is a database that compiles data of 71 independent studies that assess the effect of demersal fisheries on sedimentological and biogeochemical properties. This database also provides crucial metadata (i.e. environmental and fishing descriptors) needed to understand the effects of demersal fisheries in a global context.
Anna-Selma van der Kaaden, Dick van Oevelen, Christian Mohn, Karline Soetaert, Max Rietkerk, Johan van de Koppel, and Theo Gerkema
Ocean Sci., 20, 569–587, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-569-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-569-2024, 2024
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Cold-water corals (CWCs) and tidal waves in the interior of the ocean have been connected in case studies. We demonstrate this connection globally using hydrodynamic simulations and a CWC database. Internal-tide generation shows a similar depth pattern with slope steepness and latitude as CWCs. Our results suggest that internal-tide generation can be a useful predictor of CWC habitat and that current CWC habitats might change following climate-change-related shoaling of internal-tide generation.
Anna-Selma van der Kaaden, Sandra R. Maier, Siluo Chen, Laurence H. De Clippele, Evert de Froe, Theo Gerkema, Johan van de Koppel, Furu Mienis, Christian Mohn, Max Rietkerk, Karline Soetaert, and Dick van Oevelen
Biogeosciences, 21, 973–992, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-973-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-973-2024, 2024
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Combining hydrodynamic simulations and annotated videos, we separated which hydrodynamic variables that determine reef cover are engineered by cold-water corals and which are not. Around coral mounds, hydrodynamic zones seem to create a typical reef zonation, restricting corals from moving deeper (the expected response to climate warming). But non-engineered downward velocities in winter (e.g. deep winter mixing) seem more important for coral reef growth than coral engineering.
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.
Joseph Okello, Marijn Bauters, Hans Verbeeck, Samuel Bodé, John Kasenene, Astrid Françoys, Till Engelhardt, Klaus Butterbach-Bahl, Ralf Kiese, and Pascal Boeckx
Biogeosciences, 20, 719–735, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-719-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-719-2023, 2023
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The increase in global and regional temperatures has the potential to drive accelerated soil organic carbon losses in tropical forests. We simulated climate warming by translocating intact soil cores from higher to lower elevations. The results revealed increasing temperature sensitivity and decreasing losses of soil organic carbon with increasing elevation. Our results suggest that climate warming may trigger enhanced losses of soil organic carbon from tropical montane forests.
Stanley I. Nmor, Eric Viollier, Lucie Pastor, Bruno Lansard, Christophe Rabouille, and Karline Soetaert
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 7325–7351, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-7325-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-7325-2022, 2022
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The coastal marine environment serves as a transition zone in the land–ocean continuum and is susceptible to episodic phenomena such as flash floods, which cause massive organic matter deposition. Here, we present a model of sediment early diagenesis that explicitly describes this type of deposition while also incorporating unique flood deposit characteristics. This model can be used to investigate the temporal evolution of marine sediments following abrupt changes in environmental conditions.
Justin C. Tiano, Jochen Depestele, Gert Van Hoey, João Fernandes, Pieter van Rijswijk, and Karline Soetaert
Biogeosciences, 19, 2583–2598, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2583-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2583-2022, 2022
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This study gives an assessment of bottom trawling on physical, chemical, and biological characteristics in a location known for its strong currents and variable habitats. Although trawl gears only removed the top 1 cm of the seabed surface, impacts on reef-building tubeworms significantly decreased carbon and nutrient cycling. Lighter trawls slightly reduced the impact on fauna and nutrients. Tubeworms were strongly linked to biogeochemical and faunal aspects before but not after trawling.
Alice E. Webb, Didier M. de Bakker, Karline Soetaert, Tamara da Costa, Steven M. A. C. van Heuven, Fleur C. van Duyl, Gert-Jan Reichart, and Lennart J. de Nooijer
Biogeosciences, 18, 6501–6516, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-6501-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-6501-2021, 2021
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The biogeochemical behaviour of shallow reef communities is quantified to better understand the impact of habitat degradation and species composition shifts on reef functioning. The reef communities investigated barely support reef functions that are usually ascribed to conventional coral reefs, and the overall biogeochemical behaviour is found to be similar regardless of substrate type. This suggests a decrease in functional diversity which may therefore limit services provided by this reef.
Chiu H. Cheng, Jaco C. de Smit, Greg S. Fivash, Suzanne J. M. H. Hulscher, Bas W. Borsje, and Karline Soetaert
Earth Surf. Dynam., 9, 1335–1346, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1335-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-9-1335-2021, 2021
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Shells are biogenic particles that are widespread throughout natural sandy environments and can affect the bed roughness and seabed erodibility. As studies are presently lacking, we experimentally measured ripple formation and migration using natural sand with increasing volumes of shell material under unidirectional flow in a racetrack flume. We show that shells expedite the onset of sediment transport, reduce ripple dimensions and slow their migration rate.
Heleen Deroo, Masuda Akter, Samuel Bodé, Orly Mendoza, Haichao Li, Pascal Boeckx, and Steven Sleutel
Biogeosciences, 18, 5035–5051, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5035-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-5035-2021, 2021
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We assessed if and how incorporation of exogenous organic carbon (OC) such as straw could affect decomposition of native soil organic carbon (SOC) under different irrigation regimes. Addition of exogenous OC promoted dissolution of native SOC, partly because of increased Fe reduction, leading to more net release of Fe-bound SOC. Yet, there was no proportionate priming of SOC-derived DOC mineralisation. Water-saving irrigation can retard both priming of SOC dissolution and mineralisation.
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Short summary
As the Greenland Ice Sheet retreats, it is crucial to understand how this affects carbon burial in fjords. Comparing a fjord influenced by marine-terminating glaciers with one fed by a land-terminating glacier shows that high productivity near marine-terminating glaciers does not necessarily enhance carbon burial. Instead, the complex interplay of physical, biological, and sedimentary processes governs fjord carbon dynamics.
As the Greenland Ice Sheet retreats, it is crucial to understand how this affects carbon burial...
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