Ecological and biogeochemical functioning of the coastal upwelling system off Peru: an in situ mesocosm study
Ecological and biogeochemical functioning of the coastal upwelling system off Peru: an in situ mesocosm study
Editor(s): Eric Achterberg, Javier Arístegui, Francisco Chavez, Michelle I. Graco, Hans-Peter Grossart, Dimitri Gutierrez, Ulf Riebesell, and Silvio Pantoja
The Peruvian upwelling system is one of the most productive ecosystems in the ocean. Continuous upwelling of nutrient-rich water generates high primary production, supporting an efficient food web and leading to high fishery yields. An extensive oxygen minimum zone underlying the productive surface waters gives rise to high losses of fixed nitrogen via denitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation. This results in nutrient ratios of upwelled waters deviating strongly from Redfield stoichiometry, with a high N deficit and excess P. How this unusual nutrient stoichiometry affects plankton community production and succession and how this feeds back on biogeochemical cycling are still not well understood. To address these questions, an in situ mesocosm experiment was conducted in the coastal upwelling system off Peru in the framework of the Collaborative Research Center 754 "Climate-Biogeochemistry Interactions in the Tropical Ocean". The field experiment took place from January to April 2017 during a coastal El Niño, a rare event of El Niño conditions confined to Peruvian coastal waters. Key objectives of this mesocosm study, which involved 57 researchers from 10 nations, were to unravel the interplay of pelagic ecology and biogeochemistry under the unique environmental conditions of the Peruvian upwelling system. This special issue in Biogeosciences is intended as a collective outlet for publications resulting from this study, covering the broad range of research topics from seawater chemistry to plankton ecology and pelagic biogeochemistry.

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04 Jan 2024
Lipid remodeling in phytoplankton exposed to multi-environmental drivers in a mesocosm experiment
Sebastian I. Cantarero, Edgart Flores, Harry Allbrook, Paulina Aguayo, Cristian A. Vargas, John E. Tamanaha, J. Bentley C. Scholz, Lennart T. Bach, Carolin R. Löscher, Ulf Riebesell, Balaji Rajagopalan, Nadia Dildar, and Julio Sepúlveda
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3110,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-3110, 2024
Revised manuscript under review for BG (discussion: final response, 9 comments)
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05 Jul 2023
Drivers of particle sinking velocities in the Peruvian upwelling system
Moritz Baumann, Allanah Joy Paul, Jan Taucher, Lennart Thomas Bach, Silvan Goldenberg, Paul Stange, Fabrizio Minutolo, and Ulf Riebesell
Biogeosciences, 20, 2595–2612, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2595-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2595-2023, 2023
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21 Apr 2023
Extracellular enzyme activity in the coastal upwelling system off Peru: a mesocosm experiment
Kristian Spilling, Jonna Piiparinen, Eric P. Achterberg, Javier Arístegui, Lennart T. Bach, Maria T. Camarena-Gómez, Elisabeth von der Esch, Martin A. Fischer, Markel Gómez-Letona, Nauzet Hernández-Hernández, Judith Meyer, Ruth A. Schmitz, and Ulf Riebesell
Biogeosciences, 20, 1605–1619, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1605-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1605-2023, 2023
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05 Apr 2023
Ecological divergence of a mesocosm in an eastern boundary upwelling system assessed with multi-marker environmental DNA metabarcoding
Markus A. Min, David M. Needham, Sebastian Sudek, Nathan Kobun Truelove, Kathleen J. Pitz, Gabriela M. Chavez, Camille Poirier, Bente Gardeler, Elisabeth von der Esch, Andrea Ludwig, Ulf Riebesell, Alexandra Z. Worden, and Francisco P. Chavez
Biogeosciences, 20, 1277–1298, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1277-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1277-2023, 2023
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09 Mar 2023
Zooplankton community succession and trophic links during a mesocosm experiment in the coastal upwelling off Callao Bay (Peru)
Patricia Ayón Dejo, Elda Luz Pinedo Arteaga, Anna Schukat, Jan Taucher, Rainer Kiko, Helena Hauss, Sabrina Dorschner, Wilhelm Hagen, Mariona Segura-Noguera, and Silke Lischka
Biogeosciences, 20, 945–969, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-945-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-945-2023, 2023
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21 Dec 2022
Upwelled plankton community modulates surface bloom succession and nutrient availability in a natural plankton assemblage
Allanah Joy Paul, Lennart Thomas Bach, Javier Arístegui, Elisabeth von der Esch, Nauzet Hernández-Hernández, Jonna Piiparinen, Laura Ramajo, Kristian Spilling, and Ulf Riebesell
Biogeosciences, 19, 5911–5926, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5911-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5911-2022, 2022
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19 Jan 2022
Temporal dynamics of surface ocean carbonate chemistry in response to natural and simulated upwelling events during the 2017 coastal El Niño near Callao, Peru
Shao-Min Chen, Ulf Riebesell, Kai G. Schulz, Elisabeth von der Esch, Eric P. Achterberg, and Lennart T. Bach
Biogeosciences, 19, 295–312, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-295-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-295-2022, 2022
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23 Jul 2021
Nitrogen loss processes in response to upwelling in a Peruvian coastal setting dominated by denitrification – a mesocosm approach
Kai G. Schulz, Eric P. Achterberg, Javier Arístegui, Lennart T. Bach, Isabel Baños, Tim Boxhammer, Dirk Erler, Maricarmen Igarza, Verena Kalter, Andrea Ludwig, Carolin Löscher, Jana Meyer, Judith Meyer, Fabrizio Minutolo, Elisabeth von der Esch, Bess B. Ward, and Ulf Riebesell
Biogeosciences, 18, 4305–4320, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4305-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-4305-2021, 2021
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12 Oct 2020
Factors controlling plankton community production, export flux, and particulate matter stoichiometry in the coastal upwelling system off Peru
Lennart Thomas Bach, Allanah Joy Paul, Tim Boxhammer, Elisabeth von der Esch, Michelle Graco, Kai Georg Schulz, Eric Achterberg, Paulina Aguayo, Javier Arístegui, Patrizia Ayón, Isabel Baños, Avy Bernales, Anne Sophie Boegeholz, Francisco Chavez, Gabriela Chavez, Shao-Min Chen, Kristin Doering, Alba Filella, Martin Fischer, Patricia Grasse, Mathias Haunost, Jan Hennke, Nauzet Hernández-Hernández, Mark Hopwood, Maricarmen Igarza, Verena Kalter, Leila Kittu, Peter Kohnert, Jesus Ledesma, Christian Lieberum, Silke Lischka, Carolin Löscher, Andrea Ludwig, Ursula Mendoza, Jana Meyer, Judith Meyer, Fabrizio Minutolo, Joaquin Ortiz Cortes, Jonna Piiparinen, Claudia Sforna, Kristian Spilling, Sonia Sanchez, Carsten Spisla, Michael Sswat, Mabel Zavala Moreira, and Ulf Riebesell
Biogeosciences, 17, 4831–4852, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4831-2020,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-4831-2020, 2020
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