Articles | Volume 15, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3121-2018
© Author(s) 2018. 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-15-3121-2018
© Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
24 May 2018
Research article |
| 24 May 2018
| 24 May 2018
N and P as ultimate and proximate limiting nutrients in the northern Gulf of Mexico: implications for hypoxia reduction strategies
Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, Halifax B3H 4R2, Nova Scotia, Canada
Arnaud Laurent
Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, Halifax B3H 4R2, Nova Scotia, Canada
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Short summary
Short summary
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Short summary
We demonstrate that even sparse BGC-Argo profiles can substantially improve biogeochemical prediction via a priori model tuning. By assimilating satellite surface chlorophyll and physical observations, subsurface distributions of physical properties and nutrients were improved immediately. The improvement of subsurface chlorophyll was modest initially but was greatly enhanced after adjusting the parameterization for light attenuation through further a priori tuning.
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Better development of interdisciplinary ties between biology, geology, and chemistry advances biogeochemistry through (1) better integration of contemporary (or rapid) evolutionary adaptation to predict changing biogeochemical cycles and (2) universal integration of data from long-term monitoring sites in terrestrial, aquatic, and human systems that span broad geographical regions for use in modeling.
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In the East China Sea, hypoxia occurs frequently from spring to fall due to high primary production and subsequent decomposition of organic matter. Nitrogen inputs from the Changjiang and the open ocean have been suggested to contribute to hypoxia formation. We used a numerical modelling approach to quantify the relative contributions of these nitrogen sources. We found that the Changjiang dominates, which suggests that nitrogen management in the watershed would improve oxygen conditions.
Liuqian Yu, Katja Fennel, Bin Wang, Arnaud Laurent, Keith R. Thompson, and Lynn K. Shay
Ocean Sci., 15, 1801–1814, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-15-1801-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-15-1801-2019, 2019
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We present a first direct comparison of nonidentical versus identical twin approaches for an ocean data assimilation system. We show that the identical twin approach overestimates the value of assimilating satellite observations and undervalues the benefit of assimilating temperature and salinity profiles. Misleading assessments such as undervaluing the impact of observational assets are problematic and can lead to misguided decisions on balancing investments among different observing assets.
Katja Fennel, Simone Alin, Leticia Barbero, Wiley Evans, Timothée Bourgeois, Sarah Cooley, John Dunne, Richard A. Feely, Jose Martin Hernandez-Ayon, Xinping Hu, Steven Lohrenz, Frank Muller-Karger, Raymond Najjar, Lisa Robbins, Elizabeth Shadwick, Samantha Siedlecki, Nadja Steiner, Adrienne Sutton, Daniela Turk, Penny Vlahos, and Zhaohui Aleck Wang
Biogeosciences, 16, 1281–1304, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-1281-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-1281-2019, 2019
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We review and synthesize available information on coastal ocean carbon fluxes around North America (NA). There is overwhelming evidence, compiled and discussed here, that the NA coastal margins act as a sink. Our synthesis shows the great diversity in processes driving carbon fluxes in different coastal regions, highlights remaining gaps in observations and models, and discusses current and anticipated future trends with respect to carbon fluxes and acidification.
Angela M. Kuhn, Katja Fennel, and Ilana Berman-Frank
Biogeosciences, 15, 7379–7401, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-7379-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-7379-2018, 2018
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Recent studies demonstrate that marine N2 fixation can be carried out without light. However, direct measurements of N2 fixation in dark environments are relatively scarce. This study uses a model that represents biogeochemical cycles at a deep-ocean location in the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea). Different model versions are used to test assumptions about N2 fixers. Relaxing light limitation for marine N2 fixers improved the similarity between model results and observations of deep nitrate and oxygen.
Krysten Rutherford and Katja Fennel
Ocean Sci., 14, 1207–1221, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-1207-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-14-1207-2018, 2018
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Using a regional model of the northwestern North Atlantic shelves, we calculate transport timescales and pathways in order to understand the transport processes that underlie the rapid oxygen loss, air–sea CO2 flux, and supply of plankton seed populations on the Scotian Shelf. Study results highlight the limited connectivity between the Scotian Shelf and adjacent slope waters; instead, the dominant southwestward currents bring Grand Banks and Gulf of St. Lawrence waters to the Scotian Shelf.
Jonathan Lemay, Helmuth Thomas, Susanne E. Craig, William J. Burt, Katja Fennel, and Blair J. W. Greenan
Biogeosciences, 15, 2111–2123, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-2111-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-2111-2018, 2018
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We report a detailed mechanistic investigation of the impact of Hurricane Arthur on the CO2 cycling on the Scotian Shelf. We can show that in contrast to common thinking, the deepening of the surface during the summer months can lead to increased CO2 uptake as carbon-poor waters from subsurface water are brought up to the surface. Only during prolonged storm events is the deepening of the mixed layer strong enough to bring the (expected) carbon-rich water to the surface.
Julia M. Moriarty, Courtney K. Harris, Katja Fennel, Marjorie A. M. Friedrichs, Kehui Xu, and Christophe Rabouille
Biogeosciences, 14, 1919–1946, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-1919-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-1919-2017, 2017
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In coastal aquatic environments, resuspension of sediment and organic material from the seabed into the overlying water can impact biogeochemistry. Here, we used a novel modeling approach to quantify this impact for the Rhône River delta. In the model, resuspension increased oxygen consumption during individual resuspension events, and when results were averaged over 2 months. This implies that observations and models that only represent calm conditions may underestimate net oxygen consumption.
Zuo Xue, Ruoying He, Katja Fennel, Wei-Jun Cai, Steven Lohrenz, Wei-Jen Huang, Hanqin Tian, Wei Ren, and Zhengchen Zang
Biogeosciences, 13, 4359–4377, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4359-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4359-2016, 2016
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In this study we used a state-of-the-science coupled physical–biogeochemical model to simulate and examine temporal and spatial variability of sea surface CO2 concentration in the Gulf of Mexico. Our model revealed the Gulf was a net CO2 sink with a flux of 1.11 ± 0.84 × 1012 mol C yr−1. We also found that biological uptake was the primary driver making the Gulf an overall CO2 sink and that the carbon flux in the northern Gulf was very susceptible to changes in river inputs.
A. Laurent, K. Fennel, R. Wilson, J. Lehrter, and R. Devereux
Biogeosciences, 13, 77–94, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-77-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-77-2016, 2016
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In low oxygen environments, the lack of oxygen influences sediment biogeochemistry and in turn sediment-water fluxes. These nonlinear interactions are often missing from biogeochemical circulation models because sediment models are computationally expensive. A method for parameterizing realistic sediment-water fluxes is presented and applied to the Mississippi River Dead Zone where high primary production, stimulated by excess nutrient loads, promotes low bottom water conditions in summer.
L. Yu, K. Fennel, A. Laurent, M. C. Murrell, and J. C. Lehrter
Biogeosciences, 12, 2063–2076, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2063-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-2063-2015, 2015
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Our study suggests that a combination of physical processes and sediment oxygen consumption determine the spatial extent and temporal dynamics of hypoxia on the Louisiana shelf. In summer, stratification isolates oxygen-rich surface waters from hypoxic bottom waters; oxygen outgasses to the atmosphere at this time. A large fraction of primary production occurs below the pycnocline in summer, but this primary production does not strongly affect the spatial extent of hypoxic bottom waters.
K.-K. Liu, C.-K. Kang, T. Kobari, H. Liu, C. Rabouille, and K. Fennel
Biogeosciences, 11, 7061–7075, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-7061-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-7061-2014, 2014
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This paper provides background info on the East China Sea, Japan/East Sea and South China Sea and highlights major findings in the special issue on their biogeochemical conditions and ecosystem functions. The three seas are subject to strong impacts from human activities and/or climate forcing. Because these continental margins sustain arguably some of the most productive marine ecosystems in the world, changes in these stressed ecosystems may threaten the livelihood of a large human population.
Z. Xue, R. He, K. Fennel, W.-J. Cai, S. Lohrenz, and C. Hopkinson
Biogeosciences, 10, 7219–7234, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-7219-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-7219-2013, 2013
W. J. Burt, H. Thomas, K. Fennel, and E. Horne
Biogeosciences, 10, 53–66, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-53-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-53-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Biogeochemistry: Coastal Ocean
UAV approaches for improved mapping of vegetation cover and estimation of carbon storage of small saltmarshes: examples from Loch Fleet, northeast Scotland
Iron “ore” nothing: benthic iron fluxes from the oxygen-deficient Santa Barbara Basin enhance phytoplankton productivity in surface waters
Marine anoxia initiates giant sulfur-oxidizing bacterial mat proliferation and associated changes in benthic nitrogen, sulfur, and iron cycling in the Santa Barbara Basin, California Borderland
Uncertainty in the evolution of northwestern North Atlantic circulation leads to diverging biogeochemical projections
The additionality problem of ocean alkalinity enhancement
Short-term variation in pH in seawaters around coastal areas of Japan: characteristics and forcings
Revisiting the applicability and constraints of molybdenum- and uranium-based paleo redox proxies: comparing two contrasting sill fjords
Influence of a small submarine canyon on biogenic matter export flux in the lower St. Lawrence Estuary, eastern Canada
Single-celled bioturbators: benthic foraminifera mediate oxygen penetration and prokaryotic diversity in intertidal sediment
Assessing impacts of coastal warming, acidification, and deoxygenation on Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) farming: a case study in the Hinase area, Okayama Prefecture, and Shizugawa Bay, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
Seasonality and response of ocean acidification and hypoxia to major environmental anomalies in the southern Salish Sea, North America (2014–2018)
Unusual Hemiaulus Bloom Influences Ocean Productivity in Northeast U.S. Shelf Waters
Multiple nitrogen sources for primary production inferred from δ13C and δ15N in the southern Sea of Japan
Variability and drivers of carbonate chemistry at shellfish aquaculture sites in the Salish Sea, British Columbia
Influence of manganese cycling on alkalinity in the redox stratified water column of Chesapeake Bay
Estuarine flocculation dynamics of organic carbon and metals from boreal acid sulfate soils
Sea ice loss translates into major shifts in the carbonate environmental conditions in Arctic Shelf Sea
Drivers of particle sinking velocities in the Peruvian upwelling system
Vertical mixing alleviates autumnal oxygen deficiency in the central North Sea
Impacts and uncertainties of climate-induced changes in watershed inputs on estuarine hypoxia
Considerations for hypothetical carbon dioxide removal via alkalinity addition in the Amazon River watershed
Above- and Belowground Plant Mercury Dynamics in a Salt Marsh Estuary in Massachusetts, USA
High metabolism and periodic hypoxia associated with drifting macrophyte detritus in the shallow subtidal Baltic Sea
Oceanographic Processes Favoring Deoxygenation Inside Patagonian Fjords
Production and accumulation of reef framework by calcifying corals and macroalgae on a remote Indian Ocean cay
Zooplankton community succession and trophic links during a mesocosm experiment in the coastal upwelling off Callao Bay (Peru)
Temporal and spatial evolution of bottom-water hypoxia in the St Lawrence estuarine system
Significant nutrient consumption in the dark subsurface layer during a diatom bloom: a case study on Funka Bay, Hokkaido, Japan
Contrasts in dissolved, particulate, and sedimentary organic carbon from the Kolyma River to the East Siberian Shelf
Sediment quality assessment in an industrialized Greek coastal marine area (western Saronikos Gulf)
Limits and CO2 equilibration of near-coast alkalinity enhancement
Role of phosphorus in the seasonal deoxygenation of the East China Sea shelf
Interannual variability of the initiation of the phytoplankton growing period in two French coastal ecosystems
Spatio-temporal distribution, photoreactivity and environmental control of dissolved organic matter in the sea-surface microlayer of the eastern marginal seas of China
Metabolic alkalinity release from large port facilities (Hamburg, Germany) and impact on coastal carbon storage
A Numerical reassessment of the Gulf of Mexico carbon system in connection with the Mississippi River and global ocean
Observed and projected global warming pressure on coastal hypoxia
Benthic alkalinity fluxes from coastal sediments of the Baltic and North seas: comparing approaches and identifying knowledge gaps
Investigating the effect of nickel concentration on phytoplankton growth to assess potential side-effects of ocean alkalinity enhancement
Unprecedented summer hypoxia in southern Cape Cod Bay: an ecological response to regional climate change?
Interannual variabilities, long-term trends, and regulating factors of low-oxygen conditions in the coastal waters off Hong Kong
Causes of the extensive hypoxia in the Gulf of Riga in 2018
Trawling effects on biogeochemical processes are mediated by fauna in high-energy biogenic-reef-inhabited coastal sediments
Drought recorded by Ba∕Ca in coastal benthic foraminifera
A nitrate budget of the Bohai Sea based on an isotope mass balance model
Suspended particulate matter drives the spatial segregation of nitrogen turnover along the hyper-turbid Ems estuary
Marine CO2 system variability along the northeast Pacific Inside Passage determined from an Alaskan ferry
Reviews and syntheses: Spatial and temporal patterns in seagrass metabolic fluxes
Mixed layer depth dominates over upwelling in regulating the seasonality of ecosystem functioning in the Peruvian upwelling system
Temporal dynamics of surface ocean carbonate chemistry in response to natural and simulated upwelling events during the 2017 coastal El Niño near Callao, Peru
William Hiles, Lucy C. Miller, Craig Smeaton, and William E. N. Austin
Biogeosciences, 21, 929–948, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-929-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-929-2024, 2024
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Saltmarsh soils may help to limit the rate of climate change by storing carbon. To understand their impacts, they must be accurately mapped. We use drone data to estimate the size of three saltmarshes in NE Scotland. We find that drone imagery, combined with tidal data, can reliably inform our understanding of saltmarsh size. When compared with previous work using vegetation communities, we find that our most reliable new estimates of stored carbon are 15–20 % smaller than previously estimated.
De'Marcus Robinson, Anh L. D. Pham, David J. Yousavich, Felix Janssen, Frank Wenzhöfer, Eleanor C. Arrington, Kelsey M. Gosselin, Marco Sandoval-Belmar, Matthew Mar, David L. Valentine, Daniele Bianchi, and Tina Treude
Biogeosciences, 21, 773–788, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-773-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-773-2024, 2024
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The present study suggests that high release of ferrous iron from the seafloor of the oxygen-deficient Santa Barabara Basin (California) supports surface primary productivity, creating positive feedback on seafloor iron release by enhancing low-oxygen conditions in the basin.
David J. Yousavich, De'Marcus Robinson, Xuefeng Peng, Sebastian J. E. Krause, Frank Wenzhöfer, Felix Janssen, Na Liu, Jonathan Tarn, Franklin Kinnaman, David L. Valentine, and Tina Treude
Biogeosciences, 21, 789–809, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-789-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-789-2024, 2024
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Declining oxygen (O2) concentrations in coastal oceans can threaten people’s ways of life and food supplies. Here, we investigate how mats of bacteria that proliferate on the seafloor of the Santa Barbara Basin sustain and potentially worsen these O2 depletion events through their unique chemoautotrophic metabolism. Our study shows how changes in seafloor microbiology and geochemistry brought on by declining O2 concentrations can help these mats grow as well as how that growth affects the basin.
Krysten Rutherford, Katja Fennel, Lina Garcia Suarez, and Jasmin G. John
Biogeosciences, 21, 301–314, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-301-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-301-2024, 2024
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We downscaled two mid-century (~2075) ocean model projections to a high-resolution regional ocean model of the northwest North Atlantic (NA) shelf. In one projection, the NA shelf break current practically disappears; in the other it remains almost unchanged. This leads to a wide range of possible future shelf properties. More accurate projections of coastal circulation features would narrow the range of possible outcomes of biogeochemical projections for shelf regions.
Lennart Thomas Bach
Biogeosciences, 21, 261–277, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-261-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-261-2024, 2024
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Ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) is a widely considered marine carbon dioxide removal method. OAE aims to accelerate chemical rock weathering, which is a natural process that slowly sequesters atmospheric carbon dioxide. This study shows that the addition of anthropogenic alkalinity via OAE can reduce the natural release of alkalinity and, therefore, reduce the efficiency of OAE for climate mitigation. However, the additionality problem could be mitigated via a variety of activities.
Tsuneo Ono, Daisuke Muraoka, Masahiro Hayashi, Makiko Yorifuji, Akihiro Dazai, Shigeyuki Omoto, Takehiro Tanaka, Tomohiro Okamura, Goh Onitsuka, Kenji Sudo, Masahiko Fujii, Ryuji Hamanoue, and Masahide Wakita
Biogeosciences, 21, 177–199, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-177-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-177-2024, 2024
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We carried out parallel year-round observations of pH and related parameters in five stations around the Japan coast. It was found that short-term acidified situations with Omega_ar less than 1.5 occurred at four of five stations. Most of such short-term acidified events were related to the short-term low salinity event, and the extent of short-term pH drawdown at high freshwater input was positively correlated with the nutrient concentration of the main rivers that flow into the coastal area.
K. Mareike Paul, Martijn Hermans, Sami A. Jokinen, Inda Brinkmann, Helena L. Filipsson, and Tom Jilbert
Biogeosciences, 20, 5003–5028, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-5003-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-5003-2023, 2023
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Seawater naturally contains trace metals such as Mo and U, which accumulate under low oxygen conditions on the seafloor. Previous studies have used sediment Mo and U contents as an archive of changing oxygen concentrations in coastal waters. Here we show that in fjords the use of Mo and U for this purpose may be impaired by additional processes. Our findings have implications for the reliable use of Mo and U to reconstruct oxygen changes in fjords.
Hannah Sharpe, Michel Gosselin, Catherine Lalande, Alexandre Normandeau, Jean-Carlos Montero-Serrano, Khouloud Baccara, Daniel Bourgault, Owen Sherwood, and Audrey Limoges
Biogeosciences, 20, 4981–5001, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4981-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4981-2023, 2023
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We studied the impact of submarine canyon processes within the Pointe-des-Monts system on biogenic matter export and phytoplankton assemblages. Using data from three oceanographic moorings, we show that the canyon experienced two low-amplitude sediment remobilization events in 2020–2021 that led to enhanced particle fluxes in the deep-water column layer > 2.6 km offshore. Sinking phytoplankton fluxes were lower near the canyon compared to background values from the lower St. Lawrence Estuary.
Dewi Langlet, Florian Mermillod-Blondin, Noémie Deldicq, Arthur Bauville, Gwendoline Duong, Lara Konecny, Mylène Hugoni, Lionel Denis, and Vincent M. P. Bouchet
Biogeosciences, 20, 4875–4891, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4875-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4875-2023, 2023
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Benthic foraminifera are single-cell marine organisms which can move in the sediment column. They were previously reported to horizontally and vertically transport sediment particles, yet the impact of their motion on the dissolved fluxes remains unknown. Using microprofiling, we show here that foraminiferal burrow formation increases the oxygen penetration depth in the sediment, leading to a change in the structure of the prokaryotic community.
Masahiko Fujii, Ryuji Hamanoue, Lawrence Patrick Cases Bernardo, Tsuneo Ono, Akihiro Dazai, Shigeyuki Oomoto, Masahide Wakita, and Takehiro Tanaka
Biogeosciences, 20, 4527–4549, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4527-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-4527-2023, 2023
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This is the first study of the current and future impacts of climate change on Pacific oyster farming in Japan. Future coastal warming and acidification may affect oyster larvae as a result of longer exposure to lower-pH waters. A prolonged spawning period may harm oyster processing by shortening the shipping period and reducing oyster quality. To minimize impacts on Pacific oyster farming, in addition to mitigation measures, local adaptation measures may be required.
Simone R. Alin, Jan A. Newton, Richard A. Feely, Samantha A. Siedlecki, and Dana J. Greeley
Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2023-181, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2023-181, 2023
Revised manuscript accepted for BG
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We provide a new multi-stressor data product allowed us to characterize the seasonality of temperature, oxygen, and carbon dioxide in the southern Salish Sea and provided insight into impacts of major marine heatwave and precipitation anomalies on regional ocean acidification and hypoxia. We also described the present-day frequencies of temperature, oxygen, and ocean acidification conditions that cross thresholds of sensitive regional species that are economically or ecologically important.
S. Alejandra Castillo Cieza, Rachel H. R. Stanley, Pierre Marrec, Diana N. Fontaine, E. Taylor Crockford, Dennis J. McGillicuddy, Arshia Mehta, Susanne Menden-Deuer, Emily E. Peacock, Tatiana A. Rynearson, Zoe O. Sandwith, Weifeng Zhang, and Heidi M. Sosik
Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2023-153, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2023-153, 2023
Revised manuscript accepted for BG
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The coastal ocean in northeastern USA provides many services, including fisheries and habitat for threatened species. In summer 2019, a bloom occurred of an unusual large phytoplankton, the diatom Hemiaulus with nitrogen fixing symbionts. This led to vast changes in productivity and grazing rates in the ecosystem. This work shows that the emergence of one species can have profound effects on ecosystem function. Such changes maybe become more prevalent as the ocean warms due to climate change.
Taketoshi Kodama, Atsushi Nishimoto, Ken-ichi Nakamura, Misato Nakae, Naoki Iguchi, Yosuke Igeta, and Yoichi Kogure
Biogeosciences, 20, 3667–3682, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3667-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3667-2023, 2023
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Carbon and nitrogen are essential elements for organisms; their stable isotope ratios (13C : 12C, 15N : 14N) are useful tools for understanding turnover and movement in the ocean. In the Sea of Japan, the environment is rapidly being altered by human activities. The 13C : 12C of small organic particles is increased by active carbon fixation, and phytoplankton growth increases the values. The 15N : 14N variations suggest that nitrates from many sources contribute to organic production.
Eleanor Simpson, Debby Ianson, Karen Elizabeth Kohfeld, Ana C. Franco, Paul A. Covert, Marty Davelaar, and Yves Perreault
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1553, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1553, 2023
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Shellfish aquaculture operates in nearshore areas where data on key ocean acidification (OA) parameters is limited. We show daily and seasonal variability in chemical properties at nearshore aquaculture sites in Canada and define drivers of these changes. Nearshore locations have greater variability than open waters and uptake of carbon by phytoplankton is the major driver of variability. Areas with high primary productivity are recommended for aquaculture as they will be less vulnerable to OA.
Aubin Thibault de Chanvalon, George W. Luther, Emily R. Estes, Jennifer Necker, Bradley M. Tebo, Jianzhong Su, and Wei-Jun Cai
Biogeosciences, 20, 3053–3071, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3053-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3053-2023, 2023
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The intensity of the oceanic trap of CO2 released by anthropogenic activities depends on the alkalinity brought by continental weathering. Between ocean and continent, coastal water and estuaries can limit or favour the alkalinity transfer. This study investigate new interactions between dissolved metals and alkalinity in the oxygen-depleted zone of estuaries.
Joonas J. Virtasalo, Peter Österholm, and Eero Asmala
Biogeosciences, 20, 2883–2901, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2883-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2883-2023, 2023
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We mixed acidic metal-rich river water from acid sulfate soils and seawater in the laboratory to study the flocculation of dissolved metals and organic matter in estuaries. Al and Fe flocculated already at a salinity of 0–2 to large organic flocs (>80 µm size). Precipitation of Al and Fe hydroxide flocculi (median size 11 µm) began when pH exceeded ca. 5.5. Mn transferred weakly to Mn hydroxides and Co to the flocs. Up to 50 % of Cu was associated with the flocs, irrespective of seawater mixing.
Claudine Hauri, Brita Irving, Sam Dupont, Remi Pages, Donna Hauser, and Seth Danielson
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1386, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1386, 2023
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Arctic marine ecosystems are highly susceptible to impacts of climate change and ocean acidification. We present pH and pCO2 time-series (2016–2020) from the Chukchi Ecosystem Observatory and analyze the drivers of the current conditions to get a better understanding of how climate change and ocean acidification could affect the ecological niches of organisms.
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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The sinking velocity of marine particles affects how much atmospheric CO2 is stored inside our oceans. We measured particle sinking velocities in the Peruvian upwelling system and assessed their physical and biochemical drivers. We found that sinking velocity was mainly influenced by particle size and porosity, while ballasting minerals played only a minor role. Our findings help us to better understand the particle sinking dynamics in this highly productive marine system.
Charlotte Williams, Tom Hull, Matthew Palmer, Claire Mahaffey, Naomi Greenwood, Jan Kaiser, and Matthew Toberman
Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2023-100, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2023-100, 2023
Revised manuscript accepted for BG
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Oxygen (O2) is a key indicator of ocean health. The risk of O2 loss in the productive coastal/continental slope regions is increasing. Autonomous underwater vehicles equipped with O2 optodes provide lots of data, but have problems resolving strong vertical O2 changes. Here we show how to overcome this and calculate how much O2 is supplied to the low-O2 bottom waters via mixing. Bursts in mixing supply nearly all of the O2 to bottom waters in autumn, stopping them reach ecologically low levels.
Kyle E. Hinson, Marjorie A. M. Friedrichs, Raymond G. Najjar, Maria Herrmann, Zihao Bian, Gopal Bhatt, Pierre St-Laurent, Hanqin Tian, and Gary Shenk
Biogeosciences, 20, 1937–1961, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1937-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1937-2023, 2023
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Climate impacts are essential for environmental managers to consider when implementing nutrient reduction plans designed to reduce hypoxia. This work highlights relative sources of uncertainty in modeling regional climate impacts on the Chesapeake Bay watershed and consequent declines in bay oxygen levels. The results demonstrate that planned water quality improvement goals are capable of reducing hypoxia levels by half, offsetting climate-driven impacts on terrestrial runoff.
Linquan Mu, Jaime B. Palter, and Hongjie Wang
Biogeosciences, 20, 1963–1977, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1963-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1963-2023, 2023
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Enhancing ocean alkalinity accelerates carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere. We hypothetically added alkalinity to the Amazon River and examined the increment of the carbon uptake by the Amazon plume. We also investigated the minimum alkalinity addition in which this perturbation at the river mouth could be detected above the natural variability.
Ting Wang, Buyun Du, Inke Forbrich, Jun Zhou, Joshua Polen, Elsie M. Sunderland, Prentiss H. Balcom, Celia Y. Chen, and Daniel Obrist
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-720, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-720, 2023
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The strong seasonal increases of Hg in aboveground biomass during the growing season and the lack of changes observed after senescence in this salt marsh ecosystem suggest physiologically controlled Hg uptake pathways. The Hg sources found in marsh aboveground tissues originate from a mix of sources, unlike terrestrial ecosystems where atmospheric GEM is the main source. While belowground plant tissues mostly take up Hg from soils. Overall, the salt marsh currently serves as a small net Hg sink.
Karl M. Attard, Anna Lyssenko, and Iván F. Rodil
Biogeosciences, 20, 1713–1724, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1713-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1713-2023, 2023
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Aquatic plants produce a large amount of organic matter through photosynthesis that, following erosion, is deposited on the seafloor. In this study, we show that plant detritus can trigger low-oxygen conditions (hypoxia) in shallow coastal waters, making conditions challenging for most marine animals. We propose that the occurrence of hypoxia may be underestimated because measurements typically do not consider the region closest to the seafloor, where detritus accumulates.
Pamela Linford, Iván Pérez-Santos, Paulina Montero, Patricio Díaz, Claudia Aracena, Elías Pinilla, Facundo Barrera, Manuel Castillo, Aida Alvera-Azcárate, Mónica Alvarado, Gabriel Soto, Cécile Pujol, Camila Schwerter, Sara Arenas-Uribe, Pilar Navarro, Guido Mancilla-Gutiérrez, Robinson Altamirano, Javiera San Martín, and Camila Soto-Riquelme
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-706, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-706, 2023
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The Patagonian fjord is one world region where low-oxygen water and hypoxia conditions is observed. An in-situ data set was used to quantify the mechanism involved in the presence of low-oxygen water and hypoxic conditions in northern Patagonian fjords. Water mass analysis confirmed the contribution of equatorial subsurface water in the advection of the low-oxygen water and hypoxic conditions occurred when the community respiration rate exceeded the gross primary production.
M. James McLaughlin, Cindy Bessey, Gary A. Kendrick, John Keesing, and Ylva S. Olsen
Biogeosciences, 20, 1011–1026, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1011-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-1011-2023, 2023
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Coral reefs face increasing pressures from environmental change at present. The coral reef framework is produced by corals and calcifying algae. The Kimberley region of Western Australia has escaped land-based anthropogenic impacts. Specimens of the dominant coral and algae were collected from Browse Island's reef platform and incubated in mesocosms to measure calcification and production patterns of oxygen. This study provides important data on reef building and climate-driven effects.
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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Ocean upwelling regions are highly productive. With ocean warming, severe changes in upwelling frequency and/or intensity and expansion of accompanying oxygen minimum zones are projected. In a field experiment off Peru, we investigated how different upwelling intensities affect the pelagic food web and found failed reproduction of dominant zooplankton. The changes projected could severely impact the reproductive success of zooplankton communities and the pelagic food web in upwelling regions.
Mathilde Jutras, Alfonso Mucci, Gwenaëlle Chaillou, William A. Nesbitt, and Douglas W. R. Wallace
Biogeosciences, 20, 839–849, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-839-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-839-2023, 2023
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The deep waters of the lower St Lawrence Estuary and gulf have, in the last decades, experienced a strong decline in their oxygen concentration. Below 65 µmol L-1, the waters are said to be hypoxic, with dire consequences for marine life. We show that the extent of the hypoxic zone shows a seven-fold increase in the last 20 years, reaching 9400 km2 in 2021. After a stable period at ~ 65 µmol L⁻¹ from 1984 to 2019, the oxygen level also suddenly decreased to ~ 35 µmol L-1 in 2020.
Sachi Umezawa, Manami Tozawa, Yuichi Nosaka, Daiki Nomura, Hiroji Onishi, Hiroto Abe, Tetsuya Takatsu, and Atsushi Ooki
Biogeosciences, 20, 421–438, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-421-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-421-2023, 2023
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We conducted repetitive observations in Funka Bay, Japan, during the spring bloom 2019. We found nutrient concentration decreases in the dark subsurface layer during the bloom. Incubation experiments confirmed that diatoms could consume nutrients at a substantial rate, even in darkness. We concluded that the nutrient reduction was mainly caused by nutrient consumption by diatoms in the dark.
Dirk Jong, Lisa Bröder, Tommaso Tesi, Kirsi H. Keskitalo, Nikita Zimov, Anna Davydova, Philip Pika, Negar Haghipour, Timothy I. Eglinton, and Jorien E. Vonk
Biogeosciences, 20, 271–294, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-271-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-271-2023, 2023
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With this study, we want to highlight the importance of studying both land and ocean together, and water and sediment together, as these systems function as a continuum, and determine how organic carbon derived from permafrost is broken down and its effect on global warming. Although on the one hand it appears that organic carbon is removed from sediments along the pathway of transport from river to ocean, it also appears to remain relatively ‘fresh’, despite this removal and its very old age.
Georgia Filippi, Manos Dassenakis, Vasiliki Paraskevopoulou, and Konstantinos Lazogiannis
Biogeosciences, 20, 163–189, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-163-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-163-2023, 2023
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The pollution of the western Saronikos Gulf from heavy metals has been examined through the study of marine sediment cores. It is a deep gulf (maximum depth 440 m) near Athens affected by industrial and volcanic activity. Eight cores were received from various stations and depths and analysed for their heavy metal content and geochemical characteristics. The results were evaluated by using statistical methods, environmental indicators and comparisons with old data.
Jing He and Michael D. Tyka
Biogeosciences, 20, 27–43, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-27-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-27-2023, 2023
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Recently, ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) has gained interest as a scalable way to address the urgent need for negative CO2 emissions. In this paper we examine the capacity of different coastlines to tolerate alkalinity enhancement and the time scale of CO2 uptake following the addition of a given quantity of alkalinity. The results suggest that OAE has significant potential and identify specific favorable and unfavorable coastlines for its deployment.
Arnaud Laurent, Haiyan Zhang, and Katja Fennel
Biogeosciences, 19, 5893–5910, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5893-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5893-2022, 2022
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The Changjiang is the main terrestrial source of nutrients to the East China Sea (ECS). Nutrient delivery to the ECS has been increasing since the 1960s, resulting in low oxygen (hypoxia) during phytoplankton decomposition in summer. River phosphorus (P) has increased less than nitrogen, and therefore, despite the large nutrient delivery, phytoplankton growth can be limited by the lack of P. Here, we investigate this link between P limitation, phytoplankton production/decomposition, and hypoxia.
Coline Poppeschi, Guillaume Charria, Anne Daniel, Romaric Verney, Peggy Rimmelin-Maury, Michaël Retho, Eric Goberville, Emilie Grossteffan, and Martin Plus
Biogeosciences, 19, 5667–5687, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5667-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5667-2022, 2022
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This paper aims to understand interannual changes in the initiation of the phytoplankton growing period (IPGP) in the current context of global climate changes over the last 20 years. An important variability in the timing of the IPGP is observed with a trend towards a later IPGP during this last decade. The role and the impact of extreme events (cold spells, floods, and wind burst) on the IPGP is also detailed.
Lin Yang, Jing Zhang, Anja Engel, and Gui-Peng Yang
Biogeosciences, 19, 5251–5268, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5251-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5251-2022, 2022
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Enrichment factors of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the eastern marginal seas of China exhibited a significant spatio-temporal variation. Photochemical and enrichment processes co-regulated DOM enrichment in the sea-surface microlayer (SML). Autochthonous DOM was more frequently enriched in the SML than terrestrial DOM. DOM in the sub-surface water exhibited higher aromaticity than that in the SML.
Mona Norbisrath, Johannes Pätsch, Kirstin Dähnke, Tina Sanders, Gesa Schulz, Justus E. E. van Beusekom, and Helmuth Thomas
Biogeosciences, 19, 5151–5165, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5151-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-5151-2022, 2022
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Total alkalinity (TA) regulates the oceanic storage capacity of atmospheric CO2. TA is also metabolically generated in estuaries and influences coastal carbon storage through its inflows. We used water samples and identified the Hamburg port area as the one with highest TA generation. Of the overall riverine TA load, 14 % is generated within the estuary. Using a biogeochemical model, we estimated potential effects on the coastal carbon storage under possible anthropogenic and climate changes.
Le Zhang and Z. George Xue
Biogeosciences, 19, 4589–4618, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4589-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4589-2022, 2022
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We adopt a high-resolution carbon model for the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and calculate the decadal trends of important carbon system variables in the GoM from 2001 to 2019. The GoM surface CO2 values experienced a steady increase over the past 2 decades, and the ocean surface pH is declining. Although carbonate saturation rates remain supersaturated with aragonite, they show a slightly decreasing trend. The northern GoM is a stronger carbon sink than we thought.
Michael M. Whitney
Biogeosciences, 19, 4479–4497, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4479-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-4479-2022, 2022
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Coastal hypoxia is a major environmental problem of increasing severity. The 21st-century projections analyzed indicate global coastal waters will warm and experience rapid declines in oxygen. The forecasted median coastal trends for increasing sea surface temperature and decreasing oxygen capacity are 48 % and 18 % faster than the rates observed over the last 4 decades. Existing hypoxic areas are expected to worsen, and new hypoxic areas likely will emerge under these warming-related pressures.
Bryce Van Dam, Nele Lehmann, Mary A. Zeller, Andreas Neumann, Daniel Pröfrock, Marko Lipka, Helmuth Thomas, and Michael Ernst Böttcher
Biogeosciences, 19, 3775–3789, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3775-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3775-2022, 2022
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We quantified sediment–water exchange at shallow sites in the North and Baltic seas. We found that porewater irrigation rates in the former were approximately twice as high as previously estimated, likely driven by relatively high bioirrigative activity. In contrast, we found small net fluxes of alkalinity, ranging from −35 µmol m−2 h−1 (uptake) to 53 µmol m−2 h−1 (release). We attribute this to low net denitrification, carbonate mineral (re-)precipitation, and sulfide (re-)oxidation.
Jiaying Abby Guo, Robert Strzepek, Anusuya Willis, Aaron Ferderer, and Lennart Thomas Bach
Biogeosciences, 19, 3683–3697, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3683-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3683-2022, 2022
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Ocean alkalinity enhancement is a CO2 removal method with significant potential, but it can lead to a perturbation of the ocean with trace metals such as nickel. This study tested the effect of increasing nickel concentrations on phytoplankton growth and photosynthesis. We found that the response to nickel varied across the 11 phytoplankton species tested here, but the majority were rather insensitive. We note, however, that responses may be different under other experimental conditions.
Malcolm E. Scully, W. Rockwell Geyer, David Borkman, Tracy L. Pugh, Amy Costa, and Owen C. Nichols
Biogeosciences, 19, 3523–3536, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3523-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3523-2022, 2022
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For two consecutive summers, the bottom waters in southern Cape Cod Bay became severely depleted of dissolved oxygen. Low oxygen levels in bottom waters have never been reported in this area before, and this unprecedented occurrence is likely the result of a new algae species that recently began blooming during the late-summer months. We present data suggesting that blooms of this new species are the result of regional climate change including warmer waters and changes in summer winds.
Zheng Chen, Bin Wang, Chuang Xu, Zhongren Zhang, Shiyu Li, and Jiatang Hu
Biogeosciences, 19, 3469–3490, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3469-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3469-2022, 2022
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Deterioration of low-oxygen conditions in the coastal waters off Hong Kong was revealed by monitoring data over two decades. The declining wind forcing and the increasing nutrient input contributed significantly to the areal expansion and intense deterioration of low-oxygen conditions. Also, the exacerbated eutrophication drove a shift in the dominant source of organic matter from terrestrial inputs to in situ primary production, which has probably led to an earlier onset of hypoxia in summer.
Stella-Theresa Stoicescu, Jaan Laanemets, Taavi Liblik, Māris Skudra, Oliver Samlas, Inga Lips, and Urmas Lips
Biogeosciences, 19, 2903–2920, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2903-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2903-2022, 2022
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Coastal basins with high input of nutrients often suffer from oxygen deficiency. In summer 2018, the extent of oxygen depletion was exceptional in the Gulf of Riga. We analyzed observational data and found that extensive oxygen deficiency appeared since the water layer close to the seabed, where oxygen is consumed, was separated from the surface layer. The problem worsens if similar conditions restricting vertical transport of oxygen occur more frequently in the future.
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.
Inda Brinkmann, Christine Barras, Tom Jilbert, Tomas Næraa, K. Mareike Paul, Magali Schweizer, and Helena L. Filipsson
Biogeosciences, 19, 2523–2535, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2523-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2523-2022, 2022
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The concentration of the trace metal barium (Ba) in coastal seawater is a function of continental input, such as riverine discharge. Our geochemical records of the severely hot and dry year 2018, and following wet year 2019, reveal that prolonged drought imprints with exceptionally low Ba concentrations in benthic foraminiferal calcium carbonates of coastal sediments. This highlights the potential of benthic Ba / Ca to trace past climate extremes and variability in coastal marine records.
Shichao Tian, Birgit Gaye, Jianhui Tang, Yongming Luo, Wenguo Li, Niko Lahajnar, Kirstin Dähnke, Tina Sanders, Tianqi Xiong, Weidong Zhai, and Kay-Christian Emeis
Biogeosciences, 19, 2397–2415, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2397-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2397-2022, 2022
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We constrain the nitrogen budget and in particular the internal sources and sinks of nitrate in the Bohai Sea by using a mass-based and dual stable isotope approach based on δ15N and δ18O of nitrate. Based on available mass fluxes and isotope data an updated nitrogen budget is proposed. Compared to previous estimates, it is more complete and includes the impact of the interior cycle (nitrification) on the nitrate pool. The main external nitrogen sources are rivers contributing 19.2 %–25.6 %.
Gesa Schulz, Tina Sanders, Justus E. E. van Beusekom, Yoana G. Voynova, Andreas Schöl, and Kirstin Dähnke
Biogeosciences, 19, 2007–2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2007-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-2007-2022, 2022
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Estuaries can significantly alter nutrient loads before reaching coastal waters. Our study of the heavily managed Ems estuary (Northern Germany) reveals three zones of nitrogen turnover along the estuary with water-column denitrification in the most upstream hyper-turbid part, nitrate production in the middle reaches and mixing/nitrate uptake in the North Sea. Suspended particulate matter was the overarching control on nitrogen cycling in the hyper-turbid estuary.
Wiley Evans, Geoffrey T. Lebon, Christen D. Harrington, Yuichiro Takeshita, and Allison Bidlack
Biogeosciences, 19, 1277–1301, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1277-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-1277-2022, 2022
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Information on the marine carbon dioxide system along the northeast Pacific Inside Passage has been limited. To address this gap, we instrumented an Alaskan ferry in order to characterize the marine carbon dioxide system in this region. Data over a 2-year period were used to assess drivers of the observed variability, identify the timing of severe conditions, and assess the extent of contemporary ocean acidification as well as future levels consistent with a 1.5 °C warmer climate.
Melissa Ward, Tye L. Kindinger, Heidi K. Hirsh, Tessa M. Hill, Brittany M. Jellison, Sarah Lummis, Emily B. Rivest, George G. Waldbusser, Brian Gaylord, and Kristy J. Kroeker
Biogeosciences, 19, 689–699, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-689-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-689-2022, 2022
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Here, we synthesize the results from 62 studies reporting in situ rates of seagrass metabolism to highlight spatial and temporal variability in oxygen fluxes and inform efforts to use seagrass to mitigate ocean acidification. Our analyses suggest seagrass meadows are generally autotrophic and variable in space and time, and the effects on seawater oxygen are relatively small in magnitude.
Tianfei Xue, Ivy Frenger, A. E. Friederike Prowe, Yonss Saranga José, and Andreas Oschlies
Biogeosciences, 19, 455–475, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-455-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-455-2022, 2022
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The Peruvian system supports 10 % of the world's fishing yield. In the Peruvian system, wind and earth’s rotation bring cold, nutrient-rich water to the surface and allow phytoplankton to grow. But observations show that it grows worse at high upwelling. Using a model, we find that high upwelling happens when air mixes the water the most. Then phytoplankton is diluted and grows slowly due to low light and cool upwelled water. This study helps to estimate how it might change in a warming climate.
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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Oxygen minimum zones in the ocean are characterized by enhanced carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and are being further acidified by increasing anthropogenic atmospheric CO2. Here we report CO2 system measurements in a mesocosm study offshore Peru during a rare coastal El Niño event to investigate how CO2 dynamics may respond to ongoing ocean deoxygenation. Our observations show that nitrogen limitation, productivity, and plankton community shift play an important role in driving the CO2 dynamics.
Cited articles
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Bianchi, T. S., DiMarco, S., Cowan, J., Hetland, R., Chapman, P., Day, J., and Allison, M.: The science of hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico: a review, Sci. Total Environ., 408, 1471–1484, 2010.
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Fennel, K., Hu, J., Laurent, A., Marta-Almeida, M., and Hetland, R.: Sensitivity of hypoxia predictions for the northern Gulf of Mexico to sediment oxygen consumption and model nesting, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 118, 990–1002, 2013.
Fennel, K., Laurent, A., Hetland, R., Justić, D., Ko, D. S., Lehrter, J., Murrell, M., Wang, L., Yu, L., and Zhang, W.: Effects of model physics on hypoxia simulations for the northern Gulf of Mexico: A model intercomparison, J. Geophys. Res.-Oceans, 121, 5731–5750, 2016.
Forrest, D. R., Hetland, R. D., and DiMarco, S. F.: Multivariable statistical regression models of the areal extent of hypoxia over the Texas–Louisiana continental shelf, Environ. Res. Lett., 6, 045002, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/6/4/045002, 2011.
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Haidvogel, D. B., Arango, H., Budgell, W. P., Cornuelle, B. D., Curchitser, E., Di Lorenzo, E., Fennel, K., Geyer, W. R., Hermann, A. J., Lanerolle, L., Levin, J., McWilliams, J. C., Miller, A. J., Moore, A. M., Powell, T. M., Shchepetkin, A. F., Sherwood, C. R., Signell, R. P., Warner, J. C., and Wilkin, J.: Ocean forecasting in terrain-following coordinates: Formulation and skill assessment of the Regional Ocean Modeling System, J. Comput. Phys., 227, 3595–3624, 2008.
Hetland, R. D. and DiMarco, S. F.: How does the character of oxygen demand control the structure of hypoxia on the Texas–Louisiana continental shelf?, J. Marine Syst., 70, 49–62, 2008.
Howarth, R. W. and Marino, R.: Nitrogen as the limiting nutrient for eutrophication in coastal marine ecosystems: evolving views over three decades, Limnol. Oceanogr., 51, 364–376, 2006.
Huisman, J., Matthijs, H., Visser, P., Ibelings, B., Mur, L., and Walsby, A.: The ecophysiology of the harmful cyanobacterium Microcystis, in: Harmful Cyanobacteria, 109–142, 2005.
Laurent, A. and Fennel, K.: Simulated reduction of hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico due to phosphorus limitation, Elementa, 2, 000022, https://doi.org/10.12952/journal.elementa.000022, 2014.
Laurent, A., Fennel, K., Hu, J., and Hetland, R.: Simulating the effects of phosphorus limitation in the Mississippi and Atchafalaya River plumes, Biogeosciences, 9, 4707–4723, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-9-4707-2012, 2012.
Laurent, A., Fennel, K., Wilson, R., Lehrter, J., and Devereux, R.: Parameterization of biogeochemical sediment–water fluxes using in situ measurements and a diagenetic model, Biogeosciences, 13, 77–94, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-77-2016, 2016.
Laurent, A., Fennel, K., Cai, W.-J., Huang, W.-J., Barbero, L., and Wanninkhof, R.: Eutrophication-induced acidification of coastal waters in the northern Gulf of Mexico: Insights into origin and processes from a coupled physical-biogeochemical model, Geophys. Res. Lett., 44, 946–956, 2017.
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Mesinger, F., DiMego, G., Kalnay, E., Shafran, P. C., Ebisuzaki, W., Jović, D., Woollen, Mitchell, K., J., Rogers, E., Ek, M., Fan, Y., Grumbine, R., Higgins, W., Li, H., Lin, Y., Manikin, G., Parrish, D., and Shi, W.: North American regional reanalysis, B. Am. Meteorol. Soc., 87, 343–360, 2006.
Obenour, D. R., Scavia, D., Rabalais, N. N., Turner, R. E., and Michalak, A. M.: Retrospective analysis of midsummer hypoxic area and volume in the northern Gulf of Mexico, 1985–2011, Environ. Sci. Technol., 47, 9808–9815, 2013.
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Paerl, H. W., Valdes, L. M., Joyner, A. R., Piehler, M. F., and Lebo, M. E.: Solving problems resulting from solutions: evolution of a dual nutrient management strategy for the eutrophying Neuse River Estuary, North Carolina, Environ. Sci. Technol., 38, 3068–3073, 2004.
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Short summary
Increasing human-derived nutrient inputs to coastal oceans lead to spreading dead zones around the world. Here a biogeochemical model for the northern Gulf of Mexico, where nutrients from the Mississippi River create the largest dead zone in North American coastal waters, is used for the first time to show the effects of single and dual nutrient reductions of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). Significant reductions in N or N&P load would be required to significantly reduce hypoxia in this system.
Increasing human-derived nutrient inputs to coastal oceans lead to spreading dead zones around...
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