Global Carbonate Production Research Articles

Organic Coatings Reduce Dissolution Rate by an Order of Magnitude for Carbonate Minerals Produced by Marine Fish

AbstractMarine carbonate production and dissolution are important components of the global carbon cycle and the marine alkalinity budget. Global carbonate production by marine fish (ichthyocarbonate) has been estimated to be as high as 9.03 Pg CaCO3 yr−1; however, the fate of ichthyocarbonate is poorly understood. High magnesium concentrations in ichthyocarbonate would traditionally suggest rapid dissolution under current marine conditions, but a correlation between dissolution rate and mol%MgCO3 has not been observed. Here, we aim to determine the role of organic coatings on dissolution rates of ichthyocarbonate in marine environments. We applied a combination of petrographic, geochemical, and microCT approaches to assess the quantity and distribution of organic matter in ichthyocarbonate produced by two species of marine fish, the Gulf toadfish (Opsanus beta) and the Olive flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus). We show that organic matter, including external coatings and embedded organic material, is volumetrically significant, ranging from 8.5% to 32.3% of ichthyocarbonate by volume. Bleach oxidation of external organic matter coatings increased the dissolution rate of ichthyocarbonate by more than an order of magnitude, suggesting these coatings serve to reduce reactive surface area of the mineral fraction in ichthyocarbonate. Assuming that organic coatings do not influence sinking rates, external coatings extend the depth of ichthyocarbonate persistence in the water column by ∼12–15×. Therefore, organic coatings are an important determinant of the role of ichthyocarbonate in the marine carbon cycle.

Controls on mesophotic carbonate facies and sediment distribution across the Maltese shelf, central Mediterranean Sea

Although ~ 20% of global carbonate production occurs on extra-tropical carbonate depositional systems, our understanding of these environments still lags behind that of tropical ones. The Maltese shelf in the central Mediterranean offers an opportunity to study in situ facies distribution and the factors controlling it in a light-dominated setting. The investigated region of the Maltese shelf visually exhibits three main depositional environments: seagrass meadows, sand flats and rhodolith and maerl beds. While visually distinctive, the grain composition of the sediments does not provide a clear differentiation of the three environments but rather a gradient. This gradient is marked by increasing grain size with water depth, a transition from green to red calcareous algae and an increase in the fraction of low magnesium calcite of total carboantes. While some of these features can be explained by changes in light availability, other factors are also in play. Baffling by seafloor vegetation and currents, storms and internal waves inducing sediment reworking appear to play important roles in governing the sediment texture and composition across the Maltese shelf. The role of seagrass meadows in regulating production and accumulation rates of carbonates appears to be of greater importance in Mediterranean C-type carbonate factories than in southern Atlantic ones and this could be an important marker to identify them in the geological record.

Biocalcification in porcelaneous foraminifera.

Living organisms control the formation of mineral skeletons and other structures through biomineralization. Major phylogenetic groups usually consistently follow a single biomineralization pathway. Foraminifera, which are very efficient marine calcifiers, making a substantial contribution to global carbonate production and global carbon sequestration, are regarded as an exception. This phylum has been commonly thought to follow two contrasting models of either in situ 'mineralization of extracellular matrix' attributed to hyaline rotaliid shells, or 'mineralization within intracellular vesicles' attributed to porcelaneous miliolid shells. Our previous results on rotaliids along with those on miliolids in this paper question such a wide divergence of biomineralization pathways within the same phylum of Foraminifera. We have found under a high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM) that precipitation of high-Mg calcitic mesocrystals in porcelaneous shells takes place in situ and form a dense, chaotic meshwork of needle-like crystallites. We have not observed calcified needles that already precipitated in the transported vesicles, what challenges the previous model of miliolid mineralization. Hence, Foraminifera probably utilize less divergent calcification pathways, following the recently discovered biomineralization principles. Mesocrystalline chamber walls in both models are therefore most likely created by intravesicular accumulation of pre-formed liquid amorphous mineral phase deposited and crystallized within the extracellular organic matrix enclosed in a biologically controlled privileged space by active pseudopodial structures. Both calcification pathways evolved independently in the Paleozoic and are well conserved in two clades that represent different chamber formation modes.

The Proteome Profile of Halimeda macroloba under Elevated Temperature: A Case Study from Thailand

An elevated sea temperature is considered a key abiotic stressor causing thermal stress to intertidal macroalgae and influencing their populations. Halimeda macroloba is an important CaCO3 producer that contributes to the carbonate budget in marine ecosystems. The population decline of this intertidal algal species could lead to considerable declines in both regional and global carbonate production. However, the impact of increasing temperature on the molecular mechanisms and protein profile of calcified H. macroloba is unclear and remains to be explored. In this study, H. macroloba was exposed to 30 °C and 35 °C for 7 days. The whole protein was then extracted using 0.5% SDS and digested using trypsin before an analysis using LC-MS. The protein profile of H. macroloba was characterized using the MaxQuant program aligned with the UniProt database. A total of 407 proteins were identified, and 12 proteins were found to be significantly upregulated or downregulated in response to the elevated temperature. Cell division protein, protein kinase domain-containing protein, phospholipid transport protein, and small ribosomal subunit protein were the significant proteins identified in our dataset. The proteins associated with cell division, cellular metabolic processes, localization, oxidoreductase activity, and biosynthetic process pathways were overexpressed with a more than 2-fold change at a high temperature. An interaction map generated using STITCH revealed that the significant protein change altered the other proteins related to abiotic stress, producing energy and inducing calcification. This information could be useful in understanding how H. macroloba responds to an elevated sea temperature.

A dynamic subtropical coastal hotspot of benthic foraminifera in the Southeastern Mediterranean indicates early-stage tropicalization

Due to ongoing ocean warming, subtropical environments are becoming accessible to tropical species. Among these environments are the vermetid reefs of the Southeastern Mediterranean (SEM). In the last decades, these valuable coastal habitats witnessed the proliferation of numerous alien species of tropical origin. Among the meiofauna thriving on these reefs are benthic foraminifera, single cell marine organisms that make a significant contribution to global carbonate production. It has been widely recognized that benthic foraminifera, among other invasive species, thrive in the macroalgal cover, and it has been suggested that their populations are becoming a significant new source of sediment substrate. Here, we report on the first systematic assessment of the population size of the benthic foraminifera, allowing a comparison with data from the native tropical habitat of these species. Our study is based on a seasonal sampling of benthic foraminifera from confined sampling areas at four sites along the vermetid reef platforms of the Israeli SEM coast. Our survey reveals a patchy distribution of each species with peak population densities exceeding 100,000 specimens per m2, making the SEM a hotspot of benthic foraminifera, with population densities comparable to tropical coral reef environments. The assemblages of the SEM hotspot are dominated by cosmopolitan foraminiferal taxa and tropical invaders from the Indo-Pacific (e.g., Amphistegina lobifera, Pararotalia calcariformata, soritids, and Hauerina diversa). In contrast to foraminiferal hotspots in the tropics, which are completely dominated by larger symbiont-bearing taxa, the SEM hotspot stands out due to high abundances of non-symbiont-bearing species Textularia agglutinans and small miliolids. An intriguing observation is the significant heterogeneity in composition and density of foraminiferal assemblages between the vermetid reefs' southern and northern areas (Israel), indicating that the productivity of the dominant species are also modulated by local yet unknown environmental factors.

Greenhouse Gasses Inventory on Textile Finishing Industry PT X

The textile industry has the biggest impact on environmental pollution in the world, and is responsible for 10% of global carbon production. Most of the waste in the textile industry, is generated from the dyeing process and textile processing. PT X is a textile finishing industry, that focuses on finishing processes like dyeing and textile processing. In this research, GHG (greenhouse gasses) emission inventory was carried out to see how much GHG generated in the textile finishing industry. The inventory will focus on CO2, CH4, and N2O from generator, curing machine, operational vehicle, and electricity usage. The inventory methodology was based on IPCC 2006, that stated to determine GHG emission, an activity data and emission factor from that source is needed. This emission inventory results on the total emissions of 666.38 tonCO2eq or 258.629 kgCO2eq/tonproduct GHG emission from PT X in 2021. The GHG emission in PT X are dominated by CO2 gas. Which most of comes from electricity usage source. GHG emission produce by PT X are not high compared with similar industries, but can be improved further more with mitigation measures such as installing a solar panel, and constructed wetland.

Nanoplastic incorporation into an organismal skeleton

Studies on the effects of global marine plastic pollution have largely focused on physiological responses of few organism groups (e.g., corals, fishes). Here, we report the first observation of polymer nanoparticles being incorporated into the calcite skeleton of a large benthic foraminifera (LBF), a significant contributor to global carbonate production. While previous work on LBF has documented selectivity in feeding behaviour and a high degree of specialization regarding skeletal formation, in this study, abundant cases of nanoplastic encrustation into the calcite tests were observed. Nanoplastic incorporation was associated with formation of new chambers, in conjunction with rapid nanoplastic ingestion and subsequent incomplete egestion. Microalgae presence in nanoplastic treatments significantly increased the initial feeding response after 1 day, but regardless of microalgae presence, nanoplastic ingestion was similar after 6 weeks of chronic exposure. While ~ 40% of ingesting LBF expelled all nanoplastics from their cytoplasm, nanoplastics were still attached to the test surface and subsequently encrusted by calcite. These findings highlight the need for further investigation regarding plastic pollution impacts on calcifying organisms, e.g., the function of LBF as potential plastic sinks and alterations in structural integrity of LBF tests that will likely have larger ecosystem-level impacts on sediment production.

Exploring the impact of climate change on the global distribution of non-spinose planktonic foraminifera using a trait-based ecosystem model.

Planktonic foraminifera are one of the primary calcifiers in the modern ocean, contributing 23%-56% of total global pelagic carbonate production. However, a mechanistic understanding of how physiology and environmental conditions control their abundance and distribution is lacking, hindering the projection of the impact of future climate change. This understanding is important, not only for ecosystem dynamics, but also for marine carbon cycling because of foraminifera's key role in carbonate production. Here we present and apply a global trait-based ecosystem model of non-spinose planktonic foraminifera ('ForamEcoGEnIE') to assess their ecology and global distribution under future climate change. ForamEcoGEnIE considers the traits of calcium carbonate production, shell size, and foraging. It captures the main characteristic of biogeographical patterns of non-spinose species - with maximum biomass concentrations found in mid- to high-latitude waters and upwelling areas. The model also reproduces the magnitude of global carbonate production relatively well, although the foraminifera standing stock is systematically overestimated. In response to future scenarios of rising atmospheric CO2 (RCP6 and RCP8.5), on a regional scale, the modelled foraminifera biomass and export flux increases in the subpolar regions of the North Atlantic and the Southern Ocean while it decreases everywhere else. In the absence of adaptation, the biomass decline in the low-latitude South Pacific suggests extirpation. The model projects a global average loss in non-spinose foraminifera biomass between 8% (RCP6) and 11% (RCP8.5) by 2050 and between 14% and 18% by 2100 as a response to ocean warming and associated changes in primary production and ecological dynamics. Global calcium carbonate flux associated with non-spinose foraminifera declines by 13%-18% by 2100. That decline can slow down the ocean carbonate pump and create short-term positive feedback on rising atmospheric pCO2 .

Size-dependent response of foraminiferal calcification to seawater carbonate chemistry

Abstract. The response of the marine carbon cycle to changes in atmospheric CO2 concentrations will be determined, in part, by the relative response of calcifying and non-calcifying organisms to global change. Planktonic foraminifera are responsible for a quarter or more of global carbonate production, therefore understanding the sensitivity of calcification in these organisms to environmental change is critical. Despite this, there remains little consensus as to whether, or to what extent, chemical and physical factors affect foraminiferal calcification. To address this, we directly test the effect of multiple controls on calcification in culture experiments and core-top measurements of Globigerinoides ruber. We find that two factors, body size and the carbonate system, strongly influence calcification intensity in life, but that exposure to corrosive bottom waters can overprint this signal post mortem. Using a simple model for the addition of calcite through ontogeny, we show that variable body size between and within datasets could complicate studies that examine environmental controls on foraminiferal shell weight. In addition, we suggest that size could ultimately play a role in determining whether calcification will increase or decrease with acidification. Our models highlight that knowledge of the specific morphological and physiological mechanisms driving ontogenetic change in calcification in different species will be critical in predicting the response of foraminiferal calcification to future change in atmospheric pCO2.

Contrasting strategies of photosynthetic energy utilization drive lifestyle strategies in ecologically important picoeukaryotes.

The efficiency with which absorbed light is converted to net growth is a key property for estimating global carbon production. We previously showed that, despite considerable evolutionary distance, Dunaliella tertiolecta (Chlorophyceae) and Thalassiosira weissflogii (Bacillariophyceae) share a common strategy of photosynthetic energy utilization and nearly identical light energy conversion efficiencies. These findings suggested that a single model might be appropriate for describing relationships between measures of phytoplankton production. This conclusion was further evaluated for Ostreococcus tauri RCC1558 and Micromonas pusilla RCC299 (Chlorophyta, Prasinophyceae), two picoeukaryotes with contrasting geographic distributions and swimming abilities. Nutrient-dependent photosynthetic efficiencies in O. tauri were similar to the previously studied larger algae. Specifically, absorption-normalized gross oxygen and carbon production and net carbon production were independent of nutrient limited growth rate. In contrast, all measures of photosynthetic efficiency were strongly dependent on nutrient availability in M. pusilla. This marked difference was accompanied by a diminished relationship between Chla:C and nutrient limited growth rate and a remarkably greater efficiency of gross-to-net energy conversion than the other organisms studied. These results suggest that the cost-benefit of decoupling pigment concentration from nutrient availability enables motile organisms to rapidly exploit more frequent encounters with micro-scale nutrient patches in open ocean environments.

Postglacial carbonate production by cold-water corals on the Norwegian Shelf and their role in the global carbonate budget

Cold-water coral reefs have been neglected in calculations of global carbonate production. We present the first calculations of the amount of CaCO 3 produced by cold-water corals on the Norwegian Shelf in postglacial time, showing that the reef-building Lophelia pertusa in Norwegian waters contributes ∼54–188 g/m 2 / yr locally, or 0.03–0.38 g/m 2 /yr averaged over the entire shelf. These estimates indicate that cold-water reef CaCO 3 flux is 4%– 12% of the tropical reefs. A first tentative global estimate indicates that cold-water coral CaCO 3 production could add >1% to the total marine CaCO 3 production. The spatial and temporal evolution of cold-water reefs, and thus their influence on atmospheric CO 2 , is difficult to reconstruct, but factors that dominantly influence the rate of coral growth include sea-level and oceanographic changes, submarine slides, and anthropogenic activity. The results show that other shelf and slope environments should be assessed in a similar manner to further constrain and evaluate the global CaCO 3 production by cold-water corals and their possible contribution to the CaCO 3 budget.

Use of SeaWiFS ocean color data to estimate neritic sediment mass transport from carbonate platforms for two hurricane-forced events

Plumes of neritic sediment caused by the passage of Hurricane Gert near Bermuda in 1999, and by the passage of Hurricane Michelle over Cuba’s Gulf of Batabano in 2001, were observed by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). The mass of sediments in each of these plumes, which consist largely of neritic carbonate particles, was estimated using an algorithm for the calculation of suspended sediment concentrations. The Bermuda and Batabano plumes transported 0.22 and 1.2–1.35 million kg of sediment, respectively. The algorithm results were compared with the results from two other sediment mass algorithms and proved to be consistent. These results indicate the potential use of remote sensing to estimate carbonate flux from coral reefs and banks and atolls as an augmentation to in situ studies. In addition, the use of remote sensing data may improve estimates of the annual global carbonate sediment flux, a quantity important to models of global carbonate production and the global carbon cycle.

Global ocean carbonate and carbon dioxide production; the role of reef Foraminifera

Although coral reefs occupy only 0.17% of the ocean surface, they contribute 900 million tons, or roughly one sixth of the carbonate produced in the world's oceans each year. Corals, coralline algae and foraminifera are by far the most important producers of sediment on reefs. In order to understand the role of foraminifera in reef and global carbonate production cycles, we estimated carbonate production rates of reef foraminifera from more than 70 sites in all oceanic regions. Our first order production estimate shows that reef foraminifera contribute approximately 43 million tons of CaCO 3 per year, 34 million tons of which accumulate in reef sediments. Eighty percent of the global foraminiferal reef carbonate is estimated to be produced by larger symbiont-bearing species alone. The annual production of 43 million tons represents roughly 0.76 percent of the present-day CaCO 3 production in the world's oceans and approximately 4.8 percent of the global carbonate reef budget. Given an average weight of 0.5 mg for the typical reef foraminifer, the production of 43 million tons translates into a yearly turnover rate of approximately 86X10 15 individuals. The biochemical production of calcium carbonate in the ocean leads to the release of the greenhouse gas CO 2 which can be discharged into the atmosphere. Using our first order approximation, the annual production of 43 million tons of foraminiferal reef carbonate results in the release of 11.4 million tons of CO 2 . This represents only 0.05 percent of anthropogenic CO 2 emission in 1991. On a global scale, both carbonate and CO 2 production of reef foraminifera are comparatively small. In present-day reef complexes foraminifera do, however, play an essential role in the production of reef carbonates.

Modeled estimates of global reef habitat and carbonate production since the Last Glacial Maximum

Estimated changes in reef area and CaCO3 production since the last glacial maximum (LGM) are presented for the first time, based on a model (ReefHab) which uses measured environmental data to predict global distribution of reef habitat. Suitable reef habitat is defined by temperature, salinity, nutrients, and the depth‐attenuated level of photosynthetically available radiation (PAR). CaCO3 production is calculated as a function of PAR. When minimum PAR levels were chosen to restrict reef growth to 30 m depth and less, modern reef area totaled 584–746 × 10³ km². Global carbonate production, which takes into account topographic relief as a control on carbonate accumulation, was 1.00 Gt yr−1. These values are close to the most widely accepted estimates of reef area and carbonate production and demonstrate that basic environmental data can be used to define reef habitat and calcification. To simulate reef habitat changes since the LGM, the model was run at 1‐kyr intervals, using appropriate sea level and temperature values. These runs show that at the LGM, reef area was restricted to 20% of that today and carbonate production to 27%, due primarily to a reduction in available space at the lower sea level and secondarily to lower sea surface temperatures. Nonetheless, these values suggest that reef growth prior to shelf flooding was more extensive than previously thought. A crude estimate of reef‐released CO2 to the atmosphere since the LGM is of the same order of magnitude as the atmospheric CO2 change recorded in the Vostok ice core, which emphasizes the role of neritic carbonates within the global carbon cycle. This model currently addresses only the major physical and chemical controls on reef carbonate production, but it provides a template for estimating shallow tropical carbonate production both in the present and in the past. As such, the model highlights several long‐standing issues regarding reef carbonates, particularly in terms of better defining the roles of light, temperature, aragonite saturation state, and topography on reef calcification.