Upwelling Of Nutrients Research Articles

Wildfire Particulates Enhance Phytoplankton Growth and Alter Communities in the South China Sea Under Wind‐Driven Upwelling

AbstractExtreme wildfire events and cyclones are on the rise across tropical regions in response to climate change. Despite assumptions about their impact on phytoplankton through nutrient supplies, field evidence is lacking, and their combined effects remain unclear. In an on‐site microcosm experiment conducted in the Xisha Islands, South China Sea (SCS) after Typhoon Noru, we observed enhanced phytoplankton growth in response to exposure to total suspended particulates (TSP) from wildfires (2 mg/L and 6 mg/L) under wind‐driven upwelling conditions. Upwelled nutrients had a limited effect on Chl‐a concentration due to phosphate depletion, by contrast, wildfire TSP contributed nutrients enriched in nitrogen and phosphate, resulting in a 3.30–5.61‐fold increase in Chl‐a. However, upwelled nutrients increased the diatom‐to‐dinoflagellate ratio from the initial 11.0 to 12.7, TSP at low and high levels reduced the ratio to 0.3–0.8 and significantly altered the communities, with 61.8% of species, including two dominant diatoms, negatively correlated with N and/or P supplies. Species diversity declined significantly at high TSP levels. These findings suggest that enhanced primary productivity by wildfires may come at the cost of an altered phytoplankton community. This field study improves understanding of the effects of simultaneous occurrences of multiple extreme climate events on marine ecosystems.

Variability of winter cooling affects intensity of phytoplankton spring blooms – how resilient is the ciliate assemblage composition to changes in food availability?

After years of partial winter mixing in Lake Zurich (Switzerland), a complete turnover of the water column reoccurred during winter/spring 2021. It was favored by a cold, windy winter and a small difference of water temperatures between the surface zone and a hypolimnion (deep water zone) that had gradually warmed during the previous years. The trend of declining phytoplankton spring blooms due to incomplete winter mixing was interrupted by mass development of algae due to the upwelling of nutrients accumulated in the hypolimnion. The effects of this singular deep mixing on the microbial food web during spring were studied in a high-frequency sampling campaign and compared with data from two years of partial winter mixing (2020 and 2022). A particular focus was put on the quantitative composition of the ciliate assemblage. Our results showed that not all organisms reacted equally to the nutrient (phosphorus) boost in the surface zone. Centric diatoms and cryptophytes profited most directly from the deep mixing, outcompeting the otherwise dominant cyanobacterium Planktothrix rubescens. Heterotrophic bacteria and their top predators, the ‘heterotrophic nanoflagellates’ trophic guild, were less affected by the nutrient supply and showed only short-lived increases of maximal biomass. The assemblage composition of ciliate morphotypes was highly resilient over the three years, presumably due to the range of acceptable food items of the predominant omnivorous species. However, numerous ciliate morphotypes showed brief mass development in 2021, and Balanion planctonicum, small Urotricha species and tintinnids were significantly more frequent than in 2020/2022. Small interception-feeding morphotypes apparently profited from the rich supply of their cryptomonad food, and tintinnid morphotypes additionally benefited from the availability of building material (e.g., centric diatom shells) for their loricae. In summary, we show that effects of lake warming in deep stratifying lakes are not as unidirectional as previously presumed, and we reveal resilience of the pelagic ciliate morphotype assemblage to lake warming related interannual variability in Lake Zurich.

Oceanography of the Eastern Equatorial Pacific Ocean Across the Oligocene‐Miocene Transition

AbstractThe functioning of the Pacific Ocean—the world's largest ocean—during a warmer‐than‐present paleoclimate state remains underexplored. We present planktonic and benthic foraminiferal stable oxygen (δ18O) and carbon (δ13C) isotope records from Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Site U1334 that span the Oligocene‐Miocene Transition (OMT) interval, from 24.15 to 21.95 million years ago (Ma). We reconstruct (sub‐)surface and deep‐water conditions and provide better constraints on the physical and chemical oceanography of the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean (EEP). Positive trends in planktonic and benthic foraminiferal δ18O values, mark a largely uniform imprint of increased land‐ice volume/global cooling on surface‐ and deep‐waters. We document a delayed planktonic foraminiferal δ18O increase across the OMT as well as an increase in the amplitude variability of planktonic foraminiferal δ18O values on eccentricity timescales during the early Miocene. We interpret this as an enhanced glacioeustatic sea‐level control on Atlantic‐Pacific salinity exchange through the Central American Seaway (CAS) or as the onset of more variable surface currents and oceanic fronts in the EEP. Positive trends in planktonic and benthic foraminiferal δ13C values characterize the whole‐ocean depletion in 12C linked to organic carbon burial during the Oligocene‐Miocene carbon maximum (CM‐OM). However, this depletion is more pronounced in the planktonic foraminiferal δ13C record, especially during ∼400 Kyr eccentricity minima, reflecting an increase in nutrient upwelling and the efficacy of the biological carbon pump (BCP) when global temperatures decreased across the OMT and during the early Miocene. Our study highlights the dynamic behavior of the EEP in a warmer‐than‐present unipolar icehouse state.

Response of aquatic ammonia-oxidizing archaea to thermal stratification and nutrient levels since the Last Glacial Maximum in the deep lake Fuxian, southwestern China

Ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) are the critical nitrifier in lake ecosystems and participate in the global nitrogen cycle. However, the response of aquatic AOA to long-term climate change remains unclear. Here, we obtained a continuous sediment record from a deep, oligotrophic lake (Lake Fuxian, China) and reconstructed changes in AOA productivity over the past 26 thousand years (cal ka BP) using a multi-proxy approach. AOA productivity (estimated using diagnostic archaeal lipids) was low during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) before peaking during the cold-dry Heinrich event 1 (H1, 17.7–15.9 cal ka BP). As the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) intensified and the climate became warmer and wetter, aquatic AOA productivity progressively declined. We show that a combination of factors modulates millennial-scale AOA productivity. In particular, low lake levels under cold-dry climate conditions strengthen lake mixing and nutrient upwelling, promoting AOA productivity; in contrast, high lake levels during warm-humid climate conditions weaken upwelling, resulting in reduced AOA blooms. Changes in terrestrial nutrient availability also exert a secondary control on aquatic primary production and by extension, AOA productivity. We also show that anthropogenic human activities can potentially alter AOA productivity levels due to climate and land-use change.

Impacts of glacial and sea-ice meltwater, primary production, and ocean CO2 uptake on ocean acidification state of waters by the 79 North Glacier and northeast Greenland shelf

The waters adjacent to the Nioghalvfjerdsbræ (79 North Glacier, 79NG) are influenced by Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) melt, sea-ice meltwater, and waters on the adjacent northeast Greenland shelf (NEGS). We investigated ocean acidification (OA) variables and the role of freshening, primary production, and air-sea CO2 exchange in Dijmphna Sound (DS) and on the NEGS in the summers of 2012 and 2016. The upper 150 m consisted of Polar Water with Arctic origin that was divided into a fresh surface layer (SL<50 m) and a cold halocline layer (CHL, 50 to 150 m). The layer below 150 m was of Atlantic origin. The SL freshwater was larger in 2012 than in 2016, mainly originated from local 79NG (and GrIS) runoff in DS, whereas on the NEGS in both years, it was mainly from sea-ice melt. The lowest aragonite saturation state (ΩAr) of 1.13 was found in the SL in 2012. Biological CO2 drawdown at primary production caused increased ΩAr in SL, which compensated for most of the ΩAr decrease due to the freshwater dilution of carbonate ions reducing total alkalinity, hence preventing corrosive conditions. This was most pronounced near the 79NG front in 2012, where surface stratification was most pronounced coinciding with large glacial meltwater fractions. Freshening decreased ΩAr by 0.4 at the 79NG front was compensated by biological CO2 drawdown by ~0.5. In 2016, a well-mixed water column in DS and NEGS, with dilution by sea-ice meltwater, caused less compensation on ΩAr by biological CO2 drawdown than in 2012. In future with changing climate and changing ocean chemistry, the increased meltwater effects may overcome the alleviating effects of biological CO2 drawdown on OA with unfavorable conditions for calcifying organisms. However, our study also suggests that primary production may be stimulated by stratification from surface meltwater. In addition, Atlantification and subglacial discharge may result in upwelling of inorganic nutrients that could promote primary production.

Geographic variation in population structure and grazing features of Calanus glacialis/marshallae in the Pacific Arctic Ocean

Calanus glacialis/marshallae is a dominant zooplankton species in the Pacific Arctic Ocean that is widely distributed in shelf areas, and it plays a vital role in connecting primary production to higher trophic levels. Its phenology is well adapted to hydrography, but there is little available information about regional and diel changes in population structure and grazing features. In this study, we investigated C. glacialis/marshallae during autumn 2019 in the Eastern and Northeastern Chukchi and Canadian basins to reveal geographic and diel variations in population structure, body size, grazing activity, and fatty acid composition. The abundance of C. glacialis/marshallae was found to be high on the slopes and low on the shelves. Body size (prosome length) was well described by the Bělehrádek equation combined with in-situ temperature throughout the sampling region. Cluster analyses based on hydrographic parameters were divided into four regions: southern shelf, northern shelf, slope, and basin. The southern shelf was dominated by copepodite stage five (C5) transported from the Bering Sea by Pacific waters. C4 and C5 were dominant on the northern shelf, suggesting that they grew slower than those on the southern shelf, and the populations also exhibited higher concentrations of fatty acids originating from dinoflagellates than those originating from the pan-Arctic Ocean, indicating low productivity in the region. The population on the slope had the highest abundance, C4 was dominant, and large amounts of diatom-derived eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). These features are attributed to the upwelling of populations and nutrients that support diatom growth. In the basin, the early copepodite stages of composition were distinctly higher than those recorded in previous studies, because larger amounts of organisms flow into the region, resulting in more extended reproduction periods. In the basin, small and large forms of C5 were simultaneously found, and the small form exhibited a diel grazing activity pattern, but the large forms did not. These findings suggest their well adaptation in changing of the Pacific Arctic Ocean.

Distinguishing Physical and Biological Controls on the Carbon Dynamics in a High‐Arctic Outlet Strait

AbstractThe water mass assembly of Nares Strait is variable, owing to fluctuating wind forcings over the central Arctic Basin, and irregular northward flows from the West Greenland Current (WGC) in Baffin Bay. Here we characterize the physico‐chemical properties of the water masses entering Nares Strait in August 2014. We employ an extended optimum multi‐parameter (OMP) analysis to estimate the mixing fractions of predefined source water masses, and to distinguish the role of physical and biological processes in governing the distribution of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in Nares Strait. We show the first documented evidence of Siberian shelf waters arriving in Nares Strait, along with a diluted upper halocline layer of partial Pacific‐origin. These mixed‐origin water masses appear to play an important role in driving a modest phytoplankton bloom in Kane Basin, leading to decreased surface pCO2 concentrations in Nares Strait. Although inorganic nitrogen was already limited near the surface in northern Nares Strait, the rather shallow upper halocline layer and the shoaling bathymetry in Kane Basin facilitated upwelling of nutrients to the surface. Our observations suggest that the positioning of the Transpolar Drift, and hence the balance of Atlantic and Pacific water delivered to Nares Strait, may play an important role in regional biological productivity and carbon uptake from the atmosphere. We also observed water masses from the WGC transported as far north as Kane Basin, contributing to relatively high pCO2 and low pH in the intermediate and deep water column of southern Nares Strait and northern Baffin Bay.

Coral Geochemical Records Track Millennial-Scale Ecosystem Change and Resilience in the Tropical Eastern Pacific

Along the coastal Tropical Eastern Pacific (TEP), regions of strong seasonal upwelling bring cold, nutrient-rich waters, controlling ecological conditions and sustaining millions of people through large-scale fisheries. The TEP is also important for the regulation of global climate and is affected by large-scale environmental processes such as ENSO. How the nutrient dynamics of this region will respond to climate change and what the implications will be for coastal ecology remains unknown. Environmental records are needed that capture intra and inter-decadal variation and extend over millennia where these biotic and abiotic processes interact. Here, we develop a new sampling approach and construct two coral skeleton records (n = >600) from reef matrix cores that extend six millennia, from the upwelling Gulf of Panamá and the non-upwelling Gulf of Chiriquí. We ask what effects millennial-scale climate patterns have on upwelling in the region, and how the magnitude of upwelled nutrients influences ecological productivity and even human habitation. We combined multiple proxies using climatic (carbonate δ18O), nutrient (skeletal-organic matrix δ15N), diagenetic (taphonomic scoring), ecological (benthic community composition), and temporal (U-Th dates) data. Using Generalised Additive Models to assess variability, we find strong divergences in the nutrient (δ15N; range >5 ‰) records between Gulfs, while δ18O (range ~2‰) is more stable. The greatest variation in δ15N values occurs during times of high reef accretion whereas δ18O is constant, suggesting that nutrients, not temperature, are driving reef productivity. Taphonomic, taxonomic, and age data reveal periodic shifts and collapses of coral communities that differ between Gulfs. We end by drawing connections between these ecological shifts to the episodic human habitation documented during the late-Holocene and hypothesize what this may mean for ecosystem resilience and environmental management under future climate.

Nutrient composition (Si:N) as driver of plankton communities during artificial upwelling

Artificial upwelling brings nutrient-rich deep water to the sun-lit surface to boost fisheries or carbon sequestration. Deep water sources under consideration range widely in inorganic silicon (Si) relative to nitrogen (N). Yet, little is known about how such differences in nutrient composition may influence the effectiveness of the fertilization. Si is essential primarily for diatoms that may increase food web and export efficiency via their large size and ballasting mineral shells, respectively. With a month-long mesocosm study in the subtropical North Atlantic, we tested the biological response to artificial upwelling with varying Si:N ratios (0.07-1.33). Community biomass increased 10-fold across all mesocosms, indicating that basic bloom dynamics were upheld despite the wide range in nutrient composition. Key properties of these blooms, however, were influenced by Si. Photosynthetic capacity and nutrient-use efficiency doubled from Si-poor to Si-rich upwelling, leading to C:N ratios as high as 17, well beyond Redfield. Si-rich upwelling also resulted in 6-fold higher diatom abundance and mineralized Si and a corresponding shift from smaller towards larger phytoplankton. The pronounced change in both plankton quantity (biomass) and quality (C:N ratio, size and mineral ballast) for trophic transfer and export underlines the pivotal role of Si in shaping the response of oligotrophic regions to upwelled nutrients. Our findings indicate a benefit of active Si management during artificial upwelling with the potential to optimize fisheries production and CO2 removal.

Meltwater Discharge From Marine‐Terminating Glaciers Drives Biogeochemical Conditions in a Greenlandic Fjord

AbstractAn increasing body of work has shown the potential impacts of subglacial discharge from marine‐terminating glaciers on the marine environment around Greenland. Upwelling of nutrients associated with rising buoyant plumes near the front of marine‐terminating glaciers plays a key role in maintaining the high productivity of connected fjords. The response of protist communities to subglacial discharges into fjords nevertheless remains poorly understood. Here we show data of water properties, nutrients, and protist communities during two summers in 2018 and 2019 in a Greenlandic fjord system fed by marine‐terminating glaciers. This study included the period of intense summer melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet in 2019. The data revealed high nutrient concentrations in 2019 that were attributed to intensified upwelling of nutrients and dissolved iron into the subsurface layer. The source of the iron and the nutrients was subglacial discharge and deep fjord water, respectively. Intense glacial discharges in 2019 mitigated nitrate and phosphate limitations of phytoplankton in the fjord and resulted in an increase of chlorophyll a in the subsurface layer and growth of large diatoms. Heterotrophic protists such as dinoflagellates, tintinnids, and nanoflagellates were more abundant in the summer of 2019. We concluded that nutrient upwelling by subglacial discharges was the major driver of the structure of lower trophic levels in fjord ecosystems. We hypothesize that the more intense melting of glaciers and related increase in subglacial discharge will enhance nutrient upwelling, and increased summer productivity in fjords until the glaciers retreat and terminate on land.

Insignificant effects of eddies and typhoons on the biogeochemistry of the tropical northwest Pacific Ocean

We investigated the effects of eddies and typhoons on the biogeochemistry of the tropical northwest Pacific by examining the distribution of nutrients, dissolved oxygen (DO), chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), gross primary production (GPP), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM). Water samples were collected from anticyclonic and cyclonic eddies in September 2019 and 2020, and before and after the passage of a Category 2 typhoon in 2019. The study region was characterized by a deep nitracline (~150 m), which was deeper than both the pycnocline (~50 m) and the FDOM-depleted layer (~75 m). A subsurface chlorophyll maximum layer was observed at 100–150 m depth. No clear differences in Chl-a, DO, GPP, DOC, and FDOM were observed for the anticyclonic and cyclonic eddies, indicating that the eddies did not have a significant influence on biological production. Similarly, there were no discernable changes in Chl-a concentrations or other biogeochemical parameters after the passage of the typhoon, which induced water mixing to a depth of ~60 m. We conjecture that the nutrient-depleted layer was too deep for any eddy- or typhoon-induced vertical mixing to cause upwelling of nutrients to the euphotic zone. Our results imply that the disturbances caused by mesoscale processes in the upper layer of the highly oligotrophic northwest Pacific may have a smaller effect than in oceans in other parts of the world.

Light and freshwater discharge drive the biogeochemistry and microbial ecology in a sub-Arctic fjord over the Polar night

The polar night has recently received increased attention as a surprisingly active biological season. Yet, polar night microbial ecology is a vastly understudied field. To identify the physical and biogeochemical parameters driving microbial activity over the dark season, we studied a sub-Arctic fjord system in northern Norway from autumn to early spring with detailed monthly sampling. We focused on the impact of mixing, terrestrial organic matter input and light on microbial ecosystem dynamics. Our study highlights strong differences in the key drivers between spring, autumn, and winter. The spring bloom started in March in a fully mixed water column, opposing the traditional critical depth hypothesis. Incident solar radiation was the key driver maximum Chlorophyll was reached in April. The onset of the autumn phytoplankton bloom was controlled by vertical mixing, causing nutrient upwelling and dilution of zooplankton grazers, which had their highest biomass during this time. According to the dilution-recoupling hypothesis grazer dilution reduced grazing stress and allowed the fall bloom formation. Mixing at that time was initiated by strong winds and reduced stratification as a consequence of freezing temperatures and lower freshwater runoff. During the light-limited polar night, the primary production was extremely low but bacteria continued growing on decaying algae, their exudates and also allochthonous organic matter. A melting event in January could have increased input of organic matter from land, supporting a mid-winter bacterial bloom. In conclusion, polar night biogeochemistry and microbial ecology was not only driven by light availability, but strongly affected by variability in reshwater discharge and allochthonous carbon input. With climate change freshwater discharge will increase in the Arctic, which will likely increase importance of the dynamics described in this study.

Substantial Biogeochemical and Biomolecular Processing of Dissolved Organic Matter in an Anticyclonic Eddy in the Northern South China Sea Down to Bathypelagic Depths

Solid-phase extracted dissolved organic matter (SPE-DOM) was isolated from two depth profiles at the core and at the edge of an anticyclonic eddy (ACE) in the northern South China Sea. Non-target nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and Fourier transform ion cyclotron mass spectrometry (FTICR/MS) of SPE-DOM revealed a higher uniformity of DOM molecules within the ACE than at the edge of the ACE. Small-scale upwelling of external nutrients may have contributed to higher productivity and production of fresher DOM, with higher proportions of CHNO and CHNOS compounds and low molecular weight species at the edge of the eddy. Common SPE-DOM molecules of supposedly biological origin such as carbohydrates and olefins were most abundant in the chlorophyll maximum layer in both stations. An unusual suite of ~10 abundant and ~35 less abundant tert-butyl benzene derivatives with potential to act as endocrine disruptors within a marine food chain and ~two dozen ketones of putative bacterial origin was recognized at meso- and bathypelagic depths in single-digit micromolar concentrations, with a distinct maximum at 1000 m depth at the edge of ACE. Downwelling might bring temporary large volumes of productive marine waters into deep waters, with micromolar concentration of abundant, microbial food web-specific metabolites (e.g. 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol et al.). In our study, these eventually added up to one quarter of common background biogeochemical marine organic matter even at bathypelagic depths and beneath and are significant food and energy sources for marine biota. Mesoscale chemical heterogeneity of marine water columns might extend to larger depths than currently anticipated and may create activity hotspots influencing biota, processing of DOM, and cycling of nutrients and trace elements.

Evaluation of Nearshore QuikSCAT 4.1 and ERA-5 Wind Stress and Wind Stress Curl Fields over Eastern Boundary Currents

Fields of coastal wind stress and wind stress curl in the 10–100 km next to the land control the processes of upwelling and downwelling of nutrients and water properties that are vital to highly productive coastal marine ecosystems. Here we ask the question: Do the present surface wind stress products from a satellite-borne scatterometer (QuikSCAT) and an atmospheric reanalysis model (ERA-5) systematically overestimate the magnitude of wind speed and stress in the 10–50 km next to the coast? We compare QuikSCAT wind speed retrievals to the relatively unused wind speed retrievals from satellite altimeters, which are able to approach closer to the coast than scatterometers without land reflections, due to their smaller radar footprints. Altimeter data on tracks approaching and crossing the coast indicate that the increases in coastal QuikSCAT wind speed values and ERA-5 coastal wind stress values are unrealistic. For analyses of wind speed and stress requiring high accuracy, especially those involving wind stress curl, we suggest considering individual Level 2B scatterometer wind retrievals as suspect at distances of 10 km and less from the coast, along with use of the Poor Coastal Processing flag. We found that similar increases in wind stress values next to the coast in gridded ERA-5 fields are not due to errors in the model physics or wind speeds. They are created during the interpolation of wind stress from the original model grid to a regular rectangular grid. We recommend that researchers who are analyzing wind stress and wind stress curl should calculate wind stress themselves from the gridded ERA-5 vector wind speed fields, rather than using the interpolated model wind stress or curl fields.

Coastal Zone Management of West Bengal – A Review

Sea level rise due to global warming leading to changing coastal environmental scenarios is a very recent phenomenon. As a result, coastal climate like relative humidity, river flow rates and run off, fertility of coastal soils, distribution of coastal biomes, characters of tidal flow regime and wave actions, pattern of sedimentation and sedimentary environment, nutrient upwelling and downwelling, chemical parameters of coastal waters, frequency of cyclonic storms, storm surges and coastal inundation thereon have been changing with time. Monitoring integrated coastal zone management including proper steps of coastal protection applying useful and befitted coastal engineering structures, and the proper implementation of the roles of exclusive economic zone along with the coastal zone regulations may mitigate such problems.

Response of sea surface temperature, chlorophyll and particulate organic carbon to a tropical cyclonic storm over the Arabian Sea, Southwest India

The response of sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll (Chl) and particulate organic carbon (POC) to the tropical cyclonic storm Ockhi between 29th November and 6th December 2017 over the Arabian Sea, Southwest coast of India was studied. The unique observation is that the cyclone overturned northeastwards (clockwise), the wind speed in north-northwestwards (8–12 m s−1) which caused cold patches (< 28.5 °C) in the northwestern Arabian Sea compared to the southwest coast of India. Sea surface cooling (3–4 °C) was observed in concurrence with significant Chl response (0.5–7.5 mg m−3) along the Ockhi cyclone path. The post cyclonic low SST and high Chl from cyclone centre to farther areas suggested the extent of upwelled nutrient rich cold waters for plankton proliferation. POC levels showed a 3-fold increase, affected by significant biomass production due to subsurface phytoplankton and nutrient sources evidenced by deepening of mixed layer depth. The cyclone induced contrasting surface Chl (< 1 mg m−3) and POC (80–160 mg m−3) concentration substantiated the dominance of less labile refractory organic particulates in the offshore waters. The sub surface cooling and Chl bloom was noticed up to 50 m indicating the strong relation of vertical bio-physical structure during tropical cyclones. This study revealed that the tropical cyclones can act in such a way that it improves the positive magnitude of Chl and POC whereas reverses the SST behavior, on either side of the cyclone path within a short period in the oligotrophic waters of Arabian Sea.

Biogeochemical characteristics and microbial response to indicate degradation of organic matter around Pair-summit Seamounts in the Tropical Western Pacific Ocean

The ecological knowledge of seamounts has accumulated plentifully in recent years. However, there are few studies on the distribution and degradation pattern of organic matter in seamounts morphology by using microorganisms and nutrients as indicators. In this research, we investigated the dynamic distribution of nutrients, particulates and microbial communities of the summits, flanks and base in the M5 Pair-summit Seamount, aiming to better understand the distribution and degradation pattern of organic matter around the seamount. The results indicate that TOC concentration presented a gradual decrease from summit to base, and obtained the lowest value at Base1 (0.65 mg L−1). Illumina Hiseq high-throughput sequencing analysis shows that Firmicutes (38.86%) and Bacteroidetes (6.86%) on the seamount Base1 obtained the highest relative abundance, which were related to the degradation of organic matter caused by denitrification. The distribution of organic matter and composition of microbial communities formed disparity due to the morphology of seamounts. In addition, shallow seamounts and deep seamounts exhibited a high degree of temporal and spatial specificity. Summit1 produced organic matter from phytoplankton, with the highest TOC content (1.23 mg L−1), dominated in microorganisms of Cyanobacteria (18.06%), and an upwelling of nutrients due to the “seamount effect”. However, Summit2 utilized nitrifying bacteria Taumarchaeota to degrade organic matter. This research suggests that the unique topographic features of seamounts is essential to sustain the surrounding microbial composition and hydrodynamics, which can further promote the study of seamount ecological environment.

Numerical Flow Modeling of Artificial Ocean Upwelling

Artificial Upwelling (AU) of nutrient-rich Deep Ocean Water (DOW) to the ocean's sunlit surface layer has recently been put forward as a means of increasing marine CO2 sequestration and fish production. AU and its possible benefits have been studied in the context of climate change mitigation as well as food security for a growing human population. However, extensive research still needs to be done into the feasibility, effectiveness and potential risks, and side effects associated with AU to be able to better predict its potential. Fluid dynamic modeling of the AU process and the corresponding inorganic nutrient transport can provide necessary information for a better quantification of the environmental impacts of specific AU devices and represents a valuable tool for their optimization. Yet, appropriate capture of all flow phenomena relevant to the AU process remains a challenging task that only few models are able to accomplish. In this paper, simulation results obtained with a newly developed numerical solution method are presented. The method is based on the open-source modeling environment OpenFOAM. It solves the unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations with additional transport equations for energy, salinity, and inorganic nutrients. The method aims to be widely applicable to oceanic flow problems including temperature- and salinity-induced density stratification and passive scalar transport. The studies presented in this paper concentrate on the direct effects of the AU process on nutrient spread and concentration in the ocean's mixed surface layer. Expected flow phenomena are found to be captured well by the new method. While it is a known problem that cold DOW that is upwelled to the surface tends to sink down again due to its high density, the simulations presented in this paper show that the upwelled DOW settles at the lower boundary of the oceans mixed surface layer, thus keeping a considerable portion of the upwelled nutrients available for primary production. Comparative studies of several design variants, with the aim of maximizing the amount of nutrients that is retained inside the mixed surface layer, are also presented and analyzed.

The Mediterranean Rhodes Gyre: modelled impacts of climate change, acidification and fishing

The Mediterranean Rhodes Gyre is a cyclonic gyre with high primary production due to local upwelling of nutrients and occasional deep overturning up to 1 km depth. This nutrient-rich state is in sharp contrast to other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean which are oligotrophic. Here we investigated the upwelling system central to the Rhodes Gyre and the impact of different stressors like meteorological changes, acidification and fishing pressure up to the year 2100. A water column model spanning the physical, chemical and biological system up to top predators (GOTM-ERSEM-BFM-EwE) was used to simulate the pelagic environment under single and combined stressors. Results show that due to increasing winter temperatures, deep overturning events will become more rare in the future until they stop occurring around 2060 under the Paris-agreement climate scenario (RCP4.5) or around 2040 under the business-as-usual climate scenario (RCP8.5). Stratification will become stronger as temperature effects outweigh salinity effects in the surface mixed layer. Together with the lack of deep overturning, this stronger stratification limits the nutrient supply to the euphotic zone, significantly reducing primary production. Phytoplankton species shift towards smaller species as nutrients become more scarce, mimicking the situation found currently on the edge of the gyre. Climatic changes and fishing pressure will affect higher trophic levels in an additive way for some species (sardines, dolphins), while in a synergistic way for others (anchovy, mackerel). Acidification impacts are negligible. Fish stocks will reduce significantly under all scenarios involving climate change effects: ~30% under scenarios imposing RCP4.5 and ~40% under scenarios imposing RCP8.5. The beneficial impact of maximum sustained yield-level fishing is very limited, indicating a need for mitigating measures beyond fleet control.

Fish Teeth Sr Isotope Stratigraphy and Nd Isotope Variations: New Insights on REY Enrichments in Deep-Sea Sediments in the Pacific

Rare earth elements and yttrium (REY) are widely recognized as strategic materials for advanced technological applications. Deep-sea sediments from the eastern South Pacific and central North Pacific were first reported as potential resources containing significant amounts of REY that are comparable to, or greater than, those of land-based deposits. Despite nearly a decade of research, quantitative abundances and spatial distributions of these deposits remain insufficient. Age controls are generally absent due to the lack of biostratigraphic constraints. Thus, the factors controlling the formation of REY-rich sediments are still controversial. In this study, the REY contents of surface sediments (&lt;2 m depth) in 14 piston cores from the Central and Western Pacific were investigated. The results show that deep-sea sediments with high REY contents (&gt;1000 μg/g) were mainly concentrated around seamounts (e.g., the Marshall Islands). The REY contents of surface sediments generally decreased with distance from the seamounts. Biostratigraphic and fish teeth debris (apatite) Sr isotopic stratigraphy of one piston core (P10) from the Central Pacific indicates that deep-sea sediments with high REY contents were aged from early Oligocene to early Miocene. Since the opening of the Drake Passage during the early Oligocene, the northward-flowing Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) would have led to an upwelling of nutrients around seamounts with topographic barriers, and at the same time, AABW would delay the rate of sediment burial to try for enough time for REY entering and enriching in the apatite (fish teeth debris). Understanding the spatial distribution of fertile regions for REY-rich sediments provides guidance for searching for other REY resources in the Pacific and in other oceans.