WorldWideScience

Sample records for surface ocean pco2

  1. Spatio-temporal Variability in Surface Ocean pCO2 Inferred from Observations

    OpenAIRE

    Jones, Steve

    2012-01-01

    The variability of surface ocean pCO2 is examined on multiple spatial and temporal scales. Temporal autocorrelation analysis is used to examine pCO2 variability over multiple years. Spatial autocorrelation analysis describes pCO2 variability over multiple spatial scales. Spatial autocorrelation lengths range between

  2. Long-term surface pCO2 trends from observations and models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tjiputra, Jerry F.; Olsen, Are; Heinze, Christoph; Bopp, Laurent; Roy, Tilla

    2014-01-01

    We estimate regional long-term surface ocean pCO 2 growth rates using all available underway and bottled biogeochemistry data collected over the past four decades. These observed regional trends are compared with those simulated by five state-of-the-art Earth system models over the historical period. Oceanic pCO 2 growth rates faster than the atmospheric growth rates indicate decreasing atmospheric CO 2 uptake, while ocean pCO 2 growth rates slower than the atmospheric growth rates indicate increasing atmospheric CO 2 uptake. Aside from the western sub-polar North Pacific and the subtropical North Atlantic, our analysis indicates that the current observation-based basin-scale trends may be underestimated, indicating that more observations are needed to determine the trends in these regions. Encouragingly, good agreement between the simulated and observed pCO 2 trends is found when the simulated fields are sub sampled with the observational coverage. In agreement with observations, we see that the simulated pCO 2 trends are primarily associated with the increase in surface dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) associated with atmospheric carbon uptake, and in part by warming of the sea surface. Under the RCP8.5 future scenario, DIC continues to be the dominant driver of pCO 2 trends, with little change in the relative contribution of SST. However, the changes in the hydrological cycle play an increasingly important role. For the contemporary (1970-2011) period, the simulated regional pCO 2 trends are lower than the atmospheric growth rate over 90% of the ocean. However, by year 2100 more than 40% of the surface ocean area has a higher oceanic pCO 2 trend than the atmosphere, implying a reduction in the atmospheric CO 2 uptake rate. The fastest pCO 2 growth rates are projected for the sub-polar North Atlantic, while the high-latitude Southern Ocean and eastern equatorial Pacific have the weakest growth rates, remaining below the atmospheric pCO 2 growth rate. Our work

  3. Long-term surface pCO2 trends from observations and models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jerry F. Tjiputra

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available We estimate regional long-term surface ocean pCO2 growth rates using all available underway and bottled biogeochemistry data collected over the past four decades. These observed regional trends are compared with those simulated by five state-of-the-art Earth system models over the historical period. Oceanic pCO2 growth rates faster than the atmospheric growth rates indicate decreasing atmospheric CO2 uptake, while ocean pCO2 growth rates slower than the atmospheric growth rates indicate increasing atmospheric CO2 uptake. Aside from the western subpolar North Pacific and the subtropical North Atlantic, our analysis indicates that the current observation-based basin-scale trends may be underestimated, indicating that more observations are needed to determine the trends in these regions. Encouragingly, good agreement between the simulated and observed pCO2 trends is found when the simulated fields are subsampled with the observational coverage. In agreement with observations, we see that the simulated pCO2 trends are primarily associated with the increase in surface dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC associated with atmospheric carbon uptake, and in part by warming of the sea surface. Under the RCP8.5 future scenario, DIC continues to be the dominant driver of pCO2 trends, with little change in the relative contribution of SST. However, the changes in the hydrological cycle play an increasingly important role. For the contemporary (1970–2011 period, the simulated regional pCO2 trends are lower than the atmospheric growth rate over 90% of the ocean. However, by year 2100 more than 40% of the surface ocean area has a higher oceanic pCO2 trend than the atmosphere, implying a reduction in the atmospheric CO2 uptake rate. The fastest pCO2 growth rates are projected for the subpolar North Atlantic, while the high-latitude Southern Ocean and eastern equatorial Pacific have the weakest growth rates, remaining below the atmospheric pCO2 growth rate. Our work

  4. Global high-resolution monthly pCO2 climatology for the coastal ocean derived from neural network interpolation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. G. Laruelle

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available In spite of the recent strong increase in the number of measurements of the partial pressure of CO2 in the surface ocean (pCO2, the air–sea CO2 balance of the continental shelf seas remains poorly quantified. This is a consequence of these regions remaining strongly under-sampled in both time and space and of surface pCO2 exhibiting much higher temporal and spatial variability in these regions compared to the open ocean. Here, we use a modified version of a two-step artificial neural network method (SOM-FFN; Landschützer et al., 2013 to interpolate the pCO2 data along the continental margins with a spatial resolution of 0.25° and with monthly resolution from 1998 to 2015. The most important modifications compared to the original SOM-FFN method are (i the much higher spatial resolution and (ii the inclusion of sea ice and wind speed as predictors of pCO2. The SOM-FFN is first trained with pCO2 measurements extracted from the SOCATv4 database. Then, the validity of our interpolation, in both space and time, is assessed by comparing the generated pCO2 field with independent data extracted from the LDVEO2015 database. The new coastal pCO2 product confirms a previously suggested general meridional trend of the annual mean pCO2 in all the continental shelves with high values in the tropics and dropping to values beneath those of the atmosphere at higher latitudes. The monthly resolution of our data product permits us to reveal significant differences in the seasonality of pCO2 across the ocean basins. The shelves of the western and northern Pacific, as well as the shelves in the temperate northern Atlantic, display particularly pronounced seasonal variations in pCO2,  while the shelves in the southeastern Atlantic and in the southern Pacific reveal a much smaller seasonality. The calculation of temperature normalized pCO2 for several latitudes in different oceanic basins confirms that the seasonality in shelf pCO2 cannot solely be explained by

  5. A Stratification Boomerang: Nonlinear Dependence of Deep Southern Ocean Ventilation on PCO2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galbraith, E. D.; Merlis, T. M.

    2014-12-01

    Strong correlations between atmospheric CO2, Antarctic temperatures, and marine proxy records have hinted that ventilation of the deep Southern Ocean may have played a central role in the variations of CO2 over glacial-interglacial cycles. One proposition is that, in general, the Southern Ocean ventilates the deep more strongly under higher CO2, due to a change in winds and/or the dominance of thermal stratification in a warm ocean, which weakens ocean biological carbon storage. Here, we explore this idea with a suite of multi-millennial simulations using the GFDL CM2Mc global coupled model. The results are, indeed, consistent with increasing ventilation of the Southern Ocean as pCO2 increases above modern. However, they reveal a surprising twist under low pCO2: increased salinity of the Southern Ocean, due in part to weakening atmospheric moisture transport, actually increases ventilation rate of the deep ocean under low pCO2 as well. This implies that a nadir of Southern Ocean ventilation occurs at intermediate pCO2, which the model estimates as being close to that of the present-day. This is at odds with the interpretation that weak ventilation of the deep Southern Ocean was the unifying coupled mechanism for the glacial pCO2 cycles. Rather, it suggests that factors other than the ventilation rate of the deep Southern Ocean, such as iron fertilization, ecosystem changes, water mass distributions, and sea ice cover, were key players in the glacial-interglacial CO2 changes.

  6. Estimating temporal and spatial variation of ocean surface pCO2 in the North Pacific using a self-organizing map neural network technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Nakaoka

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available This study uses a neural network technique to produce maps of the partial pressure of oceanic carbon dioxide (pCO2sea in the North Pacific on a 0.25° latitude × 0.25° longitude grid from 2002 to 2008. The pCO2sea distribution was computed using a self-organizing map (SOM originally utilized to map the pCO2sea in the North Atlantic. Four proxy parameters – sea surface temperature (SST, mixed layer depth, chlorophyll a concentration, and sea surface salinity (SSS – are used during the training phase to enable the network to resolve the nonlinear relationships between the pCO2sea distribution and biogeochemistry of the basin. The observed pCO2sea data were obtained from an extensive dataset generated by the volunteer observation ship program operated by the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES. The reconstructed pCO2sea values agreed well with the pCO2sea measurements, with the root-mean-square error ranging from 17.6 μatm (for the NIES dataset used in the SOM to 20.2 μatm (for independent dataset. We confirmed that the pCO2sea estimates could be improved by including SSS as one of the training parameters and by taking into account secular increases of pCO2sea that have tracked increases in atmospheric CO2. Estimated pCO2sea values accurately reproduced pCO2sea data at several time series locations in the North Pacific. The distributions of pCO2sea revealed by 7 yr averaged monthly pCO2sea maps were similar to Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory pCO2sea climatology, allowing, however, for a more detailed analysis of biogeochemical conditions. The distributions of pCO2sea anomalies over the North Pacific during the winter clearly showed regional contrasts between El Niño and La Niña years related to changes of SST and vertical mixing.

  7. Low pCO2 under sea-ice melt in the Canada Basin of the western Arctic Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kosugi, Naohiro; Sasano, Daisuke; Ishii, Masao; Nishino, Shigeto; Uchida, Hiroshi; Yoshikawa-Inoue, Hisayuki

    2017-12-01

    In September 2013, we observed an expanse of surface water with low CO2 partial pressure (pCO2sea) (Ocean. The large undersaturation of CO2 in this region was the result of massive primary production after the sea-ice retreat in June and July. In the surface of the Canada Basin, salinity was low ( 20 µmol kg-1) in the subsurface low pCO2sea layer in the Canada Basin indicated significant net primary production undersea and/or in preformed condition. If these low pCO2sea layers surface by wind mixing, they will act as additional CO2 sinks; however, this is unlikely because intensification of stratification by sea-ice melt inhibits mixing across the halocline.

  8. Temporal and spatial variations of oceanic pCO2 and air-sea CO2 flux in th Greenland Sea and the Barents Sea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakaoka, Shin-Ichiro; Aoki, Shuji; Nakazawa, Takakiyo; Yoshikawa-Inoue, Hisayuki

    2006-01-01

    In order to elucidate the seasonal and inter annual variations of oceanic CO 2 uptake in the Greenland Sea and the Barents Sea, the partial pressure of CO 2 in the surface ocean (pCO 2 sea ) was measured in all seasons between 1992 and 2001. We derived monthly varying relationships between pCO 2 sea and sea surface temperature (SST) and combined them with the SST data from the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis to determine pCO 2 sea and air-sea CO 2 flux in these seas. The pCO 2 sea values were normalized to the year 1995 by assuming that pCO 2 sea increased at the same growth rate (1.5 μatm/yr) of the pCO 2 in the air (pCO 2 air ) between 1992 and 2001. In 1995, the annual net air-sea CO 2 fluxes were evaluated to be 52 ± 20 gC/m 2 /yr in the Greenland Sea and 46 ± 18 gC/m 2 /yr in the Barents Sea. The CO 2 flux into the ocean reached its maximum in winter and minimum in summer. The wind speed and (delta)pCO 2 (=pCO 2 air -pCO 2 sea ) exerted a greater influence on the seasonal variation than the sea ice coverage. The annual CO 2 uptake examined in this study (70-80 deg N, 20 deg W-40 deg E) was estimated to be 0.050 ± 0.020 GtC/yr in 1995. The inter annual variation in the annual CO 2 uptake was found to be positively correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI) via wind strength but negatively correlated with (delta)pCO 2 and the sea ice coverage. The present results indicate that the variability in wind speed and sea ice coverage play a major role, while that in (delta)pCO 2 plays a minor role, in determining the interannual variation of CO 2 uptake in this area

  9. MERIS Ocean Colour Data for the Estimation of Surface Water pCO2: The Case Studies of Peru and Namibia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Karagali, Ioanna; Badger, Merete; Sørensen, Lise Lotte

    2010-01-01

    Carbon dioxide fluxes between the ocean and atmosphere are important when trying to estimate the amount of existing atmospheric CO2. The ocean can potentially be considered as a storage or source of CO2 depending on temperature, salinity, biological activity and wind. To identify the role...... of a region, CO2 fluxes must be estimated. The air-sea exchange of CO2 depends on the partial pressures of atmospheric and oceanic CO2 and a wind related exchange coefficient. Direct in situ measurements are expensive, operationally demanding and of low spatial resolution. It has been shown that indirect...... estimation of oceanic pCO2 is possible due to its strong dependence on temperature. Primary production may also influence the CO2 concentration in the water, due to the consumption by phytoplankton. The present study aims at estimating the oceanic pCO2 with the use of satellite measurements for water...

  10. Surface temperature, salinity, and pCO2 collected by bottle casts during a cruise in the north Atlantic Ocean from 9/3/1991 - 9/22/1991 (NODC Accession 0000113)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Surface temperature, salinity, and pCO2 data were collected using bottle casts from METEOR in the North Atlantic Ocean. Data were collected from 03 September 1991 to...

  11. Ocean acidification effects on calcification in pCO2 acclimated Caribbean scleractinian coral

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ocean acidification (OA) is projected to increase the acidity of coral reef habitats 2-3 times that of present day pCO2 levels. Many studies have shown the adverse effects on scleractinian calcification when exposed to elevated pCO2 levels, however, in these studies, corals have ...

  12. Quantifying pCO2 in biological ocean acidification experiments: A comparison of four methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, Sue-Ann; Fabricius, Katharina E; Munday, Philip L

    2017-01-01

    Quantifying the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in seawater is an essential component of ocean acidification research; however, equipment for measuring CO2 directly can be costly and involve complex, bulky apparatus. Consequently, other parameters of the carbonate system, such as pH and total alkalinity (AT), are often measured and used to calculate the partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) in seawater, especially in biological CO2-manipulation studies, including large ecological experiments and those conducted at field sites. Here we compare four methods of pCO2 determination that have been used in biological ocean acidification experiments: 1) Versatile INstrument for the Determination of Total inorganic carbon and titration Alkalinity (VINDTA) measurement of dissolved inorganic carbon (CT) and AT, 2) spectrophotometric measurement of pHT and AT, 3) electrode measurement of pHNBS and AT, and 4) the direct measurement of CO2 using a portable CO2 equilibrator with a non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) gas analyser. In this study, we found these four methods can produce very similar pCO2 estimates, and the three methods often suited to field-based application (spectrophotometric pHT, electrode pHNBS and CO2 equilibrator) produced estimated measurement uncertainties of 3.5-4.6% for pCO2. Importantly, we are not advocating the replacement of established methods to measure seawater carbonate chemistry, particularly for high-accuracy quantification of carbonate parameters in seawater such as open ocean chemistry, for real-time measures of ocean change, nor for the measurement of small changes in seawater pCO2. However, for biological CO2-manipulation experiments measuring differences of over 100 μatm pCO2 among treatments, we find the four methods described here can produce similar results with careful use.

  13. Estimating surface pCO2 in the northern Gulf of Mexico: Which remote sensing model to use?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Shuangling; Hu, Chuanmin; Cai, Wei-Jun; Yang, Bo

    2017-12-01

    Various approaches and models have been proposed to remotely estimate surface pCO2 in the ocean, with variable performance as they were designed for different environments. Among these, a recently developed mechanistic semi-analytical approach (MeSAA) has shown its advantage for its explicit inclusion of physical and biological forcing in the model, yet its general applicability is unknown. Here, with extensive in situ measurements of surface pCO2, the MeSAA, originally developed for the summertime East China Sea, was tested in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) where river plumes dominate water's biogeochemical properties during summer. Specifically, the MeSAA-predicted surface pCO2 was estimated by combining the dominating effects of thermodynamics, river-ocean mixing and biological activities on surface pCO2. Firstly, effects of thermodynamics and river-ocean mixing (pCO2@Hmixing) were estimated with a two-endmember mixing model, assuming conservative mixing. Secondly, pCO2 variations caused by biological activities (ΔpCO2@bio) was determined through an empirical relationship between sea surface temperature (SST)-normalized pCO2 and MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) 8-day composite chlorophyll concentration (CHL). The MeSAA-modeled pCO2 (sum of pCO2@Hmixing and ΔpCO2@bio) was compared with the field-measured pCO2. The Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) was 22.94 μatm (5.91%), with coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.25, mean bias (MB) of - 0.23 μatm and mean ratio (MR) of 1.001, for pCO2 ranging between 316 and 452 μatm. To improve the model performance, a locally tuned MeSAA was developed through the use of a locally tuned ΔpCO2@bio term. A multi-variate empirical regression model was also developed using the same dataset. Both the locally tuned MeSAA and the regression models showed improved performance comparing to the original MeSAA, with R2 of 0.78 and 0.84, RMSE of 12.36 μatm (3.14%) and 10.66 μatm (2.68%), MB of 0.00 μatm and - 0

  14. Sensitivity to ocean acidification parallels natural pCO2 gradients experienced by Arctic copepods under winter sea ice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewis, Ceri N.; Brown, Kristina A.; Edwards, Laura A.; Cooper, Glenn; Findlay, Helen S.

    2013-01-01

    The Arctic Ocean already experiences areas of low pH and high CO2, and it is expected to be most rapidly affected by future ocean acidification (OA). Copepods comprise the dominant Arctic zooplankton; hence, their responses to OA have important implications for Arctic ecosystems, yet there is little data on their current under-ice winter ecology on which to base future monitoring or make predictions about climate-induced change. Here, we report results from Arctic under-ice investigations of copepod natural distributions associated with late-winter carbonate chemistry environmental data and their response to manipulated pCO2 conditions (OA exposures). Our data reveal that species and life stage sensitivities to manipulated OA conditions were correlated with their vertical migration behavior and with their natural exposures to different pCO2 ranges. Vertically migrating adult Calanus spp. crossed a pCO2 range of >140 μatm daily and showed only minor responses to manipulated high CO2. Oithona similis, which remained in the surface waters and experienced a pCO2 range of <75 μatm, showed significantly reduced adult and nauplii survival in high CO2 experiments. These results support the relatively untested hypothesis that the natural range of pCO2 experienced by an organism determines its sensitivity to future OA and highlight that the globally important copepod species, Oithona spp., may be more sensitive to future high pCO2 conditions compared with the more widely studied larger copepods. PMID:24297880

  15. Distribution of the partial pressure of CO2 in surface water (pCO2w) between Japan and the Hawaiian Islands: pCO2w-SST relationship in the winter and summer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Inoue, Hisayuki Y.; Ishii, Masao; Matsueda, Hidekazu; Kawano, Takeshi; Murata, Akihiko; Takasugi, Yoshio

    2003-01-01

    On the basis of measurements of the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in surface seawater (pCO 2 w) between Japan and the Hawaiian Islands in winter and summer, we examined the relationship between pCO 2 w and the sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG). In winter, pCO 2 w correlated well with the SST (0.14-0.24%/deg C), suggesting a monotonous change in the carbonate system. However, in summer, five different pCO 2 w-SST relationships were found in the NPSG (including the Kuroshio Extension) due to changes in the relative contribution of ocean dynamics (upwelling, vertical mixing and advection), biological activity in the absence (very low level) of macro-nutrients and thermodynamics. The increase in pCO 2 w corresponding to a unit increase in the SST from January to July was low (<2.5%/deg C) west (leeward side) of the Hawaiian Islands (19-22 deg N, 158-168 deg W) and in the Kuroshio Extension (33-35 deg N, 140-165deg E), and high (3%/deg C) south of the Kuroshio Extension (25-30 deg N, 180-165 deg W) and the Hawaiian Islands (15-19 deg N, 157-162 deg W). This suggested that the drawdown of dissolved inorganic carbon was affected by the enhanced biological activity due to upwelling events associated with eddies and/or the transport of dissolved nutrients from gyre edges to the interior

  16. Oysters and eelgrass: potential partners in a high pCO2 ocean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Groner, Maya L; Burge, Colleen A; Cox, Ruth; Rivlin, Natalie; Turner, Mo; Van Alstyne, Kathryn L; Wyllie-Echeverria, Sandy; Bucci, John; Staudigel, Philip; Friedman, Carolyn S

    2018-05-25

    Climate change is affecting the health and physiology of marine organisms and altering species interactions. Ocean acidification (OA) threatens calcifying organisms such as the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas. In contrast, seagrasses, such as the eelgrass Zostera marina, can benefit from the increase in available carbon for photosynthesis found at a lower seawater pH. Seagrasses can remove dissolved inorganic carbon from OA environments, creating local daytime pH refugia. Pacific oysters may improve the health of eelgrass by filtering out pathogens such as Labyrinthula zosterae (LZ), which causes eelgrass wasting disease (EWD). We examined how co-culture of eelgrass ramets and juvenile oysters affected the health and growth of eelgrass and the mass of oysters under different pCO 2 exposures. In Phase I, each species was cultured alone or in co-culture at 12°C across ambient, medium, and high pCO 2 conditions, (656, 1158 and1606 μatm pCO 2 , respectively). Under high pCO 2 , eelgrass grew faster and had less severe EWD (contracted in the field prior to the experiment). Co-culture with oysters also reduced the severity of EWD. While the presence of eelgrass decreased daytime pCO 2 , this reduction was not substantial enough to ameliorate the negative impact of high pCO 2 on oyster mass. In Phase II, eelgrass alone or oysters and eelgrass in co-culture were held at 15°C under ambient and high pCO 2 conditions, (488 and 2013 μatm pCO 2 , respectively). Half of the replicates were challenged with cultured LZ. Concentrations of defensive compounds in eelgrass (total phenolics and tannins), were altered by LZ exposure and pCO 2 treatments. Greater pathogen loads and increased EWD severity were detected in LZ exposed eelgrass ramets; EWD severity was reduced at high relative to low pCO 2 . Oyster presence did not influence pathogen load or EWD severity; high LZ concentrations in experimental treatments may have masked the effect of this treatment. Collectively, these

  17. Surface water carbon dioxide in the southwest Indian sector of the Southern Ocean

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Metzl, N.; Brunet, C.; Poisson, A.

    1991-01-01

    Measurements of partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO 2 ), total dissolved inorganic carbon (TCO 2 ), total alkalinity (TA) and chlorophyll a (Chl a) have been made in surface water in the southwestern Indian sector of the Southern Ocean (20-85 degE) in the austral summer (INDIVAT V cruise, January-February 1987). Between Antarctica and Africa, pCO 2 distribution was linked to the oceanic frontal zones and Chl a variations. The pCO 2 spatial structure was very close to that explored in summer 1967 in the same region but the pCO 2 differences between the ocean and the atmosphere were smaller in 1987 than 20 years ago. At all latitudes strongly contrasting surface pCO 2 characteristics were found between eastern (around 80 degE) and western (around 25 degE) regions; CO 2 sources were mainly in the west and CO 2 sinks in the east. South of 60 degS, the contrast could be due to biological activity. Between 60 degS and the Antarctic Polar Front, intensification of upwelling might be responsible for the higher pC) 2 values in the west.37 refs.; 4 figs

  18. Response of bacterioplankton community structure to an artificial gradient of pCO2 in the Arctic Ocean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Zhang

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available In order to test the influences of ocean acidification on the ocean pelagic ecosystem, so far the largest CO2 manipulation mesocosm study (European Project on Ocean Acidification, EPOCA was performed in Kings Bay (Kongsfjorden, Spitsbergen. During a 30 day incubation, bacterial diversity was investigated using DNA fingerprinting and clone library analysis of bacterioplankton samples. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP analysis of the PCR amplicons of the 16S rRNA genes revealed that general bacterial diversity, taxonomic richness and community structure were influenced by the variation of productivity during the time of incubation, but not the degree of ocean acidification. A BIOENV analysis suggested a complex control of bacterial community structure by various biological and chemical environmental parameters. The maximum apparent diversity of bacterioplankton (i.e., the number of T-RFs in high and low pCO2 treatments differed significantly. A negative relationship between the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and pCO2 levels was observed for samples at the end of the experiment by the combination of T-RFLP and clone library analysis. Our study suggests that ocean acidification affects the development of bacterial assemblages and potentially impacts the ecological function of the bacterioplankton in the marine ecosystem.

  19. Response of bacterioplankton community structure to an artificial gradient of pCO2 in the Arctic Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, R.; Xia, X.; Lau, S. C. K.; Motegi, C.; Weinbauer, M. G.; Jiao, N.

    2013-06-01

    In order to test the influences of ocean acidification on the ocean pelagic ecosystem, so far the largest CO2 manipulation mesocosm study (European Project on Ocean Acidification, EPOCA) was performed in Kings Bay (Kongsfjorden), Spitsbergen. During a 30 day incubation, bacterial diversity was investigated using DNA fingerprinting and clone library analysis of bacterioplankton samples. Terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis of the PCR amplicons of the 16S rRNA genes revealed that general bacterial diversity, taxonomic richness and community structure were influenced by the variation of productivity during the time of incubation, but not the degree of ocean acidification. A BIOENV analysis suggested a complex control of bacterial community structure by various biological and chemical environmental parameters. The maximum apparent diversity of bacterioplankton (i.e., the number of T-RFs) in high and low pCO2 treatments differed significantly. A negative relationship between the relative abundance of Bacteroidetes and pCO2 levels was observed for samples at the end of the experiment by the combination of T-RFLP and clone library analysis. Our study suggests that ocean acidification affects the development of bacterial assemblages and potentially impacts the ecological function of the bacterioplankton in the marine ecosystem.

  20. An autonomous drifting buoy system for long term pCO2 observation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakano, Y.; Fujiki, T.; Wakita, M.; Azetsu-Scott, K.; Watanabe, S.

    2009-04-01

    Many studies have been carried out around the world to understand what happens to carbon dioxide (CO2) once it is emitted into the atmosphere, and how it relates to long-term climate change. However, the sea surface pCO2 observations on volunteer observation ships and research vessels concentrated in the North Atlantic and North Pacific. To assess the spatial and temporal variations of surface pCO2 in the global ocean, new automated pCO2 sensor which can be used in platform systems such as buoys or moorings is strongly desired. We have been developing the small drifting buoy system (diameter 250-340 mm, length 470 mm, weight 15 kg) for pCO2 measurement, with the support of the Japan EOS Promotion Program (JEPP), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). The objective is to provide simplified, automated measurements of pCO2 over all the world's oceans, an essential factor in understanding how the ocean responds to climate change. The measurement principle for the pCO2 sensor is based on spectrophotometry (e.g. Lefèvre et al., 1993; Degrandpre et al., 1995). The CO2 in the surrounding seawater equilibrates with the indicator solution across the gas permeable membranes. The equilibration process causes a change of pH in the indicator solution, which results in the change of optical absorbance. The pCO2 is calculated from the optical absorbance of the pH indicator solution equilibrated with CO2 in seawater through a gas permeable membrane. In our analytical system, we used an amorphous fluoropolymer tubing form of AF-2400 by DuPontTM for the gas permeable membrane due to its high gas permeability coefficients. The measurement system of the sensor consisted mainly of a LED light source, optical fibers, a CCD detector, and a downsized PC. The measured data were transmitted to the laboratory by satellite communication (Argos system). In the laboratory experiment, we obtained a high response time (less than 2 minutes) and a precision

  1. Calcification in Caribbean reef-building corals at high pCO2 levels in a recirculating ocean acidification exposure system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Projected increases in ocean pCO2 levels are anticipated to affect calcifying organisms more rapidly and to a greater extent than other marine organisms. The effects of ocean acidification (OA) have been documented in numerous species of corals in laboratory studies, largely test...

  2. Ikaite crystals in melting sea ice - implications for pCO2 and pH levels in Arctic surface waters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rysgaard, S.; Glud, R. N.; Lennert, K.; Cooper, M.; Halden, N.; Leakey, R. J. G.; Hawthorne, F. C.; Barber, D.

    2012-08-01

    A major issue of Arctic marine science is to understand whether the Arctic Ocean is, or will be, a source or sink for air-sea CO2 exchange. This has been complicated by the recent discoveries of ikaite (a polymorph of CaCO3·6H2O) in Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, which indicate that multiple chemical transformations occur in sea ice with a possible effect on CO2 and pH conditions in surface waters. Here, we report on biogeochemical conditions, microscopic examinations and x-ray diffraction analysis of single crystals from a melting 1.7 km2 (0.5-1 m thick) drifting ice floe in the Fram Strait during summer. Our findings show that ikaite crystals are present throughout the sea ice but with larger crystals appearing in the upper ice layers. Ikaite crystals placed at elevated temperatures disintegrated into smaller crystallites and dissolved. During our field campaign in late June, melt reduced the ice floe thickness by 0.2 m per week and resulted in an estimated 3.8 ppm decrease of pCO2 in the ocean surface mixed layer. This corresponds to an air-sea CO2 uptake of 10.6 mmol m-2 sea ice d-1 or to 3.3 ton km-2 ice floe week-1. This is markedly higher than the estimated primary production within the ice floe of 0.3-1.3 mmol m-2 sea ice d-1. Finally, the presence of ikaite in sea ice and the dissolution of the mineral during melting of the sea ice and mixing of the melt water into the surface oceanic mixed layer accounted for half of the estimated pCO2 uptake.

  3. Ocean acidification effects on calcification in Caribbean scleractinian coral exposed to elevated pCO2: a potential for acclimation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hankins, C.

    2016-02-01

    Ocean acidification (OA) is projected to increase the acidity of coral reef habitats 2-3 times that of present day pCO2 levels. Many studies have shown the adverse effects on scleractinian calcification when exposed to elevated pCO2 levels, however, no such effects were seen in this study whereby corals were exposed for three months to elevated pCO2 levels. In this study, all corals were kept in culture for one year prior to being used in experimental trials. Data from culture systems shows coral experience a range of pCO2 from 300-600 µatm over the course of a day. This range is attributed to respiration and photosynthesis which also naturally occurs in a reef habitat. Montastrea cavernosa, Orbicella faveolata, and Pseudodiploria clivosa were exposed to their ambient culture conditions (control) or to elevated pCO2 levels of 1000 µatm (IPCC A1F1 scenario). By combining photographic analysis of live tissue area or exposed skeleton with the buoyant weight technique, an area density of each coral fragment was obtained to infer rates of calcification or erosion of skeleton. After three months of experimental exposure, preliminary results suggest that there is no significant difference in calcification or erosion in any of the species tested. Acclimation in the elevated pCO2 culture environment may have conditioned the coral to better withstand high pCO2 levels. Long acclimation periods of coral to near term future pCO2 levels may more accurately predict calcification responses in corals of the future.

  4. Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2), temperature, salinity and other variables collected from surface underway observations using shower head equilibrator, carbon dioxide gas detector and other instruments from the R/V Thomas G. Thompson in the Pacific Ocean from 2016-03-02 to 2016-04-18 (NCEI Accession 0158483)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This archival package contains underway measurements of pCO2, salinity, sea surface temperature, and other parameters collected in the Pacific ocean on the R/V...

  5. Ikaite crystals in melting sea ice – implications for pCO2 and pH levels in Arctic surface waters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. J. G. Leakey

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available A major issue of Arctic marine science is to understand whether the Arctic Ocean is, or will be, a source or sink for air–sea CO2 exchange. This has been complicated by the recent discoveries of ikaite (a polymorph of CaCO3·6H2O in Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, which indicate that multiple chemical transformations occur in sea ice with a possible effect on CO2 and pH conditions in surface waters. Here, we report on biogeochemical conditions, microscopic examinations and x-ray diffraction analysis of single crystals from a melting 1.7 km2 (0.5–1 m thick drifting ice floe in the Fram Strait during summer. Our findings show that ikaite crystals are present throughout the sea ice but with larger crystals appearing in the upper ice layers. Ikaite crystals placed at elevated temperatures disintegrated into smaller crystallites and dissolved. During our field campaign in late June, melt reduced the ice floe thickness by 0.2 m per week and resulted in an estimated 3.8 ppm decrease of pCO2 in the ocean surface mixed layer. This corresponds to an air–sea CO2 uptake of 10.6 mmol m−2 sea ice d−1 or to 3.3 ton km−2 ice floe week−1. This is markedly higher than the estimated primary production within the ice floe of 0.3–1.3 mmol m−2 sea ice d−1. Finally, the presence of ikaite in sea ice and the dissolution of the mineral during melting of the sea ice and mixing of the melt water into the surface oceanic mixed layer accounted for half of the estimated pCO2 uptake.

  6. The seasonal cycle of pCO2 and CO2 fluxes in the Southern Ocean: diagnosing anomalies in CMIP5 Earth system models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Precious Mongwe, N.; Vichi, Marcello; Monteiro, Pedro M. S.

    2018-05-01

    The Southern Ocean forms an important component of the Earth system as a major sink of CO2 and heat. Recent studies based on the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project version 5 (CMIP5) Earth system models (ESMs) show that CMIP5 models disagree on the phasing of the seasonal cycle of the CO2 flux (FCO2) and compare poorly with available observation products for the Southern Ocean. Because the seasonal cycle is the dominant mode of CO2 variability in the Southern Ocean, its simulation is a rigorous test for models and their long-term projections. Here we examine the competing roles of temperature and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) as drivers of the seasonal cycle of pCO2 in the Southern Ocean to explain the mechanistic basis for the seasonal biases in CMIP5 models. We find that despite significant differences in the spatial characteristics of the mean annual fluxes, the intra-model homogeneity in the seasonal cycle of FCO2 is greater than observational products. FCO2 biases in CMIP5 models can be grouped into two main categories, i.e., group-SST and group-DIC. Group-SST models show an exaggeration of the seasonal rates of change of sea surface temperature (SST) in autumn and spring during the cooling and warming peaks. These higher-than-observed rates of change of SST tip the control of the seasonal cycle of pCO2 and FCO2 towards SST and result in a divergence between the observed and modeled seasonal cycles, particularly in the Sub-Antarctic Zone. While almost all analyzed models (9 out of 10) show these SST-driven biases, 3 out of 10 (namely NorESM1-ME, HadGEM-ES and MPI-ESM, collectively the group-DIC models) compensate for the solubility bias because of their overly exaggerated primary production, such that biologically driven DIC changes mainly regulate the seasonal cycle of FCO2.

  7. Global Ocean Surface Water Partial Pressure of CO2 Database: Measurements Performed During 1957-2016 (LDEO Database Version 2016) (NCEI Accession 0160492)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Approximately 10.8 million measurements of surface water pCO2 made over the global oceans during 1957-2016 have been processed to make a uniform data file in this...

  8. Reduction in Surface Ocean Carbon Storage across the Middle Miocene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babila, T. L.; Sosdian, S. M.; Foster, G. L.; Lear, C. H.

    2017-12-01

    During the Middle Miocene, Earth underwent a profound climate shift from the warmth of the Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO; 14-17 Ma) to the stable icehouse of today during the Middle Miocene Climate transition (MMCT). Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations (pCO2) revealed by boron isotope records (δ11B) link massive volcanic outputs of Columbia River Flood Basalts to the general warmth of MCO. Superimposed on the long-term cooling trend (MMCT) is a gradual pCO2 decline and numerous positive carbon isotope (δ13C) excursions that indicate dynamic variations in the global carbon cycle. Enhanced organic carbon burial via marine productivity, increased silicate weathering and volcanic emission cessation are each invoked to explain the drawdown of pCO2. To better constrain the oceanic role in carbon sequestration over the Middle Miocene detailed records of carbonate chemistry are needed. We present high resolution Boron/Calcium (B/Ca) and δ13C records in planktonic foraminifer T.trilobus spanning 12-17 Ma at ODP 761 (tropical eastern Indian Ocean) to document changes in surface ocean carbonate chemistry. An overall 30% increase in B/Ca ratios is expressed as two stepwise phases occurring at 14.7 and 13 Ma. Cyclic B/Ca variations are coherent with complimentary δ13C records suggesting a tight coupling between ocean carbonate chemistry parameters. Lower resolution B/Ca data at DSDP 588 (Pacific) and ODP 926 (Atlantic) corroborate the trends observed at ODP 761. We employ a paired approach that combines B/Ca (this study) to δ11B (Foster et al., 2012) and an ad hoc calibration to estimate changes in surface ocean dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). We estimate a substantial decrease in surface ocean DIC spanning the Middle Miocene that culminates with modern day like values. This gradual decline in surface ocean DIC is coeval with existing deep-ocean records which together suggests a whole ocean reduction in carbon storage. We speculate that enhanced weathering

  9. Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2), temperature, salinity and other variables collected from surface underway observations using shower head equilibrator, carbon dioxide gas detector, and other instruments from container ship Cap Vilano in the Pacific Ocean from 2013-02-01 to 2013-06-06 (NCEI Accession 0132054)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This archival package contains underway measurements of pCO2, salinity, sea surface temperature, and other parameters were collected during 3 trans-Pacific crossings...

  10. Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2), temperature, salinity and other variables collected from surface underway observations using shower head equilibrator, carbon dioxide gas detector, and other instruments from container ship Cap Blanche in the Pacific Ocean from 2014-02-01 to 2014-11-26 (NCEI Accession 0132047)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This archival package contains underway measurements of pCO2, salinity, sea surface temperature, and other parameters were collected during 6 trans-Pacific crossings...

  11. Variations in pCO2 during summer in the surface water of an unproductive lake in northern Sweden

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jonsson, A.; Aaberg, J.; Jansson, M.

    2007-01-01

    Unproductive lakes are generally supersaturated with carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and emit CO 2 to the atmosphere continuously during ice-free periods. However, temporal variation of the partial pressure of CO 2 (pCO 2 ) and thus of CO 2 evasion to atmosphere is poorly documented. We therefore carried out temporally high-resolution (every 6 h) measurements of the pCO 2 using an automated logger system in the surface water of a subarctic, unproductive, lake in the birch forest belt. The study period was June-September 2004. We found that the pCO 2 showed large seasonal variation, but low daily variation. The seasonal variation was likely mainly caused by variations in input and mineralization of allochthonous organic matter. Stratification depth probably also influenced pCO 2 of the surface water by controlling the volume in which mineralization of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) occurred. In lakes, with large variations in pCO 2 , as in our study lake a high (weekly) sampling intensity is recommended for obtaining accurate estimates of the evasion of CO 2

  12. Southern Ocean carbon-wind stress feedback

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bronselaer, Ben; Zanna, Laure; Munday, David R.; Lowe, Jason

    2018-02-01

    The Southern Ocean is the largest sink of anthropogenic carbon in the present-day climate. Here, Southern Ocean pCO2 and its dependence on wind forcing are investigated using an equilibrium mixed layer carbon budget. This budget is used to derive an expression for Southern Ocean pCO2 sensitivity to wind stress. Southern Ocean pCO2 is found to vary as the square root of area-mean wind stress, arising from the dominance of vertical mixing over other processes such as lateral Ekman transport. The expression for pCO2 is validated using idealised coarse-resolution ocean numerical experiments. Additionally, we show that increased (decreased) stratification through surface warming reduces (increases) the sensitivity of the Southern Ocean pCO2 to wind stress. The scaling is then used to estimate the wind-stress induced changes of atmospheric pCO_2 in CMIP5 models using only a handful of parameters. The scaling is further used to model the anthropogenic carbon sink, showing a long-term reversal of the Southern Ocean sink for large wind stress strength.

  13. Warming and pCO2 effects on Florida stone crab larvae

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gravinese, Philip M.; Enochs, Ian C.; Manzello, Derek P.; van Woesik, Robert

    2018-05-01

    Greenhouse gas emissions are increasing ocean temperatures and the partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2), resulting in more acidic waters. It is presently unknown how elevated temperature and pCO2 will influence the early life history stages of the majority of marine coastal species. We investigated the combined effect of elevated temperature (30 °C control and 32 °C treatment) and elevated pCO2 (450 μatm control and 1100 μatm treatment) on the (i) growth, (ii) survival, (iii) condition, and (iv) morphology of larvae of the commercially important Florida stone crab, Menippe mercenaria. At elevated temperature, larvae exhibited a significantly shorter molt stage, and elevated pCO2 caused stage-V larvae to delay metamorphosis to post-larvae. On average, elevated pCO2 resulted in a 37% decrease in survivorship relative to the control; however the effect of elevated temperature reduced larval survivorship by 71%. Exposure to both elevated temperature and pCO2 reduced larval survivorship by 80% relative to the control. Despite this, no significant differences were detected in the condition or morphology of stone crab larvae when subjected to elevated temperature and pCO2 treatments. Although elevated pCO2 could result in a reduction in larval supply, future increases in seawater temperatures are even more likely to threaten the future sustainability of the stone-crab fishery.

  14. Spatial and temporal variability of seawater pCO2 within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Baffin Bay during the summer and autumn 2011

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geilfus, N.-X.; Pind, M. L.; Else, B. G. T.; Galley, R. J.; Miller, L. A.; Thomas, H.; Gosselin, M.; Rysgaard, S.; Wang, F.; Papakyriakou, T. N.

    2018-03-01

    The partial pressure of CO2 in surface water (pCO2sw) measured within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) and Baffin Bay was highly variable with values ranging from strongly undersaturated (118 μatm) to slightly supersaturated (419 μatm) with respect to the atmospheric levels ( 386 μatm) during summer and autumn 2011. During summer, melting sea ice contributed to cold and fresh surface water and enhanced the ice-edge bloom, resulting in strong pCO2sw undersaturation. Coronation Gulf was the only area with supersaturated pCO2sw, likely due to warm CO2-enriched freshwater input from the Coppermine River. During autumn, the entire CAA (including Coronation Gulf) was undersaturated, despite generally increasing pCO2sw. Coronation Gulf was the one place where pCO2sw decreased, likely due to seasonal reduction in discharge from the Coppermine River and the decreasing sea surface temperature. The seasonal summer-to-autumn increase in pCO2sw across the archipelago is attributed in part to the continuous uptake of atmospheric CO2 through both summer and autumn and to the seasonal deepening of the surface mixed layer, bringing CO2-rich waters to the surface. These observations demonstrate how freshwater from sea ice melt and rivers affect pCO2sw differently. The general pCO2sw undersaturation during summer-autumn 2011 throughout the CAA and Baffin Bay give an estimated net oceanic sink for atmospheric CO2 over the study period of 11.4 mmol CO2 m-2 d-1, assuming no sea-air CO2 flux exchange across the sea-ice covered areas.

  15. Processes regulating pCO2 in the surface waters of the central eastern Gotland Sea: a model study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bernd Schneider

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available This work presents a one-dimensional simulation of the seasonal changes in CO2 partial pressure (pCO2. The results of the model were constrained using data from observations, which improved the model's ability to estimate nitrogen fixation in the central Baltic Sea and allowed the impact of nitrogen fixation on the ecological state of the Baltic Sea to be studied. The model used here is the public domain water-column model GOTM (General Ocean Turbulence Model, which in this study was coupled with a modifed Baltic Sea ecosystem model, ERGOM (The Baltic Sea Research Institute's ecosystem model. To estimate nitrogen fixation rates in the Gotland Sea, the ERGOM model was modified by including an additional cyanobacteria group able to fix nitrogen from March to June. Furthermore, the model was extended by a simple CO2 cycle. Variable C:P and N:P ratios, controlled by phosphate concentrations in ambient water, were used to represent cyanobacteria, detritus and sediment detritus. This approach improved the model's ability to reproduce sea-surface phosphate and pCO2 dynamics. The resulting nitrogen fixation rates in 2005 for the two simulations, with and without the additional cyanobacteria group, were 259 and 278 mmol N m-2 year-1respectively.

  16. Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2), temperature, salinity and other variables collected from surface underway observations using shower head equilibrator, carbon dioxide gas detector and other instruments from 3 trans-Pacific crossings onboard container ship Cap Blanche in the Pacific Ocean from 2016-03-13 to 2016-09-13 (NCEI Accession 0158484)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This archival package contains underway measurements of pCO2, salinity, sea surface temperature, and other parameters that were collected during 3 trans-Pacific...

  17. Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2), temperature, salinity and other variables collected from surface underway observations using shower head equilibrator, carbon dioxide gas detector, and other instruments from 4 trans-Pacific crossings onboard container ship Cap Blanche in the Pacific Ocean from 2015-03-28 to 2015-12-04 (NCEI Accession 0141304)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This archival package contains underway measurements of pCO2, salinity, sea surface temperature, and other parameters collected during 4 trans-Pacific crossings in...

  18. Projected near-future levels of temperature and pCO2 reduce coral fertilization success.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rebecca Albright

    Full Text Available Increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide (pCO2 are projected to contribute to a 1.1-6.4°C rise in global average surface temperatures and a 0.14-0.35 reduction in the average pH of the global surface ocean by 2100. If realized, these changes are expected to have negative consequences for reef-building corals including increased frequency and severity of coral bleaching and reduced rates of calcification and reef accretion. Much less is known regarding the independent and combined effects of temperature and pCO2 on critical early life history processes such as fertilization. Here we show that increases in temperature (+3°C and pCO2 (+400 µatm projected for this century negatively impact fertilization success of a common Indo-Pacific coral species, Acropora tenuis. While maximum fertilization did not differ among treatments, the sperm concentration required to obtain 50% of maximum fertilization increased 6- to 8- fold with the addition of a single factor (temperature or CO2 and nearly 50- fold when both factors interact. Our results indicate that near-future changes in temperature and pCO2 narrow the range of sperm concentrations that are capable of yielding high fertilization success in A. tenuis. Increased sperm limitation, in conjunction with adult population decline, may have severe consequences for coral reproductive success. Impaired sexual reproduction will further challenge corals by inhibiting population recovery and adaptation potential.

  19. Variations and trends of CO2 in the surface seawater in the Southern Ocean south of Australia between 1969 and 2002

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshikawa-Inoue, Hisayuki; Ishii, M.

    2005-01-01

    Measurements of the partial pressure of CO 2 in surface seawater (pCO sw 2 ) were made in the Southern Ocean south of Australia during four cruises in January to February 1969, December 1983 to January 1984, December 1994 to January 1995 and January 2002. The spatial distribution of pCO sw 2 for the four cruises showed the same pattern north of the Sub-Antarctic Front (SAF), while year-to-year changes were noted south of the SAF. We evaluated the long-term trend of the pCO sw 2 representative of the zone between oceanographic fronts by taking into account changes in the seasonal variation in pCO sw 2 and the long-term increase of the sea-surface temperature (SST) of the Southern Hemisphere. The observed growth rate of pCO sw 2 was 0.7 ± 0.1 μatm/yr at its minimum, which was observed at the SST of 15 deg C north of the Subtropical Front (STF), 1.0 ± 0.5 μatm/yr in the Sub-Antarctic Zone (SAZ) between STF and SAF, 1.5 ± 0.4 μatm/yr in the Polar Frontal Zone (PFZ) between SAF and the Polar Front (PF) and 1.8 ± 0.2 μμatm/yr in the Polar Zone (PZ) between PF and 62 deg S, determined as the northern edge of the Seasonal Sea Ice Zone (SSIZ) on the basis of surface salinity and satellite images. These increases were caused by the uptake of anthropogenic CO 2 as well as variations in the thermodynamic temperature effect, ocean transport and biological activity. In the SSIZ between 62 and 66.5 deg S, we could not clearly evaluate the long-term trend of pCO sw 2 due to the remarkable CO 2 drawdown due to biological activity in January 2002. The relatively low growth rates of pCO sw 2 close to the STF and in the SAZ are probably associated with the formation of Subtropical Mode Water and Sub-Antarctic Mode Water in their respective zones. Between the north of the STF and the PZ, the growth rate of total dissolved inorganic carbon was calculated to be about 0.5-0.8 μmol/kg/yr via the buffer factor

  20. Synergism between elevated pCO2 and temperature on the Antarctic sea ice diatom Nitzschia lecointei

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Torstensson

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Polar oceans are particularly susceptible to ocean acidification and warming. Diatoms play a significant role in sea ice biogeochemistry and provide an important food source to grazers in ice-covered oceans, especially during early spring. However, the ecophysiology of ice-living organisms has received little attention in terms of ocean acidification. In this study, the synergism between temperature and partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2 was investigated in relationship to the optimal growth temperature of the Antarctic sea ice diatom Nitzschia lecointei. Diatoms were kept in cultures at controlled levels of pCO2 (∼390 and ∼960 μatm and temperature (−1.8 and 2.5 °C for 14 days. Synergism between temperature and pCO2 was detected in growth rate and acyl lipid fatty acid (FA content. Optimal growth rate was observed around 5 °C in a separate experiment. Carbon enrichment only promoted (6% growth rate closer to the optimal growth, but not at the control temperature (−1.8 °C. At −1.8 °C and at ∼960 μatm pCO2, the total FA content was reduced relative to the ∼390 μatm treatment, although no difference between pCO2 treatments was observed at 2.5 °C. A large proportion (97% of the total FAs comprised on average of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA at −1.8 °C. Cellular PUFA content was reduced at ∼960 relative to ∼390 μatm pCO2. Effects of carbon enrichment may be different depending on ocean warming scenario or season, e.g. reduced cellular FA content in response to elevated CO2 at low temperatures only, reflected as reduced food quality for higher trophic levels. Synergy between warming and acidification may be particularly important in polar areas since a narrow thermal window generally limits cold-water organisms.

  1. Evaluation of a Prototype pCO2 Optical Sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanborn-Marsh, C.; Sutton, A.; Sabine, C. L.; Lawrence-Salvas, N.; Dietrich, C.

    2016-12-01

    Anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, driving climate change and altering the ocean carbonate systems. Carbonate chemistry can be characterized by any two of the four parameters: pH, total alkalinity, dissolved inorganic carbon, and partial pressure of dissolved carbon dioxide gas (pCO2). To fully monitor these dynamic systems, researchers must deploy a more temporally and spatially comprehensive sensor network. Logistical challenges, such as the energy consumption, size, lifetime, depth range, and cost of pCO2 sensors have limited the network's reach so far. NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory has conducted assessment tests of a pCO2 optical sensor (optode), recently developed by Atamanchuk et al (2014). We hope to deploy this optode in the summer of 2017 on high-resolution moored profiler, along with temperature, salinity, and oxygen sensors. While most pCO2 optodes have energy consumptions of 3-10 W, this 36mm-diameter by 86mm-long instrument consumes a mere 7-80 mW. Initial testing showed that its accuracy varied within an absolute range of 2-75 μatm, depending on environmental conditions, including temperature, salinity, response time, and initial calibration. Further research independently examining the effects of each variable on the accuracy of the data will also be presented.

  2. Skeletal mineralogy of coral recruits under high temperature and pCO2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Foster

    2016-03-01

    Our results show that elevated pCO2 alone is unlikely to drive changes in the skeletal mineralogy of young corals. Not having an ability to switch from aragonite to calcite precipitation may leave corals and ultimately coral reef ecosystems more susceptible to predicted ocean acidification. An important area for prospective research would be the investigation of the combined impact of high pCO2 and reduced Mg ∕ Ca ratio on coral skeletal mineralogy.

  3. Arctic Ocean CO2 uptake: an improved multiyear estimate of the air-sea CO2 flux incorporating chlorophyll a concentrations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yasunaka, Sayaka; Siswanto, Eko; Olsen, Are; Hoppema, Mario; Watanabe, Eiji; Fransson, Agneta; Chierici, Melissa; Murata, Akihiko; Lauvset, Siv K.; Wanninkhof, Rik; Takahashi, Taro; Kosugi, Naohiro; Omar, Abdirahman M.; van Heuven, Steven; Mathis, Jeremy T.

    2018-03-01

    We estimated monthly air-sea CO2 fluxes in the Arctic Ocean and its adjacent seas north of 60° N from 1997 to 2014. This was done by mapping partial pressure of CO2 in the surface water (pCO2w) using a self-organizing map (SOM) technique incorporating chlorophyll a concentration (Chl a), sea surface temperature, sea surface salinity, sea ice concentration, atmospheric CO2 mixing ratio, and geographical position. We applied new algorithms for extracting Chl a from satellite remote sensing reflectance with close examination of uncertainty of the obtained Chl a values. The overall relationship between pCO2w and Chl a was negative, whereas the relationship varied among seasons and regions. The addition of Chl a as a parameter in the SOM process enabled us to improve the estimate of pCO2w, particularly via better representation of its decline in spring, which resulted from biologically mediated pCO2w reduction. As a result of the inclusion of Chl a, the uncertainty in the CO2 flux estimate was reduced, with a net annual Arctic Ocean CO2 uptake of 180 ± 130 Tg C yr-1. Seasonal to interannual variation in the CO2 influx was also calculated.

  4. Calcification persists with CO2-induced ocean acidification but decreases with warming for the Caribbean coral Siderastrea siderea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castillo, K. D.; Ries, J. B.; Westfield, I. T.; Weiss, J. M.; Bruno, J. F.

    2012-12-01

    Atmospheric carbon dioxide (pCO2) induced ocean acidification and rising seawater temperatures are identified as two of the greatest threats to modern coral reefs. Within this century, surface seawater pH is expected to decrease by at least 0.3 units, and sea surface temperature is predicted to rise by 1 to 3 °C. However, uncertainty remains as to whether ocean acidification or ocean warming will have a more deleterious impact on coral reefs by the end of the century. Here, we present results of 95-day laboratory experiments in which we investigated the impact of CO2-induced ocean acidification and temperature on the calcification rate of the tropical reef-building zooxanthellate scleractinian coral Siderastrea siderea. We found that calcification rates for S. siderea, estimated from buoyant weighing, increased as pCO2 increased from a pre-industrial value of 324 ppm to a near-present-day value of 477 ppm, remained unchanged as pCO2 increased from 477 ppm to the predicted end-of-century value of 604 ppm, and only declined at 6-times the modern pCO2 value of 2553 ppm. Corals reared at average pCO2 of 488 ppm and at temperatures of 25 and 32 °C, approximately the lower and upper temperature extremes for this species, calcified at lower rates relative to corals reared at 28 °C under equivalent pCO2. These results support the existing evidence that scleractinian corals such as S. siderea are able to manipulate the carbonate chemistry at their calcification site, enabling them to maintain their calcification rates under elevated pCO2 levels predicted for the end of this century. However, exposure of S. siderea corals to sea surface temperatures predicted for tropical waters for the end of this century grossly impaired their rate of calcification. These findings suggest that ocean warming poses a more immediate threat to the coral S. siderea than does ocean acidification, at least under scenarios (B1, A1T, and B2) predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

  5. High-resolution Atmospheric pCO2 Reconstruction across the Paleogene Using Marine and Terrestrial δ13C records

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Y.; Schubert, B.

    2016-02-01

    The early Paleogene (63 to 47 Ma) is considered to have a greenhouse climate1 with proxies suggesting atmospheric CO2 levels (pCO2) approximately 2× pre-industrial levels. However, the proxy based pCO2 reconstructions are limited and do not allow for assessment of changes in pCO2 at million to sub-million year time scales. It has recently been recognized that changes in C3 land plant carbon isotope fractionation can be used as a proxy for pCO2 with quantifiable uncertainty2. Here, we present a high-resolution pCO2 reconstruction (n = 597) across the early Paleogene using published carbon isotope data from both terrestrial organic matter and marine carbonates. The minimum and maximum pCO2 values reconstructed using this method are broad (i.e., 170 +60/-40 ppmv to 2000 +4480/-1060 ppmv) and reflective of the wide range of environments sampled. However, the large number of measurements allows for a robust estimate of average pCO2 during this time interval ( 400 +260/-120 ppmv), and indicates brief (sub-million-year) excursions to very high pCO2 during hyperthermal events (e.g., the PETM). By binning our high-resolution pCO2 data at 1 million year intervals, we can compare our dataset to the other available pCO2 proxies. Our result is broadly consistent with pCO2 levels reconstructed using other proxies, with the exception of paleosol-based pCO2 estimates spanning 53 to 50 Ma. At this timescale, no proxy suggests pCO2 higher than 2000 ppmv, whereas the global surface ocean temperature is considered to be >10 oC warmer than today. Recent climate modeling suggests that low atmospheric pressure during this time period could help reconcile the apparent disconnect between pCO2 and temperature and contribute to the greenhouse climate3. References1. Huber, M., Caballero, R., 2011. Climate of the Past 7, 603-633. 2. Schubert, B.A., Jahren, A.H., 2015. Geology 43, 435-438. 3. Poulsen, C.J., Tabor, C., White, J.D., 2015. Science 348, 1238-1241.

  6. Atmospheric pCO2 reconstructed across five early Eocene global warming events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Ying; Schubert, Brian A.

    2017-11-01

    Multiple short-lived global warming events, known as hyperthermals, occurred during the early Eocene (56-52 Ma). Five of these events - the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM or ETM1), H1 (or ETM2), H2, I1, and I2 - are marked by a carbon isotope excursion (CIE) within both marine and terrestrial sediments. The magnitude of CIE, which is a function of the amount and isotopic composition of carbon added to the ocean-atmosphere system, varies significantly between marine versus terrestrial substrates. Here we use the increase in carbon isotope fractionation by C3 land plants in response to increased pCO2 to reconcile this difference and reconstruct a range of background pCO2 and peak pCO2 for each CIE, provided two potential carbon sources: methane hydrate destabilization and permafrost-thawing/organic matter oxidation. Although the uncertainty on each pCO2 estimate using this approach is low (e.g., median uncertainty = + 23% / - 18%), this work highlights the potential for significant systematic bias in the pCO2 estimate resulting from sampling resolution, substrate type, diagenesis, and environmental change. Careful consideration of each of these factors is required especially when applying this approach to a single marine-terrestrial CIE pair. Given these limitations, we provide an upper estimate for background early Eocene pCO2 of 463 +248/-131 ppmv (methane hydrate scenario) to 806 +127/-104 ppmv (permafrost-thawing/organic matter oxidation scenario). These results, which represent the first pCO2 proxy estimates directly tied to the Eocene hyperthermals, demonstrate that early Eocene warmth was supported by background pCO2 less than ∼3.5× preindustrial levels and that pCO2 > 1000 ppmv may have occurred only briefly, during hyperthermal events.

  7. Skeletal mineralogy of coral recruits under high temperature and pCO2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foster, T.; Clode, P. L.

    2016-03-01

    Aragonite, which is the polymorph of CaCO3 precipitated by modern corals during skeletal formation, has a higher solubility than the more stable polymorph calcite. This higher solubility may leave animals that produce aragonitic skeletons more vulnerable to anthropogenic ocean acidification. It is therefore important to determine whether scleractinian corals have the plasticity to adapt and produce calcite in their skeletons in response to changing environmental conditions. Both high pCO2 and lower Mg / Ca ratios in seawater are thought to have driven changes in the skeletal mineralogy of major marine calcifiers in the past ˜ 540 Ma. Experimentally reduced Mg / Ca ratios in ambient seawater have been shown to induce some calcite precipitation in both adult and newly settled modern corals; however, the impact of high pCO2 on the mineralogy of recruits is unknown. Here we determined the skeletal mineralogy of 1-month-old Acropora spicifera coral recruits grown under high temperature (+3 °C) and pCO2 (˜ 900 µatm) conditions, using X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. We found that newly settled coral recruits produced entirely aragonitic skeletons regardless of the treatment. Our results show that elevated pCO2 alone is unlikely to drive changes in the skeletal mineralogy of young corals. Not having an ability to switch from aragonite to calcite precipitation may leave corals and ultimately coral reef ecosystems more susceptible to predicted ocean acidification. An important area for prospective research would be the investigation of the combined impact of high pCO2 and reduced Mg / Ca ratio on coral skeletal mineralogy.

  8. Species-Specific Responses of Juvenile Rockfish to Elevated pCO2: From Behavior to Genomics.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Scott L Hamilton

    Full Text Available In the California Current ecosystem, global climate change is predicted to trigger large-scale changes in ocean chemistry within this century. Ocean acidification-which occurs when increased levels of atmospheric CO2 dissolve into the ocean-is one of the biggest potential threats to marine life. In a coastal upwelling system, we compared the effects of chronic exposure to low pH (elevated pCO2 at four treatment levels (i.e., pCO2 = ambient [500], moderate [750], high [1900], and extreme [2800 μatm] on behavior, physiology, and patterns of gene expression in white muscle tissue of juvenile rockfish (genus Sebastes, integrating responses from the transcriptome to the whole organism level. Experiments were conducted simultaneously on two closely related species that both inhabit kelp forests, yet differ in early life history traits, to compare high-CO2 tolerance among species. Our findings indicate that these congeners express different sensitivities to elevated CO2 levels. Copper rockfish (S. caurinus exhibited changes in behavioral lateralization, reduced critical swimming speed, depressed aerobic scope, changes in metabolic enzyme activity, and increases in the expression of transcription factors and regulatory genes at high pCO2 exposure. Blue rockfish (S. mystinus, in contrast, showed no significant changes in behavior, swimming physiology, or aerobic capacity, but did exhibit significant changes in the expression of muscle structural genes as a function of pCO2, indicating acclimatization potential. The capacity of long-lived, late to mature, commercially important fish to acclimatize and adapt to changing ocean chemistry over the next 50-100 years is likely dependent on species-specific physiological tolerances.

  9. Phytoplankton Do Not Produce Carbon-Rich Organic Matter in High CO2 Oceans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Ja-Myung; Lee, Kitack; Suh, Young-Sang; Han, In-Seong

    2018-05-01

    The ocean is a substantial sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) released as a result of human activities. Over the coming decades the dissolved inorganic C concentration in the surface ocean is predicted to increase, which is expected to have a direct influence on the efficiency of C utilization (consumption and production) by phytoplankton during photosynthesis. Here we evaluated the generality of C-rich organic matter production by examining the elemental C:N ratio of organic matter produced under conditions of varying pCO2. The data used in this analysis were obtained from a series of pelagic in situ pCO2 perturbation studies that were performed in the diverse ocean regions and involved natural phytoplankton assemblages. The C:N ratio of the resulting particulate and dissolved organic matter did not differ across the range of pCO2 conditions tested. In particular, the ratio for particulate organic C and N was found to be 6.58 ± 0.05, close to the theoretical value of 6.6.

  10. Partial pressure (or fugacity) of carbon dioxide, salinity, oxygen and other variables collected from time series observations using Battelle Seaology pCO2 monitoring system (MApCO2) from MOORING Maria_Island_42S_148E deployment in the Tasman Sea, Pacific Ocean from 2012-04-17 to 2012-10-18 (NCEI Accession 0165305)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Measurements in the data set are made with a Battelle Seaology pCO2 monitoring system (MApCO2), a Seabird SBE16plusV2 CTD, mounted on a surface buoy similar to the...

  11. Natural high pCO2 increases autotrophy in Anemonia viridis (Anthozoa) as revealed from stable isotope (C, N) analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horwitz, Rael; Borell, Esther M; Yam, Ruth; Shemesh, Aldo; Fine, Maoz

    2015-03-05

    Contemporary cnidarian-algae symbioses are challenged by increasing CO2 concentrations (ocean warming and acidification) affecting organisms' biological performance. We examined the natural variability of carbon and nitrogen isotopes in the symbiotic sea anemone Anemonia viridis to investigate dietary shifts (autotrophy/heterotrophy) along a natural pCO2 gradient at the island of Vulcano, Italy. δ(13)C values for both algal symbionts (Symbiodinium) and host tissue of A. viridis became significantly lighter with increasing seawater pCO2. Together with a decrease in the difference between δ(13)C values of both fractions at the higher pCO2 sites, these results indicate there is a greater net autotrophic input to the A. viridis carbon budget under high pCO2 conditions. δ(15)N values and C/N ratios did not change in Symbiodinium and host tissue along the pCO2 gradient. Additional physiological parameters revealed anemone protein and Symbiodinium chlorophyll a remained unaltered among sites. Symbiodinium density was similar among sites yet their mitotic index increased in anemones under elevated pCO2. Overall, our findings show that A. viridis is characterized by a higher autotrophic/heterotrophic ratio as pCO2 increases. The unique trophic flexibility of this species may give it a competitive advantage and enable its potential acclimation and ecological success in the future under increased ocean acidification.

  12. Instability and breakdown of the coral-algae symbiosis upon exceedence of the interglacial pCO2 threshold (>260 ppmv): the "missing" Earth-System feedback mechanism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wooldridge, Scott A.

    2017-12-01

    Changes in the atmospheric partial pressure of CO2 ( pCO2) leads to predictable impacts on the surface ocean carbonate system. Here, the importance of atmospheric pCO2 <260 ppmv is established for the optimum performance (and stability) of the algal endosymbiosis employed by a key suite of tropical reef-building coral species. Violation of this symbiotic threshold is revealed as a prerequisite for major historical reef extinction events, glacial-interglacial feedback climate cycles, and the modern decline of coral reef ecosystems. Indeed, it is concluded that this symbiotic threshold enacts a fundamental feedback mechanism needed to explain the characteristic dynamics (and drivers) of the coupled land-ocean-atmosphere carbon cycle of the Earth System since the mid-Miocene, some 25 million yr ago.

  13. Impacts of food availability and pCO2 on planulation, juvenile survival, and calcification of the azooxanthellate scleractinian coral Balanophyllia elegans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crook, E. D.; Cooper, H.; Potts, D. C.; Lambert, T.; Paytan, A.

    2013-11-01

    Ocean acidification, the assimilation of atmospheric CO2 by the oceans that decreases the pH and CaCO3 saturation state (Ω) of seawater, is projected to have severe adverse consequences for calcifying organisms. While strong evidence suggests calcification by tropical reef-building corals containing algal symbionts (zooxanthellae) will decline over the next century, likely responses of azooxanthellate corals to ocean acidification are less well understood. Because azooxanthellate corals do not obtain photosynthetic energy from symbionts, they provide a system for studying the direct effects of acidification on energy available for calcification. The solitary azooxanthellate orange cup coral Balanophyllia elegans often lives in low-pH, upwelled waters along the California coast. In an 8-month factorial experiment, we measured the effects of three pCO2 treatments (410, 770, and 1220 μatm) and two feeding frequencies (3-day and 21-day intervals) on "planulation" (larval release) by adult B. elegans, and on the survival, skeletal growth, and calcification of newly settled juveniles. Planulation rates were affected by food level but not pCO2. Juvenile mortality was highest under high pCO2 (1220 μatm) and low food (21-day intervals). Feeding rate had a greater impact on calcification of B. elegans than pCO2. While net calcification was positive even at 1220 μatm (~3 times current atmospheric pCO2), overall calcification declined by ~25-45%, and skeletal density declined by ~35-45% as pCO2 increased from 410 to 1220 μatm. Aragonite crystal morphology changed at high pCO2, becoming significantly shorter but not wider at 1220 μatm. We conclude that food abundance is critical for azooxanthellate coral calcification, and that B. elegans may be partially protected from adverse consequences of ocean acidification in habitats with abundant heterotrophic food.

  14. Technical Report Series on Global Modeling and Data Assimilation. Volume 31; Global Surface Ocean Carbon Estimates in a Model Forced by MERRA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregg, Watson W.; Casey, Nancy W.; Rousseaux, Cecile S.

    2013-01-01

    MERRA products were used to force an established ocean biogeochemical model to estimate surface carbon inventories and fluxes in the global oceans. The results were compared to public archives of in situ carbon data and estimates. The model exhibited skill for ocean dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), partial pressure of ocean CO2 (pCO2) and air-sea fluxes (FCO2). The MERRA-forced model produced global mean differences of 0.02% (approximately 0.3 microns) for DIC, -0.3% (about -1.2 (micro) atm; model lower) for pCO2, and -2.3% (-0.003 mol C/sq m/y) for FCO2 compared to in situ estimates. Basin-scale distributions were significantly correlated with observations for all three variables (r=0.97, 0.76, and 0.73, P<0.05, respectively for DIC, pCO2, and FCO2). All major oceanographic basins were represented as sources to the atmosphere or sinks in agreement with in situ estimates. However, there were substantial basin-scale and local departures.

  15. Seasonal variation of air-sea CO2 fluxes in the Terra Nova Bay of the Ross Sea, Antarctica, based on year-round pCO2 observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zappa, C. J.; Rhee, T. S.; Kwon, Y. S.; Choi, T.; Yang, E. J.; Kim, J.

    2017-12-01

    The polar oceans are rapidly changing in response to climate variability. In particular, augmented inflow of glacial melt water and shrinking sea-ice extent impacts the polar coastal oceans, which may in turn shift the biogeochemistry into an unprecedented paradigm not experienced previously. Nonetheless, most research in the polar oceans is limited to the summer season. Here, we present the first direct observations of ocean and atmospheric pCO2 measured near the coast of Terra Nova Bay in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, ongoing since February, 2015 at Jang Bogo Station. The coastal area is covered by landfast sea-ice from spring to fall while continually exposed to the atmosphere during summer season only. The pCO2 in seawater swung from 120 matm in February to 425 matm in early October. Although sea-ice still covers the coastal area, pCO2 already started decreasing after reaching the peak in October. In November, the pCO2 suddenly dropped as much as 100 matm in a week. This decrease of pCO2 continued until late February when the sea-ice concentration was minimal. With growing sea ice, the pCO2 increased logarithmically reaching the atmospheric concentration in June/July, depending on the year, and continued to increase until October. Daily mean air-sea CO2 flux in the coastal area widely varied from -70 mmol m-2 d-1 to 20 mmol m-2 d-1. Based on these observations of pCO2 in Terra Nova Bay, the annual uptake of CO2 is 8 g C m-2, estimated using the fraction of sea-ice concentration estimated from AMSR2 microwave emission imagery. Extrapolating to all polynyas surrounding Antarctica, we expect the annual uptake of 8 Tg C in the atmosphere. This is comparable to the amount of CO2 degassed into the atmosphere south of the Antarctic Polar Front (62°S).

  16. An updated observation-based global monthly gridded sea surface pCO2 and air-sea CO2 flux product from 1982 through 2015 and its monthly climatology (NCEI Accession 0160558)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The observation-based pCO2 fields were created using a 2-step neural network method extensively described and validated in Landschützer et al. 2013, 2014, 2016. The...

  17. Effect of increased pCO2 level on early shell development in great scallop (Pecten maximus Lamarck larvae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Andersen

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available As a result of high anthropogenic CO2 emissions, the concentration of CO2 in the oceans has increased, causing a decrease in pH, known as ocean acidification (OA. Numerous studies have shown negative effects on marine invertebrates, and also that the early life stages are the most sensitive to OA. We studied the effects of OA on embryos and unfed larvae of the great scallop (Pecten maximus Lamarck, at pCO2 levels of 469 (ambient, 807, 1164, and 1599 μatm until seven days after fertilization. To our knowledge, this is the first study on OA effects on larvae of this species. A drop in pCO2 level the first 12 h was observed in the elevated pCO2 groups due to a discontinuation in water flow to avoid escape of embryos. When the flow was restarted, pCO2 level stabilized and was significantly different between all groups. OA affected both survival and shell growth negatively after seven days. Survival was reduced from 45% in the ambient group to 12% in the highest pCO2 group. Shell length and height were reduced by 8 and 15%, respectively, when pCO2 increased from ambient to 1599 μatm. Development of normal hinges was negatively affected by elevated pCO2 levels in both trochophore larvae after two days and veliger larvae after seven days. After seven days, deformities in the shell hinge were more connected to elevated pCO2 levels than deformities in the shell edge. Embryos stained with calcein showed fluorescence in the newly formed shell area, indicating calcification of the shell at the early trochophore stage between one and two days after fertilization. Our results show that P. maximus embryos and early larvae may be negatively affected by elevated pCO2 levels within the range of what is projected towards year 2250, although the initial drop in pCO2 level may have overestimated the effect of the highest pCO2 levels. Future work should focus on long-term effects on this species from hatching, throughout the larval stages, and further into the

  18. Deglacial Western Equatorial Pacific pCO2 Reconstruction Using Boron Isotopes of Planktonic Foraminiferas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kubota, K.; Yokoyama, Y.; Ishikawa, T.; Sagawa, T.; Ikehara, M.; Yamazaki, T.

    2017-12-01

    During the last deglaciation (ca. 19 - 11 ka), partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) of the atmosphere increased by 80 μatm. Many paleoceanographers point out that the ocean had played an important role in atmospheric CO2 rise, since the ocean have 60 times larger capacity to store carbon compared to the atmosphere. However, evidence on where carbon was transferred from the ocean to the atmosphere is still lacking, hampering our understanding of global carbon cycles in glacial-interglacial timescales. Boron isotope of skeletons of marine calcifying organisms such as corals and foraminiferas can pin down where CO2 source/sink existed, because boron isotopes of marine calcium carbonates is dependent on seawater pH, from which pCO2 of the past seawater can be reconstructed. In previous studies using the boron isotope teqnique, Martinez-Boti et al. (2015, Nature) and Kubota et al. (2014, Scientific Reports) revealed that central and eastern parts of the equatorial Pacific acted as a CO2 source (i.e., CO2 emission) during the last deglaciation, suggesting the equatorial Pacific's contribution to atmospheric CO2 rise. However, some conflicting results have been confirmed in a marine sediment record from the western part of the equatorial Pacific (Palmer & Pearson, 2003, Science), making the conclusion elusive. In this presentation, we will show new results of Mg/Ca, oxygen isotope, and boron isotope measurements during the last 35 ka on two species of surface dwelling foraminiferas (Globigerinoides ruber and G. sacculifer) which was hand-picked separatedly from a well-dated marine sediment core recovered from the West Caroline Basin (KR05-15 PC01) (Yamazaki et al., 2008, GRL). From the new records, we will discuss how the equatorial Pacific behaved during the last deglaciation and how it related to the global carbon cycles.

  19. Environmental biogeography of near-surface phytoplankton in the southeast Pacific Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardy, John; Hanneman, Andrew; Behrenfeldt, Michael; Horner, Rita

    1996-10-01

    Biogeographic interpretation of large-scale phytoplankton distribution patterns in relation to surface hydrography is essential to understanding pelagic food web dynamics and biogeochemical processes influencing global climate. We examined the abundance and biomass of phytoplankton in relation to physical and chemical parameters in the southeast Pacific Ocean. Samples were collected along longitude 110°W, between 10°N and 60°S during late austral summer. Patterns of taxa abundance and hydrographic variables were interpreted by principal components analysis. Five distinct phytohydrographic regions were identified: (i) a north equatorial region of moderate productivity dominated by small flagellates, low nitrate and low-to-moderate pCO 2; (ii) a south equatorial region characterized by high primary productivity dominated by diatoms, high nutrient levels, and relatively high pCO 2; (iii) a central gyre region characterized by low productivity dominated by small flagellates, low nitrate, and high pCO 2; (iv) a sub-Antarctic region with moderate productivity dominated by coccolithophores, moderate nitrate concentrations, and low pCO 2; and (v) an Antarctic region with high productivity dominated by diatoms, very high nitrate, and low pCO 2. Productivity and average phytoplankton cell size were positively correlated with nitrate concentration. Total phytoplankton abundance was negatively correlated with pCO 2, photosynthetically active radiation, and ultraviolet-B radiation. The interaction between phytoplankton carbon assimilation, atmospheric CO2, and the inhibitory effect of ultraviolet radiation could have implications for the global climate. These data suggest that the effects would be greatest at southern mid-latitudes (40-50°S) where present phytoplankton production and predicted future increases in UV-B are both relatively high.

  20. The oceanic response to carbon emissions over the next century: investigation using three ocean carbon cycle models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chuck, A.; Tyrrell, T.; Holligan, P.M.; Totterdell, I.J.

    2005-01-01

    A recent study of coupled atmospheric carbon dioxide and the biosphere found alarming sensitivity of next-century atmospheric pCO 2 (and hence planetary temperature) to uncertainties in terrestrial processes. Here we investigate whether there is similar sensitivity associated with uncertainties in the behaviour of the ocean carbon cycle. We investigate this important question using three models of the ocean carbon cycle of varying complexity: (1) a new three-box oceanic carbon cycle model; (2) the HILDA multibox model with high vertical resolution at low latitudes; (3) the Hadley Centre ocean general circulation model (HadOCC). These models were used in combination to assess the quantitative significance (to year 2100 pCO 2 ) of potential changes to the ocean stimulated by global warming and other anthropogenic activities over the period 2000-2100. It was found that an increase in sea surface temperature and a decrease in the mixing rate due to stratification give rise to the greatest relative changes in pCO 2 , both being positive feedbacks. We failed to find any comparable large sensitivity due to the ocean

  1. Food availability and pCO2 impacts on planulation, juvenile survival, and calcification of the azooxanthellate scleractinian coral, Balanophyllia elegans

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crook, E. D.; Cooper, H.; Potts, D. C.; Lambert, T.; Paytan, A.

    2013-05-01

    Ocean acidification, the assimilation of atmospheric CO2 by the oceans that decreases the pH and CaCO3 saturation state (Ω) of seawater, is projected to have severe consequences for calcifying organisms. Strong evidence suggests that tropical reef-building corals containing algal symbionts (zooxanthellae) will experience dramatic declines in calcification over the next century. The responses of azooxanthellate corals to ocean acidification are less well understood, and because they cannot obtain extra photosynthetic energy from symbionts, they provide a system for studying the direct effects of acidification on the energy available for calcification. The orange cup coral Balanophyllia elegans is a solitary, azooxanthellate scleractinian species common on the California coast where it thrives in the low pH waters of an upwelling regime. During an 8 month study, we addressed the effects of three pCO2 treatments (410, 770, and 1230 μatm) and two feeding frequencies (High Food and Low Food) on adult Balanophyllia elegans planulation (larval release) rates, and on the survival, growth, and calcification of their juvenile offspring. Planulation rates were affected by food level but not pCO2, while juvenile survival was highest under 410 μatm and High Food conditions. Our results suggest that feeding rate has a greater impact on calcification of B. elegans than pCO2. Net calcification was positive even at 1230 μatm (~ 3 times current atmospheric pCO2), although the increase from 410 to 1230 μatm reduced overall calcification by ~ 25-45%, and reduced skeletal density by ~ 35-45%. Higher pCO2 also altered aragonite crystal morphology significantly. We discuss how feeding frequency affects azooxanthellate coral calcification, and how B. elegans may respond to ocean acidification in coastal upwelling waters.

  2. pCO2 effects on species composition and growth of an estuarine phytoplankton community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    The effects of ongoing changes in ocean carbonate chemistry on plankton ecology have important implications for food webs and biogeochemical cycling. However, conflicting results have emerged regarding species-specific responses to pCO2 enrichment and thus community responses hav...

  3. High nitrate to phosphorus regime attenuates negative effects of rising pCO2 on total population carbon accumulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. A. Krug

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available The ongoing rise in atmospheric pCO2 and consequent increase in ocean acidification have direct effects on marine calcifying phytoplankton, which potentially alters carbon export. To date it remains unclear, firstly, how nutrient regime, in particular by coccolithophores preferred phosphate limitation, interacts with pCO2 on particulate carbon accumulation; secondly, how direct physiological responses on the cellular level translate into total population response. In this study, cultures of Emiliania huxleyi were full-factorially exposed to two different N:P regimes and three different pCO2 levels. Cellular biovolume and PIC and POC content significantly declined in response to pCO2 in both nutrient regimes. Cellular PON content significantly increased in the Redfield treatment and decreased in the high N:P regime. Cell abundance significantly declined in the Redfield and remained constant in the high N:P regime. We hypothesise that in the high N:P regime severe phosphorous limitation could be compensated either by reduced inorganic phosphorous demand and/or by enzymatic uptake of organic phosphorous. In the Redfield regime we suggest that enzymatic phosphorous uptake to supplement enhanced phosphorous demand with pCO2 was not possible and thus cell abundance declined. These hypothesised different physiological responses of E. huxleyi among the nutrient regimes significantly altered population carrying capacities along the pCO2 gradient. This ultimately led to the attenuated total population response in POC and PIC content and biovolume to increased pCO2 in the high N:P regime. Our results point to the fact that the physiological (i.e. cellular PIC and POC response to ocean acidification cannot be linearly extrapolated to total population response and thus carbon export. It is therefore necessary to consider both effects of nutrient limitation on cell physiology and their consequences for population size when predicting the influence of

  4. Proteomic and metabolomic responses of Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas to elevated pCO2 exposure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Lei; Wang, Qing; Wu, Huifeng; Ji, Chenglong; Zhao, Jianmin

    2015-01-01

    The gradually increased atmospheric CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) has thrown the carbonate chemistry off balance and resulted in decreased seawater pH in marine ecosystem, termed ocean acidification (OA). Anthropogenic OA is postulated to affect the physiology of many marine calcifying organisms. However, the susceptibility and metabolic pathways of change in most calcifying animals are still far from being well understood. In this work, the effects of exposure to elevated pCO2 were characterized in gills and hepatopancreas of Crassostrea gigas using integrated proteomic and metabolomic approaches. Metabolic responses indicated that high CO2 exposure mainly caused disturbances in energy metabolism and osmotic regulation marked by differentially altered ATP, glucose, glycogen, amino acids and organic osmolytes in oysters, and the depletions of ATP in gills and the accumulations of ATP, glucose and glycogen in hepatopancreas accounted for the difference in energy distribution between these two tissues. Proteomic responses suggested that OA could not only affect energy and primary metabolisms, stress responses and calcium homeostasis in both tissues, but also influence the nucleotide metabolism in gills and cytoskeleton structure in hepatopancreas. This study demonstrated that the combination of proteomics and metabolomics could provide an insightful view into the effects of OA on oyster C. gigas. The gradually increased atmospheric CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) has thrown the carbonate chemistry off balance and resulted in decreased seawater pH in marine ecosystem, termed ocean acidification (OA). Anthropogenic OA is postulated to affect the physiology of many marine calcifying organisms. However, the susceptibility and metabolic pathways of change in most calcifying animals are still far from being understood. To our knowledge, few studies have focused on the responses induced by pCO2 at both protein and metabolite levels. The pacific oyster C. gigas, widely distributed

  5. Seasonal controls on surface pCO2 in the central and eastern ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    The mixed layer pCO2 relations with temperature, oxygen, chlorophyll a and primary production revealed ..... Temperature dependence of CO2 fugacity in sea water; Mar. Chem. ... 1996 Mechanism of the biological response to winter cooling.

  6. A novel combinational pH-PCO2 microelectrode.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rao, X; Ma, Y

    1993-07-01

    A novel combinational pH-PCO2 microelectrode based on a neutral carrier hydrogen ion exchanger is described. It is easy to fabricate and allows pH and PCO2 to be measured simultaneously. The microelectrode has a 5-microns tip. The PCO2 microelectrode exhibits a linear response in the range 1.75 x 10(-5)-10(-2) mol/liter with a Nernstian slope of 57.0 mV/decade at 25 degrees C. The detection limit is 10(-5) mol/liter. The pH microelectrode exhibits a linear response in the range pH 4-12 with a Nernstian slope of 60.0 mV/decade at 25 degrees C. The 95% steady-state response time of the PCO2 microelectrode is about 2 min, while it is about 10 s for pH microelectrode. The electromotive force drift is 4.3 mV/h (PCO2) and 2.6 mV/h (pH), respectively. The lifetime is 3 to 4 days. The microelectrode can measure pH and PCO2 in body fluids simultaneously with satisfactory results. It is also a good basic electrode for enzyme microelectrolysis.

  7. In situ developmental responses of tropical sea urchin larvae to ocean acidification conditions at naturally elevated pCO2 vent sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamare, Miles D; Liddy, Michelle; Uthicke, Sven

    2016-11-30

    Laboratory experiments suggest that calcifying developmental stages of marine invertebrates may be the most ocean acidification (OA)-sensitive life-history stage and represent a life-history bottleneck. To better extrapolate laboratory findings to future OA conditions, developmental responses in sea urchin embryos/larvae were compared under ecologically relevant in situ exposures on vent-elevated pCO 2 and ambient pCO 2 coral reefs in Papua New Guinea. Echinometra embryos/larvae were reared in meshed chambers moored in arrays on either venting reefs or adjacent non-vent reefs. After 24 and 48 h, larval development and morphology were quantified. Compared with controls (mean pH (T) = 7.89-7.92), larvae developing in elevated pCO 2 vent conditions (pH (T) = 7.50-7.72) displayed a significant reduction in size and increased abnormality, with a significant correlation of seawater pH with both larval size and larval asymmetry across all experiments. Reciprocal transplants (embryos from vent adults transplanted to control conditions, and vice versa) were also undertaken to identify if adult acclimatization can translate resilience to offspring (i.e. transgenerational processes). Embryos originating from vent adults were, however, no more tolerant to reduced pH. Sea temperature and chlorophyll-a concentrations (i.e. larval nutrition) did not contribute to difference in larval size, but abnormality was correlated with chlorophyll levels. This study is the first to examine the response of marine larvae to OA scenarios in the natural environment where, importantly, we found that stunted and abnormal development observed in situ are consistent with laboratory observations reported in sea urchins, in both the direction and magnitude of the response. © 2016 The Author(s).

  8. Effects of ocean acidification with pCO2 diurnal fluctuations on survival and larval shell formation of Ezo abalone, Haliotis discus hannai.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onitsuka, Toshihiro; Takami, Hideki; Muraoka, Daisuke; Matsumoto, Yukio; Nakatsubo, Ayumi; Kimura, Ryo; Ono, Tsuneo; Nojiri, Yukihiro

    2018-03-01

    This study assessed the effects of constant and diurnally fluctuating pCO 2 on development and shell formation of larval abalone Haliotis discus hannai. The larvae was exposed to different pCO 2 conditions; constant [450, 800, or 1200 μatm in the first experiment (Exp. I), 450 or 780 μatm in the second experiment (Exp. II)] or diurnally fluctuating pCO 2 (800 ± 400 or 1200 ± 400 μatm in Exp. I, 450 ± 80, 780 ± 200 or 780 ± 400 μatm in Exp. II). Mortality, malformation rates or shell length of larval abalone were not significantly different among the 450, 800, and 800 ± 400 μatm pCO 2 treatments. Meanwhile, significantly higher malformation rates and smaller shells were detected in the 1200 and 1200 ± 400 μatm pCO 2 treatments than in the 450 μatm pCO 2 treatment. The negative impacts were greater in the 1200 ± 400 μatm than in the 1200 μatm. Shell length and malformation rate of larval abalone were related with aragonite saturation state (Ω-aragonite) in experimental seawater, and greatly changed around 1.1 of Ω-aragonite which corresponded to 1000-1300 μatm pCO 2 . These results indicate that there is a pCO 2 threshold associated with Ω-aragonite in the seawater, and that pCO 2 fluctuations produce additional negative impacts on abalone when above the threshold. Clear relationships were detected between abalone fitness and the integrated pCO 2 value over the threshold, indicating that the effects of OA on development and shell formation of larval abalone can be determined by intensity and time of exposure to pCO 2 over the threshold. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Individual and interacting effects of pCO2 and temperature on Emiliania huxleyi calcification: study of the calcite production, the coccolith morphology and the coccosphere size

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Sabbe

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available The impact of ocean acidification and increased water temperature on marine ecosystems, in particular those involving calcifying organisms, has been gradually recognised. We examined the individual and combined effects of increased pCO2 (180 ppmV CO2, 380 ppmV CO2 and 750 ppmV CO2 corresponding to past, present and future CO2 conditions, respectively and temperature (13 °C and 18 °C during the exponential growth phase of the coccolithophore E. huxleyi using batch culture experiments. We showed that cellular production rate of Particulate Organic Carbon (POC increased from the present to the future CO2 treatments at 13 °C. A significant effect of pCO2 and of temperature on calcification was found, manifesting itself in a lower cellular production rate of Particulate Inorganic Carbon (PIC as well as a lower PIC:POC ratio at future CO2 levels and at 18 °C. Coccosphere-sized particles showed a size reduction with both increasing temperature and CO2 concentration. The influence of the different treatments on coccolith morphology was studied by categorizing SEM coccolith micrographs. The number of well-formed coccoliths decreased with increasing pCO2 while temperature did not have a significant impact on coccolith morphology. No interacting effects of pCO2 and temperature were observed on calcite production, coccolith morphology or on coccosphere size. Finally, our results suggest that ocean acidification might have a larger adverse impact on coccolithophorid calcification than surface water warming.

  10. Mixed effects of elevated pCO2 on fertilisation, larval and juvenile development and adult responses in the mobile subtidal scallop Mimachlamys asperrima (Lamarck, 1819.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elliot Scanes

    Full Text Available Ocean acidification is predicted to have severe consequences for calcifying marine organisms especially molluscs. Recent studies, however, have found that molluscs in marine environments with naturally elevated or fluctuating CO2 or with an active, high metabolic rate lifestyle may have a capacity to acclimate and be resilient to exposures of elevated environmental pCO2. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of near future concentrations of elevated pCO2 on the larval and adult stages of the mobile doughboy scallop, Mimachlamys asperrima from a subtidal and stable physio-chemical environment. It was found that fertilisation and the shell length of early larval stages of M. asperrima decreased as pCO2 increased, however, there were less pronounced effects of elevated pCO2 on the shell length of later larval stages, with high pCO2 enhancing growth in some instances. Byssal attachment and condition index of adult M. asperrima decreased with elevated pCO2, while in contrast there was no effect on standard metabolic rate or pHe. The responses of larval and adult M. asperrima to elevated pCO2 measured in this study were more moderate than responses previously reported for intertidal oysters and mussels. Even this more moderate set of responses are still likely to reduce the abundance of M. asperrima and potentially other scallop species in the world's oceans at predicted future pCO2 levels.

  11. A Low-Cost Fluorescent Sensor for pCO2 Measurements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xudong Ge

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Global warming is believed to be caused by increasing amounts of greenhouse gases (mostly CO2 discharged into the environment by human activity. In addition to an increase in environmental temperature, an increased CO2 level has also led to ocean acidification. Ocean acidification and rising temperatures have disrupted the water’s ecological balance, killing off some plant and animal species, while encouraging the overgrowth of others. To minimize the effect of global warming on local ecosystem, there is a strong need to implement ocean observing systems to monitor the effects of anthropogenic CO2 and the impacts thereof on ocean biological productivity. Here, we describe the development of a low-cost fluorescent sensor for pCO2 measurements. The detector was exclusively assembled with low-cost optics and electronics, so that it would be affordable enough to be deployed in great numbers. The system has several novel features, such as an ideal 90° separation between excitation and emission, a beam combiner, a reference photodetector, etc. Initial tests showed that the system was stable and could achieve a high resolution despite the low cost.

  12. Coupling of heterotrophic bacteria to phytoplankton bloom development at different pCO2 levels: a mesocosm study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Thyrhaug

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available The predicted rise in anthropogenic CO2 emissions will increase CO2 concentrations and decrease seawater pH in the upper ocean. Recent studies have revealed effects of pCO2 induced changes in seawater chemistry on a variety of marine life forms, in particular calcifying organisms. To test whether the predicted increase in pCO2 will directly or indirectly (via changes in phytoplankton dynamics affect abundance, activities, and community composition of heterotrophic bacteria during phytoplankton bloom development, we have aerated mesocosms with CO2 to obtain triplicates with three different partial pressures of CO2 (pCO2: 350 μatm (1×CO2, 700 μatm (2×CO2 and 1050 μatm (3×CO2. The development of a phytoplankton bloom was initiated by the addition of nitrate and phosphate. In accordance to an elevated carbon to nitrogen drawdown at increasing pCO2, bacterial production (BPP of free-living and attached bacteria as well as cell-specific BPP (csBPP of attached bacteria were related to the C:N ratio of suspended matter. These relationships significantly differed among treatments. However, bacterial abundance and activities were not statistically different among treatments. Solely community structure of free-living bacteria changed with pCO2 whereas that of attached bacteria seemed to be independent of pCO2 but tightly coupled to phytoplankton bloom development. Our findings imply that changes in pCO2, although reflected by changes in community structure of free-living bacteria, do not directly affect bacterial activity. Furthermore, bacterial activity and dynamics of heterotrophic bacteria, especially of attached bacteria, were tightly correlated to phytoplankton development and, hence, may also potentially depend on changes in pCO2.

  13. Air-ice CO2 fluxes and pCO2 dynamics in the Arctic coastal area (Amundsen Gulf, Canada)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geilfus, Nicolas-Xavier; Tison, Jean Louis; Carnat, Gauthier; Else, Brent; Borges, Alberto V.; Thomas, Helmuth; Shadwick, Elizabeth; Delille, Bruno

    2010-05-01

    Sea ice covers about 7% of the Earth surface at its maximum seasonal extent. For decades sea ice was assumed to be an impermeable and inert barrier for air - sea exchange of CO2 so that global climate models do not include CO2 exchange between the oceans and the atmosphere in the polar regions. However, uptake of atmospheric CO2 by sea ice cover was recently reported raising the need to further investigate pCO2 dynamics in the marine cryosphere realm and related air-ice CO2 fluxes. In addition, budget of CO2 fluxes are poorly constrained in high latitudes continental shelves [Borges et al., 2006]. We report measurements of air-ice CO2 fluxes above the Canadian continental shelf and compare them to previous measurements carried out in Antarctica. We carried out measurements of pCO2 within brines and bulk ice, and related air-ice CO2 fluxes (chamber method) in Antarctic first year pack ice ("Sea Ice Mass Balance in Antarctica -SIMBA" drifting station experiment September - October 2007) and in Arctic first year land fast ice ("Circumpolar Flaw Lead" - CFL, April - June 2008). These 2 experiments were carried out in contrasted sites. SIMBA was carried out on sea ice in early spring while CFL was carried out in from the middle of the winter to the late spring while sea ice was melting. Both in Arctic and Antarctic, no air-ice CO2 fluxes were detected when sea ice interface was below -10°C. Slightly above -10°C, fluxes toward the atmosphere were observed. In contrast, at -7°C fluxes from the atmosphere to the ice were significant. The pCO2 of the brine exhibits a same trend in both hemispheres with a strong decrease of the pCO2 anti-correlated with the increase of sea ice temperature. The pCO2 shifted from a large over-saturation at low temperature to a marked under-saturation at high temperature. These air-ice CO2 fluxes are partly controlled by the permeability of the air-ice interface, which depends of the temperature of this one. Moreover, air-ice CO2 fluxes are

  14. Oceanic pCO2 in the Indian sector of the southern Ocean during the austral summer-winter transition phase

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Shetye, S.; Mohan, R.; Patil, S.; Jena, B.; Chacko, R.; George, J.V.; Noronha, S.; Singh, N.; Priya, L.; Sudhakar, M.

    ) and then to pH on the recommended Total scale (pHT). Analytical precision was ∼0.002 for pHf and accuracy was 70.005. The seawater pCO2 was calculated with TCO2 and pHT using the program of Lewis and Wallace (1998), with the dissociation constants of Mehrbach et...

  15. Ocean acidification causes structural deformities in juvenile coral skeletons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foster, Taryn; Falter, James L; McCulloch, Malcolm T; Clode, Peta L

    2016-02-01

    Rising atmospheric CO2 is causing the oceans to both warm and acidify, which could reduce the calcification rates of corals globally. Successful coral recruitment and high rates of juvenile calcification are critical to the replenishment and ultimate viability of coral reef ecosystems. Although elevated Pco2 (partial pressure of CO2) has been shown to reduce the skeletal weight of coral recruits, the structural changes caused by acidification during initial skeletal deposition are unknown. We show, using high-resolution three-dimensional x-ray microscopy, that ocean acidification (Pco2 ~900 μatm, pH ~7.7) not only causes reduced overall mineral deposition but also a deformed and porous skeletal structure in newly settled coral recruits. In contrast, elevated temperature (+3°C) had little effect on skeletal formation except to partially mitigate the effects of elevated Pco2. The striking structural deformities we observed show that new recruits are at significant risk, being unable to effectively build their skeletons in the Pco2 conditions predicted to occur for open ocean surface waters under a "business-as-usual" emissions scenario [RCP (representative concentration pathway) 8.5] by the year 2100.

  16. The stable microbiome of inter and sub-tidal anemone species under increasing pCO2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muller, Erinn M; Fine, Maoz; Ritchie, Kim B

    2016-11-23

    Increasing levels of pCO 2 within the oceans will select for resistant organisms such as anemones, which may thrive under ocean acidification conditions. However, increasing pCO 2 may alter the bacterial community of marine organisms, significantly affecting the health status of the host. A pH gradient associated with a natural volcanic vent system within Levante Bay, Vulcano Island, Italy, was used to test the effects of ocean acidification on the bacterial community of two anemone species in situ, Anemonia viridis and Actinia equina using 16 S rDNA pyrosequencing. Results showed the bacterial community of the two anemone species differed significantly from each other primarily because of differences in the Gammaproteobacteria and Epsilonproteobacteria abundances. The bacterial communities did not differ within species among sites with decreasing pH except for A. viridis at the vent site (pH = 6.05). In addition to low pH, the vent site contains trace metals and sulfide that may have influenced the bacteria community of A. viridis. The stability of the bacterial community from pH 8.1 to pH 7.4, coupled with previous experiments showing the lack of, or beneficial changes within anemones living under low pH conditions indicates that A. viridis and A. equina will be winners under future ocean acidification scenarios.

  17. Facile formation of 2D Co2P@Co3O4 microsheets through in-situ toptactic conversion and surface corrosion: Bifunctional electrocatalysts towards overall water splitting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yao, Lihua; Zhang, Nan; Wang, Yin; Ni, Yuanman; Yan, Dongpeng; Hu, Changwen

    2018-01-01

    Exploring efficient non-precious electrocatalysts for both the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is crucial for many renewable energy conversion processes. In this work, we report that 2D Co2P@Co3O4 microsheets can be prepared through an in-situ toptactic conversion from single-crystal β-Co(OH)2 microplatelets, associated with a surface phosphatization and corrosion process. The resultant Co2P@Co3O4 2D hybrid materials can further serve as self-supported bifunctional catalytic electrodes to drive the overall water splitting for HER and OER simultaneously, with low overpotentials and high long-term stability. Furthermore, a water electrolyzer based on Co2P@Co3O4 hybrid as both anode and cathode is fabricated, which achieves 10 mA cm-2 current at only 1.57 V during water splitting process. Therefore, this work provides a facile strategy to obtain 2D Co2P-based micro/nanostructures, which act as low-cost and highly active electrocatalysts towards overall water splitting application.

  18. Atmospheric pCO2 Reconstructed across the Early Eocene Hyperthermals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Y.; Schubert, B.

    2015-12-01

    Negative carbon isotope excursions (CIEs) are commonly associated with extreme global warming. The Early Eocene is punctuated by five such CIEs, the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM, ca. 55.8 Ma), H1 (ca. 53.6 Ma), H2 (ca. 53.5 Ma), I1 (ca. 53.3 Ma), and I2 (ca. 53.2 Ma), each characterized by global warming. The negative CIEs are recognized in both marine and terrestrial substrates, but the terrestrial substrates exhibit a larger absolute magnitude CIE than the marine substrates. Here we reconcile the difference in CIE magnitude between the terrestrial and marine substrates for each of these events by accounting for the additional carbon isotope fractionation by C3 land plants in response to increased atmospheric pCO2. Our analysis yields background and peak pCO2 values for each of the events. Assuming a common mechanism for each event, we calculate that background pCO2 was not static across the Early Eocene, with the highest background pCO2 immediately prior to I2, the last of the five CIEs. Background pCO2 is dependent on the source used in our analysis with values ranging from 300 to 720 ppmv provided an injection of 13C-depleted carbon with δ13C value of -60‰ (e.g. biogenic methane). The peak pCO2 during each event scales according to the magnitude of CIE, and is therefore greatest during the PETM and smallest during H2. Both background and peak pCO2 are higher if we assume a mechanism of permafrost thawing (δ13C = -25‰). Our reconstruction of pCO2 across these events is consistent with trends in the δ18O value of deep-sea benthic foraminifera, suggesting a strong link between pCO2 and temperature during the Early Eocene.

  19. Rapid increase of observed DIC and pCO(2) in the surface waters of the North Sea in the 2001-2011 decade ascribed to climate change superimposed by biological processes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Clargo, Nicola M.; Salt, Lesley A.; Thomas, Helmuth; de Baar, Hein J.W.

    2015-01-01

    The CO2 system in the North Sea over the 2001-2011 decade was investigated using four comprehensive basin-wide datasets covering the late summer periods of 2001, 2005, 2008 and 2011. We find that rises in surface water DIC and pCO(2) exceeded concurrent rises in atmospheric pCO(2), which we

  20. Differential responses of calcifying and non-calcifying epibionts of a brown macroalga to present-day and future upwelling pCO2.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vincent Saderne

    Full Text Available Seaweeds are key species of the Baltic Sea benthic ecosystems. They are the substratum of numerous fouling epibionts like bryozoans and tubeworms. Several of these epibionts bear calcified structures and could be impacted by the high pCO2 events of the late summer upwellings in the Baltic nearshores. Those events are expected to increase in strength and duration with global change and ocean acidification. If calcifying epibionts are impacted by transient acidification as driven by upwelling events, their increasing prevalence could cause a shift of the fouling communities toward fleshy species. The aim of the present study was to test the sensitivity of selected seaweed macrofoulers to transient elevation of pCO2 in their natural microenvironment, i.e. the boundary layer covering the thallus surface of brown seaweeds. Fragments of the macroalga Fucus serratus bearing an epibiotic community composed of the calcifiers Spirorbis spirorbis (Annelida and Electra pilosa (Bryozoa and the non-calcifier Alcyonidium hirsutum (Bryozoa were maintained for 30 days under three pCO2 conditions: natural 460 ± 59 µatm, present-day upwelling1193 ± 166 µatm and future upwelling 3150 ± 446 µatm. Only the highest pCO2 caused a significant reduction of growth rates and settlement of S. spirorbis individuals. Additionally, S. spirorbis settled juveniles exhibited enhanced calcification of 40% during daylight hours compared to dark hours, possibly reflecting a day-night alternation of an acidification-modulating effect by algal photosynthesis as opposed to an acidification-enhancing effect of algal respiration. E. pilosa colonies showed significantly increased growth rates at intermediate pCO2 (1193 µatm but no response to higher pCO2. No effect of acidification on A. hirsutum colonies growth rates was observed. The results suggest a remarkable resistance of the algal macro-epibionts to levels of acidification occurring at present day upwellings in the Baltic

  1. Pleistocene atmospheric CO2 change linked to Southern Ocean nutrient utilization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ziegler, M.; Diz, P.; Hall, I. R.; Zahn, R.

    2011-12-01

    Biological uptake of CO2 by the ocean and its subsequent storage in the abyss is intimately linked with the global carbon cycle and constitutes a significant climatic force1. The Southern Ocean is a particularly important region because its wind-driven upwelling regime brings CO2 laden abyssal waters to the surface that exchange CO2 with the atmosphere. The Subantarctic Zone (SAZ) is a CO2 sink and also drives global primary productivity as unutilized nutrients, advected with surface waters from the south, are exported via Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) as preformed nutrients to the low latitudes where they fuel the biological pump in upwelling areas. Recent model estimates suggest that up to 40 ppm of the total 100 ppm atmospheric pCO2 reduction during the last ice age were driven by increased nutrient utilization in the SAZ and associated feedbacks on the deep ocean alkalinity. Micro-nutrient fertilization by iron (Fe), contained in the airborne dust flux to the SAZ, is considered to be the prime factor that stimulated this elevated photosynthetic activity thus enhancing nutrient utilization. We present a millennial-scale record of the vertical stable carbon isotope gradient between subsurface and deep water (Δδ13C) in the SAZ spanning the past 350,000 years. The Δδ13C gradient, derived from planktonic and benthic foraminifera, reflects the efficiency of biological pump and is highly correlated (rxy = -0.67 with 95% confidence interval [0.63; 0.71], n=874) with the record of dust flux preserved in Antarctic ice cores6. This strongly suggests that nutrient utilization in the SAZ was dynamically coupled to dust-induced Fe fertilization across both glacial-interglacial and faster millennial timescales. In concert with ventilation changes of the deep Southern Ocean this drove ocean-atmosphere CO2 exchange and, ultimately, atmospheric pCO2 variability during the late Pleistocene.

  2. Empirical methods for the estimation of Southern Ocean CO2: support vector and random forest regression

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Gregor, Luke

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available understanding with spatially integrated air–sea flux estimates (Fay and McKinley, 2014). Conversely, ocean biogeochemical process models are good tools for mechanis- tic understanding, but fail to represent the seasonality of CO2 fluxes in the Southern Ocean... of including coordinate variables as proxies of 1pCO2 in the empirical methods. In the inter- comparison study by Rödenbeck et al. (2015) proxies typi- cally include, but are not limited to, sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll a (Chl a), mixed layer...

  3. Spatial and temporal variability of seawater pCO2 within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Baffin Bay during the summer and autumn 2011

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Geilfus, N.-X.; Pind, M. L.; Else, B. G. T.

    2018-01-01

    The partial pressure of CO2 in surface water (pCO2sw) measured within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) and Baffin Bay was highly variable with values ranging from strongly undersaturated (118 μatm) to slightly supersaturated (419 μatm) with respect to the atmospheric levels ( 386 μatm) during...... summer and autumn 2011. During summer, melting sea ice contributed to cold and fresh surface water and enhanced the ice-edge bloom, resulting in strong pCO2sw undersaturation. Coronation Gulf was the only area with supersaturated pCO2sw, likely due to warm CO2-enriched freshwater input from...... the Coppermine River. During autumn, the entire CAA (including Coronation Gulf) was undersaturated, despite generally increasing pCO2sw. Coronation Gulf was the one place where pCO2sw decreased, likely due to seasonal reduction in discharge from the Coppermine River and the decreasing sea surface temperature...

  4. A comparison of multiple regression and neural network techniques for mapping in situ pCO2 data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lefevre, Nathalie; Watson, Andrew J.; Watson, Adam R.

    2005-01-01

    Using about 138,000 measurements of surface pCO 2 in the Atlantic subpolar gyre (50-70 deg N, 60-10 deg W) during 1995-1997, we compare two methods of interpolation in space and time: a monthly distribution of surface pCO 2 constructed using multiple linear regressions on position and temperature, and a self-organizing neural network approach. Both methods confirm characteristics of the region found in previous work, i.e. the subpolar gyre is a sink for atmospheric CO 2 throughout the year, and exhibits a strong seasonal variability with the highest undersaturations occurring in spring and summer due to biological activity. As an annual average the surface pCO 2 is higher than estimates based on available syntheses of surface pCO 2 . This supports earlier suggestions that the sink of CO 2 in the Atlantic subpolar gyre has decreased over the last decade instead of increasing as previously assumed. The neural network is able to capture a more complex distribution than can be well represented by linear regressions, but both techniques agree relatively well on the average values of pCO 2 and derived fluxes. However, when both techniques are used with a subset of the data, the neural network predicts the remaining data to a much better accuracy than the regressions, with a residual standard deviation ranging from 3 to 11 μatm. The subpolar gyre is a net sink of CO 2 of 0.13 Gt-C/yr using the multiple linear regressions and 0.15 Gt-C/yr using the neural network, on average between 1995 and 1997. Both calculations were made with the NCEP monthly wind speeds converted to 10 m height and averaged between 1995 and 1997, and using the gas exchange coefficient of Wanninkhof

  5. Seagrass beds as ocean acidification refuges for mussels? High resolution measurements of pCO2 and O2 in a Zostera marina and Mytilus edulis mosaic habitat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saderne, V.; Fietzek, P.; Aßmann, S.; Körtzinger, A.; Hiebenthal, C.

    2015-07-01

    It has been speculated that macrophytes beds might act as a refuge for calcifiers from ocean acidification. In the shallow nearshores of the western Kiel Bay (Baltic Sea), mussel and seagrass beds are interlacing, forming a mosaic habitat. Naturally, the diverse physiological activities of seagrasses and mussels are affected by seawater carbonate chemistry and they locally modify it in return. Calcification by shellfishes is sensitive to seawater acidity; therefore the photosynthetic activity of seagrasses in confined shallow waters creates favorable chemical conditions to calcification at daytime but turn the habitat less favorable or even corrosive to shells at night. In contrast, mussel respiration releases CO2, turning the environment more favorable for photosynthesis by adjacent seagrasses. At the end of summer, these dynamics are altered by the invasion of high pCO2/low O2 coming from the deep water of the Bay. However, it is in summer that mussel spats settle on the leaves of seagrasses until migrating to the permanent habitat where they will grow adult. These early life phases (larvae/spats) are considered as most sensitive with regard to seawater acidity. So far, the dynamics of CO2 have never been continuously measured during this key period of the year, mostly due to the technological limitations. In this project we used a combination of state-of-the-art technologies and discrete sampling to obtain high-resolution time-series of pCO2 and O2 at the interface between a seagrass and a mussel patch in Kiel Bay in August and September 2013. From these, we derive the entire carbonate chemistry using statistical models. We found the monthly average pCO2 more than 50 % (approx. 640 μatm for August and September) above atmospheric equilibrium right above the mussel patch together with large diel variations of pCO2 within 24 h: 887 ± 331 μatm in August and 742 ± 281 μatm in September (mean ± SD). We observed important daily corrosiveness for calcium

  6. Emiliania huxleyi increases calcification but not expression of calcification-related genes in long-term exposure to elevated temperature and pCO2.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benner, Ina; Diner, Rachel E; Lefebvre, Stephane C; Li, Dian; Komada, Tomoko; Carpenter, Edward J; Stillman, Jonathon H

    2013-01-01

    Increased atmospheric pCO2 is expected to render future oceans warmer and more acidic than they are at present. Calcifying organisms such as coccolithophores that fix and export carbon into the deep sea provide feedbacks to increasing atmospheric pCO2. Acclimation experiments suggest negative effects of warming and acidification on coccolithophore calcification, but the ability of these organisms to adapt to future environmental conditions is not well understood. Here, we tested the combined effect of pCO2 and temperature on the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi over more than 700 generations. Cells increased inorganic carbon content and calcification rate under warm and acidified conditions compared with ambient conditions, whereas organic carbon content and primary production did not show any change. In contrast to findings from short-term experiments, our results suggest that long-term acclimation or adaptation could change, or even reverse, negative calcification responses in E. huxleyi and its feedback to the global carbon cycle. Genome-wide profiles of gene expression using RNA-seq revealed that genes thought to be essential for calcification are not those that are most strongly differentially expressed under long-term exposure to future ocean conditions. Rather, differentially expressed genes observed here represent new targets to study responses to ocean acidification and warming.

  7. Synergistic effect of elevated temperature, pCO2 and nutrients on marine biofilm

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Baragi, L.V.; Anil, A.C.

    the respiration and in turn metabolic and energy cost of bacteria (Del Giorgio et al., 1999; Siu et al., 2014). This highlights the significant influence of nutrients on the response of bacteria to ocean acidification. Elevated temperature, irrespective of p...., Thyrhaug, R., Grossart, H.-P., 2008. Coupling of heterotrophic bacteria to phytoplankton bloom development at different pCO2 levels: a mesocosm study. Biogeosciences 5, 1007-1022. Apple, J.K., Del Giorgio, P., Kemp, W.M., 2006. Temperature regulation...

  8. Climatological Distributions of pH, pCO2, Total CO2, Alkalinity, and CaCO3 Saturation in the Global Surface Ocean (NCEI accession 01645680) (NCEI Accession 0164568)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Climatological mean monthly distributions of pH in the total H+ scale, total CO2 concentration (TCO2), and the degree of CaCO3 saturation for the global surface...

  9. The Southern Ocean biogeochemical divide.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marinov, I; Gnanadesikan, A; Toggweiler, J R; Sarmiento, J L

    2006-06-22

    Modelling studies have demonstrated that the nutrient and carbon cycles in the Southern Ocean play a central role in setting the air-sea balance of CO(2) and global biological production. Box model studies first pointed out that an increase in nutrient utilization in the high latitudes results in a strong decrease in the atmospheric carbon dioxide partial pressure (pCO2). This early research led to two important ideas: high latitude regions are more important in determining atmospheric pCO2 than low latitudes, despite their much smaller area, and nutrient utilization and atmospheric pCO2 are tightly linked. Subsequent general circulation model simulations show that the Southern Ocean is the most important high latitude region in controlling pre-industrial atmospheric CO(2) because it serves as a lid to a larger volume of the deep ocean. Other studies point out the crucial role of the Southern Ocean in the uptake and storage of anthropogenic carbon dioxide and in controlling global biological production. Here we probe the system to determine whether certain regions of the Southern Ocean are more critical than others for air-sea CO(2) balance and the biological export production, by increasing surface nutrient drawdown in an ocean general circulation model. We demonstrate that atmospheric CO(2) and global biological export production are controlled by different regions of the Southern Ocean. The air-sea balance of carbon dioxide is controlled mainly by the biological pump and circulation in the Antarctic deep-water formation region, whereas global export production is controlled mainly by the biological pump and circulation in the Subantarctic intermediate and mode water formation region. The existence of this biogeochemical divide separating the Antarctic from the Subantarctic suggests that it may be possible for climate change or human intervention to modify one of these without greatly altering the other.

  10. pCO2 And pH regulation of cerebral blood flow

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SeongHun eYoon

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available CO2 Serves as one of the fundamental regulators of cerebral blood flow. It is widely considered that this regulation occurs through pCO2-driven changes in pH of the cerebral spinal fluid, with elevated and lowered pH causing direct relaxation and contraction of the smooth muscle, respectively. However, some findings also suggest that pCO2 acts independently of and/or in conjunction with altered pH. This action may be due to a direct effect of cerebral spinal fluid pCO2 on the smooth muscle as well as on the endothelium, nerves, and astrocytes. Findings may also point to an action of arterial pCO2 on the endothelium to regulate smooth muscle contractility. Thus, the effects of pH and pCO2 may be influenced by the absence/presence of different cell types in the various experimental preparations. Results may also be influenced by experimental parameters including myogenic tone as well as solutions containing significantly altered HCO3- concentrations, i.e., solutions routinely employed to differentiate the effects of pH from pCO2. In sum, it appears that pCO2, independently and in conjunction with pH, may regulate cerebral blood flow.

  11. Sea urchin response to rising pCO2 shows ocean acidification may fundamentally alter the chemistry of marine skeletons

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. BRAY

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Ocean acidification caused by an increase in pCO2 is expected to drastically affect marine ecosystem composition, yet there is much uncertainty about the mechanisms through which ecosystems may be affected. Here we studied sea urchins that are common and important grazers in the Mediterranean (Paracentrotus lividus and Arbacia lixula. Our study included a natural CO2 seep plus reference sites in the Aegean Sea off Greece. The distribution of A. lixula was unaffected by the low pH environment, whereas densities of P. lividus were much reduced. There was skeletal degradation in both species living in acidified waters compared to reference sites and remarkable increases in skeletal manganese levels (P. lividus had a 541% increase, A. lixula a 243% increase, presumably due to changes in mineral crystalline structure. Levels of strontium and zinc were also altered. It is not yet known whether such dramatic changes in skeletal chemistry will affect coastal systems but our study reveals a mechanism that may alter inter-species interactions.

  12. A combined transcutaneous PO2-PCO2 electrode with electrochemical HCO3- stabilization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Severinghaus, J W

    1981-10-01

    Combined transcutaneous PO2-PCO2 electrodes are described in which the interaction between the two electrodes due to OH- production at the O2 cathode has been eliminated. An anode of either anodized aluminum or platinum has been driven at a current equal to cathode current to force stoichiometric consumption of OH- at its rate of production. The AgCl reference electrode operates at zero current. O2 sensitivity was not significantly altered by electrolyte pH variation from 6.7 to 9.0 with variations by PCO2. These electrodes have been found stable both with and without spacers, and with electrolytes dissolved in 50-100% ethylene glycol. In 22 anesthetized patients, with electrode temperature of 43 degrees C (s refers to skin surface, a to arterial blood); PsO2 = 0.52PaO2 + 15 (range 54-300) (r = 0.66; Sy . x = 29.6; n = 46); and PsCO2 = 1.39PaCO2 + 2.1 (range 24-98) (r = 0.99; Sy . x = 2.28; n = 48).

  13. An update to the Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT version 2)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bakker, D.C.E.; Pfeil, B.; Smith, K.; Hankin, S.; Olsen, A.; Alin, S. R.; Cosca, C.; Harasawa, S.; Kozyr, A.; Nojiri, Y.; O'Brien, K. M.; Schuster, U.; Telszewski, M.; Tilbrook, B.; Wada, C.; Akl, J.; Barbero, L.; Bates, N. R.; Boutin, J.; Bozec, Y.; Cai, W. -J.; Castle, R. D.; Chavez, F. P.; Chen, L.; Chierici, M.; Currie, K.; de Baar, H. J. W.; Evans, W.; Feely, R. A.; Fransson, A.; Gao, Z.; Hales, B.; Hardman-Mountford, N. J.; Hoppema, M.; Huang, W. -J.; Hunt, C. W.; Huss, B.; Ichikawa, T.; Johannessen, T.; Jones, E. M.; Jones, S. D.; Jutterstrom, S.; Kitidis, V.; Koertzinger, A.; Landschuetzer, P.; Lauvset, S. K.; Lefevre, N.; Manke, A. B.; Mathis, J. T.; Merlivat, L.; Metzl, N.; Murata, A.; Newberger, T.; Omar, A. M.; Ono, T.; Park, G. -H.; Paterson, K.; Pierrot, D.; Rios, A. F.; Sabine, C. L.; Saito, S.; Salisbury, J.; Sarma, V. V. S. S.; Schlitzer, R.; Sieger, R.; Skjelvan, I.; Steinhoff, T.; Sullivan, K. F.; Sun, H.; Sutton, A. J.; Suzuki, T.; Sweeney, C.; Takahashi, T.; Tjiputra, J.; Tsurushima, N.; van Heuven, S. M. A. C.; Vandemark, D.; Vlahos, P.; Wallace, D. W. R.; Wanninkhof, R.; Watson, A.J.

    2014-01-01

    The Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT), an activity of the international marine carbon research community, provides access to synthesis and gridded fCO(2) (fugacity of carbon dioxide) products for the surface oceans. Version 2 of SOCAT is an update of the previous release (version 1) with more data

  14. Species-Specific Variations in the Nutritional Quality of Southern Ocean Phytoplankton in Response to Elevated pCO2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cathryn Wynn-Edwards

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Increased seawater pCO2 has the potential to alter phytoplankton biochemistry, which in turn may negatively affect the nutritional quality of phytoplankton as food for grazers. Our aim was to identify how Antarctic phytoplankton, Pyramimonas gelidicola, Phaeocystis antarctica, and Gymnodinium sp., respond to increased pCO2. Cultures were maintained in a continuous culture setup to ensure stable CO2 concentrations. Cells were subjected to a range of pCO2 from ambient to 993 µatm. We measured phytoplankton response in terms of cell size, cellular carbohydrate content, and elemental, pigment and fatty acid composition and content. We observed few changes in phytoplankton biochemistry with increasing CO2 concentration which were species-specific and predominantly included differences in the fatty acid composition. The C:N ratio was unaffected by CO2 concentration in the three species, while carbohydrate content decreased in Pyramimonas gelidicola, but increased in Phaeocystis antarctica. We found a significant reduction in the content of nutritionally important polyunsaturated fatty acids in Pyramimonas gelidicola cultures under high CO2 treatment, while cellular levels of the polyunsaturated fatty acid 20:5ω3, EPA, in Gymnodinium sp. increased. These changes in fatty acid profile could affect the nutritional quality of phytoplankton as food for grazers, however, further research is needed to identify the mechanisms for the observed species-specific changes and to improve our ability to extrapolate laboratory-based experiments on individual species to natural communities.

  15. An investigation of the calcification response of the scleractinian coral Astrangia poculata to elevated pCO2 and the effects of nutrients, zooxanthellae and gender

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holcomb, M.; Cohen, A. L.; McCorkle, D. C.

    2012-01-01

    The effects of nutrients and pCO2 on zooxanthellate and azooxanthellate colonies of the temperate scleractinian coral Astrangia poculata (Ellis and Solander, 1786) were investigated at two different temperatures (16 °C and 24 °C). Corals exposed to elevated pCO2 tended to have lower relative calcification rates, as estimated from changes in buoyant weights. Experimental nutrient enrichments had no significant effect nor did there appear to be any interaction between pCO2 and nutrients. Elevated pCO2 appeared to have a similar effect on coral calcification whether zooxanthellae were present or absent at 16 °C. However, at 24 °C, the interpretation of the results is complicated by a significant interaction between gender and pCO2 for spawning corals. At 16 °C, gamete release was not observed, and no gender differences in calcification rates were observed - female and male corals showed similar reductions in calcification rates in response to elevated CO2 (15% and 19% respectively). Corals grown at 24 °C spawned repeatedly and male and female corals exhibited two different growth rate patterns - female corals grown at 24 °C and exposed to CO2 had calcification rates 39% lower than females grown at ambient CO2, while males showed a non-significant decline of 5% under elevated CO2. The increased sensitivity of females to elevated pCO2 may reflect a greater investment of energy in reproduction (egg production) relative to males (sperm production). These results suggest that both gender and spawning are important factors in determining the sensitivity of corals to ocean acidification, and considering these factors in future research may be critical to predicting how the population structures of marine calcifiers will change in response to ocean acidification.

  16. Assessment of carbon dioxide sink/source in the oceanic areas: the results of 1982-84 investigation. Final technical report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, T.; Chipman, D.W.; Smethie, W. Jr.; Goddard, J.; Trumbore, S.; Mathieu, G.G.; Sutherland, S.

    1985-07-01

    The oceanic CO 2 sink/source relationships over the tropical Atlantic Ocean, the eastern North and South Pacific Ocean, and the Ross Sea were investigated. The net CO 2 flux across the air-sea interface over these areas was estimated. Measurements of the Kr-85 in atmospheric samples collected over the central Pacific along the 155 0 W meridian were initiated. Based on the measurements of the difference between the pCO 2 values in the surface ocean water and the atmosphere and of the radon-222 distribution in the upper water column, we have found that the average net flux for the Atlantic equatorial belt, 10 0 N-10 0 S, is 1.3 moles CO 2 /m 2 .y out of the ocean, when our measurements were made in November 1982 through February 1983. The surface water pCO 2 data obtained over the eastern North and South Pacific during the period, October 1983 through January 1984, show that the equatorial zone between 2 0 N and 8 0 S is an intense CO 2 source area, whereas a 10 0 wide belt coinciding with the area between the Subtropical and Antarctic Convergence Zones is a strong CO 2 sink area. The temperate gyre area located north of about 5 0 N and that located between 8 0 S and 35 0 S are nearly in equilibrium with atmospheric CO 2 . The surface water pCO 2 data obtained in the Southern Ocean during the past ten or more years suggest strongly the existence of an intense CO 2 sink zone, the Circumpolar Low pCO 2 Zone, which is about 10 0 wide in latitude and centered at about 50 0 S surrounding the Antarctica Continent. The surface water of the Ross Sea is found to be a strong CO 2 sink during the period January 23 through February 12, 1984. Because of contamination problems, no reliable data for atmospheric krypton-85 have been obtained. 23 refs., 22 figs., 3 tabs

  17. A 20 million year record of planktic foraminiferal B/Ca ratios: Systematics and uncertainties in pCO 2 reconstructions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tripati, Aradhna K.; Roberts, Christopher D.; Eagle, Robert A.; Li, Gaojun

    2011-05-01

    We use new and published data representing a 20 million long record to discuss the systematics of interpreting planktic foraminiferal B/Ca ratios. B/Ca-based reconstructions of seawater carbonate chemistry and atmospheric pCO 2 assume that the incorporation of boron into foraminiferal tests can be empirically described by an apparent partition coefficient, KD={B/Ca}/{B(OH4-/HCO)} ( Hemming and Hanson, 1992). It has also been proposed that there is a species-specific relationship between K D and temperature ( Yu et al., 2007). As we discuss, although these relationships may be robust, there remain significant uncertainties over the controls on boron incorporation into foraminifera. It is difficult to be certain that the empirically defined correlation between temperature and K D is not simply a result of covariance of temperature and other hydrographic variables in the ocean, including carbonate system parameters. There is also some evidence that K D may be affected by solution [HCO3-]/[CO32-] ratios (i.e., pH), or by [CO32-]. In addition, the theoretical basis for the definition of K D and for a temperature control on K D is of debate. We also discuss the sensitivity of pCO 2 reconstructions to different K D-temperature calibrations and seawater B/Ca. If a K D-temperature calibration is estimated using ice core pCO 2 values between 0 and 200 ka, B/Ca ratios can be used to reasonably approximate atmospheric pCO 2 between 200 and 800 ka; however, the absolute values of pCO 2 calculated are sensitive to the choice of K D-temperature relationship. For older time periods, the absolute values of pCO 2 are also dependent on the evolution of seawater B concentrations. However, we find that over the last 20 Ma, reconstructed changes in declining pCO 2 across the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, Pliocene glacial intensification, and the Middle Miocene Climate Transition are supported by the B/Ca record even if a constant coretop K D is used, or different K D

  18. Hurricane Arthur and its effect on the short term variation of pCO2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemay, Jonathan; Thomas, Helmuth; Craig, Susanne; Greenan, Blair; Fennel, Katja

    2016-04-01

    Seasonal changes in carbon cycling over the years have become better understood on the Scotian Shelf, however little is resolved in short term variation. Hourly measurements were collected from an autonomous moored instrument (CARIOCA) stationed at Halifax Line 2 (HL2), roughly 30km off the coast of Halifax for the 2014 year. Data from the 2007 deployment of the SeaHorse vertical sampling mooring at HL2 was also collected. Focusing on the storm event, Hurricane Arthur, July 5th 2014 reveals a significant drop in pCO2. With the shelf having carbon rich deep water, a reduction of pCO2 due to mixing went against current understanding. It was revealed that slightly above the mixed layer there is a sustained population of phytoplankton. When wind mixing from storms occurs, this population moves to the surface allowing greater light and nutrients for short term growth. This growth then reduces pCO2 for a short period of time until wind speeds slow down reducing mixing of the water column.

  19. Trichodesmium’s strategies to alleviate phosphorus limitation in the future acidified oceans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spungin, Dina; Berman-Frank, Ilana; Levitan, Orly

    2014-06-01

    Global warming may exacerbate inorganic nutrient limitation, including phosphorus (P), in the surface waters of tropical oceans that are home to extensive blooms of the marine diazotrophic cyanobacterium, Trichodesmium. We examined the combined effects of P limitation and pCO(2), forecast under ocean acidification scenarios, on Trichodesmium erythraeum IMS101 cultures. We measured nitrogen acquisition,glutamine synthetase activity, C uptake rates, intracellular Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) concentration and the pool sizes of related key proteins. Here, we present data supporting the idea that cellular energy re-allocation enables the higher growth and N(2) fixation rates detected in Trichodesmium cultured under high pCO(2). This is reflected in altered protein abundance and metabolic pools. Also modified are particulate organic carbon and nitrogen production rates,enzymatic activities, and cellular ATP concentrations. We suggest that adjusting these cellular pathways to changing environmental conditions enables Trichodesmium to compensate for low P availability and to thrive in acidified oceans. Moreover, elevated pCO(2) could provide Trichodesmium with a competitive dominance that would extend its niche, particularly in P-limited regions of the tropical and subtropical oceans.

  20. Interannual drivers of the seasonal cycle of CO2 in the Southern Ocean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Gregor

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Resolving and understanding the drivers of variability of CO2 in the Southern Ocean and its potential climate feedback is one of the major scientific challenges of the ocean-climate community. Here we use a regional approach on empirical estimates of pCO2 to understand the role that seasonal variability has in long-term CO2 changes in the Southern Ocean. Machine learning has become the preferred empirical modelling tool to interpolate time- and location-restricted ship measurements of pCO2. In this study we use an ensemble of three machine-learning products: support vector regression (SVR and random forest regression (RFR from Gregor et al. (2017, and the self-organising-map feed-forward neural network (SOM-FFN method from Landschützer et al. (2016. The interpolated estimates of ΔpCO2 are separated into nine regions in the Southern Ocean defined by basin (Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic and biomes (as defined by Fay and McKinley, 2014a. The regional approach shows that, while there is good agreement in the overall trend of the products, there are periods and regions where the confidence in estimated ΔpCO2 is low due to disagreement between the products. The regional breakdown of the data highlighted the seasonal decoupling of the modes for summer and winter interannual variability. Winter interannual variability had a longer mode of variability compared to summer, which varied on a 4–6-year timescale. We separate the analysis of the ΔpCO2 and its drivers into summer and winter. We find that understanding the variability of ΔpCO2 and its drivers on shorter timescales is critical to resolving the long-term variability of ΔpCO2. Results show that ΔpCO2 is rarely driven by thermodynamics during winter, but rather by mixing and stratification due to the stronger correlation of ΔpCO2 variability with mixed layer depth. Summer pCO2 variability is consistent with chlorophyll a variability, where higher concentrations of chlorophyll

  1. Interannual drivers of the seasonal cycle of CO2 in the Southern Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregor, Luke; Kok, Schalk; Monteiro, Pedro M. S.

    2018-04-01

    Resolving and understanding the drivers of variability of CO2 in the Southern Ocean and its potential climate feedback is one of the major scientific challenges of the ocean-climate community. Here we use a regional approach on empirical estimates of pCO2 to understand the role that seasonal variability has in long-term CO2 changes in the Southern Ocean. Machine learning has become the preferred empirical modelling tool to interpolate time- and location-restricted ship measurements of pCO2. In this study we use an ensemble of three machine-learning products: support vector regression (SVR) and random forest regression (RFR) from Gregor et al. (2017), and the self-organising-map feed-forward neural network (SOM-FFN) method from Landschützer et al. (2016). The interpolated estimates of ΔpCO2 are separated into nine regions in the Southern Ocean defined by basin (Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic) and biomes (as defined by Fay and McKinley, 2014a). The regional approach shows that, while there is good agreement in the overall trend of the products, there are periods and regions where the confidence in estimated ΔpCO2 is low due to disagreement between the products. The regional breakdown of the data highlighted the seasonal decoupling of the modes for summer and winter interannual variability. Winter interannual variability had a longer mode of variability compared to summer, which varied on a 4-6-year timescale. We separate the analysis of the ΔpCO2 and its drivers into summer and winter. We find that understanding the variability of ΔpCO2 and its drivers on shorter timescales is critical to resolving the long-term variability of ΔpCO2. Results show that ΔpCO2 is rarely driven by thermodynamics during winter, but rather by mixing and stratification due to the stronger correlation of ΔpCO2 variability with mixed layer depth. Summer pCO2 variability is consistent with chlorophyll a variability, where higher concentrations of chlorophyll a correspond with lower pCO2

  2. Transcriptomics reveal transgenerational effects in purple sea urchin embryos: Adult acclimation to upwelling conditions alters the response of their progeny to differential pCO2 levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Juliet M; Johnson, Kevin M; Kelly, Morgan W; Hofmann, Gretchen E

    2018-03-01

    Understanding the mechanisms with which organisms can respond to a rapidly changing ocean is an important research priority in marine sciences, especially in the light of recent predictions regarding the pace of ocean change in the coming decades. Transgenerational effects, in which the experience of the parental generation can shape the phenotype of their offspring, may serve as such a mechanism. In this study, adult purple sea urchins, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, were conditioned to regionally and ecologically relevant pCO 2 levels and temperatures representative of upwelling (colder temperature and high pCO 2 ) and nonupwelling (average temperature and low pCO 2 ) conditions typical of coastal upwelling regions in the California Current System. Following 4.5 months of conditioning, adults were spawned and offspring were raised under either high or low pCO 2 levels, to examine the role of maternal effects. Using RNA-seq and comparative transcriptomics, our results indicate that differential conditioning of the adults had an effect on the gene expression patterns of the progeny during the gastrula stage of early development. For example, maternal conditioning under upwelling conditions intensified the transcriptomic response of the progeny when they were raised under high versus low pCO 2 conditions. Additionally, mothers that experienced upwelling conditions produced larger progeny. The overall findings of this study are complex, but do suggest that transgenerational plasticity in situ could act as an important mechanism by which populations might keep pace with rapid environmental change. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  3. pCO2 and enzymatic activity in a river floodplain system of the Danube under different hydrological settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sieczko, Anna; Demeter, Katalin; Mayr, Magdalena; Meisterl, Karin; Peduzzi, Peter

    2014-05-01

    Surface waters may serve as either sinks or sources of CO2. In contrast to rivers, which are typically sources of CO2 to the atmosphere, the role of fringing floodplains in CO2 flux is largely understudied. This study was conducted in a river-floodplain system near Vienna (Austria). The sampling focused on changing hydrological situations, particularly on two distinct flood events: a typical 1-year flood in 2012 and an extraordinary 100-year flood in 2013. One objective was to determine partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) in floodplain lakes with different degree of connectivity to the main channel, and compare the impact of these two types of floods. Another aim was to decipher which fraction of the dissolved organic matter (DOM) pool contributed to pCO2 by linking pCO2 with optical properties of DOM and extracellular enzymatic activity (EEA) of microbes. The EEA is a valuable tool, especially for assessing the non-chromophoric but rapidly utilized DOM-fraction during floods. In 2012 and 2013, the floodplain lakes were dominated by supersaturated pCO2 conditions, which indicates that they served as CO2 sources. Surprisingly, there were no significant differences in pCO2 between the two types of flood. Our findings imply that the extent of the flood had minor impact on pCO2, but the general occurrence of a flood appears to be important. During the flood in 2013 significantly more dissolved organic carbon (DOC) (pcarbohydrates.

  4. Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT) gridded data products

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Sabine, C.L.; Hankin, S.; Koyuk, H.; Bakker, D.C.E.; Pfeil, B.; Olsen, A; Metzl, N.; Kozyr, A; Fassbender, A; Manke, A; Malczyk, J.; Akl, J.; Alin, S.R.; Bellerby, R.G.J.; Borges, A; Boutin, J.; Brown, P.J.; Cai, W.-J.; Chavez, F.P.; Chen, A.; Cosca, C.; Feely, R.A.; Gonzalez-Davila, M.; Goyet, C.; Hardman-Mountford, N.; Heinze, C.; Hoppema, M.; Hunt, C.W.; Hydes, D.; Ishii, M.; Johannessen, T.; Key, R.M.; Kortzinger, A.; Landschutzer, P.; Lauvset, S.K.; Lefevre, N.; Lenton, A.; Lourantou, A.; Merlivat, L.; Midorikawa, T.; Mintrop, L.; Miyazaki, C.; Murata, A.; Nakadate, A.; Nakano, Y.; Nakaoka, S.; Nojiri, Y.; Omar, A.M.; Padin, X.A.; Park, G.-H.; Paterson, K.; Perez, F.F.; Pierrot, D.; Poisson, A.; Rios, A.F.; Salisbury, J.; Santana-Casiano, J.M.; Sarma, V.V.S.S.; et al.

    As a response to public demand for a well-documented, quality controlled, publically available, global surface ocean carbon dioxide (CO2) data set, the international marine carbon science community developed the Surface Ocean CO2...

  5. Effects of acute ocean acidification on spatially-diverse polar pelagic foodwebs: Insights from on-deck microcosms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tarling, G. A.; Peck, V. L.; Ward, P.; Ensor, N. S.; Achterberg, E.; Tynan, E.; Poulton, A. J.; Mitchell, E.; Zubkov, M. V.

    2016-05-01

    The polar oceans are experiencing some of the largest levels of ocean acidification (OA) resulting from the uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2). Our understanding of the impacts this is having on polar marine communities is mainly derived from studies of single species in laboratory conditions, while the consequences for food web interactions remain largely unknown. This study carried out experimental manipulations of natural pelagic communities at different high latitude sites in both the northern (Nordic Seas) and southern hemispheres (Scotia and Weddell Seas). The aim of this study was to identify more generic responses and achieve greater experimental reproducibility through implementing a series of short term (4 d), multilevel (3 treatment) carbonate chemistry manipulation experiments on unfiltered natural surface-ocean communities, including grazing copepods. The experiments were successfully executed at six different sites, covering a diverse range of environmental conditions and differing plankton community compositions. The study identified the interaction between copepods and dinoflagellate cell abundance to be significantly altered by elevated levels of dissolved CO2 (pCO2), with dinoflagellates decreasing relative to ambient conditions across all six experiments. A similar pattern was not observed in any other major phytoplankton group. The patterns indicate that copepods show a stronger preference for dinoflagellates when in elevated pCO2 conditions, demonstrating that changes in food quality and altered grazing selectivity may be a major consequence of ocean acidification. The study also found that transparent exopolymeric particles (TEP) generally increased when pCO2 levels were elevated, but the response was dependent on the exact set of environmental conditions. Bacteria and nannoplankton showed a neutral response to elevated pCO2 and there was no significant relationship between changes in bacterial or nannoplankton abundance and that of

  6. 21 CFR 862.1120 - Blood gases (PCO2, PO2) and blood pH test system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Blood gases (PCO2, PO2) and blood pH test system... Test Systems § 862.1120 Blood gases (PCO2, PO2) and blood pH test system. (a) Identification. A blood gases (PCO2, PO2) and blood pH test system is a device intended to measure certain gases in blood, serum...

  7. Southern hemisphere ocean CO2 uptake: reconciling atmospheric and oceanic estimates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roy, T.; Matear, R.; Rayner, P.; Francey, R.

    2003-01-01

    Using an atmospheric inversion model we investigate the southern hemisphere ocean CO 2 uptake. From sensitivity studies that varied both the initial ocean flux distribution and the atmospheric data used in the inversion, our inversion predicted a total (ocean and land) uptake of 1.65-1.90 Gt C/yr. We assess the consistency between the mean southern hemisphere ocean uptake predicted by an atmospheric inversion model for the 1991-1997 period and the T99 ocean flux estimate based on observed pCO 2 in Takahashi et al. (2002; Deep-Sea Res II, 49, 1601-1622). The inversion can not match the large 1.8 Gt C/yr southern extratropical (20-90 deg S) uptake of the T99 ocean flux estimate without producing either unreasonable land fluxes in the southern mid-latitudes or by increasing the mismatches between observed and simulated atmospheric CO 2 data. The southern extratropical uptake is redistributed between the mid and high latitudes. Our results suggest that the T99 estimate of the Southern Ocean uptake south of 50 deg S is too large, and that the discrepancy reflects the inadequate representation of wintertime conditions in the T99 estimate

  8. Does elevated pCO2 affect reef octocorals?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabay, Yasmin; Benayahu, Yehuda; Fine, Maoz

    2013-03-01

    Increasing anthropogenic pCO2 alters seawater chemistry, with potentially severe consequences for coral reef growth and health. Octocorals are the second most important faunistic component in many reefs, often occupying 50% or more of the available substrate. Three species of octocorals from two families were studied in Eilat (Gulf of Aqaba), comprising the zooxanthellate Ovabunda macrospiculata and Heteroxenia fuscescens (family Xeniidae), and Sarcophyton sp. (family Alcyoniidae). They were maintained under normal (8.2) and reduced (7.6 and 7.3) pH conditions for up to 5 months. Their biolological features, including protein concentration, polyp weight, density of zooxanthellae, and their chlorophyll concentration per cell, as well as polyp pulsation rate, were examined under conditions more acidic than normal, in order to test the hypothesis that rising pCO2 would affect octocorals. The results indicate no statistically significant difference between the octocorals exposed to reduced pH values compared to the control. It is therefore suggested that the octocorals' tissue may act as a protective barrier against adverse pH conditions, thus maintaining them unharmed at high levels of pCO2.

  9. Controlling mechanisms of surface partial pressure of CO2 in Jiaozhou Bay during summer and the influence of heavy rain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yunxiao; Yang, Xufeng; Han, Ping; Xue, Liang; Zhang, Longjun

    2017-09-01

    Due to the combined effects of natural processes and human activities, carbon source/sink processes and mechanisms in the coastal ocean are becoming more and more important in current ocean carbon cycle research. Based on differences in the ratio of total alkalinity (TA) to dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) associated with terrestrial input, biological process (production and respiration), calcium carbonate (CaCO3) process (precipitation and dissolution) and CO2 evasion/invasion, we discuss the mechanisms controlling the surface partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) in Jiaozhou Bay (JZB) during summer and the influence of heavy rain, via three cruises performed in mid-June, early July and late July of 2014. In mid-June and in early July, without heavy rain or obvious river input, sea surface pCO2 ranged from 521 to 1080 μatm and from 547 to 998 μatm, respectively. The direct input of DIC from sewage and the intense respiration produced large DIC additions and the highest pCO2 values in the northeast of the bay near the downtown of Qingdao. However, in the west of the bay, significant CaCO3 precipitation led to DIC removal but no obvious increase in pCO2, which was just close to that in the central area. Due to the shallow depth and longer water residence time in this region, this pattern may be related to the sustained release of CO2 into the atmosphere. In late July, heavy rain promoted river input in the western and eastern portions of JZB. Strong primary production led to a significant decrease in pCO2 in the western area, with the lowest pCO2 value of 252 μatm. However, in the northeastern area, the intense respiration remained, and the highest pCO2 value was 1149 μatm. The average air-sea CO2 flux in mid-June and early July was 20.23 mmol m- 2 d- 1 and 23.56 mmol m- 2 d- 1, respectively. In contrast, in late July, sources became sinks for atmospheric CO2 in the western and central areas of the bay, halving the average air-sea CO2 flux to a value of 10.58 mmol m- 2

  10. Effect of elevated pCO2 on metabolic responses of porcelain crab (Petrolisthes cinctipes) Larvae exposed to subsequent salinity stress.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Seth H; Zarate, Sonia; Smith, Edmund H; Gaylord, Brian; Hosfelt, Jessica D; Hill, Tessa M

    2014-01-01

    Future climate change is predicted to alter the physical characteristics of oceans and estuaries, including pH, temperature, oxygen, and salinity. Investigating how species react to the influence of such multiple stressors is crucial for assessing how future environmental change will alter marine ecosystems. The timing of multiple stressors can also be important, since in some cases stressors arise simultaneously, while in others they occur in rapid succession. In this study, we investigated the effects of elevated pCO2 on oxygen consumption by larvae of the intertidal porcelain crab Petrolisthes cinctipes when exposed to subsequent salinity stress. Such an exposure mimics how larvae under future acidified conditions will likely experience sudden runoff events such as those that occur seasonally along portions of the west coast of the U.S. and in other temperate systems, or how larvae encounter hypersaline waters when crossing density gradients via directed swimming. We raised larvae in the laboratory under ambient and predicted future pCO2 levels (385 and 1000 µatm) for 10 days, and then moved them to seawater at ambient pCO2 but with decreased, ambient, or elevated salinity, to monitor their respiration. While larvae raised under elevated pCO2 or exposed to stressful salinity conditions alone did not exhibit higher respiration rates than larvae held in ambient conditions, larvae exposed to elevated pCO2 followed by stressful salinity conditions consumed more oxygen. These results show that even when multiple stressors act sequentially rather than simultaneously, they can retain their capacity to detrimentally affect organisms.

  11. The acclimation process of phytoplankton biomass, carbon fixation and respiration to the combined effects of elevated temperature and pCO2 in the northern South China Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Guang; Jin, Peng; Liu, Nana; Li, Futian; Tong, Shanying; Hutchins, David A; Gao, Kunshan

    2017-05-15

    We conducted shipboard microcosm experiments at both off-shore (SEATS) and near-shore (D001) stations in the northern South China Sea (NSCS) under three treatments, low temperature and low pCO 2 (LTLC), high temperature and low pCO 2 (HTLC), and high temperature and high pCO 2 (HTHC). Biomass of phytoplankton at both stations were enhanced by HT. HTHC did not affect phytoplankton biomass at station D001 but decreased it at station SEATS. HT alone increased net primary productivity by 234% at station SEATS and by 67% at station D001 but the stimulating effect disappeared when HC was combined. HT also increased respiration rate by 236% at station SEATS and by 87% at station D001 whereas HTHC reduced it by 61% at station SEATS and did not affect it at station D001. Overall, our findings indicate that the positive effect of ocean warming on phytoplankton assemblages in NSCS could be damped or offset by ocean acidification. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Natural high pCO2 increases autotrophy in Anemonia viridis (Anthozoa) as revealed from stable isotope (C, N) analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Horwitz, Rael; Borell, Esther M.; Yam, Ruth; Shemesh, Aldo; Fine, Maoz

    2015-01-01

    Contemporary cnidarian-algae symbioses are challenged by increasing CO2 concentrations (ocean warming and acidification) affecting organisms' biological performance. We examined the natural variability of carbon and nitrogen isotopes in the symbiotic sea anemone Anemonia viridis to investigate dietary shifts (autotrophy/heterotrophy) along a natural pCO2 gradient at the island of Vulcano, Italy. ?13C values for both algal symbionts (Symbiodinium) and host tissue of A. viridis became significa...

  13. Remote sensing the sea surface CO2 of the Baltic Sea using the SOMLO methodology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parard, G.; Charantonis, A. A.; Rutgerson, A.

    2015-06-01

    Studies of coastal seas in Europe have noted the high variability of the CO2 system. This high variability, generated by the complex mechanisms driving the CO2 fluxes, complicates the accurate estimation of these mechanisms. This is particularly pronounced in the Baltic Sea, where the mechanisms driving the fluxes have not been characterized in as much detail as in the open oceans. In addition, the joint availability of in situ measurements of CO2 and of sea-surface satellite data is limited in the area. In this paper, we used the SOMLO (self-organizing multiple linear output; Sasse et al., 2013) methodology, which combines two existing methods (i.e. self-organizing maps and multiple linear regression) to estimate the ocean surface partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) in the Baltic Sea from the remotely sensed sea surface temperature, chlorophyll, coloured dissolved organic matter, net primary production, and mixed-layer depth. The outputs of this research have a horizontal resolution of 4 km and cover the 1998-2011 period. These outputs give a monthly map of the Baltic Sea at a very fine spatial resolution. The reconstructed pCO2 values over the validation data set have a correlation of 0.93 with the in situ measurements and a root mean square error of 36 μatm. Removing any of the satellite parameters degraded this reconstructed CO2 flux, so we chose to supply any missing data using statistical imputation. The pCO2 maps produced using this method also provide a confidence level of the reconstruction at each grid point. The results obtained are encouraging given the sparsity of available data, and we expect to be able to produce even more accurate reconstructions in coming years, given the predicted acquisition of new data.

  14. Drivers of pCO2 dynamics in two contrasting coral reef lagoons: The influence of submarine groundwater discharge (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cyronak, T.; Santos, I. R.; Erler, D.; Maher, D. T.; Eyre, B.

    2013-12-01

    The carbon chemistry of coral reef lagoons can be highly variable over short time scales. While much of the diel variability in seawater carbon chemistry is explained by biological processes, external sources such as river and groundwater seepage may deliver large amounts of organic and inorganic carbon to coral reefs and represent a poorly understood feedback to ocean acidification. Here, we assess the impact of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) on pCO2 variability in two coral reef lagoons with distinct SGD driving mechanisms. Diel variability of pCO2 in the two ecosystems was explained by a combination of biological drivers and SGD inputs. In Rarotonga, a South Pacific volcanic island, SGD was driven primarily by a steep terrestrial hydraulic gradient, and the lagoon was influenced by the high pCO2 (5,501 μatm) of the fresh groundwater. In Heron Island, a Great Barrier Reef coral cay, SGD was dominated by seawater recirculation through sediments (i.e. tidal pumping) and pCO2 was mainly impacted through the stimulation of biological processes. The Rarotonga water column had a relatively higher average pCO2 (549 μatm) than Heron Island (471 μatm). However, pCO2 exhibited a greater diel range in Heron Island (778 μatm) than in Rarotonga (507 μatm). The Rarotonga lagoon received 31.2 mmol CO2 m-2 d-1 from SGD, while the Heron Island lagoon received 12.3 mmol CO2 m-2 d-1. Over the course of this study both systems were sources of CO2 to the atmosphere (3.00 to 9.67 mmol CO2 m-2 d-1), with SGD-derived CO2 contributing a large portion to the air-sea CO2 flux. The relationship between both water column pH and aragonite saturation state (ΩAr) and radon (222Rn) concentrations indicate that SGD may enhance the local acidification of some coral reef lagoons. Studies measuring the carbon chemistry of coral reefs (e.g. community metabolism, calcification rates) may need to consider SGD-derived CO2.

  15. Isotopic versus micrometeorologic ocean CO2 fluxes: A serious conflict

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Broecker, W.S.; Ledwell, J.R.; Takahashi, T.; Weiss, R.; Merlivat, L.; Memery, L.; Tsung-Hung Peng; Jahne, B.; Otto Munnich, K.

    1986-01-01

    Eddy correlation measurements over the ocean give CO 2 fluxes an order of magnitude or more larger than expected from mass balance or more larger than expected from mass balance measurements using radiocarbon and radon 222. In particular, Smith and Jones (1985) reported large upward and downward fluxes in a surf zone at supersaturations of 15% and attributed them to the equilibration of bubbles at elevated pressures. They argue that even on the open ocean such bubble injection may create steady state CO 2 supersaturations and that inferences of fluxes based on air-sea pCO 2 differences and radon exchange velocities must be made with caution. We defend the global average CO 2 exchange rate determined by three independent radioisotopic means: prebomb radiocarbon inventories; global surveys of mixed layer radon deficits; and oceanic uptake of bomb-produced radiocarbon. We argue that laboratory and lake data do not lead one to expect fluxes as large as reported from the eddy correlation technique; that the radon method of determining exchange velocities is indeed useful for estimating CO 2 fluxes; that supersaturations of CO 2 due to bubble injection on the open ocean are negligible; that the hypothesis that Smith and Jones advance cannot account for the fluxes that they report; and that the pCO 2 values reported by Smith and Jones are likely to be systematically much too high. The CO 2 fluxes for the ocean measured to data by the micrometeorological method can be reconciled with neither the observed concentrations of radioisotopes of radon and carbon in the oceans nor the tracer experiments carried out in lakes and in wind/wave tunnels

  16. Partial pressure (or fugacity) of carbon dioxide, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from surface underway observations using carbon dioxide gas analyzer, shower head equilibrator and other instruments from R/V Wecoma in the U.S. West Coast California Current System during the 2011 West Coast Ocean Acidification Cruise (WCOA2011) from 2011-08-12 to 2011-08-30 (NODC Accession 0123607)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This archival package contains the surface underway pCO2 data of the first dedicated West Coast Ocean Acidification cruise (WCOA2011). The cruise took place August...

  17. Effects of seawater pCO2 and temperature on calcification and productivity in the coral genus Porites spp.: an exploration of potential interaction mechanisms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cole, C.; Finch, A. A.; Hintz, C.; Hintz, K.; Allison, N.

    2018-06-01

    Understanding how rising seawater pCO2 and temperatures impact coral aragonite accretion is essential for predicting the future of reef ecosystems. Here, we report 2 long-term (10-11 month) studies assessing the effects of temperature (25 and 28 °C) and both high and low seawater pCO2 (180-750 μatm) on the calcification, photosynthesis and respiration of individual massive Porites spp. genotypes. Calcification rates were highly variable between genotypes, but high seawater pCO2 reduced calcification significantly in 4 of 7 genotypes cultured at 25 °C but in only 1 of 4 genotypes cultured at 28 °C. Increasing seawater temperature enhanced calcification in almost all corals, but the magnitude of this effect was seawater pCO2 dependent. The 3 °C temperature increase enhanced calcification rate on average by 3% at 180 μatm, by 35% at 260 μatm and by > 300% at 750 μatm. The rate increase at high seawater pCO2 exceeds that observed in inorganic aragonites. Responses of gross/net photosynthesis and respiration to temperature and seawater pCO2 varied between genotypes, but rates of all these processes were reduced at the higher seawater temperature. Increases in seawater temperature, below the thermal stress threshold, may mitigate against ocean acidification in this coral genus, but this moderation is not mediated by an increase in net photosynthesis. The response of coral calcification to temperature cannot be explained by symbiont productivity or by thermodynamic and kinetic influences on aragonite formation.

  18. Combined Effects of Elevated pCO2 and Warming Facilitate Cyanophage Infections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kai Cheng

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Elevated pCO2 and warming are generally expected to influence cyanobacterial growth, and may promote the formation of blooms. Yet, both climate change factors may also influence cyanobacterial mortality by favoring pathogens, such as viruses, which will depend on the ability of the host to adapt. To test this hypothesis, we grew Plectonema boryanum IU597 under two temperature (25 and 29°C and two pCO2 (400 and 800 μatm conditions for 1 year, after which all treatments were re-exposed to control conditions for a period of 3 weeks. At several time points during the 1 year period, and upon re-exposure, we measured various infection characteristics of it associated cyanophage PP, including the burst size, latent period, lytic cycle and the efficiency of plaquing (EOP. As expected, elevated pCO2 promoted growth of P. boryanum equally over the 1 year period, but warming did not. Burst size increased in the warm treatment, but decreased in both the elevated pCO2 and combined treatment. The latent period and lytic cycle both became shorter in the elevated pCO2 and higher temperature treatment, and were further reduced by the combined effect of both factors. Efficiency of plaquing (EOP decreased in the elevated pCO2 treatment, increased in the warm treatment, and increased even stronger in the combined treatment. These findings indicate that elevated pCO2 enhanced the effect of warming, thereby further promoting the virus infection rate. The re-exposure experiments demonstrate adaptation of the host leading to higher biomass build-up with elevated pCO2 over the experimental period, and lower performance upon re-exposure to control conditions. Similarly, virus burst size and EOP increased when given warm adapted host, but were lower as compared to the control when the host was re-exposed to control conditions. Our results demonstrate that adaptation but particularly physiological acclimation to climate change conditions favored viral infections, while

  19. Seasonal controls on surface pCO2 in the central and eastern Arabian Sea

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Sarma, V.V.S.S.; DileepKumar, M.; Gauns, M.; Madhupratap, M.

    by Hansson (1973) and Mehrbach et al (1973). Bisulphate effect was calculated based on the formulations that were given by Hansson (1973) for the conversion of pHin situ to pHT (on total scale) since the effect of fluoride ion shall not be significant... (Dickson 1993). Total sulphate was calculated from the salinity based on the principle of constancy of ionic composition. The pCO2 was com- puted based on TCO2 and pHT using the apparent dissociation constants of carbonic acid determined by Goyet...

  20. Intramucosal–arterial PCO 2 gap fails to reflect intestinal dysoxia in hypoxic hypoxia

    OpenAIRE

    Dubin, Arnaldo; Murias, Gastón; Estenssoro, Elisa; Canales, Héctor; Badie, Julio; Pozo, Mario; Sottile, Juan P; Barán, Marcelo; Pálizas, Fernando; Laporte, Mercedes

    2002-01-01

    Introduction An elevation in intramucosal–arterial PCO 2 gradient (ΔPCO 2) could be determined either by tissue hypoxia or by reduced blood flow. Our hypothesis was that in hypoxic hypoxia with preserved blood flow, ΔPCO 2 should not be altered. Methods In 17 anesthetized and mechanically ventilated sheep, oxygen delivery was reduced by decreasing flow (ischemic hypoxia, IH) or arterial oxygen saturation (hypoxic hypoxia, HH), or no intervention was made (sham). In the IH group (n = 6), blood...

  1. INTERACTIONS BETWEEN OCEAN ACIDIFICATION AND WARMING ON THE MORTALITY AND DISSOLUTION OF CORALLINE ALGAE(1).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diaz-Pulido, Guillermo; Anthony, Kenneth R N; Kline, David I; Dove, Sophie; Hoegh-Guldberg, Ove

    2012-02-01

    Coralline algae are among the most sensitive calcifying organisms to ocean acidification as a result of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide (pCO2 ). Little is known, however, about the combined impacts of increased pCO2 , ocean acidification, and sea surface temperature on tissue mortality and skeletal dissolution of coralline algae. To address this issue, we conducted factorial manipulative experiments of elevated CO2 and temperature and examined the consequences on tissue survival and skeletal dissolution of the crustose coralline alga (CCA) Porolithon (=Hydrolithon) onkodes (Heydr.) Foslie (Corallinaceae, Rhodophyta) on the southern Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia. We observed that warming amplified the negative effects of high pCO2 on the health of the algae: rates of advanced partial mortality of CCA increased from warming conditions (from 26°C to 29°C). Furthermore, the effect of pCO2 on skeletal dissolution strongly depended on temperature. Dissolution of P. onkodes only occurred in the high-pCO2 treatment and was greater in the warm treatment. Enhanced skeletal dissolution was also associated with a significant increase in the abundance of endolithic algae. Our results demonstrate that P. onkodes is particularly sensitive to ocean acidification under warm conditions, suggesting that previous experiments focused on ocean acidification alone have underestimated the impact of future conditions on coralline algae. Given the central role that coralline algae play within coral reefs, these conclusions have serious ramifications for the integrity of coral-reef ecosystems. © 2011 Phycological Society of America.

  2. Ocean acidification reduces the crystallographic control in juvenile mussel shells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitzer, Susan C; Cusack, Maggie; Phoenix, Vernon R; Kamenos, Nicholas A

    2014-10-01

    Global climate change threatens the oceans as anthropogenic carbon dioxide causes ocean acidification and reduced carbonate saturation. Future projections indicate under saturation of aragonite, and potentially calcite, in the oceans by 2100. Calcifying organisms are those most at risk from such ocean acidification, as carbonate is vital in the biomineralisation of their calcium carbonate protective shells. This study highlights the importance of multi-generational studies to investigate how marine organisms can potentially adapt to future projected global climate change. Mytilus edulis is an economically important marine calcifier vulnerable to decreasing carbonate saturation as their shells comprise two calcium carbonate polymorphs: aragonite and calcite. M. edulis specimens were cultured under current and projected pCO2 (380, 550, 750 and 1000μatm), following 6months of experimental culture, adults produced second generation juvenile mussels. Juvenile mussel shells were examined for structural and crystallographic orientation of aragonite and calcite. At 1000μatm pCO2, juvenile mussels spawned and grown under this high pCO2 do not produce aragonite which is more vulnerable to carbonate under-saturation than calcite. Calcite and aragonite were produced at 380, 550 and 750μatm pCO2. Electron back scatter diffraction analyses reveal less constraint in crystallographic orientation with increased pCO2. Shell formation is maintained, although the nacre crystals appear corroded and crystals are not so closely layered together. The differences in ultrastructure and crystallography in shells formed by juveniles spawned from adults in high pCO2 conditions may prove instrumental in their ability to survive ocean acidification. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. The reef-building coral Siderastrea siderea exhibits parabolic responses to ocean acidification and warming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castillo, Karl D; Ries, Justin B; Bruno, John F; Westfield, Isaac T

    2014-12-22

    Anthropogenic increases in atmospheric CO2 over this century are predicted to cause global average surface ocean pH to decline by 0.1-0.3 pH units and sea surface temperature to increase by 1-4°C. We conducted controlled laboratory experiments to investigate the impacts of CO2-induced ocean acidification (pCO2 = 324, 477, 604, 2553 µatm) and warming (25, 28, 32°C) on the calcification rate of the zooxanthellate scleractinian coral Siderastrea siderea, a widespread, abundant and keystone reef-builder in the Caribbean Sea. We show that both acidification and warming cause a parabolic response in the calcification rate within this coral species. Moderate increases in pCO2 and warming, relative to near-present-day values, enhanced coral calcification, with calcification rates declining under the highest pCO2 and thermal conditions. Equivalent responses to acidification and warming were exhibited by colonies across reef zones and the parabolic nature of the corals' response to these stressors was evident across all three of the experiment's 30-day observational intervals. Furthermore, the warming projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the end of the twenty-first century caused a fivefold decrease in the rate of coral calcification, while the acidification projected for the same interval had no statistically significant impact on the calcification rate-suggesting that ocean warming poses a more immediate threat than acidification for this important coral species.

  4. Ocean acidification exerts negative effects during warming conditions in a developing Antarctic fish.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flynn, Erin E; Bjelde, Brittany E; Miller, Nathan A; Todgham, Anne E

    2015-01-01

    Anthropogenic CO2 is rapidly causing oceans to become warmer and more acidic, challenging marine ectotherms to respond to simultaneous changes in their environment. While recent work has highlighted that marine fishes, particularly during early development, can be vulnerable to ocean acidification, we lack an understanding of how life-history strategies, ecosystems and concurrent ocean warming interplay with interspecific susceptibility. To address the effects of multiple ocean changes on cold-adapted, slowly developing fishes, we investigated the interactive effects of elevated partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) and temperature on the embryonic physiology of an Antarctic dragonfish (Gymnodraco acuticeps), with protracted embryogenesis (∼10 months). Using an integrative, experimental approach, our research examined the impacts of near-future warming [-1 (ambient) and 2°C (+3°C)] and ocean acidification [420 (ambient), 650 (moderate) and 1000 μatm pCO2 (high)] on survival, development and metabolic processes over the course of 3 weeks in early development. In the presence of increased pCO2 alone, embryonic mortality did not increase, with greatest overall survival at the highest pCO2. Furthermore, embryos were significantly more likely to be at a later developmental stage at high pCO2 by 3 weeks relative to ambient pCO2. However, in combined warming and ocean acidification scenarios, dragonfish embryos experienced a dose-dependent, synergistic decrease in survival and developed more slowly. We also found significant interactions between temperature, pCO2 and time in aerobic enzyme activity (citrate synthase). Increased temperature alone increased whole-organism metabolic rate (O2 consumption) and developmental rate and slightly decreased osmolality at the cost of increased mortality. Our findings suggest that developing dragonfish are more sensitive to ocean warming and may experience negative physiological effects of ocean acidification only in

  5. The reef-building coral Siderastrea siderea exhibits parabolic responses to ocean acidification and warming

    OpenAIRE

    Castillo, Karl D.; Ries, Justin B.; Bruno, John F.; Westfield, Isaac T.

    2014-01-01

    Anthropogenic increases in atmospheric CO2 over this century are predicted to cause global average surface ocean pH to decline by 0.1–0.3 pH units and sea surface temperature to increase by 1–4°C. We conducted controlled laboratory experiments to investigate the impacts of CO2-induced ocean acidification (pCO2 = 324, 477, 604, 2553 µatm) and warming (25, 28, 32°C) on the calcification rate of the zooxanthellate scleractinian coral Siderastrea siderea, a widespread, abundant and keystone reef-...

  6. Remote sensing algorithm for sea surface CO2 in the Baltic Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parard, G.; Charantonis, A. A.; Rutgerson, A.

    2014-08-01

    Studies of coastal seas in Europe have brought forth the high variability in the CO2 system. This high variability, generated by the complex mechanisms driving the CO2 fluxes makes their accurate estimation an arduous task. This is more pronounced in the Baltic Sea, where the mechanisms driving the fluxes have not been as highly detailed as in the open oceans. In adition, the joint availability of in-situ measurements of CO2 and of sea-surface satellite data is limited in the area. In this paper, a combination of two existing methods (Self-Organizing-Maps and Multiple Linear regression) is used to estimate ocean surface pCO2 in the Baltic Sea from remotely sensed surface temperature, chlorophyll, coloured dissolved organic matter, net primary production and mixed layer depth. The outputs of this research have an horizontal resolution of 4 km, and cover the period from 1998 to 2011. The reconstructed pCO2 values over the validation data set have a correlation of 0.93 with the in-situ measurements, and a root mean square error is of 38 μatm. The removal of any of the satellite parameters degraded this reconstruction of the CO2 flux, and we chose therefore to complete any missing data through statistical imputation. The CO2 maps produced by this method also provide a confidence level of the reconstruction at each grid point. The results obtained are encouraging given the sparsity of available data and we expect to be able to produce even more accurate reconstructions in the coming years, in view of the predicted acquisitions of new data.

  7. Time series pCO2 at a coastal mooring: Internal consistency, seasonal cycles, and interannual variability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reimer, Janet J.; Cai, Wei-Jun; Xue, Liang; Vargas, Rodrigo; Noakes, Scott; Hu, Xinping; Signorini, Sergio R.; Mathis, Jeremy T.; Feely, Richard A.; Sutton, Adrienne J.; Sabine, Christopher; Musielewicz, Sylvia; Chen, Baoshan; Wanninkhof, Rik

    2017-08-01

    Marine carbonate system monitoring programs often consist of multiple observational methods that include underway cruise data, moored autonomous time series, and discrete water bottle samples. Monitored parameters include all, or some of the following: partial pressure of CO2 of the water (pCO2w) and air, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), total alkalinity (TA), and pH. Any combination of at least two of the aforementioned parameters can be used to calculate the others. In this study at the Gray's Reef (GR) mooring in the South Atlantic Bight (SAB) we: examine the internal consistency of pCO2w from underway cruise, moored autonomous time series, and calculated from bottle samples (DIC-TA pairing); describe the seasonal to interannual pCO2w time series variability and air-sea flux (FCO2), as well as describe the potential sources of pCO2w variability; and determine the source/sink for atmospheric pCO2. Over the 8.5 years of GR mooring time series, mooring-underway and mooring-bottle calculated-pCO2w strongly correlate with r-values > 0.90. pCO2w and FCO2 time series follow seasonal thermal patterns; however, seasonal non-thermal processes, such as terrestrial export, net biological production, and air-sea exchange also influence variability. The linear slope of time series pCO2w increases by 5.2 ± 1.4 μatm y-1 with FCO2 increasing 51-70 mmol m-2 y-1. The net FCO2 sign can switch interannually with the magnitude varying greatly. Non-thermal pCO2w is also increasing over the time series, likely indicating that terrestrial export and net biological processes drive the long term pCO2w increase.

  8. Ocean acidification impacts mussel control on biomineralisation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitzer, Susan C; Phoenix, Vernon R; Cusack, Maggie; Kamenos, Nicholas A

    2014-08-28

    Ocean acidification is altering the oceanic carbonate saturation state and threatening the survival of marine calcifying organisms. Production of their calcium carbonate exoskeletons is dependent not only on the environmental seawater carbonate chemistry but also the ability to produce biominerals through proteins. We present shell growth and structural responses by the economically important marine calcifier Mytilus edulis to ocean acidification scenarios (380, 550, 750, 1000 µatm pCO2). After six months of incubation at 750 µatm pCO2, reduced carbonic anhydrase protein activity and shell growth occurs in M. edulis. Beyond that, at 1000 µatm pCO2, biomineralisation continued but with compensated metabolism of proteins and increased calcite growth. Mussel growth occurs at a cost to the structural integrity of the shell due to structural disorientation of calcite crystals. This loss of structural integrity could impact mussel shell strength and reduce protection from predators and changing environments.

  9. The Wave Glider°: A New Autonomous Surface Vehicle to Augment MBARI's Growing Fleet of Ocean Observing Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tougher, B. B.

    2011-12-01

    Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute's (MBARI) evolving fleet of ocean observing systems has made it possible to collect information and data about a wide variety of ocean parameters, enabling researchers to better understand marine ecosystems. In collaboration with Liquid Robotics Inc, the designer of the Wave Glider autonomous surface vehicle (ASV), MBARI is adding a new capability to its suite of ocean observing tools. This new technology will augment MBARI research programs that use satellites, ships, moorings, drifters, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to improve data collection of temporally and spatially variable oceanographic features. The Wave Glider ASV derives its propulsion from wave energy, while sensors and communications are powered through the use of two solar panels and batteries, enabling it to remain at sea indefinitely. Wave Gliders are remotely controlled via real-time Iridium burst communications, which also permit real-time data telemetry. MBARI has developed Ocean Acidification (OA) moorings to continuously monitor the chemical and physical changes occurring in the ocean as a result of increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). The moorings are spatially restricted by being anchored to the seafloor, so during the summer of 2011 the ocean acidification sensor suite designed for moorings was integrated into a Wave Glider ASV to increase both temporal and spatial ocean observation capabilities. The OA sensor package enables the measurement of parameters essential to better understanding the changing acidity of the ocean, specifically pCO2, pH, oxygen, salinity and temperature. The Wave Glider will also be equipped with a meteorological sensor suite that will measure air temperature, air pressure, and wind speed and direction. The OA sensor integration into a Wave Glider was part of MBARI's 2011 summer internship program. This project involved designing a new layout for the OA sensors

  10. Coccolithophore surface distributions in the North Atlantic and their modulation of the air-sea flux of CO2 from 10 years of satellite Earth observation data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. D. Shutler

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Coccolithophores are the primary oceanic phytoplankton responsible for the production of calcium carbonate (CaCO3. These climatically important plankton play a key role in the oceanic carbon cycle as a major contributor of carbon to the open ocean carbonate pump (~50% and their calcification can affect the atmosphere-to-ocean (air-sea uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2 through increasing the seawater partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2. Here we document variations in the areal extent of surface blooms of the globally important coccolithophore, Emiliania huxleyi, in the North Atlantic over a 10-year period (1998–2007, using Earth observation data from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS. We calculate the annual mean sea surface areal coverage of E. huxleyi in the North Atlantic to be 474 000 ± 104 000 km2, which results in a net CaCO3 carbon (CaCO3-C production of 0.14–1.71 Tg CaCO3-C per year. However, this surface coverage (and, thus, net production can fluctuate inter-annually by −54/+8% about the mean value and is strongly correlated with the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO climate oscillation index (r=0.75, pE. huxleyi blooms in the North Atlantic can increase the pCO2 and, thus, decrease the localised air-sea flux of atmospheric CO2. In regions where the blooms are prevalent, the average reduction in the monthly air-sea CO2 flux can reach 55%. The maximum reduction of the monthly air-sea CO2 flux in the time series is 155%. This work suggests that the high variability, frequency and distribution of these calcifying plankton and their impact on pCO2 should be considered if we are to fully understand the variability of the North Atlantic air-to-sea flux of CO2. We estimate that these blooms can reduce the annual N. Atlantic net sink atmospheric CO2 by between 3–28%.

  11. Direct and indirect effects of high pCO2 on algal grazing by coral reef herbivores from the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borell, E. M.; Steinke, M.; Fine, M.

    2013-12-01

    Grazing on marine macroalgae is a key structuring process for coral reef communities. However, ocean acidification from rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations is predicted to adversely affect many marine animals, while seaweed communities may benefit and prosper. We tested how exposure to different pCO2 (400, 1,800 and 4,000 μatm) may affect grazing on the green alga Ulva lactuca by herbivorous fish and sea urchins from the coral reefs in the northern Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea), either directly, by changing herbivore behaviour, or indirectly via changes in algal palatability. We also determined the effects of pCO2 on algal tissue concentrations of protein and the grazing-deterrent secondary metabolite dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP). Grazing preferences and overall consumption were tested in a series of multiple-choice feeding experiments in the laboratory and in situ following exposure for 14 d (algae) and 28 d (herbivores). 4,000 μatm had a significant effect on the biochemical composition and palatability of U. lactuca. No effects were observed at 1,800 relative to 400 μatm (control). Exposure of U. lactuca to 4,000 μatm resulted in a significant decrease in protein and increase in DMSP concentration. This coincided with a reduced preference for these algae by the sea urchin Tripneustes gratilla and different herbivorous fish species in situ (Acanthuridae, Siganidae and Pomacanthidae). No feeding preferences were observed for the rabbitfish Siganus rivulatus under laboratory conditions. Exposure to elevated pCO2 had no direct effect on the overall algal consumption by T. gratilla and S. rivulatus. Our results show that CO2 has the potential to alter algal palatability to different herbivores which could have important implications for algal abundance and coral community structure. The fact that pCO2 effects were observed only at a pCO2 of 4,000 μatm, however, indicates that algal-grazer interactions may be resistant to predicted pCO2 concentrations in the

  12. Diversity and stability of coral endolithic microbial communities at a naturally high pCO2 reef.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marcelino, Vanessa Rossetto; Morrow, Kathleen M; van Oppen, Madeleine J H; Bourne, David G; Verbruggen, Heroen

    2017-10-01

    The health and functioning of reef-building corals is dependent on a balanced association with prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes. The coral skeleton harbours numerous endolithic microbes, but their diversity, ecological roles and responses to environmental stress, including ocean acidification (OA), are not well characterized. This study tests whether pH affects the diversity and structure of prokaryotic and eukaryotic algal communities associated with skeletons of Porites spp. using targeted amplicon (16S rRNA gene, UPA and tufA) sequencing. We found that the composition of endolithic communities in the massive coral Porites spp. inhabiting a naturally high pCO 2 reef (avg. pCO 2 811 μatm) is not significantly different from corals inhabiting reference sites (avg. pCO 2 357 μatm), suggesting that these microbiomes are less disturbed by OA than previously thought. Possible explanations may be that the endolithic microhabitat is highly homeostatic or that the endolithic micro-organisms are well adapted to a wide pH range. Some of the microbial taxa identified include nitrogen-fixing bacteria (Rhizobiales and cyanobacteria), algicidal bacteria in the phylum Bacteroidetes, symbiotic bacteria in the family Endozoicomoniaceae, and endolithic green algae, considered the major microbial agent of reef bioerosion. Additionally, we test whether host species has an effect on the endolithic community structure. We show that the endolithic community of massive Porites spp. is substantially different and more diverse than that found in skeletons of the branching species Seriatopora hystrix and Pocillopora damicornis. This study reveals highly diverse and structured microbial communities in Porites spp. skeletons that are possibly resilient to OA. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  13. Modulation of Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic climate by variable drawdown of atmospheric pCO2 from weathering of basaltic provinces on continents drifting through the equatorial humid belt

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. V. Kent

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The small reservoir of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (pCO2 that modulates climate through the greenhouse effect reflects a delicate balance between large fluxes of sources and sinks. The major long-term source of CO2 is global outgassing from sea-floor spreading, subduction, hotspot activity, and metamorphism; the ultimate sink is through weathering of continental silicates and deposition of carbonates. Most carbon cycle models are driven by changes in the source flux scaled to variable rates of ocean floor production, but ocean floor production may not be distinguishable from being steady since 180 Ma. We evaluate potential changes in sources and sinks of CO2 for the past 120 Ma in a paleogeographic context. Our new calculations show that decarbonation of pelagic sediments by Tethyan subduction contributed only modestly to generally high pCO2 levels from the Late Cretaceous until the early Eocene, and thus shutdown of this CO2 source with the collision of India and Asia at the early Eocene climate optimum at around 50 Ma was inadequate to account for the large and prolonged decrease in pCO2 that eventually allowed the growth of significant Antarctic ice sheets by around 34 Ma. Instead, variation in area of continental basalt terranes in the equatorial humid belt (5° S–5° N seems to be a dominant factor controlling how much CO2 is retained in the atmosphere via the silicate weathering feedback. The arrival of the highly weatherable Deccan Traps in the equatorial humid belt at around 50 Ma was decisive in initiating the long-term slide to lower atmospheric pCO2, which was pushed further down by the emplacement of the 30 Ma Ethiopian Traps near the equator and the southerly tectonic extrusion of SE Asia, an arc terrane that presently is estimated to account for 1/4 of CO2 consumption from all basaltic provinces that account for ~1/3 of the total CO2 consumption by continental silicate weathering (Dessert et al., 2003. A negative climate

  14. Molecular biogeochemical provinces in the Atlantic Surface Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koch, B. P.; Flerus, R.; Schmitt-Kopplin, P.; Lechtenfeld, O. J.; Bracher, A.; Cooper, W.; Frka, S.; Gašparović, B.; Gonsior, M.; Hertkorn, N.; Jaffe, R.; Jenkins, A.; Kuss, J.; Lara, R. J.; Lucio, M.; McCallister, S. L.; Neogi, S. B.; Pohl, C.; Roettgers, R.; Rohardt, G.; Schmitt, B. B.; Stuart, A.; Theis, A.; Ying, W.; Witt, M.; Xie, Z.; Yamashita, Y.; Zhang, L.; Zhu, Z. Y.; Kattner, G.

    2010-12-01

    One of the most important aspects to understand marine organic carbon fluxes is to resolve the molecular mechanisms which convert fresh, labile biomolecules into semi-labile and refractory dissolved and particulate organic compounds in the ocean. In this interdisciplinary project, which was performed on a cruise with RV Polarstern, we carried out a detailed molecular characterisation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on a North-South transect in the Atlantic surface ocean in order to relate the data to different biological, climatic, oceanographic, and meteorological regimes as well as to terrestrial input from riverine and atmospheric sources. Our goal was to achieve a high resolution data set for the biogeochemical characterisation of the sources and reactivity of DOM. We applied ultrahigh resolution Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS), nutrient, trace element, amino acid, and lipid analyses and other biogeochemical measurements for 220 samples from the upper water column (0-200m) and eight deep profiles. Various spectroscopic techniques were applied continuously in a constant sample water flow supplied by a fish system and the moon pool. Radiocarbon dating enabled assessing DOC residence time. Bacterial abundance and production provided a metabolic context for the DOM characterization work and pCO2 concentrations. Combining molecular organic techniques and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) established an important link between organic and inorganic biogeochemical studies. Multivariate statistics, primarily based on FT-ICR-MS data for 220 samples, allowed identifying geographical clusters which matched ecological provinces proposed previously by Longhurst (2007). Our study demonstrated that marine DOM carries molecular information reflecting the “history” of ocean water masses. This information can be used to define molecular biogeochemical provinces and to improve our understanding of element fluxes in

  15. Ocean uptake of carbon dioxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peng, Tsung-Hung; Takahashi, Taro

    1993-01-01

    Factors controlling the capacity of the ocean for taking up anthropogenic C0 2 include carbon chemistry, distribution of alkalinity, pCO 2 and total concentration of dissolved C0 2 , sea-air pCO 2 difference, gas exchange rate across the sea-air interface, biological carbon pump, ocean water circulation and mixing, and dissolution of carbonate in deep sea sediments. A general review of these processes is given and models of ocean-atmosphere system based on our understanding of these regulating processes axe used to estimate the magnitude of C0 2 uptake by the ocean. We conclude that the ocean can absorb up to 35% of the fossil fuel emission. Direct measurements show that 55% Of C0 2 from fossil fuel burning remains in the atmosphere. The remaining 10% is not accounted for by atmospheric increases and ocean uptake. In addition, it is estimated that an amount equivalent to 30% of recent annual fossil fuel emissions is released into the atmosphere as a result of deforestation and farming. To balance global carbon budget, a sizable carbon sink besides the ocean is needed. Storage of carbon in terrestrial biosphere as a result of C0 2 fertilization is a potential candidate for such missing carbon sinks

  16. Effect of temperature, hydraulic residence time and elevated PCO2 on acid neutralization within a pulsed limestone bed reactor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watten, B.J.; Lee, P.C.; Sibrell, P.L.; Timmons, M.B.

    2007-01-01

    Limestone has potential for reducing reagent costs and sludge volume associated with treatment of acid mine drainage, but its use is restricted by slow dissolution rates and the deposition of Fe, Al and Mn-based hydrolysis products on reactive surfaces. We evaluated a pulsed limestone bed (PLB) reactor (15 L/min capacity) that uses a CO2 pretreatment step to accelerate dissolution and hydraulic shearing forces provided by intermittent fluidization to abrade and carry away surface scales. We established the effects of hydraulic residence time (HRT, 5.1-15.9 min), temperature (T, 12-22 ??C) and CO2 tension (PCO2, 34.5-206.8 kPa) on effluent quality when inlet acidity (Acy) was fixed at 440 mg/L (pH=2.48) with H2SO4. The PLB reactor neutralized all H+ acidity (N=80) while concurrently providing unusually high levels of effluent alkalinity (247-1028 mg/L as CaCO3) that allow for side-stream treatment with blending. Alkalinity (Alk) yields rose with increases in PCO2, HRT and settled bed height (BH, cm) and decreased with T following the relationship (R2=0.926; p<0.001): (Alk)non-filtered=-548.726+33.571??(PCO2)0.5+33.671??(HRT)+7.734??(BH)-5.197??(T). Numerical modeling showed CO2 feed requirements for a target Alk yield decrease with increases in HRT, T and the efficiency of off-gas (CO2) recycling. ?? 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Toward explaining the Holocene carbon dioxide and carbon isotope records: Results from transient ocean carbon cycle-climate simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menviel, L.; Joos, F.

    2012-03-01

    The Bern3D model was applied to quantify the mechanisms of carbon cycle changes during the Holocene (last 11,000 years). We rely on scenarios from the literature to prescribe the evolution of shallow water carbonate deposition and of land carbon inventory changes over the glacial termination (18,000 to 11,000 years ago) and the Holocene and modify these scenarios within uncertainties. Model results are consistent with Holocene records of atmospheric CO2 and δ13C as well as the spatiotemporal evolution of δ13C and carbonate ion concentration in the deep sea. Deposition of shallow water carbonate, carbonate compensation of land uptake during the glacial termination, land carbon uptake and release during the Holocene, and the response of the ocean-sediment system to marine changes during the termination contribute roughly equally to the reconstructed late Holocene pCO2 rise of 20 ppmv. The 5 ppmv early Holocene pCO2 decrease reflects terrestrial uptake largely compensated by carbonate deposition and ocean sediment responses. Additional small contributions arise from Holocene changes in sea surface temperature, ocean circulation, and export productivity. The Holocene pCO2 variations result from the subtle balance of forcings and processes acting on different timescales and partly in opposite direction as well as from memory effects associated with changes occurring during the termination. Different interglacial periods with different forcing histories are thus expected to yield different pCO2 evolutions as documented by ice cores.

  18. Effects of ocean acidification on calcification of symbiont-bearing reef foraminifers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujita, K.; Hikami, M.; Suzuki, A.; Kuroyanagi, A.; Sakai, K.; Kawahata, H.; Nojiri, Y.

    2011-08-01

    Ocean acidification (decreases in carbonate ion concentration and pH) in response to rising atmospheric pCO2 is generally expected to reduce rates of calcification by reef calcifying organisms, with potentially severe implications for coral reef ecosystems. Large, algal symbiont-bearing benthic foraminifers, which are important primary and carbonate producers in coral reefs, produce high-Mg calcite shells, whose solubility can exceed that of aragonite produced by corals, making them the "first responder" in coral reefs to the decreasing carbonate saturation state of seawater. Here we report results of culture experiments performed to assess the effects of ongoing ocean acidification on the calcification of symbiont-bearing reef foraminifers using a high-precision pCO2 control system. Living clone individuals of three foraminiferal species (Baculogypsina sphaerulata, Calcarina gaudichaudii, and Amphisorus hemprichii) were subjected to seawater at five pCO2 levels from 260 to 970 μatm. Cultured individuals were maintained for about 12 weeks in an indoor flow-through system under constant water temperature, light intensity, and photoperiod. After the experiments, the shell diameter and weight of each cultured specimen were measured. Net calcification of B. sphaerulata and C. gaudichaudii, which secrete a hyaline shell and host diatom symbionts, increased under intermediate levels of pCO2 (580 and/or 770 μatm) and decreased at a higher pCO2 level (970 μatm). Net calcification of A. hemprichii, which secretes a porcelaneous shell and hosts dinoflagellate symbionts, tended to decrease at elevated pCO2. Observed different responses between hyaline and porcelaneous species are possibly caused by the relative importance of elevated pCO2, which induces CO2 fertilization effects by algal symbionts, versus associated changes in seawater carbonate chemistry, which decreases a carbonate concentration. Our findings suggest that ongoing ocean acidification might favor symbiont

  19. Brain parenchyma PO2, PCO2, and pH during and after hypoxic, ischemic brain insult in dogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKinley, B A; Morris, W P; Parmley, C L; Butler, B D

    1996-11-01

    1) The investigation of fiberoptic PO2, PCO2, and pH sensor technology as a monitor of brain parenchyma during and after brain injury, and 2) the comparison of brain parenchyma PO2, PCO2, and pH with intracranial pressure during and after hypoxic, ischemic brain insult. Prospective, controlled, animal study in an acute experimental preparation. Physiology laboratory in a university medical school. Fourteen mongrel dogs (20 to 35 kg), anesthetized, room-air ventilated. Anesthesia was induced with thiopental and maintained after intubation using 1% to 1.5% halothane in room air (FiO2 0.21). Mechanical ventilation was established to maintain end-tidal PCO2 approximately 35 torr (-4.7 kPa). Intravenous, femoral artery, and pulmonary artery catheters were placed. The common carotid arteries were surgically exposed, and ultrasonic blood flow probes were applied. A calibrated intracranial pressure probe was placed through a right-side transcranial bolt, and a calibrated intracranial chemistry probe with optical sensors for PO2, PCO2, and pH was placed through a left-side bolt into brain parenchyma. Brain insult was induced in the experimental group (n = 6) by hypoxia (FiO2 0.1), ischemia (bilateral carotid artery occlusion), and hypotension (mean arterial pressure [MAP] approximately 40 mm Hg produced with isoflurane approximately 4%). After 45 mins, carotid artery occlusion was released, FiO2 was reset to 0.21, and anesthetic was returned to halothane (approximately 1.25%). The control group (n = 5) had the same surgical preparation and sequence of anesthetic agent exposure but no brain insult. Monitored variables included brain parenchyma PO2, PCO2, and pH, which were monitored at 1-min intervals, and intracranial pressure, MAP, arterial hemoglobin oxygen saturation (by pulse oximetry), end-tidal PCO2, and carotid artery blood flow rate, for which data were collected at 15-min intervals for 7 hrs. Arterial and mixed venous blood gas analyses were done at approximately 1

  20. The influence of food supply on the response of Olympia oyster larvae to ocean acidification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Hettinger

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide drive accompanying changes in the marine carbonate system as carbon dioxide (CO2 enters seawater and alters ocean pH (termed "ocean acidification". However, such changes do not occur in isolation, and other environmental factors have the potential to modulate the consequences of altered ocean chemistry. Given that physiological mechanisms used by organisms to confront acidification can be energetically costly, we explored the potential for food supply to influence the response of Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida larvae to ocean acidification. In laboratory experiments, we reared oyster larvae under a factorial combination of pCO2 and food level. Elevated pCO2 had negative effects on larval growth, total dry weight, and metamorphic success, but high food availability partially offset these influences. The combination of elevated pCO2 and low food availability led to the greatest reduction in larval performance. However, the effects of food and pCO2 interacted additively rather than synergistically, indicating that they operated independently. Despite the potential for abundant resources to counteract the consequences of ocean acidification, impacts were never completely negated, suggesting that even under conditions of enhanced primary production and elevated food availability, impacts of ocean acidification may still accrue in some consumers.

  1. Carbon dioxide, temperature, salinity, and atmospheric pressure from surface underway survey in the North Pacific from January 1998 to January 2004 (NODC Accession 0045502)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Sea surface pCO2, sea surface temperature, sea surface salinity, and atmospheric pressure measurements collected in the North Pacific as part of the NOAA Office of...

  2. Responses of calcification of massive and encrusting corals to past, present, and near-future ocean carbon dioxide concentrations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iguchi, Akira; Kumagai, Naoki H.; Nakamura, Takashi; Suzuki, Atsushi; Sakai, Kazuhiko; Nojiri, Yukihiro

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Growth rates of two corals in the acidified seawater were evaluated. • Highest growth rates were observed in pre-industrial pCO 2 level. • The growth rates also decreased in the near-future ocean acidification level. • The growth responses were affected by variations of parameters of carbon chemistry. • Bayesian modeling approach was effective for the inference of the best model. - Abstract: In this study, we report the acidification impact mimicking the pre-industrial, the present, and near-future oceans on calcification of two coral species (Porites australiensis, Isopora palifera) by using precise pCO 2 control system which can produce acidified seawater under stable pCO 2 values with low variations. In the analyses, we performed Bayesian modeling approaches incorporating the variations of pCO 2 and compared the results between our modeling approach and classical statistical one. The results showed highest calcification rates in pre-industrial pCO 2 level and gradual decreases of calcification in the near-future ocean acidification level, which suggests that ongoing and near-future ocean acidification would negatively impact coral calcification. In addition, it was expected that the variations of parameters of carbon chemistry may affect the inference of the best model on calcification responses to these parameters between Bayesian modeling approach and classical statistical one even under stable pCO 2 values with low variations

  3. pO2 and pCO2 increment in post-dialyzer blood: the role of dialysate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sombolos, Kostas I; Bamichas, Gerasimos I; Christidou, Fotini N; Gionanlis, Lazaros D; Karagianni, Anna C; Anagnostopoulos, Theodoros C; Natse, Taïsir A

    2005-11-01

    Blood returning from a dialyzer during hemodialysis has a higher pO2 and pCO2 content than blood entering the dialyzer, and this has been attributed to the dialysate. The present study investigates this phenomenon. Acid-base and blood-gas parameters (pH, pO2, pCO2 and HCO3) were measured in three groups of stable chronic hemodialysis patients (A, B, and C) undergoing high-flux hemodialysis. In group A (n = 15), "arterial" (a) and "venous" (v) samples were withdrawn simultaneously before dialysis (samples A0), 5 min after circulation of the blood with the dialysate in the by-pass mode (samples A5), and 5 min after high-flux hemodialysis at a zero ultrafiltration rate (samples A10). In group B (n = 11) (a) and (v) samples were withdrawn simultaneously before dialysis (samples B0), 5 min after isolated-ultrafiltration with closed dialysate ports ("isolated-closed" ultrafiltration) (samples B5), and 5 min after high-flux hemodialysis at a zero ultrafiltration rate (samples B10). In group C (n = 14), after an initial arterial blood sample withdrawal before hemodialysis (sample C0), high-flux hemodialysis at a zero ultrafiltration rate was initiated. Five minutes later, blood and dialysate samples were withdrawn simultaneously from the hemodialysis lines (samples C5). In all cases blood and dialysate (bicarbonate) flow rates were set at 0.300 and 0.700 L/min, respectively. FLX-18 hemodialyzers (membrane PEPA 1.8 m2) were used in this study. Analysis of variance revealed significant changes only in venous samples. A comparison of arterial and venous samples revealed no differences between groups A and B before the initiation of dialysis (A0a vs. A0v and B0a vs. B0v, P = NS). The pO2 content was higher in A5v samples than in A5a samples (83.5 +/- 11.2 vs. 88.8 +/- 14.0 mm Hg, P pO2, pCO2, and HCO3 in comparison to A10v samples (P pO2 and pCO2 values in A5v and A10v samples increased by 6.3% and 12.1% and by 1.29% and 52% in comparison to corresponding values of A5a and A10

  4. Effects of carbon dioxide level (PCO2) on the fibrinolytic activity (FA) of pulmonary artery endothelial cells (PAEC)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Langleben, D.; Moroz, L.A.; Danes, D.

    1990-01-01

    Recovery from pulmonary thromboembolism depends on the rapidity and completeness of clot lysis. This involves endogenous fibrinolytic mechanisms, particularly the balance between plasminogen activators and inhibitors produced by endothelial cells. Hypocapnia is common in pulmonary embolism, however it is not known if endothelial fibrinolytic function is affected by PCO 2 . The authors therefore measured the FA in medium (MCDB-131, 0.5% albumin) conditioned for 20 hours in-vitro by exposure to confluent cultures of bovine proximal PAEC. During conditioning, cells were exposed to 5% CO 2 in air (PCO 2 - 36-40mm Hg, CONTROL), or various PCO 2 levels (30-55 mmHg, in air). FA of conditioned medium was determined by 125 I-fibrin solid phase assay, with addition of plasminogen (10 ug/ml). With PCO 2 levels ≤ 35 mmHg, FA in the conditioned medium was 5 to 18% higher than CONTROL FA. When PCO 2 was ≥ 45 mmHg, FA decreased 5 to 60% as compared to CONTROL FA. There was a significant negative linear relationship between PCO 2 and FA. Thus, PCO 2 level can affect PAEC mediated plasminogen activation. This finding may be relevant to in-vivo clearance of clots from pulmonary arteries

  5. Hurricane Arthur and its effect on the short-term variability of pCO2 on the Scotian Shelf, NW Atlantic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lemay, Jonathan; Thomas, Helmuth; Craig, Susanne E.; Burt, William J.; Fennel, Katja; Greenan, Blair J. W.

    2018-04-01

    The understanding of the seasonal variability of carbon cycling on the Scotian Shelf in the NW Atlantic Ocean has improved in recent years; however, very little information is available regarding its short-term variability. In order to shed light on this aspect of carbon cycling on the Scotian Shelf we investigate the effects of Hurricane Arthur, which passed the region on 5 July 2014. The hurricane caused a substantial decline in the surface water partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2), even though the Scotian Shelf possesses CO2-rich deep waters. High-temporal-resolution data of moored autonomous instruments demonstrate that there is a distinct layer of relatively cold water with low dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) slightly above the thermocline, presumably due to a sustained population of phytoplankton. Strong storm-related wind mixing caused this cold intermediate layer with high phytoplankton biomass to be entrained into the surface mixed layer. At the surface, phytoplankton begin to grow more rapidly due to increased light. The combination of growth and the mixing of low DIC water led to a short-term reduction in the partial pressure of CO2 until wind speeds relaxed and allowed for the restratification of the upper water column. These hurricane-related processes caused a (net) CO2 uptake by the Scotian Shelf region that is comparable to the spring bloom, thus exerting a major impact on the annual CO2 flux budget.

  6. Southern Ocean CO2 sink: the contribution of the sea ice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Delille, B.; Vancoppenolle, Martin; Geilfus, Nicolas-Xavier

    2014-01-01

    at the air-sea ice interface. The sea ice changes from a transient source to a sink for atmospheric CO2. We upscale these observations to the whole Antarctic sea ice cover using the NEMO-LIM3 large-scale sea ice-ocean and provide first esti- mates of spring and summer CO2 uptake from the atmosphere...... by Antarctic sea ice. Over the spring- summer period, the Antarctic sea ice cover is a net sink of atmospheric CO2 of 0.029 Pg C, about 58% of the estimated annual uptake from the Southern Ocean. Sea ice then contributes significantly to the sink of CO2 of the Southern Ocean....... undersaturation while the underlying oceanic waters remains slightly oversaturated. The decrease from winter to summer of pCO2 in the brines is driven by dilution with melting ice, dissolution of carbonate crystals, and net primary production. As the ice warms, its permeability increases, allowing CO2 transfer...

  7. Spectroscopy of Cu(II)-PcoC and the multicopper oxidase function of PcoA, two essential components of Escherichia coli pco copper resistance operon.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huffman, David L; Huyett, Jennifer; Outten, F Wayne; Doan, Peter E; Finney, Lydia A; Hoffman, Brian M; O'Halloran, Thomas V

    2002-08-06

    The plasmid-encoded pco copper resistance operon in Escherichia coli consists of seven genes that are expressed from two pco promoters in response to elevated copper; however, little is known about how they mediate resistance to excess environmental copper. Two of the genes encode the soluble periplasmic proteins PcoA and PcoC. We show here that inactivation of PcoC, and PcoA to a lesser extent, causes cells to become more sensitive to copper than wild-type nonresistant strains, consistent with a tightly coupled detoxification pathway. Periplasmic extracts show copper-inducible oxidase activity, attributed to the multicopper oxidase function of PcoA. PcoC, a much smaller protein than PcoA, binds one Cu(II) and exhibits a weak electronic transition characteristic of a type II copper center. ENDOR and ESEEM spectroscopy of Cu(II)-PcoC and the (15)N- and Met-CD(3)-labeled samples are consistent with a tetragonal ligand environment of three nitrogens and one aqua ligand "in the plane". A weakly associated S-Met and aqua are likely axial ligands. At least one N is a histidine and is likely trans to the in-plane aqua ligand. The copper chemistry of PcoC and the oxidase function of PcoA are consistent with the emerging picture of the chromosomally encoded copper homeostasis apparatus in the E. coli cell envelope [Outten, F. W., Huffman, D. L., Hale, J. A., and O'Halloran, T. V. (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 276, 30670-30677]. We propose a model for the plasmid system in which Cu(I)-PcoC functions in this copper efflux pathway as a periplasmic copper binding protein that docks with the multiple repeats of Met-rich domains in PcoA to effect oxidation of Cu(I) to the less toxic Cu(II) form. The solvent accessibility of the Cu(II) in PcoC may allow for metal transfer to other plasmid and chromosomal factors and thus facilitate removal of Cu(II) from the cell envelope.

  8. Ocean acidification and temperature increase impact mussel shell shape and thickness: problematic for protection?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitzer, Susan C; Vittert, Liberty; Bowman, Adrian; Kamenos, Nicholas A; Phoenix, Vernon R; Cusack, Maggie

    2015-11-01

    Ocean acidification threatens organisms that produce calcium carbonate shells by potentially generating an under-saturated carbonate environment. Resultant reduced calcification and growth, and subsequent dissolution of exoskeletons, would raise concerns over the ability of the shell to provide protection for the marine organism under ocean acidification and increased temperatures. We examined the impact of combined ocean acidification and temperature increase on shell formation of the economically important edible mussel Mytilus edulis. Shell growth and thickness along with a shell thickness index and shape analysis were determined. The ability of M. edulis to produce a functional protective shell after 9 months of experimental culture under ocean acidification and increasing temperatures (380, 550, 750, 1000 μatm pCO 2, and 750, 1000 μatm pCO 2 + 2°C) was assessed. Mussel shells grown under ocean acidification conditions displayed significant reductions in shell aragonite thickness, shell thickness index, and changes to shell shape (750, 1000 μatm pCO 2) compared to those shells grown under ambient conditions (380 μatm pCO 2). Ocean acidification resulted in rounder, flatter mussel shells with thinner aragonite layers likely to be more vulnerable to fracture under changing environments and predation. The changes in shape presented here could present a compensatory mechanism to enhance protection against predators and changing environments under ocean acidification when mussels are unable to grow thicker shells. Here, we present the first assessment of mussel shell shape to determine implications for functional protection under ocean acidification.

  9. End-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2) can replace methods for measuring partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PCO2) in pigs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alstrup, Aage Kristian Olsen

    2017-01-01

    We compared end-tidal carbon dioxide (ETCO2) with partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PCO2) in domestic pigs anesthetized for neuroscience. There was good agreement between ETCO2 and PCO2 under both hypocapnia, normocapnia, and hypercapnia conditions. ETCO2 saves time by continually providing...

  10. Determining the high variability of pCO2 and pO2 in the littoral zone of a subtropical coastal lake

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Denise Tonetta

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available The aquatic metabolism comprises production and mineralization of organic matter through biological processes, such as primary production and respiration that can be estimated by gases concentration in the water column. AIM: The study aimed to assess the temporal variability of pCO2 and pO2 in the littoral zone of a subtropical coastal lake. Our hypotheses are i high variability in meteorological conditions, such as temperature and light, drive the high variability in pCO2 and pO2, and ii the lake is permanently heterotrophic due to the low phosphorus concentration. METHODS: We estimated pCO2 from pH-alkalinity method, and pO2 from dissolved oxygen concentration and water temperature measured in free-water during 24 hours in the autumn, winter, spring and summer. RESULTS: Our findings showed that limnological variables had low temporal variability, while the meteorological variables and pCO2 presented a high coefficient of variation, which is representative of each climatic season. In autumn and winter, it was recorded that the lake was supersaturated in CO2 relative to the atmosphere, while in spring and summer CO2 concentration was below the concentration found in the atmosphere. Over 24 hours, pCO2 also showed high variability, with autumn presenting higher concentration during the night when compared to daytime. Water temperature and chlorophyll a were negatively correlated with pCO2, while pO2 was positively correlated with wind and light. CONCLUSION: Agreeing with our first hypothesis, pCO2 showed an expressive temporal variation in a subtropical lake associated to the high variability in meteorological conditions. On the other hand, our second hypothesis was not confirmed, since Peri Lake exported CO2 to the atmosphere in some periods and in others, CO2 was removed from the atmosphere.

  11. Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas Database Version 5 (SOCATv5) (NCEI Accession 0163180)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT, www.socat.info) is a synthesis activity by the international marine carbon research community and has more than 100 contributors...

  12. The role of pCO2 in astronomically-paced climate and carbon cycle variations in the Middle Miocene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Penman, D. E.; Hull, P. M.; Scher, H.; Kirtland Turner, S.; Ridgwell, A.

    2017-12-01

    The pace of Earth's background climate variability is known to be driven by the Milankovitch cycles, variations in Earth's orbital parameters and axial tilt. While the Milankovitch (orbital) theory of climate change is very nearly universally accepted, the climate system mechanisms and feedbacks responsible for amplifying orbital cycles preserved in the geologic record remain uncertain. For the late Pleistocene, the ice core-derived record of atmospheric carbon dioxide (pCO2) is strongly coupled with global temperature on orbital time scales, indicating that internal feedbacks involving the carbon cycle amplify or even cause the large changes in global temperature during orbitally driven glacial-interglacial cycles. However, for earlier time periods beyond the range of ice cores (the last 800 kyr), it is not possible to directly compare records of pCO2 to orbital climate cycles because there are no high-resolution (orbitally resolved) records of pCO2 before the Pliocene. We address this deficiency with a high-resolution ( 5-10 kyr spacing) record of planktonic foraminiferal d11B-derived surface seawater pH (as well as d13C and trace metal analyses) over a 500 kyr time window in a sedimentary record with known Milankovitch-scale climate and carbon cycle oscillations: the Middle Miocene (14.0 - 14.5 Ma) at ODP Site 926 (subtropical North Atlantic). The resulting pH record can be used to constrain atmospheric pCO2, allowing comparison of the timescale and magnitude of carbon cycle changes during a period of eccentricity-dominated variability in the response of the global climate system (the Late Pleistocene) with a period of obliquity-dominance (the middle Miocene). These new records of planktic d11B and d13C will then be used to guide simulations of astronomical climate forcing in Earth System models, resulting in refined estimates of pCO2 changes over orbital cycles and providing quantitative constraints on the mechanisms and feedbacks responsible for the

  13. Calcification rates of the Caribbean reef-building coral Siderastrea siderea adversely affected by both seawater warming and CO2-induced ocean acidification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horvath, K. M.; Connolly, B. D.; Westfield, I. T.; Chow, E.; Castillo, K. D.; Ries, J. B.

    2013-05-01

    The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that atmospheric pCO2 will increase to ca. 550-950 ppm by the end of the century, primarily due to the anthropogenic combustion of fossil fuels, deforestation, and cement production. This is predicted to cause SST to increase by 1-3 °C and seawater pH to decrease by 0.1-0.3 units. Laboratory studies have shown that warming depresses calcification rates of scleractinian corals and that acidification yields mixed effects on coral calcification. With both warming and ocean acidification predicted for the next century, we must constrain the interactive effects of these two CO2-induced stressors on scleractinian coral calcification. Here, we present the results of experiments designed to assess the response of the scleractinian coral Siderastrea siderea to both ocean warming and acidification. Coral fragments (12/tank) were reared for 60 days under three temperatures (25.1± 0.02 °C, 28.0± 0.02 °C, 31.8± 0.02 °C) at near modern pCO2 (436 ± 7) and near the highest IPCC estimate for atmospheric pCO2 for the year 2100 AD (883 ± 16). Each temperature and pCO2 treatment was executed in triplicate and contained similarly sized S. Siderea fragments obtained from the same suite of coral colonies equitably distributed amongst the nearshore, backreef, and forereef zones of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System off the coast of southern Belize. Individual coral fragments were hand fed Artemia sp. to satiation twice weekly. Weekly seawater samples (250 ml) were collected and analyzed for dissolved inorganic carbon via coulometry and total alkalinity via closed-cell potentiometric titration. Seawater pCO2, pH, carbonate ion concentration, bicarbonate ion concentration, aqueous CO2, and aragonite saturation state (ΩA) were calculated with the program CO2SYS. Under near-modern atmospheric pCO2 of ca. 436 ± 7 ppm, seawater warming from 25 to 28 to 32°C caused coral calcification rates (estimated from change in

  14. Seasonal Carbonate Chemistry Covariation with Temperature, Oxygen, and Salinity in a Fjord Estuary: Implications for the Design of Ocean Acidification Experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reum, Jonathan C. P.; Alin, Simone R.; Feely, Richard A.; Newton, Jan; Warner, Mark; McElhany, Paul

    2014-01-01

    Carbonate chemistry variability is often poorly characterized in coastal regions and patterns of covariation with other biologically important variables such as temperature, oxygen concentration, and salinity are rarely evaluated. This absence of information hampers the design and interpretation of ocean acidification experiments that aim to characterize biological responses to future pCO2 levels relative to contemporary conditions. Here, we analyzed a large carbonate chemistry data set from Puget Sound, a fjord estuary on the U.S. west coast, and included measurements from three seasons (winter, summer, and fall). pCO2 exceeded the 2008–2011 mean atmospheric level (392 µatm) at all depths and seasons sampled except for the near-surface waters (aragonite were widespread (Ωar<1). We show that pCO2 values were relatively uniform throughout the water column and across regions in winter, enriched in subsurface waters in summer, and in the fall some values exceeded 2500 µatm in near-surface waters. Carbonate chemistry covaried to differing levels with temperature and oxygen depending primarily on season and secondarily on region. Salinity, which varied little (27 to 31), was weakly correlated with carbonate chemistry. We illustrate potential high-frequency changes in carbonate chemistry, temperature, and oxygen conditions experienced simultaneously by organisms in Puget Sound that undergo diel vertical migrations under present-day conditions. We used simple calculations to estimate future pCO2 and Ωar values experienced by diel vertical migrators based on an increase in atmospheric CO2. Given the potential for non-linear interactions between pCO2 and other abiotic variables on physiological and ecological processes, our results provide a basis for identifying control conditions in ocean acidification experiments for this region, but also highlight the wide range of carbonate chemistry conditions organisms may currently experience in this and similar coastal

  15. Comparison of Interstitial Fluid pH, PCO2, PO2 with Venous Blood Values During Repetitive Handgrip Exercise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagan, Ronald Donald; Soller, Babs R.; Shear, Michael; Walz, Matthias; Landry, Michelle; Heard, Stephen

    2006-01-01

    We evaluated the use of a small, fiber optic sensor to measure pH, PCO2 and PO2 from forearm muscle interstitial fluid (IF) during handgrip dynamometry. PURPOSE: Compare pH, PCO2 and PO2 values obtained from venous blood with those from the IF of the flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) during three levels of exercise intensity. METHODS: Six subjects (5M/1F), average age 29+/-5 yrs, participated in the study. A venous catheter was placed in the retrograde direction in the antecubital space and a fiber optic sensor (Paratrend, Diametrics Medical, Inc.) was placed through a 22 G catheter into the FDS muscle under ultrasound guidance. After a 45 min rest period, subjects performed three 5-min bouts of repetitive handgrip exercise (2s contraction/1 s relaxation) at attempted levels of 15%, 30% and 45% of maximal voluntary contraction. The order of the exercise bouts was random with the second and third bouts started after blood lactate had returned to baseline. Venous blood was sampled every minute during exercise and analyzed with an I-Stat CG-4+ cartridge, while IF fiber optic sensor measurements were obtained every 2 s. Change from pre-exercise baseline to end of exercise was computed for pH, PCO2 and PO2. Blood and IF values were compared with a paired t-test. RESULTS: Baseline values for pH, PCO2 and PO2 were 7.37+/-0.02, 46+/-4 mm Hg, and 36+/-6 mm Hg respectively in blood and 7.39+/-0.02, 44+/-6 mm Hg, and 35+/-14 mm Hg in IF. Average changes over all exercise levels are noted in the Table below. For each parameter the exercise-induced change was at least twice as great in IF as in blood. In blood and IF, pH and PCO2 increases were directly related to exercise intensity. Change in venous PO2 was unrelated to exercise intensity, while IF PO2 decreased with increases in exercise intensity. CONCLUSIONS: Measurement of IF pH, PCO2 and PO2 is more sensitive to exercise intensity than measurement of the same parameters in venous blood and provides continuous

  16. Ocean-Atmosphere CO2 Fluxes in the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre: Association with Biochemical and Physical Factors during Spring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Macarena Burgos

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Sea surface partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2 was measured continuously in a transect of the North Atlantic subtropical gyre between Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (18.1° N, 68.5° W and Vigo, Spain (41.9° N, 11.8° W during spring 2011. Additional biogeochemical and physical variables measured to identify factors controlling the surface pCO2 were analyzed in discrete samples collected at 16 sites along the transect at the surface and to a depth of 200 m. Sea surface pCO2 varied between 309 and 662 μatm, and showed differences between the western and eastern subtropical gyre. The subtropical gyre acted as a net CO2 sink, with a mean flux of −5.5 ± 2.2 mmol m−2 day−1. The eastern part of the transect, close to the North Atlantic Iberian upwelling off the Galician coast, was a CO2 source with an average flux of 33.5 ± 9.0 mmol m−2 day−1. Our results highlight the importance of making more surface pCO2 observations in the area located east of the Azores Islands since air-sea CO2 fluxes there are poorly studied.

  17. Hurricane Arthur and its effect on the short-term variability of pCO2 on the Scotian Shelf, NW Atlantic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Lemay

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The understanding of the seasonal variability of carbon cycling on the Scotian Shelf in the NW Atlantic Ocean has improved in recent years; however, very little information is available regarding its short-term variability. In order to shed light on this aspect of carbon cycling on the Scotian Shelf we investigate the effects of Hurricane Arthur, which passed the region on 5 July 2014. The hurricane caused a substantial decline in the surface water partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2, even though the Scotian Shelf possesses CO2-rich deep waters. High-temporal-resolution data of moored autonomous instruments demonstrate that there is a distinct layer of relatively cold water with low dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC slightly above the thermocline, presumably due to a sustained population of phytoplankton. Strong storm-related wind mixing caused this cold intermediate layer with high phytoplankton biomass to be entrained into the surface mixed layer. At the surface, phytoplankton begin to grow more rapidly due to increased light. The combination of growth and the mixing of low DIC water led to a short-term reduction in the partial pressure of CO2 until wind speeds relaxed and allowed for the restratification of the upper water column. These hurricane-related processes caused a (net CO2 uptake by the Scotian Shelf region that is comparable to the spring bloom, thus exerting a major impact on the annual CO2 flux budget.

  18. Measurements of the total CO2 concentration and partial pressure of CO2 in seawater during WOCE expeditions in the South Pacific Ocean

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, T.; Goddard, J.G.; Chipman, D.W.; Rubin, S.I.

    1993-01-01

    During the first year of the grant, we participated in three WOCE expeditions (a total of 152 days at sea) in the South Pacific Ocean, and the field phase of the proposed investigation has been successfully completed. The total CO 2 concentration and pCO 2 were determined at sea in 4419 water samples collected at 422 stations. On the basis of the shipboard analyses of SIO Reference Solutions for CO, and a comparison with the results of previous expeditions, the overall precision of our total CO 2 determinations is estimated to be about ±2 uM/kg. The deep water data indicate that there is a CO 2 maximum centered about 2600 meters deep. This appears to represent a southward return flow from the North Pacific. The magnitude and distribution of the CO, maximum observed along the 135.0 degrees W meridian differ from those observed along the 150.5 degrees W meridian due to Tuamotu Archipelago, a topographic high which interferes with the southward return flow. The surface water pCO 2 data indicate that the South Pacific sub-tropical gyre water located between about 15 degrees S and 50 degrees S is a sink for atmospheric CO 2

  19. Response of Nodularia spumigena to pCO2 – Part 1: Growth, production and nitrogen cycling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Nausch

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Heterocystous cyanobacteria of the genus Nodularia form extensive blooms in the Baltic Sea and contribute substantially to the total annual primary production. Moreover, they dispense a large fraction of new nitrogen to the ecosystem when inorganic nitrogen concentration in summer is low. Thus, it is of ecological importance to know how Nodularia will react to future environmental changes, in particular to increasing carbon dioxide (CO2 concentrations and what consequences there might arise for cycling of organic matter in the Baltic Sea. Here, we determined carbon (C and dinitrogen (N2 fixation rates, growth, elemental stoichiometry of particulate organic matter and nitrogen turnover in batch cultures of the heterocystous cyanobacterium Nodularia spumigena under low (median 315 μatm, mid (median 353 μatm, and high (median 548 μatm CO2 concentrations. Our results demonstrate an overall stimulating effect of rising pCO2 on C and N2 fixation, as well as on cell growth. An increase in pCO2 during incubation days 0 to 9 resulted in an elevation in growth rate by 84 ± 38% (low vs. high pCO2 and 40 ± 25% (mid vs. high pCO2, as well as in N2 fixation by 93 ± 35% and 38 ± 1%, respectively. C uptake rates showed high standard deviations within treatments and in between sampling days. Nevertheless, C fixation in the high pCO2 treatment was elevated compared to the other two treatments by 97% (high vs. low and 44% (high vs. mid at day 0 and day 3, but this effect diminished afterwards. Additionally, elevation in carbon to nitrogen and nitrogen to phosphorus ratios of the particulate biomass formed (POC : POP and PON : POP was observed at high pCO2. Our findings suggest that rising pCO2 stimulates the growth of heterocystous diazotrophic cyanobacteria, in a similar way as reported for the non-heterocystous diazotroph Trichodesmium. Implications for biogeochemical cycling and food web dynamics, as well as ecological and socio-economical aspects in the

  20. Summer Distribution of Co2 Partial Pressure In The Ross Sea, Antarctica, and Relations With Biological Activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandrini, S.; Tositti, L.; Tubertini, O.; Ceradini, S.; Palucci, A.; Barbini, R.; Fantoni, R.; Colao, F.; Ferrari, G. M.

    The oceans play a key role in the processes responsible for global climate changes, in fact the oceanic uptake of anthropogenic atmospheric carbon dioxide is estimated to be 17-39The Southern Ocean and Antarctic marginal seas are considered to absorb up to half of this fraction. The Ross Sea, during the summer pack-ice melting, expe- riences rapid seasonal outgrowths, giving rise to phytoplankton blooms, especially in polynya areas near the coast line. This has a direct influence on pCO2 concentration in surface water, and hence on CO2 fluxes between ocean and atmosphere. Both the Ross Sea and the Southern Ocean transect between New Zealand and Antarctica are sys- tematically investigated during Italian Antarctic oceanographic campaigns onboard of the R/V Italica. During the XVI expedition, which took place in January and Febru- ary 2001, simultaneous measurements of surface pCO2 and Chlorophyll-a by laser remote-sensing apparatus were collected. Chlorophyll-a and pCO2 showed a general anticorrelation along the cruise. The survey has revealed the presence of high produc- tive regions in the polynya and close to the ice edge. The linear regression analysis of the chl-a vs pCO2 values improved our knowledge of the time evolution of the phyto- planktonic growth, independently measured by means of the laser yield, thus allowing for discrimination between different initial and final blooms in the Antarctic Ross Sea. The results obtained are here presented and discussed. They confirm the importance of biological production in the net absorption of atmospheric CO2 in continental shelf zones.

  1. The elemental composition of purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) calcite and potential effects of pCO2 during early life stages

    Science.gov (United States)

    LaVigne, M.; Hill, T. M.; Sanford, E.; Gaylord, B.; Russell, A. D.; Lenz, E. A.; Hosfelt, J. D.; Young, M. K.

    2013-06-01

    Ocean acidification will likely have negative impacts on invertebrates producing skeletons composed of calcium carbonate. Skeletal solubility is partly controlled by the incorporation of "foreign" ions (e.g. magnesium) into the crystal lattice of these skeletal structures, a process that is sensitive to a variety of biological and environmental factors. Here we explore effects of life stage, oceanographic region of origin, and changes in the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in seawater (pCO2) on trace elemental composition in the purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus). We show that, similar to other urchin taxa, adult purple sea urchins have the ability to precipitate skeleton composed of a range of biominerals spanning low- to high-Mg calcites. Mg / Ca and Sr / Ca ratios were substantially lower in adult spines compared to adult tests. On the other hand, trace elemental composition was invariant among adults collected from four oceanographically distinct regions spanning a range of carbonate chemistry conditions (Oregon, Northern California, Central California, and Southern California). Skeletons of newly settled juvenile urchins that originated from adults from the four regions exhibited intermediate Mg / Ca and Sr / Ca between adult spine and test endmembers, indicating that skeleton precipitated during early life stages is more soluble than adult spines and less soluble than adult tests. Mean skeletal Mg / Ca or Sr / Ca of juvenile skeleton did not vary with source region when larvae were reared under present-day, global-average seawater carbonate conditions (400 μatm; pHT = 8.02 ± 0.03 1 SD; Ωcalcite = 3.3 ± 0.2 1 SD). However, when reared under elevated pCO2 (900 μatm; pHT = 7.73 ± 0.03; Ωcalcite = 1.8 ± 0.1), skeletal Sr / Ca in juveniles exhibited increased variance across the four regions. Although larvae from the northern populations (Oregon, Northern California, Central California) did not exhibit differences in Mg or Sr

  2. The elemental composition of purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus calcite and potential effects of pCO2 during early life stages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. LaVigne

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Ocean acidification will likely have negative impacts on invertebrates producing skeletons composed of calcium carbonate. Skeletal solubility is partly controlled by the incorporation of "foreign" ions (e.g. magnesium into the crystal lattice of these skeletal structures, a process that is sensitive to a variety of biological and environmental factors. Here we explore effects of life stage, oceanographic region of origin, and changes in the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in seawater (pCO2 on trace elemental composition in the purple sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. We show that, similar to other urchin taxa, adult purple sea urchins have the ability to precipitate skeleton composed of a range of biominerals spanning low- to high-Mg calcites. Mg / Ca and Sr / Ca ratios were substantially lower in adult spines compared to adult tests. On the other hand, trace elemental composition was invariant among adults collected from four oceanographically distinct regions spanning a range of carbonate chemistry conditions (Oregon, Northern California, Central California, and Southern California. Skeletons of newly settled juvenile urchins that originated from adults from the four regions exhibited intermediate Mg / Ca and Sr / Ca between adult spine and test endmembers, indicating that skeleton precipitated during early life stages is more soluble than adult spines and less soluble than adult tests. Mean skeletal Mg / Ca or Sr / Ca of juvenile skeleton did not vary with source region when larvae were reared under present-day, global-average seawater carbonate conditions (400 μatm; pHT = 8.02 ± 0.03 1 SD; Ωcalcite = 3.3 ± 0.2 1 SD. However, when reared under elevated pCO2 (900 μatm; pHT = 7.73 ± 0.03; Ωcalcite = 1.8 ± 0.1, skeletal Sr / Ca in juveniles exhibited increased variance across the four regions. Although larvae from the northern populations (Oregon, Northern California, Central California did not exhibit differences in Mg or Sr

  3. Ocean acidification reduces growth and calcification in a marine dinoflagellate.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dedmer B Van de Waal

    Full Text Available Ocean acidification is considered a major threat to marine ecosystems and may particularly affect calcifying organisms such as corals, foraminifera and coccolithophores. Here we investigate the impact of elevated pCO2 and lowered pH on growth and calcification in the common calcareous dinoflagellate Thoracosphaera heimii. We observe a substantial reduction in growth rate, calcification and cyst stability of T. heimii under elevated pCO2. Furthermore, transcriptomic analyses reveal CO2 sensitive regulation of many genes, particularly those being associated to inorganic carbon acquisition and calcification. Stable carbon isotope fractionation for organic carbon production increased with increasing pCO2 whereas it decreased for calcification, which suggests interdependence between both processes. We also found a strong effect of pCO2 on the stable oxygen isotopic composition of calcite, in line with earlier observations concerning another T. heimii strain. The observed changes in stable oxygen and carbon isotope composition of T. heimii cysts may provide an ideal tool for reconstructing past seawater carbonate chemistry, and ultimately past pCO2. Although the function of calcification in T. heimii remains unresolved, this trait likely plays an important role in the ecological and evolutionary success of this species. Acting on calcification as well as growth, ocean acidification may therefore impose a great threat for T. heimii.

  4. Effects of ocean acidification increase embryonic sensitivity to thermal extremes in Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dahlke, Flemming T; Leo, Elettra; Mark, Felix C; Pörtner, Hans-Otto; Bickmeyer, Ulf; Frickenhaus, Stephan; Storch, Daniela

    2017-04-01

    Thermal tolerance windows serve as a powerful tool for estimating the vulnerability of marine species and their life stages to increasing temperature means and extremes. However, it remains uncertain to which extent additional drivers, such as ocean acidification, modify organismal responses to temperature. This study investigated the effects of CO 2 -driven ocean acidification on embryonic thermal sensitivity and performance in Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, from the Kattegat. Fertilized eggs were exposed to factorial combinations of two PCO 2 conditions (400 μatm vs. 1100 μatm) and five temperature treatments (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 °C), which allow identifying both lower and upper thermal tolerance thresholds. We quantified hatching success, oxygen consumption (MO 2 ) and mitochondrial functioning of embryos as well as larval morphometrics at hatch and the abundance of acid-base-relevant ionocytes on the yolk sac epithelium of newly hatched larvae. Hatching success was high under ambient spawning conditions (3-6 °C), but decreased towards both cold and warm temperature extremes. Elevated PCO 2 caused a significant decrease in hatching success, particularly at cold (3 and 0 °C) and warm (12 °C) temperatures. Warming imposed limitations to MO 2 and mitochondrial capacities. Elevated PCO 2 stimulated MO 2 at cold and intermediate temperatures, but exacerbated warming-induced constraints on MO 2 , indicating a synergistic interaction with temperature. Mitochondrial functioning was not affected by PCO 2 . Increased MO 2 in response to elevated PCO 2 was paralleled by reduced larval size at hatch. Finally, ionocyte abundance decreased with increasing temperature, but did not differ between PCO 2 treatments. Our results demonstrate increased thermal sensitivity of cod embryos under future PCO 2 conditions and suggest that acclimation to elevated PCO 2 requires reallocation of limited resources at the expense of embryonic growth. We conclude that ocean acidification

  5. Underway pCO2 Measurements in Surface Waters and the Atmosphere During the CGC Healy 2016 Expeditions (NCEI Accession 0166631)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0166631 includes Surface underway data collected from CGC Healy in the North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea and Arctic Ocean from 2016-06-30...

  6. Transcriptomic response of the Antarctic pteropod Limacina helicina antarctica to ocean acidification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Kevin M; Hofmann, Gretchen E

    2017-10-23

    Ocean acidification (OA), a change in ocean chemistry due to the absorption of atmospheric CO 2 into surface oceans, challenges biogenic calcification in many marine organisms. Ocean acidification is expected to rapidly progress in polar seas, with regions of the Southern Ocean expected to experience severe OA within decades. Biologically, the consequences of OA challenge calcification processes and impose an energetic cost. In order to better characterize the response of a polar calcifier to conditions of OA, we assessed differential gene expression in the Antarctic pteropod, Limacina helicina antarctica. Experimental levels of pCO 2 were chosen to create both contemporary pH conditions, and to mimic future pH expected in OA scenarios. Significant changes in the transcriptome were observed when juvenile L. h. antarctica were acclimated for 21 days to low-pH (7.71), mid-pH (7.9) or high-pH (8.13) conditions. Differential gene expression analysis of individuals maintained in the low-pH treatment identified down-regulation of genes involved in cytoskeletal structure, lipid transport, and metabolism. High pH exposure led to increased expression and enrichment for genes involved in shell formation, calcium ion binding, and DNA binding. Significant differential gene expression was observed in four major cellular and physiological processes: shell formation, the cellular stress response, metabolism, and neural function. Across these functional groups, exposure to conditions that mimic ocean acidification led to rapid suppression of gene expression. Results of this study demonstrated that the transcriptome of the juvenile pteropod, L. h. antarctica, was dynamic and changed in response to different levels of pCO 2 . In a global change context, exposure of L. h. antarctica to the low pH, high pCO 2 OA conditions resulted in a suppression of transcripts for genes involved in key physiological processes: calcification, metabolism, and the cellular stress response. The

  7. Early detection of cardiac ischemia using a conductometric pCO2 sensor: real-time drift correction and parameterization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tronstad, Christian; Martinsen, Ørjan G; Grimnes, Sverre; Pischke, Soeren E; Holhjem, Lars; Tønnessen, Tor Inge

    2010-01-01

    For detection of cardiac ischemia based on regional pCO 2 measurement, sensor drift becomes a problem when monitoring over several hours. A real-time drift correction algorithm was developed based on utilization of the time-derivative to distinguish between physiological responses and the drift, customized by measurements from a myocardial infarction porcine model (6 pigs, 23 sensors). IscAlert(TM) conductometric pCO 2 sensors were placed in the myocardial regions supplied by the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) and the left circumflex artery (LCX) while the LAD artery was fully occluded for 1, 3, 5 and 15 min leading to ischemia in the LAD-dependent region. The measured pCO 2 , the drift-corrected pCO 2 (ΔpCO 2 ) and its time-derivative (TDpCO 2 ) were compared with respect to detection ability. Baseline stability in the ΔpCO 2 led to earlier, more accurate detection. The TDpCO 2 featured the earliest sensitivity, but with a lower specificity. Combining ΔpCO 2 and TDpCO 2 enables increased accuracy. Suggestions are given for the utilization of the parameters for an automated early warning and alarming system. In conclusion, early detection of cardiac ischemia is feasible using the conductometric pCO 2 sensor together with parameterization methods

  8. Impact of ocean acidification on the early development and escape behavior of marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Xiaojie; Song, Lulu; Chen, Yi; Ran, Haoyu; Song, Jiakun

    2017-10-01

    Ocean acidification is predicted to affect a wide diversity of marine organisms. However, no studies have reported the effects of ocean acidification on Indian Ocean fish. We have used the Indian Ocean medaka (Oryzias melastigma) as a model species for a marine fish that lives in coastal waters. We investigated the impact of ocean acidification on the embryonic development and the stereotyped escape behavior (mediated by the Mauthner cell) in newly hatched larvae. Newly fertilized eggs of medaka were reared in seawater at three different partial pressures of carbon dioxide (pCO 2 ): control at 450 μatm, moderate at 1160 μatm, and high at 1783 μatm. Hatch rates, embryonic duration, and larval malformation rates were compared and were not significantly different between the treatments and the control. In the high pCO 2 group, however, the yolks of larvae were significantly smaller than in the control group, and the newly hatched larvae were significantly longer than the larvae in the control. In the moderate pCO 2 group, the eye distance decreased significantly. No significantly negative growth effects were observed in the larvae when exposed to pCO 2 levels that are predicted as a result of ocean acidification in the next 100-200 years. Larvae reared under control conditions readily produced C-start escape behavior to mechanosensory stimuli; however, in the moderate and high pCO 2 experimental groups, the probabilities of C-start were significantly lower than those of the control group. Therefore, the sensory integration needed for the C-start escape behavior appears to be vulnerable to ocean acidification. Altered behavior in marine larval fish, particularly behaviors involved in escape from predation, could have potentially negative implications to fish populations, and, further, to the marine ecosystems at the levels of CO 2 projected for the future. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Response of halocarbons to ocean acidification in the Arctic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. E. Hopkins

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The potential effect of ocean acidification (OA on seawater halocarbons in the Arctic was investigated during a mesocosm experiment in Spitsbergen in June–July 2010. Over a period of 5 weeks, natural phytoplankton communities in nine ~ 50 m3 mesocosms were studied under a range of pCO2 treatments from ~ 185 μatm to ~ 1420 μatm. In general, the response of halocarbons to pCO2 was subtle, or undetectable. A large number of significant correlations with a range of biological parameters (chlorophyll a, microbial plankton community, phytoplankton pigments were identified, indicating a biological control on the concentrations of halocarbons within the mesocosms. The temporal dynamics of iodomethane (CH3I alluded to active turnover of this halocarbon in the mesocosms and strong significant correlations with biological parameters suggested a biological source. However, despite a pCO2 effect on various components of the plankton community, and a strong association between CH3I and biological parameters, no effect of pCO2 was seen in CH3I. Diiodomethane (CH2I2 displayed a number of strong relationships with biological parameters. Furthermore, the concentrations, the rate of net production and the sea-to-air flux of CH2I2 showed a significant positive response to pCO2. There was no clear effect of pCO2 on bromocarbon concentrations or dynamics. However, periods of significant net loss of bromoform (CHBr3 were found to be concentration-dependent, and closely correlated with total bacteria, suggesting a degree of biological consumption of this halocarbon in Arctic waters. Although the effects of OA on halocarbon concentrations were marginal, this study provides invaluable information on the production and cycling of halocarbons in a region of the world's oceans likely to experience rapid environmental change in the coming decades.

  10. Respiration of Mediterranean cold-water corals is not affected by ocean acidification as projected for the end of the century

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maier, C.; Bils, F.; Weinbauer, M. G.; Watremez, P.; Peck, M. A.; Gattuso, J.-P.

    2013-08-01

    The rise of CO2 has been identified as a major threat to life in the ocean. About one-third of the anthropogenic CO2 produced in the last 200 yr has been taken up by the ocean, leading to ocean acidification. Surface seawater pH is projected to decrease by about 0.4 units between the pre-industrial revolution and 2100. The branching cold-water corals Madrepora oculata and Lophelia pertusa are important, habitat-forming species in the deep Mediterranean Sea. Although previous research has investigated the abundance and distribution of these species, little is known regarding their ecophysiology and potential responses to global environmental change. A previous study indicated that the rate of calcification of these two species remained constant up to 1000 μatm CO2, a value that is at the upper end of changes projected to occur by 2100. We examined whether the ability to maintain calcification rates in the face of rising pCO2 affected the energetic requirements of these corals. Over the course of three months, rates of respiration were measured at a pCO2 ranging between 350 and 1100 μatm to distinguish between short-term response and longer-term acclimation. Respiration rates ranged from 0.074 to 0.266 μmol O2 (g skeletal dry weight)-1 h-1 and 0.095 to 0.725 μmol O2 (g skeletal dry weight)-1 h-1 for L. pertusa and M. oculata, respectively, and were independent of pCO2. Respiration increased with time likely due to regular feeding, which may have provided an increased energy supply to sustain coral metabolism. Future studies are needed to confirm whether the insensitivity of respiration to increasing pCO2 is a general feature of deep-sea corals in other regions.

  11. Respiration of Mediterranean cold-water corals is not affected by ocean acidification as projected for the end of the century

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Maier

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available The rise of CO2 has been identified as a major threat to life in the ocean. About one-third of the anthropogenic CO2 produced in the last 200 yr has been taken up by the ocean, leading to ocean acidification. Surface seawater pH is projected to decrease by about 0.4 units between the pre-industrial revolution and 2100. The branching cold-water corals Madrepora oculata and Lophelia pertusa are important, habitat-forming species in the deep Mediterranean Sea. Although previous research has investigated the abundance and distribution of these species, little is known regarding their ecophysiology and potential responses to global environmental change. A previous study indicated that the rate of calcification of these two species remained constant up to 1000 μatm CO2, a value that is at the upper end of changes projected to occur by 2100. We examined whether the ability to maintain calcification rates in the face of rising pCO2 affected the energetic requirements of these corals. Over the course of three months, rates of respiration were measured at a pCO2 ranging between 350 and 1100 μatm to distinguish between short-term response and longer-term acclimation. Respiration rates ranged from 0.074 to 0.266 μmol O2 (g skeletal dry weight−1 h−1 and 0.095 to 0.725 μmol O2 (g skeletal dry weight−1 h−1 for L. pertusa and M. oculata, respectively, and were independent of pCO2. Respiration increased with time likely due to regular feeding, which may have provided an increased energy supply to sustain coral metabolism. Future studies are needed to confirm whether the insensitivity of respiration to increasing pCO2 is a general feature of deep-sea corals in other regions.

  12. The Seasonal Cycle of Carbon in the Southern Pacific Ocean Observed from Biogeochemical Profiling Floats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarmiento, J. L.; Gray, A. R.; Johnson, K. S.; Carter, B.; Riser, S.; Talley, L. D.; Williams, N. L.

    2016-02-01

    The Southern Ocean is thought to play an important role in the ocean-atmosphere exchange of carbon dioxide and the uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide. However, the total number of observations of the carbonate system in this region is small and heavily biased towards the summer. Here we present 1.5 years of biogeochemical measurements, including pH, oxygen, and nitrate, collected by 11 autonomous profiling floats deployed in the Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean in April 2014. These floats sampled a variety of oceanographic regimes ranging from the seasonally ice-covered zone to the subtropical gyre. Using an algorithm trained with bottle measurements, alkalinity is estimated from salinity, temperature, and oxygen and then used together with the measured pH to calculate total carbon dioxide and pCO2 in the upper 1500 dbar. The seasonal cycle in the biogeochemical quantities is examined, and the factors governing pCO2 in the surface waters are analyzed. The mechanisms driving the seasonal cycle of carbon are further investigated by computing budgets of heat, carbon, and nitrogen in the mixed layer. Comparing the different regimes sampled by the floats demonstrates the complex and variable nature of the carbon cycle in the Southern Ocean.

  13. Effects of ocean acidification on trace element accumulation in the early-life stages of squid Loligo vulgaris

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lacoue-Labarthe, T.; Reveillac, E.; Oberhaensli, F.; Teyssie, J.L.; Jeffree, R.; Gattuso, J.P.

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → We study radiotracer uptake in squid embryo and paralarvae under relevant pCO 2 . → We examine metal distribution and concentration factors in egg compartments. → Increasing pCO 2 affects eggshell shielding properties and metal uptake in animals. → Chemical signature in statoliths is modified by higher Zn incorporation under high pCO 2 . → Both element chemical properties and embryo physiology could account for the observed effects. - Abstract: The anthropogenic release of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) into the atmosphere leads to an increase in the CO 2 partial pressure (pCO 2 ) in the ocean, which may reach 950 μatm by the end of the 21st century. The resulting hypercapnia (high pCO 2 ) and decreasing pH ('ocean acidification') are expected to have appreciable effects on water-breathing organisms, especially on their early-life stages. For organisms like squid that lay their eggs in coastal areas where the embryo and then paralarva are also exposed to metal contamination, there is a need for information on how ocean acidification may influence trace element bioaccumulation during their development. In this study, we investigated the effects of enhanced levels of pCO 2 (380, 850 and 1500 μatm corresponding to pH T of 8.1, 7.85 and 7.60) on the accumulation of dissolved 110m Ag, 109 Cd, 57 Co, 203 Hg, 54 Mn and 65 Zn radiotracers in the whole egg strand and in the different compartments of the egg of Loligo vulgaris during the embryonic development and also in hatchlings during their first days of paralarval life. Retention properties of the eggshell for 110m Ag, 203 Hg and 65 Zn were affected by the pCO 2 treatments. In the embryo, increasing seawater pCO 2 enhanced the uptake of both 110m Ag and 65 Zn while 203 Hg showed a minimum concentration factor (CF) at the intermediate pCO 2 . 65 Zn incorporation in statoliths also increased with increasing pCO 2 . Conversely, uptake of 109 Cd and 54 Mn in the embryo decreased as a function of increasing

  14. The role of nutricline depth in regulating the ocean carbon cycle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cermeño, Pedro; Dutkiewicz, Stephanie; Harris, Roger P; Follows, Mick; Schofield, Oscar; Falkowski, Paul G

    2008-12-23

    Carbon uptake by marine phytoplankton, and its export as organic matter to the ocean interior (i.e., the "biological pump"), lowers the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO(2)) in the upper ocean and facilitates the diffusive drawdown of atmospheric CO(2). Conversely, precipitation of calcium carbonate by marine planktonic calcifiers such as coccolithophorids increases pCO(2) and promotes its outgassing (i.e., the "alkalinity pump"). Over the past approximately 100 million years, these two carbon fluxes have been modulated by the relative abundance of diatoms and coccolithophores, resulting in biological feedback on atmospheric CO(2) and Earth's climate; yet, the processes determining the relative distribution of these two phytoplankton taxa remain poorly understood. We analyzed phytoplankton community composition in the Atlantic Ocean and show that the distribution of diatoms and coccolithophorids is correlated with the nutricline depth, a proxy of nutrient supply to the upper mixed layer of the ocean. Using this analysis in conjunction with a coupled atmosphere-ocean intermediate complexity model, we predict a dramatic reduction in the nutrient supply to the euphotic layer in the coming century as a result of increased thermal stratification. Our findings indicate that, by altering phytoplankton community composition, this causal relationship may lead to a decreased efficiency of the biological pump in sequestering atmospheric CO(2), implying a positive feedback in the climate system. These results provide a mechanistic basis for understanding the connection between upper ocean dynamics, the calcium carbonate-to-organic C production ratio and atmospheric pCO(2) variations on time scales ranging from seasonal cycles to geological transitions.

  15. Independence of nutrient limitation and carbon dioxide impacts on the Southern Ocean coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, Marius N; Trull, Thomas W; Hallegraeff, Gustaaf M

    2017-08-01

    Future oceanic conditions induced by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions include warming, acidification and reduced nutrient supply due to increased stratification. Some parts of the Southern Ocean are expected to show rapid changes, especially for carbonate mineral saturation. Here we compare the physiological response of the model coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi (strain EHSO 5.14, originating from 50 o S, 149 o E) with pH/CO 2 gradients (mimicking ocean acidification ranging from 1 to 4 × current pCO 2 levels) under nutrient-limited (nitrogen and phosphorus) and -replete conditions. Both nutrient limitations decreased per cell photosynthesis (particulate organic carbon (POC) production) and calcification (particulate inorganic carbon (PIC) production) rates for all pCO 2 levels, with more than 50% reductions under nitrogen limitation. These impacts, however, became indistinguishable from nutrient-replete conditions when normalized to cell volume. Calcification decreased three-fold and linearly with increasing pCO 2 under all nutrient conditions, and was accompanied by a smaller ~30% nonlinear reduction in POC production, manifested mainly above 3 × current pCO 2 . Our results suggest that normalization to cell volume allows the major impacts of nutrient limitation (changed cell sizes and reduced PIC and POC production rates) to be treated independently of the major impacts of increasing pCO 2 and, additionally, stresses the importance of including cell volume measurements to the toolbox of standard physiological analysis of coccolithophores in field and laboratory studies.

  16. NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of Ocean Near Surface Atmospheric Properties, Version 2

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Ocean Surface Bundle (OSB) Climate Data Record (CDR) consist of three parts: sea surface temperature; near-surface wind speed, air temperature, and specific...

  17. Seasonal carbonate chemistry covariation with temperature, oxygen, and salinity in a fjord estuary: implications for the design of ocean acidification experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reum, Jonathan C P; Alin, Simone R; Feely, Richard A; Newton, Jan; Warner, Mark; McElhany, Paul

    2014-01-01

    Carbonate chemistry variability is often poorly characterized in coastal regions and patterns of covariation with other biologically important variables such as temperature, oxygen concentration, and salinity are rarely evaluated. This absence of information hampers the design and interpretation of ocean acidification experiments that aim to characterize biological responses to future pCO2 levels relative to contemporary conditions. Here, we analyzed a large carbonate chemistry data set from Puget Sound, a fjord estuary on the U.S. west coast, and included measurements from three seasons (winter, summer, and fall). pCO2 exceeded the 2008-2011 mean atmospheric level (392 µatm) at all depths and seasons sampled except for the near-surface waters (Salinity, which varied little (27 to 31), was weakly correlated with carbonate chemistry. We illustrate potential high-frequency changes in carbonate chemistry, temperature, and oxygen conditions experienced simultaneously by organisms in Puget Sound that undergo diel vertical migrations under present-day conditions. We used simple calculations to estimate future pCO2 and Ωar values experienced by diel vertical migrators based on an increase in atmospheric CO2. Given the potential for non-linear interactions between pCO2 and other abiotic variables on physiological and ecological processes, our results provide a basis for identifying control conditions in ocean acidification experiments for this region, but also highlight the wide range of carbonate chemistry conditions organisms may currently experience in this and similar coastal ecosystems.

  18. Seasonal carbonate chemistry covariation with temperature, oxygen, and salinity in a fjord estuary: implications for the design of ocean acidification experiments.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan C P Reum

    Full Text Available Carbonate chemistry variability is often poorly characterized in coastal regions and patterns of covariation with other biologically important variables such as temperature, oxygen concentration, and salinity are rarely evaluated. This absence of information hampers the design and interpretation of ocean acidification experiments that aim to characterize biological responses to future pCO2 levels relative to contemporary conditions. Here, we analyzed a large carbonate chemistry data set from Puget Sound, a fjord estuary on the U.S. west coast, and included measurements from three seasons (winter, summer, and fall. pCO2 exceeded the 2008-2011 mean atmospheric level (392 µatm at all depths and seasons sampled except for the near-surface waters (< 10 m in the summer. Further, undersaturated conditions with respect to the biogenic carbonate mineral aragonite were widespread (Ωar<1. We show that pCO2 values were relatively uniform throughout the water column and across regions in winter, enriched in subsurface waters in summer, and in the fall some values exceeded 2500 µatm in near-surface waters. Carbonate chemistry covaried to differing levels with temperature and oxygen depending primarily on season and secondarily on region. Salinity, which varied little (27 to 31, was weakly correlated with carbonate chemistry. We illustrate potential high-frequency changes in carbonate chemistry, temperature, and oxygen conditions experienced simultaneously by organisms in Puget Sound that undergo diel vertical migrations under present-day conditions. We used simple calculations to estimate future pCO2 and Ωar values experienced by diel vertical migrators based on an increase in atmospheric CO2. Given the potential for non-linear interactions between pCO2 and other abiotic variables on physiological and ecological processes, our results provide a basis for identifying control conditions in ocean acidification experiments for this region, but also highlight

  19. Ocean acidification alleviates low-temperature effects on growth and photosynthesis of the red alga Neosiphonia harveyi (Rhodophyta).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olischläger, Mark; Wiencke, Christian

    2013-12-01

    This study aimed to examine interactive effects between ocean acidification and temperature on the photosynthetic and growth performance of Neosiphonia harveyi. N. harveyi was cultivated at 10 and 17.5 °C at present (~380 µatm), expected future (~800 µatm), and high (~1500 µatm) pCO2. Chlorophyll a fluorescence, net photosynthesis, and growth were measured. The state of the carbon-concentrating mechanism (CCM) was examined by pH-drift experiments (with algae cultivated at 10 °C only) using ethoxyzolamide, an inhibitor of external and internal carbonic anhydrases (exCA and intCA, respectively). Furthermore, the inhibitory effect of acetazolamide (an inhibitor of exCA) and Tris (an inhibitor of the acidification of the diffusive boundary layer) on net photosynthesis was measured at both temperatures. Temperature affected photosynthesis (in terms of photosynthetic efficiency, light saturation point, and net photosynthesis) and growth at present pCO2, but these effects decreased with increasing pCO2. The relevance of the CCM decreased at 10 °C. A pCO2 effect on the CCM could only be shown if intCA and exCA were inhibited. The experiments demonstrate for the first time interactions between ocean acidification and temperature on the performance of a non-calcifying macroalga and show that the effects of low temperature on photosynthesis can be alleviated by increasing pCO2. The findings indicate that the carbon acquisition mediated by exCA and acidification of the diffusive boundary layer decrease at low temperatures but are not affected by the cultivation level of pCO2, whereas the activity of intCA is affected by pCO2. Ecologically, the findings suggest that ocean acidification might affect the biogeographical distribution of N. harveyi.

  20. Characterisation and deployment of an immobilised pH sensor spot towards surface ocean pH measurements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clarke, Jennifer S; Achterberg, Eric P; Rérolle, Victoire M C; Abi Kaed Bey, Samer; Floquet, Cedric F A; Mowlem, Matthew C

    2015-10-15

    The oceans are a major sink for anthropogenic atmospheric carbon dioxide, and the uptake causes changes to the marine carbonate system and has wide ranging effects on flora and fauna. It is crucial to develop analytical systems that allow us to follow the increase in oceanic pCO2 and corresponding reduction in pH. Miniaturised sensor systems using immobilised fluorescence indicator spots are attractive for this purpose because of their simple design and low power requirements. The technology is increasingly used for oceanic dissolved oxygen measurements. We present a detailed method on the use of immobilised fluorescence indicator spots to determine pH in ocean waters across the pH range 7.6-8.2. We characterised temperature (-0.046 pH/°C from 5 to 25 °C) and salinity dependences (-0.01 pH/psu over 5-35), and performed a preliminary investigation into the influence of chlorophyll on the pH measurement. The apparent pKa of the sensor spots was 6.93 at 20 °C. A drift of 0.00014 R (ca. 0.0004 pH, at 25 °C, salinity 35) was observed over a 3 day period in a laboratory based drift experiment. We achieved a precision of 0.0074 pH units, and observed a drift of 0.06 pH units during a test deployment of 5 week duration in the Southern Ocean as an underway surface ocean sensor, which was corrected for using certified reference materials. The temperature and salinity dependences were accounted for with the algorithm, R=0.00034-0.17·pH+0.15·S(2)+0.0067·T-0.0084·S·1.075. This study provides a first step towards a pH optode system suitable for autonomous deployment. The use of a short duration low power illumination (LED current 0.2 mA, 5 μs illumination time) improved the lifetime and precision of the spot. Further improvements to the pH indicator spot operations include regular application of certified reference materials for drift correction and cross-calibration against a spectrophotometric pH system. Desirable future developments should involve novel

  1. Simulation Tool for GNSS Ocean Surface Reflections

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Høeg, Per; von Benzon, Hans-Henrik; Durgonics, Tibor

    2015-01-01

    GNSS coherent and incoherent reflected signals have the potential of deriving large scale parameters of ocean surfaces, as barotropic variability, eddy currents and fronts, Rossby waves, coastal upwelling, mean ocean surfaceheights, and patterns of the general ocean circulation. In the reflection...... zone the measurements may deriveparameters as sea surface roughness, winds, waves, heights and tilts from the spectral measurements. Previous measurements from the top of mountains and airplanes have shown such results leading.The coming satellite missions, CYGNSS, COSMIC-2, and GEROS...

  2. A neural network-based estimate of the seasonal to inter-annual variability of the Atlantic Ocean carbon sink

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Landschützer, P.; Gruber, N.; Bakker, D.C.E.

    2013-01-01

    The Atlantic Ocean is one of the most important sinks for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), but this sink is known to vary substantially in time. Here we use surface ocean CO2 observations to estimate this sink and the temporal variability from 1998 to 2007 in the Atlantic Ocean. We benefit from ......, leading to a substantial trend toward a stronger CO2 sink for the entire South Atlantic (–0.14 Pg C yr–1 decade–1). The Atlantic carbon sink varies relatively little on inter-annual time-scales (±0.04 Pg C yr–1; 1σ)......The Atlantic Ocean is one of the most important sinks for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2), but this sink is known to vary substantially in time. Here we use surface ocean CO2 observations to estimate this sink and the temporal variability from 1998 to 2007 in the Atlantic Ocean. We benefit from (i...... poleward of 40° N, but many other parts of the North Atlantic increased more slowly, resulting in a barely changing Atlantic carbon sink north of the equator (–0.007 Pg C yr–1 decade–1). Surface ocean pCO2 was also increasing less than that of the atmosphere over most of the Atlantic south of the equator...

  3. Impact of ocean acidification and warming on the productivity of a rock pool community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Legrand, Erwann; Riera, Pascal; Bohner, Olivier; Coudret, Jérôme; Schlicklin, Ferdinand; Derrien, Marie; Martin, Sophie

    2018-05-01

    This study examined experimentally the combined effect of ocean acidification and warming on the productivity of rock pool multi-specific assemblages, composed of coralline algae, fleshy algae, and grazers. Natural rock pool communities experience high environmental fluctuations. This may confer physiological advantage to rock pool communities when facing predicted acidification and warming. The effect of ocean acidification and warming have been assessed at both individual and assemblage level to examine the importance of species interactions in the response of assemblages. We hypothesized that rock pool assemblages have physiological advantage when facing predicted ocean acidification and warming. Species exhibited species-specific responses to increased temperature and pCO 2 . Increased temperature and pCO 2 have no effect on assemblage photosynthesis, which was mostly influenced by fleshy algal primary production. The response of coralline algae to ocean acidification and warming depended on the season, which evidenced the importance of physiological adaptations to their environment in their response to climate change. We suggest that rock pool assemblages are relatively robust to changes in temperature and pCO 2 , in terms of primary production. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Ocean Warming and CO2-Induced Acidification Impact the Lipid Content of a Marine Predatory Gastropod

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roselyn Valles-Regino

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Ocean warming and acidification are current global environmental challenges impacting aquatic organisms. A shift in conditions outside the optimal environmental range for marine species is likely to generate stress that could impact metabolic activity, with consequences for the biosynthesis of marine lipids. The aim of this study was to investigate differences in the lipid content of Dicathais orbita exposed to current and predicted future climate change scenarios. The whelks were exposed to a combination of temperature and CO2-induced acidification treatments in controlled flowthrough seawater mesocosms for 35 days. Under current conditions, D. orbita foot tissue has an average of 6 mg lipid/g tissue, but at predicted future ocean temperatures, the total lipid content dropped significantly, to almost half. The fatty acid composition is dominated by polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA 52% with an n-3:6 fatty acid ratio of almost 2, which remains unchanged under future ocean conditions. However, we detected an interactive effect of temperature and pCO2 on the % PUFAs and n-3 and n-6 fatty acids were significantly reduced by elevated water temperature, while both the saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids were significantly reduced under increased pCO2 acidifying conditions. The present study indicates the potential for relatively small predicted changes in ocean conditions to reduce lipid reserves and alter the fatty acid composition of a predatory marine mollusc. This has potential implications for the growth and survivorship of whelks under future conditions, but only minimal implications for human consumption of D. orbita as nutritional seafood are predicted.

  5. Biogeochemical modelling of dissolved oxygen in a changing ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrews, Oliver; Buitenhuis, Erik; Le Quéré, Corinne; Suntharalingam, Parvadha

    2017-08-01

    Secular decreases in dissolved oxygen concentration have been observed within the tropical oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) and at mid- to high latitudes over the last approximately 50 years. Earth system model projections indicate that a reduction in the oxygen inventory of the global ocean, termed ocean deoxygenation, is a likely consequence of on-going anthropogenic warming. Current models are, however, unable to consistently reproduce the observed trends and variability of recent decades, particularly within the established tropical OMZs. Here, we conduct a series of targeted hindcast model simulations using a state-of-the-art global ocean biogeochemistry model in order to explore and review biases in model distributions of oceanic oxygen. We show that the largest magnitude of uncertainty is entrained into ocean oxygen response patterns due to model parametrization of pCO2-sensitive C : N ratios in carbon fixation and imposed atmospheric forcing data. Inclusion of a pCO2-sensitive C : N ratio drives historical oxygen depletion within the ocean interior due to increased organic carbon export and subsequent remineralization. Atmospheric forcing is shown to influence simulated interannual variability in ocean oxygen, particularly due to differences in imposed variability of wind stress and heat fluxes. This article is part of the themed issue 'Ocean ventilation and deoxygenation in a warming world'.

  6. A direct CO2 control system for ocean acidification experiments: testing effects on the coralline red algae Phymatolithon lusitanicum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Sordo

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Most ocean acidification (OA experimental systems rely on pH as an indirect way to control CO2. However, accurate pH measurements are difficult to obtain and shifts in temperature and/or salinity alter the relationship between pH and pCO2. Here we describe a system in which the target pCO2 is controlled via direct analysis of pCO2 in seawater. This direct type of control accommodates potential temperature and salinity shifts, as the target variable is directly measured instead of being estimated. Water in a header tank is permanently re-circulated through an air-water equilibrator. The equilibrated air is then routed to an infrared gas analyzer (IRGA that measures pCO2 and conveys this value to a Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID controller. The controller commands a solenoid valve that opens and closes the CO2 flush that is bubbled into the header tank. This low-cost control system allows the maintenance of stabilized levels of pCO2 for extended periods of time ensuring accurate experimental conditions. This system was used to study the long term effect of OA on the coralline red algae Phymatolithon lusitanicum. We found that after 11 months of high CO2 exposure, photosynthesis increased with CO2 as opposed to respiration, which was positively affected by temperature. Results showed that this system is adequate to run long-term OA experiments and can be easily adapted to test other relevant variables simultaneously with CO2, such as temperature, irradiance and nutrients.

  7. Intraspecific variations in responses to ocean acidification in two branching coral species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sekizawa, Ayami; Uechi, Hikaru; Iguchi, Akira; Nakamura, Takashi; Kumagai, Naoki H; Suzuki, Atsushi; Sakai, Kazuhiko; Nojiri, Yukihiro

    2017-09-15

    Ocean acidification is widely recognised to have a negative impact on marine calcifying organisms by reducing calcifications, but controversy remains over whether such organisms could cope with ocean acidification within a range of phenotypic plasticity and/or adapt to future acidifying ocean. We performed a laboratory rearing experiment using clonal fragments of the common branching corals Montipora digitata and Porites cylindrica under control and acidified seawater (lower pH) conditions (approximately 400 and 900μatm pCO 2 , respectively) and evaluated the intraspecific variations in their responses to ocean acidification. Intra- and interspecific variations in calcification and photosynthetic efficiency were evident according to both pCO 2 conditions and colony, indicating that responses to acidification may be individually variable at the colony level. Our results suggest that some corals may cope with ocean acidification within their present genotypic composition by adaptation through phenotypic plasticity, while others may be placed under selective pressures resulting in population alteration. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Increased cerebrovascular pCO2 reactivity in migraine with aura--a transcranial Doppler study during hyperventilation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thomsen, L L; Iversen, Helle Klingenberg; Olesen, J

    1995-01-01

    cerebral artery was measured with transcranial Doppler. In each subject a pCO2 reactivity index (RI) was calculated as (delta Vmean/baseline Vmean)/delta pCO2. Interictally, patients with migraine with aura showed higher RI (p ANOVA and multiple range test) than controls, whereas migraineurs without......-nitroglycerin-provoked healthy controls (p > 0.05, ANOVA and multiple range test). The exaggerated response in migraine with aura might predispose for the characteristic changes in rCBF seen during attacks....

  9. Underway pCO2 Measurements in Surface Waters and the Atmosphere During the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer 2016 Expeditions (NCEI Accession 0166630)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0166630 includes Surface underway data collected from R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer in the South Pacific Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean, Southern Oceans from...

  10. Coccolith calcite time capsules preserve a molecule-specific record of pCO2

    Science.gov (United States)

    McClelland, H. L. O.; Pearson, A.; Hermoso, M.; Wilkes, E.; Lee, R. B. Y.; Rickaby, R. E. M.

    2017-12-01

    Coccolithophores are single-celled phytoplankton that have contributed organic matter and calcite to marine sediments since the Late Triassic. The carbon isotopic compositions of both the calcite, and the organic matter, constitute valuable archives of information about the interaction between these organisms and the environments in which they lived. The isotopic composition of alkenone lipids, a recalcitrant component of coccolithophore organic carbon produced by a single family of coccolithophores, has been widely used to reconstruct pCO2 in the geological past. However, the robustness of this approach has remained controversial, due in part to the difficulties associated with reproducing pCO2 changes across periods of known pCO2 change, and uncertainties in relevant physiological variables such as growth rate and cell size. Meanwhile the calcite, produced in the form of plates called coccoliths, and which has had limited utility in paleoclimate reconstructions due to its large and variable departures from the isotopic composition of abiogenic calcite, has garnered increasing attention in recent years for the environmental and physiological information it contains. Here we show that polysaccharides preserved within the calcite crystal lattice of near monospecific fractions of fossil coccoliths constitute an ancient pristine source of organic carbon that unlike alkenones is unambiguously associated with the coccolith1. The isotopic composition of these polysaccharides, in tandem with that of the host coccolith calcite, and morphometrics from the same coccoliths2, can be used simultaneously constrain a recently published cellular carbon isotope flux model3, embedded in a more complex nutrient limitation model, in a powerful new approach to simultaneously predict cellular parameters and pCO2. We demonstrate the validity of this approach across a glacial / interglacial cycle. Lee, R. B. Y., et al,, Nat. Commun. 7, 13144 (2016). McClelland, H. L. O. et al. Sci. Rep. 6

  11. Underway pCO2 Measurements in Surface Waters and the Atmosphere During the R/V Laurence M. Gould 2016 Expeditions (NCEI Accession 0166525)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0166525 includes Surface underway data collected from R/V Laurence M. Gould in the South Atlantic Ocean, South Pacific Ocean and Southern Oceans from...

  12. MERRA 2D IAU Ocean Surface Diagnostic, Single Level, Diurnal (2/3x1/2L1) V5.2.0

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The MATUNXOCN or tavgU_2d_ocn_Nx data product is the MERRA Data Assimilation System 2-Dimensional ocean surface single-level diagnostics that is monthly mean...

  13. Geoengineering impact of open ocean dissolution of olivine on atmospheric CO2, surface ocean pH and marine biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Köhler, Peter; Abrams, Jesse F; Völker, Christoph; Hauck, Judith; Wolf-Gladrow, Dieter A

    2013-01-01

    Ongoing global warming induced by anthropogenic emissions has opened the debate as to whether geoengineering is a ‘quick fix’ option. Here we analyse the intended and unintended effects of one specific geoengineering approach, which is enhanced weathering via the open ocean dissolution of the silicate-containing mineral olivine. This approach would not only reduce atmospheric CO 2 and oppose surface ocean acidification, but would also impact on marine biology. If dissolved in the surface ocean, olivine sequesters 0.28 g carbon per g of olivine dissolved, similar to land-based enhanced weathering. Silicic acid input, a byproduct of the olivine dissolution, alters marine biology because silicate is in certain areas the limiting nutrient for diatoms. As a consequence, our model predicts a shift in phytoplankton species composition towards diatoms, altering the biological carbon pumps. Enhanced olivine dissolution, both on land and in the ocean, therefore needs to be considered as ocean fertilization. From dissolution kinetics we calculate that only olivine particles with a grain size of the order of 1 μm sink slowly enough to enable a nearly complete dissolution. The energy consumption for grinding to this small size might reduce the carbon sequestration efficiency by ∼30%. (letter)

  14. Responses of two scleractinian corals to cobalt pollution and ocean acidification.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tom Biscéré

    Full Text Available The effects of ocean acidification alone or in combination with warming on coral metabolism have been extensively investigated, whereas none of these studies consider that most coral reefs near shore are already impacted by other natural anthropogenic inputs such as metal pollution. It is likely that projected ocean acidification levels will aggravate coral reef health. We first investigated how ocean acidification interacts with one near shore locally abundant metal on the physiology of two major reef-building corals: Stylophora pistillata and Acropora muricata. Two pH levels (pHT 8.02; pCO2 366 μatm and pHT 7.75; pCO2 1140 μatm and two cobalt concentrations (natural, 0.03 μg L-1 and polluted, 0.2 μg L-1 were tested during five weeks in aquaria. We found that, for both species, cobalt input decreased significantly their growth rates by 28% while it stimulated their photosystem II, with higher values of rETRmax (relative Electron Transport Rate. Elevated pCO2 levels acted differently on the coral rETRmax values and did not affect their growth rates. No consistent interaction was found between pCO2 levels and cobalt concentrations. We also measured in situ the effect of higher cobalt concentrations (1.06 ± 0.16 μg L-1 on A. muricata using benthic chamber experiments. At this elevated concentration, cobalt decreased simultaneously coral growth and photosynthetic rates, indicating that the toxic threshold for this pollutant has been reached for both host cells and zooxanthellae. Our results from both aquaria and in situ experiments, suggest that these coral species are not particularly sensitive to high pCO2 conditions but they are to ecologically relevant cobalt concentrations. Our study reveals that some reefs may be yet subjected to deleterious pollution levels, and even if no interaction between pCO2 levels and cobalt concentration has been found, it is likely that coral metabolism will be weakened if they are subjected to additional

  15. 1.5 My benthic foraminiferal B/Ca record of carbonate chemistry in the deep Atlantic: Implications for ocean alkalinity and atmospheric CO2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosenthal, Y.; Sosdian, S. M.; Toggweiler, J. R.

    2017-12-01

    Most hypotheses to explain glacial-interglacial changes in atmospheric CO2 invoke shifts in ocean alkalinity explain roughly half the reduction in glacial CO2 via CaCO3 compensatory mechanism. It follows that changes in CaCO3 burial occur in response to an increase in deep ocean respired carbon content. To date our understanding of this process comes from benthic carbon isotope and %CaCO3 records. However, to understand the nature of the ocean's buffering capacity and its role in modulating pCO2, orbitally resolved reconstructions of the deep ocean carbonate system parameters are necessary. Here we present a 1.5 Myr orbitally resolved deep ocean calcite saturation record (ΔCO32-) derived from benthic foraminiferal B/Ca ratios in the North Atlantic. Glacial B/Ca values decline across the mid-Pleistocene transition (MPT) suggesting increased sequestration of carbon in the deep Atlantic. The magnitude, timing, and structure of deep Atlantic Ocean ΔCO32- and %CaCO3 cycles contrast with the small amplitude, anti-phased swings in IndoPacific ΔCO32- and %CaCO3 during the mid-to-late Pleistocene. Increasing corrosivity of the deep Atlantic causes the locus of CaCO3 burial to shift into the equatorial Pacific where the flux of CaCO3 to the seafloor is high enough to establish and maintain a new "hot spot". We propose that the CO32- in the deep IndoPacific rises in response to the same mechanism that keeps the CO32- in the deep Atlantic low and the atmospheric CO2 low. The increase in interglacial atmospheric pCO2 levels following the Mid-Brunhes event ( 400ka) are associated with increased G/IG ΔCO3 amplitude, expressed by a decrease in the glacial ΔCO32- values. We propose the low persistent ΔCO32- levels at Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 12 set the stage for the high pCO2 levels at MIS 11 via an increase in whole ocean alkalinity followed by enhanced CaCO3 preservation. Based on this, we suggest that the development of classic (`anticorrelated') CaCO3 patterns was

  16. An analysis of pH, pO2 and pCO2 in the peritoneal fluid of dogs with ascites of various etiologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glińska-Suchocka, K; Sławuta, P; Jankowski, M; Kubiak, K; Spużak, J; Borusewicz, P

    2016-01-01

    The aim of the study was to assess pH, pO2 and pCO2 in peritoneal fluid. The study was conducted on a group of 22 dogs with symptoms of ascites. Group 1 consisted of 4 dogs with adenocarcinoma, group 2--of 6 dogs with glomerulonephritis, group 3 of 8 dogs with hepatic cirrhosis and group 4 of 4 dogs with bacterial peritonitis. An abdominal cavity puncture was performed in all dogs and the fluid was drawn into a heparinized syringe in order to assess pH, pO2 and pCO2 . The analysis of pH in the peritoneal fluid revealed statistically significant differences between group 4 and groups 1 (p=0.01), 2 (p=0.01), and 3 (p=0.01). The lowest pH value compared to the other studied groups was recorded in group 4. In group 4, the pO2 was the lowest compared to the other groups (group 1 p=0.01, group 2 p=0.01, group 3 p=0.01). The value of pCO2 was the highest in group 4 compared to groups 1, 2, and 3. The study found statistically significant differences in pH, pCO2 and pCO2 between group 4 (the group of dogs with bacterial peritonitis) and the other groups of dogs. This was probably linked to the pathogenesis of peritonitis. As a result of an inflammatory reaction within the peritoneal cavity, there is an increase in fibrin accumulations leading to a decreased oxygen supply causing the oxidative glucose metabolism to change into a non-oxidative glucose metabolism. This, in turn, causes a decrease in pH, acidosis, and a low oxidoreduction potential. It also impairs phagocytosis and activates proteolytic enzymes which create ideal conditions for the growth of anaerobic bacteria. The obtained results indicate that the pH, pO2 and pCO2 may be used to differentiate bacterial peritonitis from ascites of other etiologies.

  17. Losing a winner: thermal stress and local pressures outweigh the positive effects of ocean acidification for tropical seagrasses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Collier, Catherine J; Langlois, Lucas; Ow, Yan; Johansson, Charlotte; Giammusso, Manuela; Adams, Matthew P; O'Brien, Katherine R; Uthicke, Sven

    2018-06-01

    Seagrasses are globally important coastal habitat-forming species, yet it is unknown how seagrasses respond to the combined pressures of ocean acidification and warming of sea surface temperature. We exposed three tropical species of seagrass (Cymodocea serrulata, Halodule uninervis, and Zostera muelleri) to increasing temperature (21, 25, 30, and 35°C) and pCO 2 (401, 1014, and 1949 μatm) for 7 wk in mesocosms using a controlled factorial design. Shoot density and leaf extension rates were recorded, and plant productivity and respiration were measured at increasing light levels (photosynthesis-irradiance curves) using oxygen optodes. Shoot density, growth, photosynthetic rates, and plant-scale net productivity occurred at 25°C or 30°C under saturating light levels. High pCO 2 enhanced maximum net productivity for Z. muelleri, but not in other species. Z. muelleri was the most thermally tolerant as it maintained positive net production to 35°C, yet for the other species there was a sharp decline in productivity, growth, and shoot density at 35°C, which was exacerbated by pCO 2 . These results suggest that thermal stress will not be offset by ocean acidification during future extreme heat events and challenges the current hypothesis that tropical seagrass will be a 'winner' under future climate change conditions. © 2018 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2018 New Phytologist Trust.

  18. Linking water and carbon cycles through salinity observed from space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, X.; Liu, W. T.

    2017-12-01

    The association of ocean surface salinity in global hydrological cycle and climate change has been traditionally studied through the examination of its tendency and advection as manifestation of ocean's heat and water fluxes with the atmosphere. The variability of surface heat and water fluxes are linked to top of atmosphere radiation, whose imbalance is the main cause of global warming. Besides the link of salinity to greenhouse warming through water balance, this study will focus on the effect of changing salinity on carbon dioxide flux between the ocean and the atmosphere. We have built statistical models to estimate the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) and ocean acidification (in terms of total alkalinity and pH) using spacebased data. PCO2 is a critical parameter governing ocean as source and sink of the accumulated greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. The exchange also causes ocean acidification, which is detrimental to marine lives and ecology. Before we had sufficient spacebased salinity measurements coincident with in situ pCO2 measurement, we trained our statistical models to use satellite sea surface temperature and chlorophyll, with one model using salinity climatology and the other without. We found significant differences between the two models in regions of strong water input through river discharge and surface water flux. The pCO2 output follows the seasonal salinity advection of the Amazon outflow. The seasonal salinity advection between Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea are followed by change of pCO2 and total alkalinity. At shorter time scales, the signatures of rain associated with intraseasonal organized convection of summer monsoon can be detected. We have observed distribution agreement of among pCO2, surface salinity, and surface water flux for variation from a few days to a few years under the Pacific ITCZ; the agreement varies slightly with season and longitudes and the reason is under study.

  19. Experimental evidence of nitrogen control on pCO2 in phosphorus-enriched humic and clear coastal lagoon waters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peixoto, Roberta B.; Marotta, Humberto; Enrich-Prast, Alex

    2013-01-01

    Natural and human-induced controls on carbon dioxide (CO2) in tropical waters may be very dynamic (over time and among or within ecosystems) considering the potential role of warmer temperatures intensifying metabolic responses and playing a direct role on the balance between photosynthesis and respiration. The high magnitude of biological processes at low latitudes following eutrophication by nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) inputs into coastal lagoons waters may be a relevant component of the carbon cycle, showing controls on partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) that are still poorly understood. Here we assessed the strength of N control on pCO2 in P-enriched humic and clear coastal lagoons waters, using four experimental treatments in microcosms: control (no additional nutrients) and three levels of N additions coupled to P enrichments. In humic coastal lagoons waters, a persistent CO2 supersaturation was reported in controls and all nutrient-enriched treatments, ranging from 24- to 4-fold the atmospheric equilibrium value. However, both humic and clear coastal lagoons waters only showed significant decreases in pCO2 in relation to the controlled microcosms in the two treatments with higher N addition levels. Additionally, clear coastal lagoons water microcosms showed a shift from CO2 sources to CO2 sinks, in relation to the atmosphere. Only in the two more N-enriched treatments did pCO2 substantially decrease, from 650 µatm in controls and less N-enriched treatments to 10 µatm in more N-enriched microcosms. Humic substrates and N inputs can modulate pCO2 even in P-enriched coastal lagoons waters, thereby being important drivers on CO2 outgassing from inland waters. PMID:23390422

  20. Experimental evidence of nitrogen control on pCO2 in phosphorus-enriched humic and clear coastal lagoon waters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberta Bittencourt Peixoto

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Natural and human-induced controls on carbon dioxide (CO2 in tropical waters may be very dynamic (over time and among or within ecosystems considering the potential role of warmer temperatures intensifying metabolic responses and playing a direct role on the balance between photosynthesis and respiration. The high magnitude of biological processes at low latitudes following eutrophication by nitrogen (N and phosphorus (P inputs into inland waters may be a relevant component of the C cycle, showing controls on partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2 that are still poorly understood. Here we assessed the strength of N control on pCO2 in P-enriched humic and clear coastal lagoons waters, using four experimental treatments in microcosms: control (no additional nutrients and three levels of N additions coupled to P enrichments. In humic coastal lagoon waters, a persistent CO2 supersaturation was reported in controls and all nutrient-enriched treatments, ranging from 24-fold to fourfold the atmospheric equilibrium value. However, both humic and clear coastal lagoon waters only showed significant decreases in pCO2 in relation to the controlled microcosms in the two treatments with higher N addition levels. Additionally, clear coastal lagoon water microcosms showed a shift from CO2 sources to CO2 sinks, in relation to the atmosphere. Only in the two more N-enriched treatments did pCO2 substantially decrease, from 650 µatm in controls and less N-enriched treatments to 10 µatm in more N-enriched microcosms. Humic substrates and N inputs can modulate pCO2 even in P-enriched coastal lagoon waters, thereby being important drivers on CO2 outgassing from inland waters.

  1. Effect of Ocean Acidification on the Food Quality of the Coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maine, J. E.; White, M. M.; Balch, W. M.; Milke, L. M.

    2016-02-01

    The anthropogenic burning of fossil fuels has doubled atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels over the last 200 years. Atmospheric CO2 diffuses into the ocean, changing the chemistry and decreasing the pH of seawater in a process called Ocean Acidification (OA). Calcifying marine phytoplankton, coccolithophores, are vulnerable to OA. Emiliania huxleyi is a lipid-dense and globally-abundant species of coccolithophore, therefore it is a vital food source for higher marine trophic levels. The objective of this project was to determine how OA affects the lipid profile and calcification of E. huxleyi CCMP #371. Gas chromatography was used to determine how the proportions of saturated (SFA), monounsaturated (MUFA), and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in E. huxleyi varied with increasing pCO2. Flow cytometry was used to measure how the distribution of highly calcified cells, partially calcified cells, and un-calcified cells changed with increasing pCO2. The proportion of MUFA increased with pCO2. The proportion of un-calcified and partially calcified cells increased with increasing pCO2, however, the results varied across two experimental runs. In conclusion, the lipid-profile and calcification properties of E. huxleyi, and likely its food quality to predators, are affected by OA.

  2. Temperature dependence of the relationship between pCO2 and dissolved organic carbon in lakes

    KAUST Repository

    Pinho, L.

    2016-02-15

    The relationship between the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration in Brazilian lakes, encompassing 225 samples across a wide latitudinal range in the tropics, was tested. Unlike the positive relationship reported for lake waters, which was largely based on temperate lakes, we found no significant relationship for low-latitude lakes (< 33°), despite very broad ranges in both pCO2 and DOC levels. These results suggest substantial differences in the carbon cycling of low-latitude lakes, which must be considered when upscaling limnetic carbon cycling to global scales.

  3. Temperature dependence of the relationship between pCO2 and dissolved organic carbon in lakes

    KAUST Repository

    Pinho, L.; Duarte, Carlos M.; Marotta, H.; Enrich-Prast, A.

    2016-01-01

    The relationship between the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration in Brazilian lakes, encompassing 225 samples across a wide latitudinal range in the tropics, was tested. Unlike the positive relationship reported for lake waters, which was largely based on temperate lakes, we found no significant relationship for low-latitude lakes (< 33°), despite very broad ranges in both pCO2 and DOC levels. These results suggest substantial differences in the carbon cycling of low-latitude lakes, which must be considered when upscaling limnetic carbon cycling to global scales.

  4. Characterization of surface layers on individual marine CaCO3 particles, using "variable energy" electron probe microanalysis (poster)

    OpenAIRE

    Aerts, K.; Godoi, R.; Van Grieken, R.

    2002-01-01

    The ocean constitutes a large sink for anthropogenic CO2, and thus plays a significant role in the global biogeochemical cycle of carbon and its perturbations. There remain, however, large uncertainties concerning the uptake of anthropogenic carbon by the ocean, mainly due to insufficient knowledge of processes controlling the pCO2 in surface waters. Most of the previous research efforts have been concentrated on the study of CO2 exchange at the air-sea interface due to temperature effects re...

  5. Adaptation and acclimatization to ocean acidification in marine ectotherms: an in situ transplant experiment with polychaetes at a shallow CO2 vent system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calosi, Piero; Rastrick, Samuel P S; Lombardi, Chiara; de Guzman, Heidi J; Davidson, Laura; Jahnke, Marlene; Giangrande, Adriana; Hardege, Jörg D; Schulze, Anja; Spicer, John I; Gambi, Maria-Cristina

    2013-01-01

    Metabolic rate determines the physiological and life-history performances of ectotherms. Thus, the extent to which such rates are sensitive and plastic to environmental perturbation is central to an organism's ability to function in a changing environment. Little is known of long-term metabolic plasticity and potential for metabolic adaptation in marine ectotherms exposed to elevated pCO2. Consequently, we carried out a series of in situ transplant experiments using a number of tolerant and sensitive polychaete species living around a natural CO2 vent system. Here, we show that a marine metazoan (i.e. Platynereis dumerilii) was able to adapt to chronic and elevated levels of pCO2. The vent population of P. dumerilii was physiologically and genetically different from nearby populations that experience low pCO2, as well as smaller in body size. By contrast, different populations of Amphiglena mediterranea showed marked physiological plasticity indicating that adaptation or acclimatization are both viable strategies for the successful colonization of elevated pCO2 environments. In addition, sensitive species showed either a reduced or increased metabolism when exposed acutely to elevated pCO2. Our findings may help explain, from a metabolic perspective, the occurrence of past mass extinction, as well as shed light on alternative pathways of resilience in species facing ongoing ocean acidification.

  6. MERRA 2D IAU Ocean Surface Diagnostic, Single Level, Monthly Mean (2/3x1/2L1) V5.2.0

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The MATMNXOCN or tavgM_2d_ocn_Nx data product is the MERRA Data Assimilation System 2-Dimensional ocean surface single-level diagnostics that is monthly mean...

  7. Contrasting calcification responses to ocean acidification between two reef foraminifers harboring different algal symbionts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hikami, Mana; Ushie, Hiroyuki; Irie, Takahiro; Fujita, Kazuhiko; Kuroyanagi, Azumi; Sakai, Kazuhiko; Nojiri, Yukihiro; Suzuki, Atsushi; Kawahata, Hodaka

    2011-10-01

    Ocean acidification, which like global warming is an outcome of anthropogenic CO2 emissions, severely impacts marine calcifying organisms, especially those living in coral reef ecosystems. However, knowledge about the responses of reef calcifiers to ocean acidification is quite limited, although coral responses are known to be generally negative. In a culture experiment with two algal symbiont-bearing, reef-dwelling foraminifers, Amphisorus kudakajimensis and Calcarina gaudichaudii, in seawater under five different pCO2 conditions, 245, 375, 588, 763 and 907 μatm, maintained with a precise pCO2-controlling technique, net calcification of A. kudakajimensis was reduced under higher pCO2, whereas calcification of C. gaudichaudii generally increased with increased pCO2. In another culture experiment conducted in seawater in which bicarbonate ion concentrations were varied under a constant carbonate ion concentration, calcification was not significantly different between treatments in Amphisorus hemprichii, a species closely related to A. kudakajimensis, or in C. gaudichaudii. From these results, we concluded that carbonate ion and CO2 were the carbonate species that most affected growth of Amphisorus and Calcarina, respectively. The opposite responses of these two foraminifer genera probably reflect different sensitivities to these carbonate species, which may be due to their different symbiotic algae.

  8. Seasonal variation in aragonite saturation in surface waters of Puget Sound – a pilot study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gregory Pelletier

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available A pilot study of sampling, using monthly marine flights over spatially distributed stations, was conducted with the aim to characterize the carbonate system in Puget Sound over a full year-long period. Surface waters of Puget Sound were found to be under-saturated with respect to aragonite during October–March, and super-saturated during April–September. Highest pCO2 and lowest pH occurred during the corrosive October–March period. Lowest pCO2 and highest pH occurred during the super-saturated April–September period. The monthly variations in pCO2 , pH, and aragonite saturation state closely followed the variations in monthly average chlorophyll a. Super-saturated conditions during April–September are likely strongly influenced by photosynthetic uptake of CO2 during the phytoplankton growing season. The relationship between phytoplankton production, the carbonate system, and aragonite saturation state suggests that long-term trends in eutrophication processes may contribute to trends in ocean acidification in Puget Sound

  9. Ocean acidification impacts spine integrity but not regenerative capacity of spines and tube feet in adult sea urchins

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emerson, Chloe E.; Reinardy, Helena C.; Bates, Nicholas R.

    2017-01-01

    Increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) has resulted in a change in seawater chemistry and lowering of pH, referred to as ocean acidification. Understanding how different organisms and processes respond to ocean acidification is vital to predict how marine ecosystems will be altered under future scenarios of continued environmental change. Regenerative processes involving biomineralization in marine calcifiers such as sea urchins are predicted to be especially vulnerable. In this study, the effect of ocean acidification on regeneration of external appendages (spines and tube feet) was investigated in the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus exposed to ambient (546 µatm), intermediate (1027 µatm) and high (1841 µatm) partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) for eight weeks. The rate of regeneration was maintained in spines and tube feet throughout two periods of amputation and regrowth under conditions of elevated pCO2. Increased expression of several biomineralization-related genes indicated molecular compensatory mechanisms; however, the structural integrity of both regenerating and homeostatic spines was compromised in high pCO2 conditions. Indicators of physiological fitness (righting response, growth rate, coelomocyte concentration and composition) were not affected by increasing pCO2, but compromised spine integrity is likely to have negative consequences for defence capabilities and therefore survival of these ecologically and economically important organisms. PMID:28573022

  10. Marine phytoplankton stoichiometry mediates nonlinear interactions between nutrient supply, temperature, and atmospheric CO2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moreno, Allison R.; Hagstrom, George I.; Primeau, Francois W.; Levin, Simon A.; Martiny, Adam C.

    2018-05-01

    Marine phytoplankton stoichiometry links nutrient supply to marine carbon export. Deviations of phytoplankton stoichiometry from Redfield proportions (106C : 1P) could therefore have a significant impact on carbon cycling, and understanding which environmental factors drive these deviations may reveal new mechanisms regulating the carbon cycle. To explore the links between environmental conditions, stoichiometry, and carbon cycling, we compared four different models of phytoplankton C : P: a fixed Redfield model, a model with C : P given as a function of surface phosphorus concentration (P), a model with C P given as a function of temperature, and a new multi-environmental model that predicts C : P as a function of light, temperature, and P. These stoichiometric models were embedded into a five-box ocean circulation model, which resolves the three major ocean biomes (high-latitude, subtropical gyres, and tropical upwelling regions). Contrary to the expectation of a monotonic relationship between surface nutrient drawdown and carbon export, we found that lateral nutrient transport from lower C : P tropical waters to high C : P subtropical waters could cause carbon export to decrease with increased tropical nutrient utilization. It has been hypothesized that a positive feedback between temperature and pCO2, atm will play an important role in anthropogenic climate change, with changes in the biological pump playing at most a secondary role. Here we show that environmentally driven shifts in stoichiometry make the biological pump more influential, and may reverse the expected positive relationship between temperature and pCO2, atm. In the temperature-only model, changes in tropical temperature have more impact on the Δ pCO2, atm (˜ 41 ppm) compared to subtropical temperature changes (˜ 4.5 ppm). Our multi-environmental model predicted a decline in pCO2, atm of ˜ 46 ppm when temperature spanned a change of 10 °C. Thus, we find that variation in marine phytoplankton

  11. Light intensity modulates the response of two Antarctic diatom species to ocean acidification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jasmin Pascale Heiden

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available It is largely unknown how rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations and changes in the upper mixed layer depth, with its subsequent effects on light availability will affect phytoplankton physiology in the Southern Ocean. Linking seasonal variations in the availability of CO2 and light to abundances and physiological traits of key phytoplankton species could aid to understand their abilities to acclimate to predicted future climatic conditions. To investigate the combined effects of CO2 and light on two ecologically relevant Antarctic diatoms (Fragilariopsis curta and Odontella weisflogii a matrix of three light intensities (LL=20, ML=200, HL=500 µmol photons m-2 s-1 and three pCO2 levels (low=180, ambient=380, high=1000 µatm was applied assessing their effects on growth, particulate organic carbon (POC fixation and photophysiology. Under ambient pCO2, POC production rates were highest already at low light in Fragilariopsis, indicating saturation of photosynthesis, while in Odontella highest rates were only reached at medium irradiances. In both species ocean acidification did not stimulate, but rather inhibited, growth and POC production under low and medium light. This effect was, however, amended under high growth irradiances. Low pCO2 levels inhibited growth and POC production in both species at low and medium light, and further decreased absETRs under high light. Our results suggest that Southern Ocean diatoms were sensitive to changes in pCO2, showing species-specific responses, which were further modulated by light intensity. The two diatom species represent distinct ecotypes and revealed discrete physiological traits that matched their seasonal occurrence with the related physical conditions in Antarctic coastal waters.

  12. Ocean Acidification Has Multiple Modes of Action on Bivalve Larvae.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    George G Waldbusser

    Full Text Available Ocean acidification (OA is altering the chemistry of the world's oceans at rates unparalleled in the past roughly 1 million years. Understanding the impacts of this rapid change in baseline carbonate chemistry on marine organisms needs a precise, mechanistic understanding of physiological responses to carbonate chemistry. Recent experimental work has shown shell development and growth in some bivalve larvae, have direct sensitivities to calcium carbonate saturation state that is not modulated through organismal acid-base chemistry. To understand different modes of action of OA on bivalve larvae, we experimentally tested how pH, PCO2, and saturation state independently affect shell growth and development, respiration rate, and initiation of feeding in Mytilus californianus embryos and larvae. We found, as documented in other bivalve larvae, that shell development and growth were affected by aragonite saturation state, and not by pH or PCO2. Respiration rate was elevated under very low pH (~7.4 with no change between pH of ~ 8.3 to ~7.8. Initiation of feeding appeared to be most sensitive to PCO2, and possibly minor response to pH under elevated PCO2. Although different components of physiology responded to different carbonate system variables, the inability to normally develop a shell due to lower saturation state precludes pH or PCO2 effects later in the life history. However, saturation state effects during early shell development will carry-over to later stages, where pH or PCO2 effects can compound OA effects on bivalve larvae. Our findings suggest OA may be a multi-stressor unto itself. Shell development and growth of the native mussel, M. californianus, was indistinguishable from the Mediterranean mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis, collected from the southern U.S. Pacific coast, an area not subjected to seasonal upwelling. The concordance in responses suggests a fundamental OA bottleneck during development of the first shell material

  13. Ocean Acidification Has Multiple Modes of Action on Bivalve Larvae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waldbusser, George G; Hales, Burke; Langdon, Chris J; Haley, Brian A; Schrader, Paul; Brunner, Elizabeth L; Gray, Matthew W; Miller, Cale A; Gimenez, Iria; Hutchinson, Greg

    2015-01-01

    Ocean acidification (OA) is altering the chemistry of the world's oceans at rates unparalleled in the past roughly 1 million years. Understanding the impacts of this rapid change in baseline carbonate chemistry on marine organisms needs a precise, mechanistic understanding of physiological responses to carbonate chemistry. Recent experimental work has shown shell development and growth in some bivalve larvae, have direct sensitivities to calcium carbonate saturation state that is not modulated through organismal acid-base chemistry. To understand different modes of action of OA on bivalve larvae, we experimentally tested how pH, PCO2, and saturation state independently affect shell growth and development, respiration rate, and initiation of feeding in Mytilus californianus embryos and larvae. We found, as documented in other bivalve larvae, that shell development and growth were affected by aragonite saturation state, and not by pH or PCO2. Respiration rate was elevated under very low pH (~7.4) with no change between pH of ~ 8.3 to ~7.8. Initiation of feeding appeared to be most sensitive to PCO2, and possibly minor response to pH under elevated PCO2. Although different components of physiology responded to different carbonate system variables, the inability to normally develop a shell due to lower saturation state precludes pH or PCO2 effects later in the life history. However, saturation state effects during early shell development will carry-over to later stages, where pH or PCO2 effects can compound OA effects on bivalve larvae. Our findings suggest OA may be a multi-stressor unto itself. Shell development and growth of the native mussel, M. californianus, was indistinguishable from the Mediterranean mussel, Mytilus galloprovincialis, collected from the southern U.S. Pacific coast, an area not subjected to seasonal upwelling. The concordance in responses suggests a fundamental OA bottleneck during development of the first shell material affected only by

  14. Impact of atmospheric and terrestrial CO2 feedbacks on fertilization-induced marine carbon uptake

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oschlies, A.

    2009-08-01

    The sensitivity of oceanic CO2 uptake to alterations in the marine biological carbon pump, such as brought about by natural or purposeful ocean fertilization, has repeatedly been investigated by studies employing numerical biogeochemical ocean models. It is shown here that the results of such ocean-centered studies are very sensitive to the assumption made about the response of the carbon reservoirs on the atmospheric side of the sea surface. Assumptions made include prescribed atmospheric pCO2, an interactive atmospheric CO2 pool exchanging carbon with the ocean but not with the terrestrial biosphere, and an interactive atmosphere that exchanges carbon with both oceanic and terrestrial carbon pools. The impact of these assumptions on simulated annual to millennial oceanic carbon uptake is investigated for a hypothetical increase in the C:N ratio of the biological pump and for an idealized enhancement of phytoplankton growth. Compared to simulations with interactive atmosphere, using prescribed atmospheric pCO2 overestimates the sensitivity of the oceanic CO2 uptake to changes in the biological pump, by about 2%, 25%, 100%, and >500% on annual, decadal, centennial, and millennial timescales, respectively. The smaller efficiency of the oceanic carbon uptake under an interactive atmosphere is due to the back flux of CO2 that occurs when atmospheric CO2 is reduced. Adding an interactive terrestrial carbon pool to the atmosphere-ocean model system has a small effect on annual timescales, but increases the simulated fertilization-induced oceanic carbon uptake by about 4%, 50%, and 100% on decadal, centennial, and millennial timescales, respectively, for pCO2 sensitivities of the terrestrial carbon storage in the middle range of the C4MIP models (Friedlingstein et al., 2006). For such sensitivities, a substantial fraction of oceanic carbon uptake induced by natural or purposeful ocean fertilization originates, on timescales longer than decades, not from the atmosphere

  15. Ocean surface partitioning strategies using ocean colour remote Sensing: A review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krug, Lilian Anne; Platt, Trevor; Sathyendranath, Shubha; Barbosa, Ana B.

    2017-06-01

    The ocean surface is organized into regions with distinct properties reflecting the complexity of interactions between environmental forcing and biological responses. The delineation of these functional units, each with unique, homogeneous properties and underlying ecosystem structure and dynamics, can be defined as ocean surface partitioning. The main purposes and applications of ocean partitioning include the evaluation of particular marine environments; generation of more accurate satellite ocean colour products; assimilation of data into biogeochemical and climate models; and establishment of ecosystem-based management practices. This paper reviews the diverse approaches implemented for ocean surface partition into functional units, using ocean colour remote sensing (OCRS) data, including their purposes, criteria, methods and scales. OCRS offers a synoptic, high spatial-temporal resolution, multi-decadal coverage of bio-optical properties, relevant to the applications and value of ocean surface partitioning. In combination with other biotic and/or abiotic data, OCRS-derived data (e.g., chlorophyll-a, optical properties) provide a broad and varied source of information that can be analysed using different delineation methods derived from subjective, expert-based to unsupervised learning approaches (e.g., cluster, fuzzy and empirical orthogonal function analyses). Partition schemes are applied at global to mesoscale spatial coverage, with static (time-invariant) or dynamic (time-varying) representations. A case study, the highly heterogeneous area off SW Iberian Peninsula (NE Atlantic), illustrates how the selection of spatial coverage and temporal representation affects the discrimination of distinct environmental drivers of phytoplankton variability. Advances in operational oceanography and in the subject area of satellite ocean colour, including development of new sensors, algorithms and products, are among the potential benefits from extended use, scope and

  16. Exposure to elevated pCO2 does not exacerbate reproductive suppression of Aurelia aurita jellyfish polyps in low oxygen environments

    KAUST Repository

    Treible, LM

    2017-08-15

    Eutrophication-induced hypoxia is one of the primary anthropogenic threats to coastal ecosystems. Under hypoxic conditions, a deficit of O2 and a surplus of CO2 will concurrently decrease pH, yet studies of hypoxia have seldom considered the potential interactions with elevated pCO2 (reduced pH). Previous studies on gelatinous organisms concluded that they are fairly robust to low oxygen and reduced pH conditions individually, yet the combination of stressors has only been examined for ephyrae. The goals of this study were to determine the individual and interactive effects of hypoxia and elevated pCO2 on the asexual reproduction and aerobic respiration rates of polyps of the scyphozoan Aurelia aurita during a manipulative experiment that ran for 36 d. pCO2 and pO2 were varied on a diel basis to closely mimic the diel conditions observed in the field. Exposure to low dissolved oxygen (DO) reduced asexual budding of polyps by ~50% relative to control conditions. Under hypoxic conditions, rates of respiration were elevated during an initial acclimation period (until Day 8), but respiration rates did not differ between DO levels under prolonged exposure. There was no significant effect of increased pCO2 on either asexual reproduction or aerobic respiration, suggesting that elevated pCO2 (reduced pH) did not exacerbate the negative reproductive effects of hypoxia on A. aurita polyps.

  17. Exposure to elevated pCO2 does not exacerbate reproductive suppression of Aurelia aurita jellyfish polyps in low oxygen environments

    KAUST Repository

    Treible, LM; Pitt, KA; Klein, SG; Condon, RH

    2017-01-01

    Eutrophication-induced hypoxia is one of the primary anthropogenic threats to coastal ecosystems. Under hypoxic conditions, a deficit of O2 and a surplus of CO2 will concurrently decrease pH, yet studies of hypoxia have seldom considered the potential interactions with elevated pCO2 (reduced pH). Previous studies on gelatinous organisms concluded that they are fairly robust to low oxygen and reduced pH conditions individually, yet the combination of stressors has only been examined for ephyrae. The goals of this study were to determine the individual and interactive effects of hypoxia and elevated pCO2 on the asexual reproduction and aerobic respiration rates of polyps of the scyphozoan Aurelia aurita during a manipulative experiment that ran for 36 d. pCO2 and pO2 were varied on a diel basis to closely mimic the diel conditions observed in the field. Exposure to low dissolved oxygen (DO) reduced asexual budding of polyps by ~50% relative to control conditions. Under hypoxic conditions, rates of respiration were elevated during an initial acclimation period (until Day 8), but respiration rates did not differ between DO levels under prolonged exposure. There was no significant effect of increased pCO2 on either asexual reproduction or aerobic respiration, suggesting that elevated pCO2 (reduced pH) did not exacerbate the negative reproductive effects of hypoxia on A. aurita polyps.

  18. Buckyball Nucleation of HiPco Tubes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smalley, Richard E.

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this innovation is to enhance nucleation of single-wall nanotubes (SWNTs) in the HiPco process, selectively producing 10,10 tubes, something which until now has not been thought possible. This is accomplished by injecting C60, or a derivative of C60, solubilized in supercritical CO2 together with a transition metal carboneal cocatalyst into the HiPco reactor. This is a variant on the supercritical disclosure. C60 has never been used to nucleate carbon nanotubes in the gas phase. C60 itself may not have adequate solubility in supercritical CO2. However, fluorinated C60, e.g., C60F36, is easy to make cheaply and should have much enhanced solubility.

  19. Biological production in the Indian Ocean upwelling zones - Part 1: refined estimation via the use of a variable compensation depth in ocean carbon models

    Science.gov (United States)

    Geethalekshmi Sreeush, Mohanan; Valsala, Vinu; Pentakota, Sreenivas; Venkata Siva Rama Prasad, Koneru; Murtugudde, Raghu

    2018-04-01

    Biological modelling approach adopted by the Ocean Carbon-Cycle Model Intercomparison Project (OCMIP-II) provided amazingly simple but surprisingly accurate rendition of the annual mean carbon cycle for the global ocean. Nonetheless, OCMIP models are known to have seasonal biases which are typically attributed to their bulk parameterisation of compensation depth. Utilising the criteria of surface Chl a-based attenuation of solar radiation and the minimum solar radiation required for production, we have proposed a new parameterisation for a spatially and temporally varying compensation depth which captures the seasonality in the production zone reasonably well. This new parameterisation is shown to improve the seasonality of CO2 fluxes, surface ocean pCO2, biological export and new production in the major upwelling zones of the Indian Ocean. The seasonally varying compensation depth enriches the nutrient concentration in the upper ocean yielding more faithful biological exports which in turn leads to accurate seasonality in the carbon cycle. The export production strengthens by ˜ 70 % over the western Arabian Sea during the monsoon period and achieves a good balance between export and new production in the model. This underscores the importance of having a seasonal balance in the model export and new productions for a better representation of the seasonality of the carbon cycle over upwelling regions. The study also implies that both the biological and solubility pumps play an important role in the Indian Ocean upwelling zones.

  20. Daily variation in net primary production and net calcification in coral reef communities exposed to elevated pCO2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Comeau

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The threat represented by ocean acidification (OA for coral reefs has received considerable attention because of the sensitivity of calcifiers to changing seawater carbonate chemistry. However, most studies have focused on the organismic response of calcification to OA, and only a few have addressed community-level effects, or investigated parameters other than calcification, such as photosynthesis. Light (photosynthetically active radiation, PAR is a driver of biological processes on coral reefs, and the possibility that these processes might be perturbed by OA has important implications for community function. Here we investigate how CO2 enrichment affects the relationships between PAR and community net O2 production (Pnet, and between PAR and community net calcification (Gnet, using experiments on three coral communities constructed to match (i the back reef of Mo'orea, French Polynesia, (ii the fore reef of Mo'orea, and (iii the back reef of O'ahu, Hawaii. The results were used to test the hypothesis that OA affects the relationship between Pnet and Gnet. For the three communities tested, pCO2 did not affect the Pnet–PAR relationship, but it affected the intercept of the hyperbolic tangent curve fitting the Gnet–PAR relationship for both reef communities in Mo'orea (but not in O'ahu. For the three communities, the slopes of the linear relationships between Pnet and Gnet were not affected by OA, although the intercepts were depressed by the inhibitory effect of high pCO2 on Gnet. Our result indicates that OA can modify the balance between net calcification and net photosynthesis of reef communities by depressing community calcification, but without affecting community photosynthesis.

  1. Late Archean Surface Ocean Oxygenation (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kendall, B.; Reinhard, C.; Lyons, T. W.; Kaufman, A. J.; Anbar, A. D.

    2009-12-01

    Oxygenic photosynthesis must have evolved by 2.45-2.32 Ga, when atmospheric oxygen abundances first rose above 0.001% present atmospheric level (Great Oxidation Event; GOE). Biomarker evidence for a time lag between the evolution of cyanobacterial oxygenic photosynthesis and the GOE continues to be debated. Geochemical signatures from sedimentary rocks (redox-sensitive trace metal abundances, sedimentary Fe geochemistry, and S isotopes) represent an alternative tool for tracing the history of Earth surface oxygenation. Integrated high-resolution chemostratigraphic profiles through the 2.5 Ga Mt. McRae Shale (Pilbara Craton, Western Australia) suggest a ‘whiff’ of oxygen in the surface environment at least 50 M.y. prior to the GOE. However, the geochemical data from the Mt. McRae Shale does not uniquely constrain the presence or extent of Late Archean ocean oxygenation. Here, we present high-resolution chemostratigraphic profiles from 2.6-2.5 Ga black shales (upper Campbellrand Subgroup, Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa) that provide the earliest direct evidence for an oxygenated ocean water column. On the slope beneath the Campbellrand - Malmani carbonate platform (Nauga Formation), a mildly oxygenated water column (highly reactive iron to total iron ratios [FeHR/FeT] ≤ 0.4) was underlain by oxidizing sediments (low Re and Mo abundances) or mildly reducing sediments (high Re but low Mo abundances). After drowning of the carbonate platform (Klein Naute Formation), the local bottom waters became anoxic (FeHR/FeT > 0.4) and intermittently sulphidic (pyrite iron to highly reactive iron ratios [FePY/FeHR] > 0.8), conducive to enrichment of both Re and Mo in sediments, followed by anoxic and Fe2+-rich (ferruginous) conditions (high FeT, FePY/FeHR near 0). Widespread surface ocean oxygenation is suggested by Re enrichment in the broadly correlative Klein Naute Formation and Mt. McRae Shale, deposited ~1000 km apart in the Griqualand West and Hamersley basins

  2. Interactive effects of ocean acidification and warming on coral reef associated epilithic algal communities under past, present-day and future ocean conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vogel, N.; Cantin, N. E.; Strahl, J.; Kaniewska, P.; Bay, L.; Wild, C.; Uthicke, S.

    2016-06-01

    Epilithic algal communities play critical ecological roles on coral reefs, but their response to individual and interactive effects of ocean warming (OW) and ocean acidification (OA) is still largely unknown. We investigated growth, photosynthesis and calcification of early epilithic algal community assemblages exposed for 6 months to four temperature profiles (-1.1, ±0.0, +0.9, +1.6 °C) that were crossed with four carbon dioxide partial pressure (pCO2) levels (360, 440, 650, 940 µatm), under flow-through conditions and natural light regimes. Additionally, we compared the cover of heavily calcified crustose coralline algae (CCA) and lightly calcified red algae of the genus Peyssonnelia among treatments. Increase in cover of epilithic communities showed optima under moderately elevated temperatures and present pCO2, while cover strongly decreased under high temperatures and high-pCO2 conditions, particularly due to decreasing cover of CCA. Similarly, community calcification rates were strongly decreased at high pCO2 under both measured temperatures. While final cover of CCA decreased under high temperature and pCO2 (additive negative effects), cover of Peyssonnelia spp. increased at high compared to annual average and moderately elevated temperatures. Thus, cover of Peyssonnelia spp. increased in treatment combinations with less CCA, which was supported by a significant negative correlation between organism groups. The different susceptibility to stressors most likely derived from a different calcification intensity and/or mineral. Notably, growth of the epilithic communities and final cover of CCA were strongly decreased under reduced-pCO2 conditions compared to the present. Thus, CCA may have acclimatized from past to present-day pCO2 conditions, and changes in carbonate chemistry, regardless in which direction, negatively affect them. However, if epilithic organisms cannot further acclimatize to OW and OA, the interacting effects of both factors may change

  3. CO2 and circulation in the deglacial North Pacific

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, B.; Rae, J. W. B.; Gray, W. R.; Rees-Owen, R. L.; Burke, A.

    2017-12-01

    The North Pacific is the largest carbon reservoir in the global ocean, but has not typically been thought to play an active role in deglacial CO2 rise based on its modern stratified state. Recent studies (Okazaki et al., 2010; Rae et al., 2014; Max et al., 2017), however, have suggested that a more dynamic circulation regime operated in the glacial and deglacial North Pacific and, as such, the role of the North Pacific in deglacial CO2 rise may have been underestimated. We present two new high-resolution boron isotope records of surface water pCO2 from the North West and North East Pacific spanning the last 22 kyrs. The two records show remarkable coherence over key intervals during the last deglaciation and highlight major changes over a number of abrupt climate events. At both sites, following the LGM, pCO2(sw) rises, coincident with a younging of North Pacific intermediate and deep waters. This suggests that increased local overturning mixed CO2-rich deep waters throughout the water column, likely contributing to CO2 outgassing during Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1). Both records exhibit decreases in pCO2(sw) during the latter stages of HS1, which are immediately followed by a rapid increase in pCO2(sw) at the onset of the Bølling-Allerød (B/A). Radiocarbon and δ13C data indicate a collapse in North Pacific Intermediate Water formation at the onset of the B/A, which, combined with enhanced wind stress curl, would have allowed CO2-rich waters to mix into the surface ocean from intermediate-depths. The combination of high nutrient availability and a seasonally well-stratified mixed layer likely led to the abrupt increase in export productivity across the region; the excess surface water CO2 shows that alleviation of iron or light limitation could not have been its primary cause. Our new records highlight the importance of overturning circulation in the North Pacific in controlling productivity and CO2 release on glacial/interglacial timescales.

  4. OW ASCAT Ocean Surface Winds

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Advanced Scatterometer (ASCAT) sensor onboard the EUMETSAT MetOp polar-orbiting satellite provides ocean surface wind observations by means of radar...

  5. Primary Life Stage Boron Isotope and Trace Elements Incorporation in Aposymbiotic Acropora millepora Coral under Ocean Acidification and Warming

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Henry C. Wu

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Early-life stages of reef-building corals are vital to coral existence and reef maintenance. It is therefore crucial to study juvenile coral response to future climate change pressures. Moreover, corals are known to be reliable recorders of environmental conditions in their skeletal materials. Aposymbiotic Acropora millepora larvae were cultured in different seawater temperature (27 and 29°C and pCO2 (390 and 750 μatm conditions to understand the impacts of “end of century” ocean acidification (OA and ocean warming (OW conditions on skeletal morphology and geochemistry. The experimental conditions impacted primary polyp juvenile coral skeletal morphology and growth resulting in asymmetric translucent appearances with brittle skeleton features. The impact of OA resulted in microstructure differences with decreased precipitation or lengthening of fasciculi and disorganized aragonite crystals that led to more concentrations of centers of calcifications. The coral skeletal δ11B composition measured by laser ablation MC-ICP-MS was significantly affected by pCO2 (p = 0.0024 and water temperature (p = 1.46 × 10−5. Reconstructed pH of the primary polyp skeleton using the δ11B proxy suggests a difference in coral calcification site and seawater pH consistent with previously observed coral pH up-regulation. Similarly, trace element results measured by laser ablation ICP-MS indicate the impact of pCO2. Primary polyp juvenile Sr/Ca ratio indicates a bias in reconstructed sea surface temperature (SST under higher pCO2 conditions. Coral microstructure content changes (center of calcification and fasciculi due to OA possibly contributed to the variability in B/Ca ratios. Our results imply that increasing OA and OW may lead to coral acclimation issues and species-specific inaccuracies of the commonly used Sr/Ca-SST proxy.

  6. OW CCMP Ocean Surface Wind

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Cross-Calibrated Multi-Platform (CCMP) Ocean Surface Wind Vector Analyses (Atlas et al., 2011) provide a consistent, gap-free long-term time-series of monthly...

  7. Ocean acidification weakens the immune response of blood clam through hampering the NF-kappa β and toll-like receptor pathways.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Saixi; Shi, Wei; Guo, Cheng; Zhao, Xinguo; Han, Yu; Peng, Chao; Chai, Xueliang; Liu, Guangxu

    2016-07-01

    The impact of pCO2 driven ocean acidification on marine bivalve immunity remains poorly understood. To date, this impact has only been investigated in a few bivalve species and the underlying molecular mechanism remains unknown. In the present study, the effects of the realistic future ocean pCO2 levels (pH at 8.1, 7.8, and 7.4) on the total number of haemocyte cells (THC), phagocytosis status, blood cell types composition, and expression levels of twelve genes from the NF-kappa β signaling and toll-like receptor pathways of a typical bottom burrowing bivalve, blood clam (Tegillarca granosa), were investigated. The results obtained showed that while both THC number and phagocytosis frequency were significantly reduced, the percentage of red and basophil granulocytes were significantly decreased and increased, respectively, upon exposure to elevated pCO2. In addition, exposure to pCO2 acidified seawater generally led to a significant down-regulation in the inducer and key response genes of NF-kappa β signaling and toll-like receptor pathways. The results of the present study revealed that ocean acidification may hamper immune responses of the bivalve T. granosa which subsequently render individuals more susceptible to pathogens attacks such as those from virus and bacteria. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Atmosphere-surface interactions over polar oceans and heterogeneous surfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vihma, T.

    1995-12-31

    Processes of interaction between the atmospheric boundary layer and the planetary surface have been studied with special emphasis on polar ocean surfaces: the open ocean, leads, polynyas and sea ice. The local exchange of momentum, heat and moisture has been studied experimentally both in the Weddell Sea and in the Greenland Sea. Exchange processes over heterogeneous surfaces are addressed by modelling studies. Over a homogeneous surface, the local turbulent fluxes can be reasonably well estimated using an iterative flux-profile scheme based on the Monin-Obukhov similarity theory. In the Greenland Sea, the near-surface air temperature and the generally small turbulent fluxes over the open ocean were affected by the sea surface temperature fronts. Over the sea ice cover in the Weddell Sea, the turbulent sensible heat flux was generally downwards, and together with an upward oceanic heat flux through the ice it compensated the heat loss from the surface via long-wave radiation. The wind dominated on time scales of days, while the current became important on longer time scales. The drift dynamics showed apparent spatial differences between the eastern and western regions, as well as between the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the rest of the Weddell Sea. Inertial motion was present in regions of low ice concentration. The surface heterogeneity, arising e.g. from roughness or temperature distribution, poses a problem for the parameterization of surface exchange processes in large-scale models. In the case of neutral flow over a heterogeneous terrain, an effective roughness length can be used to parameterize the roughness effects

  9. Atmosphere-surface interactions over polar oceans and heterogeneous surfaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vihma, T

    1996-12-31

    Processes of interaction between the atmospheric boundary layer and the planetary surface have been studied with special emphasis on polar ocean surfaces: the open ocean, leads, polynyas and sea ice. The local exchange of momentum, heat and moisture has been studied experimentally both in the Weddell Sea and in the Greenland Sea. Exchange processes over heterogeneous surfaces are addressed by modelling studies. Over a homogeneous surface, the local turbulent fluxes can be reasonably well estimated using an iterative flux-profile scheme based on the Monin-Obukhov similarity theory. In the Greenland Sea, the near-surface air temperature and the generally small turbulent fluxes over the open ocean were affected by the sea surface temperature fronts. Over the sea ice cover in the Weddell Sea, the turbulent sensible heat flux was generally downwards, and together with an upward oceanic heat flux through the ice it compensated the heat loss from the surface via long-wave radiation. The wind dominated on time scales of days, while the current became important on longer time scales. The drift dynamics showed apparent spatial differences between the eastern and western regions, as well as between the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the rest of the Weddell Sea. Inertial motion was present in regions of low ice concentration. The surface heterogeneity, arising e.g. from roughness or temperature distribution, poses a problem for the parameterization of surface exchange processes in large-scale models. In the case of neutral flow over a heterogeneous terrain, an effective roughness length can be used to parameterize the roughness effects

  10. Application of a nonparametric approach to analyze delta-pCO2 data from the Southern Ocean

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Pretorius, WB

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available NONPARAMETRIC APPROACH TO ANALYZE ?pCO2 DATA FROM THE SOUTHERN OCEAN Wesley B. Pretorius*1, Sonali Das2 and Paul J. Mostert1 *1 Cell: 0722897595, Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602...(9-10):1601-1622. Tans, P.P., Fung, I. Y. & Takahashi, T. 1990 Observational constraints on the global atmospheric CO2-budget. Science, 247:1431-1438. Telszewski, M., Chazottes, A., Schuster, U., Watson, A.J., Moulin, C., Bakker, D.C.E., Gonzalez-Davila, M...

  11. MERRA 2D IAU Ocean Surface Diagnostic, Single Level, Time Avg 1-hr (2/3x1/2L1) V5.2.0

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The MAT1NXOCN or tavg1_2d_ocn_Nx data product is the MERRA Data Assimilation System 2-Dimensional ocean surface single-level diagnostics that is time averaged...

  12. Effect of ocean acidification on growth and otolith condition of juvenile scup, Stenotomus chrysops.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perry, Dean M; Redman, Dylan H; Widman, James C; Meseck, Shannon; King, Andrew; Pereira, Jose J

    2015-09-01

    Increasing amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) from human industrial activities are causing changes in global ocean carbonate chemistry, resulting in a reduction in pH, a process termed "ocean acidification." It is important to determine which species are sensitive to elevated levels of CO2 because of potential impacts to ecosystems, marine resources, biodiversity, food webs, populations, and effects on economies. Previous studies with marine fish have documented that exposure to elevated levels of CO2 caused increased growth and larger otoliths in some species. This study was conducted to determine whether the elevated partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) would have an effect on growth, otolith (ear bone) condition, survival, or the skeleton of juvenile scup, Stenotomus chrysops, a species that supports both important commercial and recreational fisheries. Elevated levels of pCO2 (1200-2600 μatm) had no statistically significant effect on growth, survival, or otolith condition after 8 weeks of rearing. Field data show that in Long Island Sound, where scup spawn, in situ levels of pCO2 are already at levels ranging from 689 to 1828 μatm due to primary productivity, microbial activity, and anthropogenic inputs. These results demonstrate that ocean acidification is not likely to cause adverse effects on the growth and survivability of every species of marine fish. X-ray analysis of the fish revealed a slightly higher incidence of hyperossification in the vertebrae of a few scup from the highest treatments compared to fish from the control treatments. Our results show that juvenile scup are tolerant to increases in seawater pCO2, possibly due to conditions this species encounters in their naturally variable environment and their well-developed pH control mechanisms.

  13. Ocean acidification alters the otoliths of a pantropical fish species with implications for sensory function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bignami, Sean; Enochs, Ian C; Manzello, Derek P; Sponaugle, Su; Cowen, Robert K

    2013-04-30

    Ocean acidification affects a wide diversity of marine organisms and is of particular concern for vulnerable larval stages critical to population replenishment and connectivity. Whereas it is well known that ocean acidification will negatively affect a range of calcareous taxa, the study of fishes is more limited in both depth of understanding and diversity of study species. We used new 3D microcomputed tomography to conduct in situ analysis of the impact of ocean acidification on otolith (ear stone) size and density of larval cobia (Rachycentron canadum), a large, economically important, pantropical fish species that shares many life history traits with a diversity of high-value, tropical pelagic fishes. We show that 2,100 μatm partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) significantly increased not only otolith size (up to 49% greater volume and 58% greater relative mass) but also otolith density (6% higher). Estimated relative mass in 800 μatm pCO2 treatments was 14% greater, and there was a similar but nonsignificant trend for otolith size. Using a modeling approach, we demonstrate that these changes could affect auditory sensitivity including a ∼50% increase in hearing range at 2,100 μatm pCO2, which may alter the perception of auditory information by larval cobia in a high-CO2 ocean. Our results indicate that ocean acidification has a graded effect on cobia otoliths, with the potential to substantially influence the dispersal, survival, and recruitment of a pelagic fish species. These results have important implications for population maintenance/replenishment, connectivity, and conservation efforts for other valuable fish stocks that are already being deleteriously impacted by overfishing.

  14. Effects of ocean acidification driven by elevated CO2 on larval shell growth and abnormal rates of the venerid clam, Mactra veneriformis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jee-Hoon; Yu, Ok Hwan; Yang, Eun Jin; Kang, Sung-Ho; Kim, Won; Choy, Eun Jung

    2016-11-01

    The venerid clam ( Mactra veneriformis Reeve 1854) is one of the main cultured bivalve species in intertidal and shallow subtidal ecosystems along the west coast of Korea. To understand the effects of ocean acidification on the early life stages of Korean clams, we investigated shell growth and abnormality rates and types in the D-shaped, umbonate veliger, and pediveliger stages of the venerid clam M. veneriformis during exposure to elevated seawater pCO2. In particular, we examined abnormal types of larval shell morphology categorized as shell deformations, shell distortions, and shell fissures. Specimens were incubated in seawater equilibrated with bubbled CO2-enriched air at (400±25)×10-6 (ambient control), (800±25)×10-6 (high pCO2), or (1 200±28)×10-6 (extremely high pCO2), the atmospheric CO2 concentrations predicted for the years 2014, 2084, and 2154 (70-year intervals; two human generations), respectively, in the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 scenario. The mean shell lengths of larvae were significantly decreased in the high and extremely high pCO2 groups compared with the ambient control groups. Furthermore, under high and extremely high pCO2 conditions, the cultures exhibited significantly increased abundances of abnormal larvae and increased severity of abnormalities compared with the ambient control. In the umbonate veliger stage of the experimental larvae, the most common abnormalities were shell deformations, distortions, and fissures; on the other hand, convex hinges and mantle protuberances were absent. These results suggest that elevated CO2 exerts an additional burden on the health of M. veneriformis larvae by impairing early development.

  15. Polycystic Ovary-Like Abnormalities (PCO-L) in women with functional hypothalamic amenorrhea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robin, G; Gallo, C; Catteau-Jonard, S; Lefebvre-Maunoury, C; Pigny, P; Duhamel, A; Dewailly, D

    2012-11-01

    In the general population, about 30% of asymptomatic women have polycystic ovary-like abnormalities (PCO-L), i.e. polycystic ovarian morphology (PCOM) at ultrasound and/or increased anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) serum level. PCOM has also been reported in 30-50% of women with functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (FHA). The aim of this study was to verify whether both PCOM and excessive AMH level indicate PCO-L in FHA and to elucidate its significance. We conducted a retrospective analysis using a database and comparison with a control population. Subjects received ambulatory care in an academic hospital. Fifty-eight patients with FHA were compared to 217 control women with nonendocrine infertility and body mass index of less than 25 kg/m(2). There were no interventions. We measured serum testosterone, androstenedione, FSH, LH, AMH, and ovarian area values. The antral follicle count (AFC) was used as a binary variable (i.e. negative or positive) because of the evolution of its sensitivity over the time of this study. The ability of these variables (except AFC) to detect PCO-L in both populations was tested by cluster analysis. One cluster (cluster 2) suggesting PCO-L was detected in the control population (n = 52; 24%), whereas two such clusters were observed in the FHA population (n = 22 and n = 6; 38 and 10%; clusters 2 and 3, respectively). Cluster 2 in FHA had similar features of PCO-L as cluster 2 in controls, with higher prevalence of positive AFC (70%) and PCOM (70%), higher values of ovarian area and higher serum AMH (P < 0.0001 for all), and testosterone levels (P < 0.01) than in cluster 1. Cluster 3 in FHA was peculiar, with frankly elevated AMH levels. In the whole population (controls + FHA), PCO-L was significantly associated with lower FSH values (P < 0.0001). PCO-L in FHA is a frequent and usually incidental finding of unclear significance, as in controls. The association of PCO-L with hypothalamic amenorrhea should not lead to a mistaken diagnosis of

  16. Bipolar disorder in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCO.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fatemeh Davari-Tanha

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This study was designed to determine the prevalence of bipolar disorder in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCO. One hundred and ten women with definite diagnosis of PCO and one hundred and ten age-matched infertile women due to other reasons except for PCO were enrolled in this case-control study. Ten ml fasting venous blood sample obtained to measure fasting glucose, LH and FSH. Height, weight and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR were also recorded by an expert technician. A psychiatrist examined all 220 cases in order to determine the prevalence of depression and bipolarity. Mean age of each group participants were not significantly different while FBS, LH and LH/FSH levels were significantly higher in PCO patients. Eighty eight case were depressed in PCO group while 96 were depressed in control group (P=0.03. Bipolar disorder were higher in PCO group in comparison with controls (8 vs. 0, P=0.004. Psychiatric disorders should be considered in PCO women.

  17. A multi-decade record of high-quality fCO2 data in version 3 of the Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bakker, Dorothee; Landa, Camilla S.; Pfeil, Benjamin; Metzl, Nicolas; O’Brien, Kevin; Olsen, Are; Smith, Karl; Cosca, Cathy; Harasawa, Sumiko; Nakaoka, Shin-ichiro; Jones, Stephen; Nojiri, Yukihiro; Steinhoff, Tobias; Sweeney, Colm; Schuster, Ute; Takahashi, Taro; Tilbrook, Bronte; Wada, Chisato; Wanninkhof, Rik; Alin, Simone R.; Balestrini, Carlos F.; Barbero, Leticia; Bates, Nicholas; Bianchi, Alejandro A.; Bonou, Frédéric; Boutin, Jacqueline; Bozec, Yann; Burger, Eugene F.; Cai, Wei-Jun; Castle, Robert D.; Chen, Liqi; Chierici, Melissa; Currie, Kim; Evans, Wiley; Featherstone, Charles; Feely, Richard; Fransson, Agneta; Goyet, Catherine; Greenwood, Naomi; Gregor, Luke; Hankin, Steven C.; Hardman-Mountford, Nick J.; Harlay, Jérôme; Hauck, Judith; Hoppema, Mario; Humphreys, Matthew P.; Hunt, Christopher W.; Huss, Betty; Ibánhez, J. Severino P.; Johannessen, Truls; Keeling, Ralph F.; Kitidis, Vassilis; Körtzinger, Arne; Kozyr, Alex; Krasakopoulou, Evangelia; Kuwata, Akira; Landschützer, Peter; Lauvset, Siv K.; Lefèvre, Nathalie; Lo Monaco, Claire; Manke, Ansley; Mathis, Jeremy T.; Merlivat, Liliane; Millero, Frank J.; Monteiro, Pedro M. S.; Munro, David R.; Murata, Akihiko; Newberger, Timothy; Omar, Abdirahman M.; Ono, Tsuneo; Paterson, Kristina; Pearce, David; Pierrot, Denis; Robbins, Lisa L.; Saito, Shu; Salisbury, Joe; Schlitzer, Reiner; Schneider, Bernd; Schweitzer, Roland; Sieger, Rainer; Skjelvan, Ingunn; Sullivan, Kevin F.; Sutherland, Stewart C.; Sutton, Adrienne J.; Tadokoro, Kazuaki; Telszewski, Maciej; Tuma, Matthias; van Heuven, Steven M. A. C.; Vandemark, Douglas; Ward, Brian; Watson, Andrew J.; Xu, Suqing

    2016-01-01

    The Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas (SOCAT) is a synthesis of quality-controlled f CO2 (fugacity of carbon dioxide) values for the global surface oceans and coastal seas with regular updates. Version 3 of SOCAT has 14.7 million f CO2 values from 3646 data sets covering the years 1957 to 2014. This latest version has an additional 4.6 million f CO2 values relative to version 2 and extends the record from 2011 to 2014. Version 3 also significantly increases the data availability for 2005 to 2013. SOCAT has an average of approximately 1.2 million surface water f CO2 values per year for the years 2006 to 2012. Quality and documentation of the data has improved. A new feature is the data set quality control (QC) flag of E for data from alternative sensors and platforms. The accuracy of surface water f CO2 has been defined for all data set QC flags. Automated range checking has been carried out for all data sets during their upload into SOCAT. The upgrade of the interactive Data Set Viewer (previously known as the Cruise Data Viewer) allows better interrogation of the SOCAT data collection and rapid creation of high-quality figures for scientific presentations. Automated data upload has been launched for version 4 and will enable more frequent SOCAT releases in the future. High-profile scientific applications of SOCAT include quantification of the ocean sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide and its long-term variation, detection of ocean acidification, as well as evaluation of coupled-climate and ocean-only biogeochemical models. Users of SOCAT data products are urged to acknowledge the contribution of data providers, as stated in the SOCAT Fair Data Use Statement. This ESSD (Earth System Science Data) “living data” publication documents the methods and data sets used for the assembly of this new version of the SOCAT data collection and compares these with those used for earlier versions of the data collection (Pfeil et al., 2013; Sabine et al., 2013; Bakker et al., 2014). 

  18. Carbon dioxide in northern high latitude oceans: Anthropogenic increase and air-sea flux variability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Omar, Abdirahman M.

    2003-07-01

    The aim of this thesis is to further our knowledge of carbon dioxide in the northern high latitude oceans (northern North Atlantic, Barents Sea, and Arctic Ocean) by studying the anthropogenic change in the oceanic CO2, the inter-annual variability of the air-sea CO2 flux, and the relationship between this variability and changes in other oceanic processes. An introductory chapter and four papers are presented. Descriptions of the seawater carbonate system parameters, air-sea exchange of CO2, and related processes are given in the introduction chapter. The anthropogenic increase in partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) in the surface water of the Barents Sea is evaluated in paper I. The effect of alternations of the Barents Sea climate between cold and warm modes on the annual cycles of seawater fugacity and air-sea flux of CO2 is investigated in paper II. Oceanic uptake of atmospheric CO2 associated with the seasonal formation of sea ice in Storfjorden and the implication for the entire Arctic Ocean is studied in paper III. An assessment of the variations of the air-sea flux of CO2 in the northern North Atlantic for 20 winters (1981-2001) is carried out in paper IV. PCO2 in the surface water of the Barents Sea is shown to have increased parallel with the atmospheric pCO2 between 1967 and 2000-2001 (paper I). This was determined by comparing seawater pCO2 from 1967 with that from 2000-2001. The former was estimated from surface seawater temperature (SST) while the latter was computed from data of total dissolved inorganic carbon and alkalinity. A procedure which accounts for the natural variability was applied and the difference between seawater pC02 of 1967 and that of 2000-2001 is attributed to the uptake of excess CO2. In the Atlantic sector of the Barents Sea, the surface seawater fugacity of CO2 (fCO s''w) is shown to be lower than the atmospheric fCO2 throughout the year, implying that the area is an annual sink of atmospheric CO2 (paper II). Additionally

  19. Carbon dioxide in northern high latitude oceans: Anthropogenic increase and air-sea flux variability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Omar, Abdirahman M.

    2003-01-01

    The aim of this thesis is to further our knowledge of carbon dioxide in the northern high latitude oceans (northern North Atlantic, Barents Sea, and Arctic Ocean) by studying the anthropogenic change in the oceanic CO2, the inter-annual variability of the air-sea CO2 flux, and the relationship between this variability and changes in other oceanic processes. An introductory chapter and four papers are presented. Descriptions of the seawater carbonate system parameters, air-sea exchange of CO2, and related processes are given in the introduction chapter. The anthropogenic increase in partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) in the surface water of the Barents Sea is evaluated in paper I. The effect of alternations of the Barents Sea climate between cold and warm modes on the annual cycles of seawater fugacity and air-sea flux of CO2 is investigated in paper II. Oceanic uptake of atmospheric CO2 associated with the seasonal formation of sea ice in Storfjorden and the implication for the entire Arctic Ocean is studied in paper III. An assessment of the variations of the air-sea flux of CO2 in the northern North Atlantic for 20 winters (1981-2001) is carried out in paper IV. PCO2 in the surface water of the Barents Sea is shown to have increased parallel with the atmospheric pCO2 between 1967 and 2000-2001 (paper I). This was determined by comparing seawater pCO2 from 1967 with that from 2000-2001. The former was estimated from surface seawater temperature (SST) while the latter was computed from data of total dissolved inorganic carbon and alkalinity. A procedure which accounts for the natural variability was applied and the difference between seawater pC02 of 1967 and that of 2000-2001 is attributed to the uptake of excess CO2. In the Atlantic sector of the Barents Sea, the surface seawater fugacity of CO2 (fCO s''w) is shown to be lower than the atmospheric fCO2 throughout the year, implying that the area is an annual sink of atmospheric CO2 (paper II). Additionally, changes

  20. Monthly dynamics of carbon dioxide exchange across the sea surface of the Arctic Ocean in response to changes in gas transfer velocity and partial pressure of CO2 in 2010

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iwona Wrobel

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The Arctic Ocean (AO is an important basin for global oceanic carbon dioxide (CO2 uptake, but the mechanisms controlling air–sea gas fluxes are not fully understood, especially over short and long timescales. The oceanic sink of CO2 is an important part of the global carbon budget. Previous studies have shown that in the AO differences in the partial pressure of CO2 (ΔpCO2 and gas transfer velocity (k both contribute significantly to interannual air–sea CO2 flux variability, but that k is unimportant for multidecadal variability. This study combined Earth Observation (EO data collected in 2010 with the in situ pCO2 dataset from Takahashi et al. (2009 (T09 using a recently developed software toolbox called FluxEngine to determine the importance of k and ΔpCO2 on CO2 budgets in two regions of the AO – the Greenland Sea (GS and the Barents Sea (BS with their continental margins. Results from the study indicate that the variability in wind speed and, hence, the gas transfer velocity, generally play a major role in determining the temporal variability of CO2 uptake, while variability in monthly ΔpCO2 plays a major role spatially, with some exceptions.

  1. The Interrelationship of pCO2, Soil Moisture Content, and Biomass Fertilization Expressed in the Carbon Isotope Signature of C3 Plant Tissue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schubert, B.; Jahren, A. H.

    2017-12-01

    Hundreds of chamber and field experiments have shown an increase in C3 plant biomass in response to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (pCO2); however, secondary water and nutrient deficits are thought to limit this response. Some have hypothesized that secondary limitation might be self-alleviating under elevated pCO2 as greater root biomass imparts enhanced access to water and nutrients. Here we present results of growth chamber experiments designed to test this hypothesis: we grew 206 Arabidopsis thaliana plants within 5 growth chambers, each set at a different level of pCO2: 390, 685, 1075, 1585, and 2175 ppmv. Within each growth chamber, soil moisture content (θm) was maintained across a spectrum: 1.50, 0.83, 0.44, and 0.38 g g-1. After 3 weeks of total growth, tissues were analyzed for both biomass and net carbon isotope discrimination (Δ13C) value. From these values, we calculated Δresidual, which represents the residual effect of water stress after subtraction of the effect of pCO2 due to photorespiration. Across the full range of moisture content, Δresidual displayed a significant 2.5‰ increase with increasing pCO2. This further implies a 0.1 unit increase in ci/ca, consistent with decreased water stress at elevated pCO2. The influence of CO2 fertilization on the alleviation of water stress was further evidenced in a positive correlation between percent biomass change and Δresidual, such that a doubling of plant biomass yielded a 1.85‰ increase in carbon isotope discrimination. In addition to providing new insight into water uptake in plants growing under elevated carbon dioxide, these data underscore the importance of separating the effects of increased pCO2 (via photorespiration) and altered ci/ca (via stomatal conductance) when considering changes in the Δ13C value of C3 land plants during the Anthropocene, or across any geological period that includes a marked change in global carbon cycling.

  2. Physiological response of the cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus to thermal stress and ocean acidification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gori, Andrea; Ferrier-Pagès, Christine; Hennige, Sebastian J; Murray, Fiona; Rottier, Cécile; Wicks, Laura C; Roberts, J Murray

    2016-01-01

    Rising temperatures and ocean acidification driven by anthropogenic carbon emissions threaten both tropical and temperate corals. However, the synergistic effect of these stressors on coral physiology is still poorly understood, in particular for cold-water corals. This study assessed changes in key physiological parameters (calcification, respiration and ammonium excretion) of the widespread cold-water coral Desmophyllum dianthus maintained for ∼8 months at two temperatures (ambient 12 °C and elevated 15 °C) and two pCO2 conditions (ambient 390 ppm and elevated 750 ppm). At ambient temperatures no change in instantaneous calcification, respiration or ammonium excretion rates was observed at either pCO2 levels. Conversely, elevated temperature (15 °C) significantly reduced calcification rates, and combined elevated temperature and pCO2 significantly reduced respiration rates. Changes in the ratio of respired oxygen to excreted nitrogen (O:N), which provides information on the main sources of energy being metabolized, indicated a shift from mixed use of protein and carbohydrate/lipid as metabolic substrates under control conditions, to less efficient protein-dominated catabolism under both stressors. Overall, this study shows that the physiology of D. dianthus is more sensitive to thermal than pCO2 stress, and that the predicted combination of rising temperatures and ocean acidification in the coming decades may severely impact this cold-water coral species.

  3. Simulated 21st century's increase in oceanic suboxia by CO2-enhanced biotic carbon export

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oschlies, Andreas; Schulz, Kai G.; Riebesell, Ulf; Schmittner, Andreas

    2008-12-01

    The primary impacts of anthropogenic CO2 emissions on marine biogeochemical cycles predicted so far include ocean acidification, global warming induced shifts in biogeographical provinces, and a possible negative feedback on atmospheric CO2 levels by CO2-fertilized biological production. Here we report a new potentially significant impact on the oxygen-minimum zones of the tropical oceans. Using a model of global climate, ocean circulation, and biogeochemical cycling, we extrapolate mesocosm-derived experimental findings of a pCO2-sensitive increase in biotic carbon-to-nitrogen drawdown to the global ocean. For a simulation run from the onset of the industrial revolution until A.D. 2100 under a "business-as-usual" scenario for anthropogenic CO2 emissions, our model predicts a negative feedback on atmospheric CO2 levels, which amounts to 34 Gt C by the end of this century. While this represents a small alteration of the anthropogenic perturbation of the carbon cycle, the model results reveal a dramatic 50% increase in the suboxic water volume by the end of this century in response to the respiration of excess organic carbon formed at higher CO2 levels. This is a significant expansion of the marine "dead zones" with severe implications not only for all higher life forms but also for oxygen-sensitive nutrient recycling and, hence, for oceanic nutrient inventories.

  4. Cascading effects of ocean acidification in a rocky subtidal community.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valentina Asnaghi

    Full Text Available Temperate marine rocky habitats may be alternatively characterized by well vegetated macroalgal assemblages or barren grounds, as a consequence of direct and indirect human impacts (e.g. overfishing and grazing pressure by herbivorous organisms. In future scenarios of ocean acidification, calcifying organisms are expected to be less competitive: among these two key elements of the rocky subtidal food web, coralline algae and sea urchins. In order to highlight how the effects of increased pCO2 on individual calcifying species will be exacerbated by interactions with other trophic levels, we performed an experiment simultaneously testing ocean acidification effects on primary producers (calcifying and non-calcifying algae and their grazers (sea urchins. Artificial communities, composed by juveniles of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus and calcifying (Corallina elongata and non-calcifying (Cystoseira amentacea var stricta, Dictyota dichotoma macroalgae, were subjected to pCO2 levels of 390, 550, 750 and 1000 µatm in the laboratory. Our study highlighted a direct pCO2 effect on coralline algae and on sea urchin defense from predation (test robustness. There was no direct effect on the non-calcifying macroalgae. More interestingly, we highlighted diet-mediated effects on test robustness and on the Aristotle's lantern size. In a future scenario of ocean acidification a decrease of sea urchins' density is expected, due to lower defense from predation, as a direct consequence of pH decrease, and to a reduced availability of calcifying macroalgae, important component of urchins' diet. The effects of ocean acidification may therefore be contrasting on well vegetated macroalgal assemblages and barren grounds: in the absence of other human impacts, a decrease of biodiversity can be predicted in vegetated macroalgal assemblages, whereas a lower density of sea urchin could help the recovery of shallow subtidal rocky areas affected by overfishing from

  5. Cascading effects of ocean acidification in a rocky subtidal community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asnaghi, Valentina; Chiantore, Mariachiara; Mangialajo, Luisa; Gazeau, Frédéric; Francour, Patrice; Alliouane, Samir; Gattuso, Jean-Pierre

    2013-01-01

    Temperate marine rocky habitats may be alternatively characterized by well vegetated macroalgal assemblages or barren grounds, as a consequence of direct and indirect human impacts (e.g. overfishing) and grazing pressure by herbivorous organisms. In future scenarios of ocean acidification, calcifying organisms are expected to be less competitive: among these two key elements of the rocky subtidal food web, coralline algae and sea urchins. In order to highlight how the effects of increased pCO2 on individual calcifying species will be exacerbated by interactions with other trophic levels, we performed an experiment simultaneously testing ocean acidification effects on primary producers (calcifying and non-calcifying algae) and their grazers (sea urchins). Artificial communities, composed by juveniles of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus and calcifying (Corallina elongata) and non-calcifying (Cystoseira amentacea var stricta, Dictyota dichotoma) macroalgae, were subjected to pCO2 levels of 390, 550, 750 and 1000 µatm in the laboratory. Our study highlighted a direct pCO2 effect on coralline algae and on sea urchin defense from predation (test robustness). There was no direct effect on the non-calcifying macroalgae. More interestingly, we highlighted diet-mediated effects on test robustness and on the Aristotle's lantern size. In a future scenario of ocean acidification a decrease of sea urchins' density is expected, due to lower defense from predation, as a direct consequence of pH decrease, and to a reduced availability of calcifying macroalgae, important component of urchins' diet. The effects of ocean acidification may therefore be contrasting on well vegetated macroalgal assemblages and barren grounds: in the absence of other human impacts, a decrease of biodiversity can be predicted in vegetated macroalgal assemblages, whereas a lower density of sea urchin could help the recovery of shallow subtidal rocky areas affected by overfishing from barren grounds to

  6. Ocean acidification reduces growth and calcification in a marine dinoflagellate

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van de Waal, D.B.; John, U.; Ziveri, P.; Reichart, G.J.; Hoins, M.; Sluijs, A.; Rost, B.

    2013-01-01

    Ocean acidification is considered a major threat to marine ecosystems and may particularly affect calcifying organisms such as corals, foraminifera and coccolithophores. Here we investigate the impact of elevated pCO2 and lowered pH on growth and calcification in the common calcareous dinoflagellate

  7. Ocean acidification does not affect the physiology of the tropical coral Acropora digitifera during a 5-week experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takahashi, A.; Kurihara, H.

    2013-03-01

    The increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration, which has resulted from the burning of fossil fuels, is being absorbed by the oceans and is causing ocean acidification. Ocean acidification involves the decrease of both the pH and the calcium carbonate saturation state. Ocean acidification is predicted to impact the physiology of marine organisms and reduce the calcification rates of corals. In the present study, we measured the rates of calcification, respiration, photosynthesis, and zooxanthellae density of the tropical coral Acropora digitifera under near-natural summertime temperature and sunlight for a 5-week period. We found that these key physiological parameters were not affected by both mid-CO2 (pCO2 = 744 ± 38, pH = 7.97 ± 0.02, Ωarag = 2.6 ± 0.1) and high-CO2 conditions (pCO2 = 2,142 ± 205, pH = 7.56 ± 0.04, Ωarag = 1.1 ± 0.2) throughout the 35 days experimental period. Additionally, there was no significant correlation between calcification rate and seawater aragonite saturation (Ωarag). These results suggest that the impacts of ocean acidification on corals physiology may be more complex than have been previously proposed.

  8. Crystal structure and dimerization equilibria of PcoC, a methionine-rich copper resistance protein from Escherichia coli

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wernimont, A.K.; Huffman, D.L.; Finney, L.A.; Demeler, B.; O' Halloran, T.V.; Rosenzweig, A.C.

    2010-03-08

    PcoC is a soluble periplasmic protein encoded by the plasmid-born pco copper resistance operon of Escherichia coli. Like PcoA, a multicopper oxidase encoded in the same locus and its chromosomal homolog CueO, PcoC contains unusual methionine rich sequences. Although essential for copper resistance, the functions of PcoC, PcoA, and their conserved methionine-rich sequences are not known. Similar methionine motifs observed in eukaryotic copper transporters have been proposed to bind copper, but there are no precedents for such metal binding sites in structurally characterized proteins. The high-resolution structures of apo PcoC, determined for both the native and selenomethionine-containing proteins, reveal a seven-stranded barrel with the methionines unexpectedly housed on a solvent-exposed loop. Several potential metal-binding sites can be discerned by comparing the structures to spectroscopic data reported for copper-loaded PcoC. In the native structure, the methionine loop interacts with the same loop on a second molecule in the asymmetric unit. In the selenomethionine structure, the methionine loops are more exposed, forming hydrophobic patches on the protein surface. These two arrangements suggest that the methionine motifs might function in protein-protein interactions between PcoC molecules or with other methionine-rich proteins such as PcoA. Analytical ultracentrifugation data indicate that a weak monomer-dimer equilibrium exists in solution for the apo protein. Dimerization is significantly enhanced upon binding Cu(I) with a measured {Delta}({Delta}G{sup o}) {le} -8.0 kJ/mole, suggesting that copper might bind at the dimer interface.

  9. Effects of sulfate ligand on uranyl carbonato surface species on ferrihydrite surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arai, Yuji; Fuller, C C

    2012-01-01

    Understanding uranium (U) sorption processes in permeable reactive barriers (PRB) are critical in modeling reactive transport for evaluating PRB performance at the Fry Canyon demonstration site in Utah, USA. To gain insight into the U sequestration mechanism in the amorphous ferric oxyhydroxide (AFO)-coated gravel PRB, U(VI) sorption processes on ferrihydrite surfaces were studied in 0.01 M Na(2)SO(4) solutions to simulate the major chemical composition of U-contaminated groundwater (i.e., [SO(4)(2-)] ~13 mM L(-1)) at the site. Uranyl sorption was greater at pH 7.5 than that at pH 4 in both air- and 2% pCO(2)-equilibrated systems. While there were negligible effects of sulfate ligands on the pH-dependent U(VI) sorption (carbonato U(VI) ternary surface species became more important. At 2% pCO(2), there was no contribution of sulfate ligands on the U(VI) ternary surface species. Instead, a mixture of bis-carbonato inner-sphere (38%) and tris-carbonato outer-sphere U(VI) ternary surface species (62%) was found at pH 7.62. The study suggests that the competitive ligand (bicarbonate and sulfate) coordination on U(VI) surface species might be important in evaluating the U solid-state speciation in the AFO PRB at the study site where pCO(2) fluctuates between 1 and 2 pCO(2)%. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Ocean acidification compromises recruitment success of the threatened Caribbean coral Acropora palmata.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albright, Rebecca; Mason, Benjamin; Miller, Margaret; Langdon, Chris

    2010-11-23

    Ocean acidification (OA) refers to the ongoing decline in oceanic pH resulting from the uptake of atmospheric CO(2). Mounting experimental evidence suggests that OA will have negative consequences for a variety of marine organisms. Whereas the effect of OA on the calcification of adult reef corals is increasingly well documented, effects on early life history stages are largely unknown. Coral recruitment, which necessitates successful fertilization, larval settlement, and postsettlement growth and survivorship, is critical to the persistence and resilience of coral reefs. To determine whether OA threatens successful sexual recruitment of reef-building corals, we tested fertilization, settlement, and postsettlement growth of Acropora palmata at pCO(2) levels that represent average ambient conditions during coral spawning (∼400 μatm) and the range of pCO(2) increases that are expected to occur in this century [∼560 μatm (mid-CO(2)) and ∼800 μatm (high-CO(2))]. Fertilization, settlement, and growth were all negatively impacted by increasing pCO(2), and impairment of fertilization was exacerbated at lower sperm concentrations. The cumulative impact of OA on fertilization and settlement success is an estimated 52% and 73% reduction in the number of larval settlers on the reef under pCO(2) conditions projected for the middle and the end of this century, respectively. Additional declines of 39% (mid-CO(2)) and 50% (high-CO(2)) were observed in postsettlement linear extension rates relative to controls. These results suggest that OA has the potential to impact multiple, sequential early life history stages, thereby severely compromising sexual recruitment and the ability of coral reefs to recover from disturbance.

  11. Underway pCO2 Measurements in Surface Waters and the Atmosphere During the R/V Xue Long Arctic CHINARE2010 Expedition in the North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean from 2010-07-09 to 2010-09-06 (NCEI Accession 0164193)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NCEI Accession 0164193 includes Surface underway, chemical, meteorological and physical data collected from R/V Xue Long Arctic CHINARE2010 Expedition in the North...

  12. Characteristics of coupled atmosphere-ocean CO2 sensitivity experiments with different ocean formulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Washington, W.M.; Meehl, G.A.

    1990-01-01

    The Community Climate Model at the National Center for Atmospheric Research has been coupled to a simple mixed-layer ocean model and to a coarse-grid ocean general circulation model (OGCM). This paper compares the responses of simulated climate to increases of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in these two coupled models. Three types of simulations were run: (1) control runs with both ocean models, with CO 2 held constant at present-day concentrations, (2) instantaneous doubling of atmospheric CO 2 (from 330 to 660 ppm) with both ocean models, and (3) a gradually increasing (transient) CO 2 concentration starting at 330 ppm and increasing linearly at 1% per year, with the OGCM. The mixed-layer and OGCM cases exhibit increases of 3.5 C and 1.6 C, respectively, in globally averaged surface air temperature for the instantaneous doubling cases. The transient-forcing case warms 0.7 C by the end of 30 years. The mixed-layer ocean yields warmer-than-observed tropical temperatures and colder-than-observed temperatures in the higher latitudes. The coarse-grid OGCM simulates lower-than-observed sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the tropics and higher-than-observed SSTs and reduced sea-ice extent at higher latitudes. Sensitivity in the OGCM after 30 years is much lower than in simulations with the same atmosphere coupled to a 50-m slab-ocean mixed layer. The OGCM simulates a weaker thermohaline circulation with doubled CO 2 as the high-latitude ocean-surface layer warms and freshens and the westerly wind stress decreases. Convective overturning in the OGCM decreases substantially with CO 2 warming

  13. Characteristics of coupled atmosphere-ocean CO2 sensitivity experiments with different ocean formulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Washington, W.M.; Meehl, G.A.

    1991-01-01

    The Community Climate Model at the National Center for Atmospheric Research has been coupled to a simple mixed-layer ocean model and to a coarse-grid ocean general circulation model (OGCM). This paper compares the responses of simulated climate to increases of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) in these two coupled models. Three types of simulations were run: (1) control runs with both ocean models, with CO 2 held constant at present-day concentrations, (2) instantaneous doubling of atmospheric CO 2 (from 330 to 660 ppm) with both ocean models, and (3) a gradually increasing (transient) CO 2 concentration starting at 330 ppm and increasing linearly at 1% per year, with the OGCM. The mixed-layer and OGCM cases exhibit increases of 3.5 C and 1.6 C, respectively, in globally averaged surface air temperature for the instantaneous doubling cases. The transient-forcing case warms 0.7 C by the end of 30 years. The mixed-layer ocean yields warmer-than-observed tropical temperatures and colder-than-observed temperatures in the higher latitudes. The coarse-grid OGCM simulates lower-than-observed sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the tropics and higher-than-observed SSTs and reduced sea-ice extent at higher latitudes. Sensitivity in the OGCM after 30 years is much lower than in simulations with the same atmosphere coupled to a 50-m slab-ocean mixed layer. The OGCM simulates a weaker thermohaline circulation with doubled CO 2 as the high-latitude ocean-surface layer warms and freshens and the westerly wind stress decreases. Convective overturning in the OGCM decreases substantially with CO 2 warming. 46 refs.; 20 figs.; 1 tab

  14. DORADO/DOLPHIN: A Unique Semi-submersible Autonomous Vehicle for Ocean Field Experiments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, D.

    2016-02-01

    The Ocean Science and Technology research group (CERC.OCEAN) at Dalhousie University focuses on new approaches to the design and development of autonomous platforms to study biogeochemical and ecological changes in the world's oceans. Mesoscale "patch" experiments involving tracers are used to test hypotheses (e.g. iron fertilization) and examine near-surface processes and air-sea exchange. Such experiments typically require mapping of rapidly-evolving properties on scales of 10's to 100's of kilometers. These experiments typically employ a research vessel to monitor patch movement and to support process studies: however allocation of expensive vessel time between these uses can be problematic. We present a class of autonomous vehicle with unique potential for mesoscale mapping and experimental science at sea. The Dorado/Dolphin semi-submersibles, manufactured by International Submarine Engineering Ltd., travel just below the sea surface. A surface-piercing, "snorkel" mast allows use of a diesel engine allowing speeds of up to 16 knots and sufficient power for support of complex payloads. A tow-body can profile to 200m. The mast allows air sampling with near-zero atmospheric disturbance as well as remote sensing of the sea surface. The characteristics of this type of vehicle will be compared with those of other available platforms. We will report on our adaptation of the vehicle for measurement of gases and purposeful tracers (e.g. SF5CF3) as well as properties such as T, S, pCO2, O2, fluorescence, etc. and present and solicit ideas for the vehicles' further application/use for ocean science.

  15. Development of a Continuous Phytoplankton Culture System for Ocean Acidification Experiments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cathryn Wynn-Edwards

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Around one third of all anthropogenic CO2 emissions have been absorbed by the oceans, causing changes in seawater pH and carbonate chemistry. These changes have the potential to affect phytoplankton, which are critically important for marine food webs and the global carbon cycle. However, our current knowledge of how phytoplankton will respond to these changes is limited to a few laboratory and mesocosm experiments. Long-term experiments are needed to determine the vulnerability of phytoplankton to enhanced pCO2. Maintaining phytoplankton cultures in exponential growth for extended periods of time is logistically difficult and labour intensive. Here we describe a continuous culture system that greatly reduces the time required to maintain phytoplankton cultures, and minimises variation in experimental pCO2 treatments over time. This system is simple, relatively cheap, flexible, and allows long-term experiments to be performed to further our understanding of chronic responses and adaptation by phytoplankton species to future ocean acidification.

  16. Transgenerational exposure of North Atlantic bivalves to ocean acidification renders offspring more vulnerable to low pH and additional stressors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffith, Andrew W; Gobler, Christopher J

    2017-09-12

    While early life-stage marine bivalves are vulnerable to ocean acidification, effects over successive generations are poorly characterized. The objective of this work was to assess the transgenerational effects of ocean acidification on two species of North Atlantic bivalve shellfish, Mercenaria mercenaria and Argopecten irradians. Adults of both species were subjected to high and low pCO 2 conditions during gametogenesis. Resultant larvae were exposed to low and ambient pH conditions in addition to multiple, additional stressors including thermal stress, food-limitation, and exposure to a harmful alga. There were no indications of transgenerational acclimation to ocean acidification during experiments. Offspring of elevated pCO 2 -treatment adults were significantly more vulnerable to acidification as well as the additional stressors. Our results suggest that clams and scallops are unlikely to acclimate to ocean acidification over short time scales and that as coastal oceans continue to acidify, negative effects on these populations may become compounded and more severe.

  17. Ocean acidification effects on mesozooplankton community development: Results from a long-term mesocosm experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Algueró-Muñiz, María; Alvarez-Fernandez, Santiago; Thor, Peter; Bach, Lennart T.; Esposito, Mario; Horn, Henriette G.; Ecker, Ursula; Langer, Julia A. F.; Taucher, Jan; Malzahn, Arne M.; Riebesell, Ulf; Boersma, Maarten

    2017-01-01

    Ocean acidification may affect zooplankton directly by decreasing in pH, as well as indirectly via trophic pathways, where changes in carbon availability or pH effects on primary producers may cascade up the food web thereby altering ecosystem functioning and community composition. Here, we present results from a mesocosm experiment carried out during 113 days in the Gullmar Fjord, Skagerrak coast of Sweden, studying plankton responses to predicted end-of-century pCO2 levels. We did not observe any pCO2 effect on the diversity of the mesozooplankton community, but a positive pCO2 effect on the total mesozooplankton abundance. Furthermore, we observed species-specific sensitivities to pCO2 in the two major groups in this experiment, copepods and hydromedusae. Also stage-specific pCO2 sensitivities were detected in copepods, with copepodites being the most responsive stage. Focusing on the most abundant species, Pseudocalanus acuspes, we observed that copepodites were significantly more abundant in the high-pCO2 treatment during most of the experiment, probably fuelled by phytoplankton community responses to high-pCO2 conditions. Physiological and reproductive output was analysed on P. acuspes females through two additional laboratory experiments, showing no pCO2 effect on females’ condition nor on egg hatching. Overall, our results suggest that the Gullmar Fjord mesozooplankton community structure is not expected to change much under realistic end-of-century OA scenarios as used here. However, the positive pCO2 effect detected on mesozooplankton abundance could potentially affect biomass transfer to higher trophic levels in the future. PMID:28410436

  18. Response of halocarbons to ocean acidification in the Arctic

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hopkins, F.E.; Kimmance, S.A.; Stephens, J.A.; Bellerby, R.G.J.; Brussaard, C.P.D.; Czerny, J.; Schulz, K.G.; Archer, S.D.

    2013-01-01

    The potential effect of ocean acidification (OA) on seawater halocarbons in the Arctic was investigated during a mesocosm experiment in Spitsbergen in June-July 2010. Over a period of 5 weeks, natural phytoplankton communities in nine similar to 50 m(3) mesocosms were studied under a range of pCO(2)

  19. Response of halocarbons to ocean acidification in the Arctic

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hopkins, F.E.; Kimmance, S.A.; Stephens, J.A.; Bellerby, R.G.J.; Brussaard, C.P.D.; Czerny, J.; Schulz, K.G.; Archer, S.D.

    2013-01-01

    The potential effect of ocean acidification (OA) on seawater halocarbons in the Arctic was investigated during a mesocosm experiment in Spitsbergen in June-July 2010. Over a period of 5 weeks, natural phytoplankton communities in nine ~ 50 m3 mesocosms were studied under a range of pCO2 treatments

  20. Carbon Dioxide, Hydrographic, and Chemical Data Obtained During the R/V Thomas G. Thompson Cruise in the Pacific Ocean

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sabine, C.L.; Key, R.M.; Hall, M.; Kozyr, A.

    1999-08-01

    This data documentation discusses the procedures and methods used to measure total carbon dioxide (TCO2), total alkalinity (TALK), and radiocarbon (delta 14C), at hydrographic stations, as well as the underway partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) during the R/V Thomas G. Thompson oceanographic cruise in the Pacific Ocean (Section P10). Conducted as part of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE), the cruise began in Suva, Fiji, on October 5, 1993, and ended in Yokohama, Japan, on November 10, 1993. Measurements made along WOCE Section P10 included pressure, temperature, salinity [measured by conductivity temperature, and depth sensor (CTD)], bottle salinity, bottle oxygen, phosphate, nitrate, silicate, chlorofluorocarbons (CFC-11, CFC-12), TCO2, TALK, delta 14C, and underway pCO2.

  1. Variability of the carbonate chemistry in a shallow, seagrass-dominated ecosystem: implications for ocean acidification experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Challener, Roberta; Robbins, Lisa L.; Mcclintock, James B.

    2016-01-01

    Open ocean observations have shown that increasing levels of anthropogenically derived atmospheric CO2 are causing acidification of the world's oceans. Yet little is known about coastal acidification and studies are just beginning to characterise the carbonate chemistry of shallow, nearshore zones where many ecologically and economically important organisms occur. We characterised the carbonate chemistry of seawater within an area dominated by seagrass beds (Saint Joseph Bay, Florida) to determine the extent of variation in pH and pCO2 over monthly and daily timescales. Distinct diel and seasonal fluctuations were observed at daily and monthly timescales respectively, indicating the influence of photosynthetic and respiratory processes on the local carbonate chemistry. Over the course of a year, the range in monthly values of pH (7.36-8.28), aragonite saturation state (0.65-5.63), and calculated pCO2 (195-2537 μatm) were significant. When sampled on a daily basis the range in pH (7.70-8.06), aragonite saturation state (1.86-3.85), and calculated pCO2 (379-1019 μatm) also exhibited significant range and indicated variation between timescales. The results of this study have significant implications for the design of ocean acidification experiments where nearshore species are utilised and indicate that coastal species are experiencing far greater fluctuations in carbonate chemistry than previously thought.

  2. Ocean acidification effects on Caribbean scleractinian coral calcification using a recirculating system: a novel approach to OA research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Projected increases in ocean pCO2 levels are likely to affect calcifying organisms more rapidly and to a greater extent than any other marine organisms. The effects of ocean acidification (OA) has been documented in numerous species of corals in both laboratory and field studies....

  3. Ventilatory effects of hypercapnic end-tidal PCO2 clamps during aerobic exercise of varying intensity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Essfeld, D; Hoffmann, U; Stegemann, J

    1990-01-01

    Nine subjects performed a sequence of sustained and randomised changes between 40 W and 100 W on a cycle ergometer while the end-tidal PO2 was kept close to 17.3 kPa (130 mm Hg) by means of a dynamic forcing technique (reference experiment). In a second series inspiratory CO2 was additionally manipulated so as to hold end-tidal PCO2 (PETCO2) near 6.5 kPa (49 mm Hg; 'CO2-clamp' experiment). By this forcing PETCO2 oscillations were attenuated and more evenly distributed over the frequency range. Ventilation (VT) responded to this manoeuvre with an upward trend that could not be ascribed to a slow CO2-response component, changes in metabolic rate or a dissociation of end-tidal and arterial PCO2. VT differences between reference and CO2-clamp experiments were abolished within a 3-min period following the termination of the external CO2 control. The present results suggest that the CO2-H+ stimulus plays a major role in adjusting ventilation when exercise intensity is decreased. The underlying CO2 effect appears to be neither additive nor bi-directionally symmetrical.

  4. Effect of ocean acidification on the fatty acid composition of a natural plankton community

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leu, E.; Daase, M.; Schulz, K. G.; Stuhr, A.; Riebesell, U.

    2013-02-01

    The effect of ocean acidification on the fatty acid composition of a natural plankton community in the Arctic was studied in a large-scale mesocosm experiment, carried out in Kongsfjorden (Svalbard, Norway) at 79° N. Nine mesocosms of ~50 m3 each were exposed to 8 different pCO2 levels (from natural background conditions to ~1420 μatm), yielding pH values (on the total scale) from ~8.3 to 7.5. Inorganic nutrients were added on day 13. The phytoplankton development during this 30-day experiment passed three distinct phases: (1) prior to the addition of inorganic nutrients, (2) first bloom after nutrient addition, and (3) second bloom after nutrient addition. The fatty acid composition of the natural plankton community was analysed and showed, in general, high percentages of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs): 44-60% of total fatty acids. Positive correlations with pCO2 were found for most PUFAs during phases 2 and/or 3, with the exception of 20:5n3 (eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA), an important diatom marker. These correlations are probably linked to changes in taxonomic composition in response to pCO2. While diatoms (together with prasinophytes and haptophytes) increased during phase 3 mainly in the low and intermediate pCO2 treatments, dinoflagellates were favoured by high CO2 concentrations during the same time period. This is reflected in the development of group-specific fatty acid trophic markers. No indications were found for a generally detrimental effect of ocean acidification on the planktonic food quality in terms of essential fatty acids.

  5. Autumn CO2 chemistry in the Japan Sea and the impact of discharges from the Changjiang River

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kosugi, Naohiro; Sasano, Daisuke; Ishii, Masao; Enyo, Kazutaka; Saito, Shu

    2016-08-01

    We made comprehensive surface water CO2 chemistry observations in the Japan Sea during each autumn from 2010 to 2014. The partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) in surface water, 312-329 μatm, was 10-30 μatm lower in the Japan Sea than in the same latitude range of the western North Pacific adjacent to Japan. According to the sensitivity analysis of pCO2, the lower pCO2 in the Japan Sea was primarily attributable to a large seasonal decrease of pCO2 associated with strong cooling in autumn, particularly in the northern Japan Sea. In contrast, the lower pCO2 in relatively warm, freshwater in the southern Japan Sea was attributable to not only the thermodynamic effect of the temperature changes but also high total alkalinity. This alkalinity had its origin in Changjiang River and was transported by Changjiang diluted water (CDW) which seasonally runs into the Japan Sea from the East China Sea. The input of total alkalinity through CDW also elevated the saturation state of calcium carbonate minerals and mitigated the effects of anthropogenic ocean acidification, at least during autumn. These biogeochemical impacts of CDW in the Japan Sea last until November, although the inflow from the East China Sea to the Japan Sea almost ceases by the end of September. The long duration of the high saturation state of calcium carbonate benefits calcareous marine organisms.

  6. Ocean acidification hampers sperm-egg collisions, gamete fusion, and generation of Ca2+ oscillations of a broadcast spawning bivalve, Tegillarca granosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Wei; Han, Yu; Guo, Cheng; Zhao, Xinguo; Liu, Saixi; Su, Wenhao; Wang, Yichen; Zha, Shanjie; Chai, Xueliang; Liu, Guangxu

    2017-09-01

    Although the effect of ocean acidification on fertilization success of marine organisms is increasingly well documented, the underlying mechanisms are not completely understood. The fertilization success of broadcast spawning invertebrates depends on successful sperm-egg collisions, gamete fusion, and standard generation of Ca 2+ oscillations. Therefore, the realistic effects of future ocean pCO 2 levels on these specific aspects of fertilization of Tegillarca granosa were investigated in the present study through sperm velocity trials, fertilization kinetics model analysis, and intracellular Ca 2+ assays, respectively. Results obtained indicated that ocean acidification significantly reduced the fertilization success of T. granosa, which could be accountable by (i) decreased sperm velocity hence reducing the probability for sperm-egg collisions; (ii) lowered probability of gamete fusion for each gamete collision event; and (iii) disrupted intracellular Ca 2+ oscillations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Calcifying invertebrates succeed in a naturally CO2-rich coastal habitat but are threatened by high levels of future acidification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Wahl

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available CO2 emissions are leading to an acidification of the oceans. Predicting marine community vulnerability towards acidification is difficult, as adaptation processes cannot be accounted for in most experimental studies. Naturally CO2 enriched sites thus can serve as valuable proxies for future changes in community structure. Here we describe a natural analogue site in the Western Baltic Sea. Seawater pCO2 in Kiel Fjord is elevated for large parts of the year due to upwelling of CO2 rich waters. Peak pCO2 values of >230 Pa (>2300 μatm and pHNBS values of pCO2 values are ~70 Pa (~700 μatm. In contrast to previously described naturally CO2 enriched sites that have suggested a progressive displacement of calcifying auto- and heterotrophic species, the macrobenthic community in Kiel Fjord is dominated by calcifying invertebrates. We show that blue mussels from Kiel Fjord can maintain control rates of somatic and shell growth at a pCO2 of 142 Pa (1400 μatm, pHNBS = 7.7. Juvenile mussel recruitment peaks during the summer months, when high water pCO2 values of ~100 Pa (~1000 μatm prevail. Our findings indicate that calcifying keystone species may be able to cope with surface ocean pHNBS values projected for the end of this century when food supply is sufficient. However, owing to non-linear synergistic effects of future acidification and upwelling of corrosive water, peak seawater pCO2 in Kiel Fjord and many other productive estuarine habitats could increase to values >400 Pa (>4000 μatm. These changes will most likely affect calcification and recruitment, and increase external shell dissolution.

  8. Sensory Qualities of Oysters Unaltered by a Short Exposure to Combined Elevated pCO2 and Temperature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anaëlle J. Lemasson

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Reliance on the marine environment for the provision of food is ever-increasing, but future climate change threatens production. Despite this concern, the impact on seafood quality and success of the seafood industry is unknown. Using a short-term study, we test these concerns using a major aquaculture species—Crassostrea gigas—exposing them to three acidification and warming scenarios: (1 ambient pCO2 (~400 ppm & control temperature (15°C, (2 ambient pCO2 (~400 ppm & elevated temperature (20°C, (3 elevated pCO2 (~1,000 ppm & elevated temperature (20°C. Oyster quality was assessed by scoring appearance, aroma, taste, and overall acceptability. A panel of five experts was asked to score nine oysters—three from each treatment—according to agreed criteria. Results indicate that these levels of acidification and warming did not significantly alter the sensory properties of C. gigas, and notably the overall acceptability remained unchanged. Non-statistically supported trends suggest that several sensory attributes—opacity, mouthfeel, aspect of meat, shininess, meat resistance, meat texture, and creaminess—may improve under acidification and warming scenarios. These findings can be considered positive for the future of the aquaculture and food sectors. Crassostrea gigas therefore is expected to remain a key species for food security that is resilient to climate change, whilst retaining its valuable attributes.

  9. Mapping Global Ocean Surface Albedo from Satellite Observations: Models, Algorithms, and Datasets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, X.; Fan, X.; Yan, H.; Li, A.; Wang, M.; Qu, Y.

    2018-04-01

    Ocean surface albedo (OSA) is one of the important parameters in surface radiation budget (SRB). It is usually considered as a controlling factor of the heat exchange among the atmosphere and ocean. The temporal and spatial dynamics of OSA determine the energy absorption of upper level ocean water, and have influences on the oceanic currents, atmospheric circulations, and transportation of material and energy of hydrosphere. Therefore, various parameterizations and models have been developed for describing the dynamics of OSA. However, it has been demonstrated that the currently available OSA datasets cannot full fill the requirement of global climate change studies. In this study, we present a literature review on mapping global OSA from satellite observations. The models (parameterizations, the coupled ocean-atmosphere radiative transfer (COART), and the three component ocean water albedo (TCOWA)), algorithms (the estimation method based on reanalysis data, and the direct-estimation algorithm), and datasets (the cloud, albedo and radiation (CLARA) surface albedo product, dataset derived by the TCOWA model, and the global land surface satellite (GLASS) phase-2 surface broadband albedo product) of OSA have been discussed, separately.

  10. Performance of a digital PCO2/SPO2 ear sensor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kocher, Serge; Rohling, Roman; Tschupp, Andres

    2004-04-01

    For determining the adequacy of ventilation, conventional pulse oximetry should be amended by PaCO2 (= arterial carbon dioxide partial pressure). This study investigates the precision of carbon dioxide measurements of the first digital ear-clip sensor providing continuous non-invasive monitoring of PaCO2, SpO2 (= functional arterial oxygen saturation as estimated with a pulse oximeter) and pulse rate and compares it to two conventional analog oximeters. 30 hypoxemia episodes in 6 adult volunteers were investigated in a standardized protocol. Masimo analog finger sensor, Nellcor analog ear sensor, SenTec digital ear sensor. The difference between PCO2 data (= PaCO2 estimated from the measured PcCO2 based on an algorithm by Severinghaus) (PcCO2 = cutaneous carbon dioxide pressure) and the PaCO2 is clinically unimportant. Therefore, we suggest, the two methods of estimating patient's carbon dioxide status can be used interchangeably. Combined digital SpO2/ PcCO2 ear sensors are very promising to allow for a fast and reliable monitoring of patient's oxygenation, hyper-/hypocapnia and ventilation with one single non-invasive probe. Optimal primary signal processing--amplification and digitalisation within the probe--allow for fast and reliable downstream signal processing algorithms. The resulting short SpO2 response times give the medical staff more time to take appropriate actions.

  11. Carbon Dioxide, Hydrographic, and Chemical Data Obtained During the R/V Thomas G. Thompson Cruise in the Pacific Ocean; TOPICAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sabine, C.L.; Key, R.M.; Hall, M.; Kozyr, A.

    1999-01-01

    This data documentation discusses the procedures and methods used to measure total carbon dioxide (TCO2), total alkalinity (TALK), and radiocarbon (delta 14C), at hydrographic stations, as well as the underway partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) during the R/V Thomas G. Thompson oceanographic cruise in the Pacific Ocean (Section P10). Conducted as part of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE), the cruise began in Suva, Fiji, on October 5, 1993, and ended in Yokohama, Japan, on November 10, 1993. Measurements made along WOCE Section P10 included pressure, temperature, salinity[measured by conductivity temperature, and depth sensor (CTD)], bottle salinity, bottle oxygen, phosphate, nitrate, silicate, chlorofluorocarbons (CFC-11, CFC-12), TCO2, TALK, delta 14C, and underway pCO2

  12. Satellite Remote Sensing of Ocean Winds, Surface Waves and Surface Currents during the Hurricanes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, G.; Perrie, W. A.; Liu, G.; Zhang, L.

    2017-12-01

    Hurricanes over the ocean have been observed by spaceborne aperture radar (SAR) since the first SAR images were available in 1978. SAR has high spatial resolution (about 1 km), relatively large coverage and capability for observations during almost all-weather, day-and-night conditions. In this study, seven C-band RADARSAT-2 dual-polarized (VV and VH) ScanSAR wide images from the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) Hurricane Watch Program in 2017 are collected over five hurricanes: Harvey, Irma, Maria, Nate, and Ophelia. We retrieve the ocean winds by applying our C-band Cross-Polarization Coupled-Parameters Ocean (C-3PO) wind retrieval model [Zhang et al., 2017, IEEE TGRS] to the SAR images. Ocean waves are estimated by applying a relationship based on the fetch- and duration-limited nature of wave growth inside hurricanes [Hwang et al., 2016; 2017, J. Phys. Ocean.]. We estimate the ocean surface currents using the Doppler Shift extracted from VV-polarized SAR images [Kang et al., 2016, IEEE TGRS]. C-3PO model is based on theoretical analysis of ocean surface waves and SAR microwave backscatter. Based on the retrieved ocean winds, we estimate the hurricane center locations, maxima wind speeds, and radii of the five hurricanes by adopting the SHEW model (Symmetric Hurricane Estimates for Wind) by Zhang et al. [2017, IEEE TGRS]. Thus, we investigate possible relations between hurricane structures and intensities, and especially some possible effects of the asymmetrical characteristics on changes in the hurricane intensities, such as the eyewall replacement cycle. The three SAR images of Ophelia include the north coast of Ireland and east coast of Scotland allowing study of ocean surface currents respond to the hurricane. A system of methods capable of observing marine winds, surface waves, and surface currents from satellites is of value, even if these data are only available in near real-time or from SAR-related satellite images. Insight into high resolution ocean winds

  13. Ocean acidification disrupts prey responses to predator cues but not net prey shell growth in Concholepas concholepas (loco).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manríquez, Patricio H; Jara, María Elisa; Mardones, María Loreto; Navarro, Jorge M; Torres, Rodrigo; Lardies, Marcos A; Vargas, Cristian A; Duarte, Cristian; Widdicombe, Stephen; Salisbury, Joseph; Lagos, Nelson A

    2013-01-01

    Most research on Ocean Acidification (OA) has largely focused on the process of calcification and the physiological trade-offs employed by calcifying organisms to support the building of calcium carbonate structures. However, there is growing evidence that OA can also impact upon other key biological processes such as survival, growth and behaviour. On wave-swept rocky shores the ability of gastropods to self-right after dislodgement, and rapidly return to normal orientation, reduces the risk of predation. The impacts of OA on this self-righting behaviour and other important parameters such as growth, survival, shell dissolution and shell deposition in Concholepas concholepas (loco) were investigated under contrasting pCO2 levels. Although no impacts of OA on either growth or net shell calcification were found, the results did show that OA can significantly affect self-righting behaviour during the early ontogeny of this species with significantly faster righting times recorded for individuals of C. concholepas reared under increased average pCO2 concentrations (± SE) (716 ± 12 and 1036 ± 14 µatm CO2) compared to those reared at concentrations equivalent to those presently found in the surface ocean (388 ± 8 µatm CO2). When loco were also exposed to the predatory crab Acanthocyclus hassleri, righting times were again increased by exposure to elevated CO2, although self-righting times were generally twice as fast as those observed in the absence of the crab. These results suggest that self-righting in the early ontogeny of C. concholepas will be positively affected by pCO2 levels expected by the end of the 21st century and beginning of the next one. However, as the rate of self-righting is an adaptive trait evolved to reduce lethal predatory attacks, our result also suggest that OA may disrupt prey responses to predators in nature.

  14. Effect of temperature rise and ocean acidification on growth of calcifying tubeworm shells (Spirorbis spirorbis): an in situ benthocosm approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ni, Sha; Taubner, Isabelle; Böhm, Florian; Winde, Vera; Böttcher, Michael E.

    2018-03-01

    The calcareous tubeworm Spirorbis spirorbis is a widespread serpulid species in the Baltic Sea, where it commonly grows as an epibiont on brown macroalgae (genus Fucus). It lives within a Mg-calcite shell and could be affected by ocean acidification and temperature rise induced by the predicted future atmospheric CO2 increase. However, Spirorbis tubes grow in a chemically modified boundary layer around the algae, which may mitigate acidification. In order to investigate how increasing temperature and rising pCO2 may influence S. spirorbis shell growth we carried out four seasonal experiments in the Kiel Outdoor Benthocosms at elevated pCO2 and temperature conditions. Compared to laboratory batch culture experiments the benthocosm approach provides a better representation of natural conditions for physical and biological ecosystem parameters, including seasonal variations. We find that growth rates of S. spirorbis are significantly controlled by ontogenetic and seasonal effects. The length of the newly grown tube is inversely related to the initial diameter of the shell. Our study showed no significant difference of the growth rates between ambient atmospheric and elevated (1100 ppm) pCO2 conditions. No influence of daily average CaCO3 saturation state on the growth rates of S. spirorbis was observed. We found, however, net growth of the shells even in temporarily undersaturated bulk solutions, under conditions that concurrently favoured selective shell surface dissolution. The results suggest an overall resistance of S. spirorbis growth to acidification levels predicted for the year 2100 in the Baltic Sea. In contrast, S. spirorbis did not survive at mean seasonal temperatures exceeding 24 °C during the summer experiments. In the autumn experiments at ambient pCO2, the growth rates of juvenile S. spirorbis were higher under elevated temperature conditions. The results reveal that S. spirorbis may prefer moderately warmer conditions during their early life stages

  15. Acclimation of bloom-forming and perennial seaweeds to elevated pCO2 conserved across levels of environmental complexity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Dong; Schaum, Charlotte-Elisa; Lin, Fan; Sun, Ke; Munroe, James R; Zhang, Xiao W; Fan, Xiao; Teng, Lin H; Wang, Yi T; Zhuang, Zhi M; Ye, Naihao

    2017-11-01

    Macroalgae contribute approximately 15% of the primary productivity in coastal marine ecosystems, fix up to 27.4 Tg of carbon per year, and provide important structural components for life in coastal waters. Despite this ecological and commercial importance, direct measurements and comparisons of the short-term responses to elevated pCO 2 in seaweeds with different life-history strategies are scarce. Here, we cultured several seaweed species (bloom forming/nonbloom forming/perennial/annual) in the laboratory, in tanks in an indoor mesocosm facility, and in coastal mesocosms under pCO 2 levels ranging from 400 to 2,000 μatm. We find that, across all scales of the experimental setup, ephemeral species of the genus Ulva increase their photosynthesis and growth rates in response to elevated pCO 2 the most, whereas longer-lived perennial species show a smaller increase or a decrease. These differences in short-term growth and photosynthesis rates are likely to give bloom-forming green seaweeds a competitive advantage in mixed communities, and our results thus suggest that coastal seaweed assemblages in eutrophic waters may undergo an initial shift toward communities dominated by bloom-forming, short-lived seaweeds. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  16. Ocean Acidification from space: recent advances

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabia, Roberto; Shutler, Jamie; Land, Peter; Fernandez-Prieto, Diego; Donlon, Craig; Reul, Nicolas

    2017-04-01

    The phenomenon referred to as Ocean Acidification (OA) is gathering increasing attention as one of the major foci of climate-related research, for its profound impact at scientific and socio-economic level. To date, the majority of the scientific studies into the potential impacts of OA have focused on in-situ measurements, laboratory-controlled experiments and models simulations. Satellite remote sensing technology have yet to be fully exploited, despite it has been stressed it could play a significant role by providing synoptic and frequent measurements for investigating globally OA processes, also extending in-situ carbonate chemistry measurements on different spatial/temporal scales [1,2]. Within this context, the purpose of the recently completed ESA "Pathfinders - Ocean Acidification" project was to quantitatively and routinely estimate OA-related parameters by means of a blending of satellite observations and model outputs in five case-study regions (global ocean, Amazon plume, Barents sea, Greater Caribbean and Bay of Bengal). Satellite Ocean Colour, Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and Sea Surface Salinity (SSS) have been exploited, with an emphasis on the latter being the latest addition to the portfolio of satellite measured parameters. A proper merging of these different satellites products allows computing at least two independent proxies among the seawater carbonate system parameters: the partial pressure of CO2 in surface seawater (pCO2); the total Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC), the total alkalinity (TA) and the surface ocean pH. In the project, efforts have been devoted to a systematic characterization of TA and DIC from space in the mentioned case-study regions; in this paper, also through the knowledge of these parameters, the objective is to come up with the currently best educated guess of the surface ocean pH [3] and Aragonite saturation state. This will also include an estimation of the achievable accuracy by propagating the errors in the

  17. A diatom record of CO2 decline since the late Miocene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mejía, Luz María; Méndez-Vicente, Ana; Abrevaya, Lorena; Lawrence, Kira T.; Ladlow, Caroline; Bolton, Clara; Cacho, Isabel; Stoll, Heather

    2017-12-01

    Extratropical sea surface temperature records from alkenones record a dramatic cooling of up to 17 °C over the last ∼14 Ma, but the relationship between this cooling and greenhouse gas forcing has been elusive due to sparse and contrasting reconstructions of atmospheric CO2 for the time period. Alkenone carbon isotopic fractionation during photosynthesis has previously been used to estimate changes in pCO2 over this interval, but is complicated by significant changes in cell size of the alkenone-producing coccolithophorids over this time period. In this study, we reconstruct carbon isotopic fractionation during photosynthesis (εp) using organic compounds trapped within the frustules of pennate diatoms in sediments from the Eastern Equatorial Pacific Ocean at Ocean Drilling Program Site 846 over the last ∼13 Ma. Physical separation of pennate diatoms prior to measuring carbon isotopic fractionation enables us to obtain a record with constant cell geometry, eliminating this factor of uncertainty in our pCO2 reconstruction. In the past ∼11 Ma, εp declines from 15.5 to 10.3‰. Using the classic diffusive model and taking into account variations in opal content, alkenone concentration and coccolith Sr/Ca as indicators of past productivity and growth rate, and sea surface temperature records from the site, we estimate a decline in pCO2 from 454 (+ / - 41) to 250 (+ / - 15) ppmv between ∼11 and 6 Ma. Models accounting for changing the significance of active carbon uptake for photosynthesis, which likely produce more accurate CO2 estimates, suggest a significant larger pCO2 decline of up to twice that shown by the classic diffusive model (in average from 794 (+ / - 233) ppmv at ∼11 Ma to 288 (+/-25) ppmv at ∼6 Ma, considering growth rates varying between 0.5 and 1.7 day-1). Large uncertainties in the pCO2 estimated between ∼8 and 11 Ma using the active uptake model are related to the growth rate used for calculations. Together, these results suggest CO2

  18. Potential controls of isoprene in the surface ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hackenberg, S. C.; Andrews, S. J.; Airs, R.; Arnold, S. R.; Bouman, H. A.; Brewin, R. J. W.; Chance, R. J.; Cummings, D.; Dall'Olmo, G.; Lewis, A. C.; Minaeian, J. K.; Reifel, K. M.; Small, A.; Tarran, G. A.; Tilstone, G. H.; Carpenter, L. J.

    2017-04-01

    Isoprene surface ocean concentrations and vertical distribution, atmospheric mixing ratios, and calculated sea-to-air fluxes spanning approximately 125° of latitude (80°N-45°S) over the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans are reported. Oceanic isoprene concentrations were associated with a number of concurrently monitored biological variables including chlorophyll a (Chl a), photoprotective pigments, integrated primary production (intPP), and cyanobacterial cell counts, with higher isoprene concentrations relative to all respective variables found at sea surface temperatures greater than 20°C. The correlation between isoprene and the sum of photoprotective carotenoids, which is reported here for the first time, was the most consistent across all cruises. Parameterizations based on linear regression analyses of these relationships perform well for Arctic and Atlantic data, producing a better fit to observations than an existing Chl a-based parameterization. Global extrapolation of isoprene surface water concentrations using satellite-derived Chl a and intPP reproduced general trends in the in situ data and absolute values within a factor of 2 between 60% and 85%, depending on the data set and algorithm used.

  19. Coccolithophore growth and calcification in a changing ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krumhardt, Kristen M.; Lovenduski, Nicole S.; Iglesias-Rodriguez, M. Debora; Kleypas, Joan A.

    2017-12-01

    Coccolithophores are the most abundant calcifying phytoplankton in the ocean. These tiny primary producers have an important role in the global carbon cycle, substantially contributing to global ocean calcification, ballasting organic matter to the deep sea, forming part of the marine food web base, and influencing ocean-atmosphere CO2 exchange. Despite these important impacts, coccolithophores are not explicitly simulated in most marine ecosystem models and, therefore, their impacts on carbon cycling are not represented in most Earth system models. Here, we compile field and laboratory data to synthesize overarching, across-species relationships between environmental conditions and coccolithophore growth rates and relative calcification (reported as a ratio of particulate inorganic carbon to particulate organic carbon in coccolithophore biomass, PIC/POC). We apply our relationships in a generalized coccolithophore model, estimating current surface ocean coccolithophore growth rates and relative calcification, and projecting how these may change over the 21st century using output from the Community Earth System Model large ensemble. We find that average increases in sea surface temperature of ∼ 2-3 ° C lead to faster coccolithophore growth rates globally (> 10% increase) and increased calcification at high latitudes. Roughly an ubiquitous doubling of surface ocean pCO2 by the end of the century has the potential to moderately stimulate coccolithophore growth rates, but leads to reduced calcification (∼ 25% decrease). Decreasing nutrient availability (from warming-induced increases in stratification) produces increases in relative calcification, but leads to ∼ 25% slower growth rates. With all drivers combined, we observe decreases in calcification and growth in most low and mid latitude regions, with possible increases in both of these responses in most high latitude regions. Major limitations of our coccolithophore model stem from a lack of conclusive

  20. Seasonal controls on surface pCO2 in the central and eastern ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    , low-level atmospheric. Findlater Jet (Findlater 1969, 1974) generates strong gradients in the wind stress over the Arabian Sea. To the northwest of the jet axis, a positive wind stress curl drives divergence (open-ocean upwelling) through.

  1. Ocean Acidification Accelerates the Growth of Two Bloom-Forming Macroalgae.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, Craig S; Gobler, Christopher J

    2016-01-01

    While there is growing interest in understanding how marine life will respond to future ocean acidification, many coastal ecosystems currently experience intense acidification in response to upwelling, eutrophication, or riverine discharge. Such acidification can be inhibitory to calcifying animals, but less is known regarding how non-calcifying macroalgae may respond to elevated CO2. Here, we report on experiments performed during summer through fall with North Atlantic populations of Gracilaria and Ulva that were grown in situ within a mesotrophic estuary (Shinnecock Bay, NY, USA) or exposed to normal and elevated, but environmentally realistic, levels of pCO2 and/or nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus). In nearly all experiments, the growth rates of Gracilaria were significantly increased by an average of 70% beyond in situ and control conditions when exposed to elevated levels of pCO2 (p0.05). The δ13C content of both Gracilaria and Ulva decreased two-to-three fold when grown under elevated pCO2 (pacidification, a process that will intensify in the coming decades.

  2. Diagnostic significance of pleural fluid pH and pCO2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K.E. Sobhey

    2015-10-01

    Results: We conducted this study on 50 patients with pleural effusions of different causes. The patients were classified into 5 groups according to the cause. For all the patients, measurement of pleural pH, pCO2, pO2, HCO3, protein, LDH, glucose and WBC was done. We observed lowest pH in complicated parapneumonic effusion (empyema 6.80 ± 0.15 and highest pH was observed in transudative effusion 7.47 ± 0.07. Tuberculous effusion has pH lower than pH of malignant effusion 7.17 ± 0.017 and 7.39 ± 0.08, respectively. Post pleurodesis malignant effusion has pH lower than pH of malignant effusion 7.28 ± 0.17 and 7.39 ± 0.08, respectively. There is a strong inverse correlation between pH and pCO2, WBC, LDH and protein (r = −0.813 and p < 0.001, (r = −0.796 and p, 0.001, (r = −0.829 and p, 0.001 and (r = −.837 and p, 0.001, respectively. While there is a weak correlation between pH and glucose of pleural fluid (r = 0.249 and p = 0.066. The highest increase of PNL numbers was in empyema (20169 ± 8094.8 cells/cc.The highest increase of lymphocytes was in malignant effusions (4285.00 ± 2948.20 cells/cc and tuberculous effusion (3977.7 ± 3169 cells/cc.

  3. Declining Atmospheric pCO2 During the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene: New Insights from Paired Alkenone and Coccolith Stable Isotope Barometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phelps, S. R.; Polissar, P. J.; deMenocal, P. B.; Swann, J. P.; Guo, M. Y.; Stoll, H. M.

    2015-12-01

    The relationship between atmospheric CO2 concentrations and climate is broadly understood for the Cenozoic era: warmer periods are associated with higher atmospheric carbon dioxide. This understanding is supported by atmospheric samples of the past 800,000 years from ice cores, which suggest CO2 levels play a key role in regulating global climate on glacial interglacial timescales as well. In this context, the late Miocene poses a challenge: sea-surface temperatures indicate substantial global warmth, though existing data suggest atmospheric CO2 concentrations were lower than pre-industrial values. Recent work using the stable carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of coccolith calcite has demonstrated these organisms began actively diverting inorganic carbon away from calcification and to the site of photosynthesis during the late Miocene. This process occurs in culture experiments in response to low aqueous CO2 concentrations, and suggests decreasing atmospheric pCO2 values during the late Miocene. Here we present new data from ODP Site 806 in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean that supports declining atmospheric CO2 across the late Miocene. Carbon isotope values of coccolith calcite from Site 806 demonstrate carbon limitation and re-allocation of inorganic carbon to photosynthesis starting between ~8 and 6 Ma. The timing of this limitation at Site 806 precedes shifts at other ODP sites, reflecting the higher mixed layer temperature and resultant lower CO2 solubility at Site 806. New measurements of carbon isotope values from alkenones at Site 806 show an increase in photosynthetic carbon fractionation (ɛp) accompanied the carbon limitation evident from coccolith calcite stable isotope data. While higher ɛp is typically interpreted as higher CO2 concentrations, at Site 806, our data suggest it reflects enhancement of chloroplast CO2 from active carbon transport by the coccolithophore algae in response to lower CO2 concentrations. Our new data from ODP Site

  4. The SURFEXv7.2 land and ocean surface platform for coupled or offline simulation of earth surface variables and fluxes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Masson

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available SURFEX is a new externalized land and ocean surface platform that describes the surface fluxes and the evolution of four types of surfaces: nature, town, inland water and ocean. It is mostly based on pre-existing, well-validated scientific models that are continuously improved. The motivation for the building of SURFEX is to use strictly identical scientific models in a high range of applications in order to mutualise the research and development efforts. SURFEX can be run in offline mode (0-D or 2-D runs or in coupled mode (from mesoscale models to numerical weather prediction and climate models. An assimilation mode is included for numerical weather prediction and monitoring. In addition to momentum, heat and water fluxes, SURFEX is able to simulate fluxes of carbon dioxide, chemical species, continental aerosols, sea salt and snow particles. The main principles of the organisation of the surface are described first. Then, a survey is made of the scientific module (including the coupling strategy. Finally, the main applications of the code are summarised. The validation work undertaken shows that replacing the pre-existing surface models by SURFEX in these applications is usually associated with improved skill, as the numerous scientific developments contained in this community code are used to good advantage.

  5. The SURFEXv7.2 land and ocean surface platform for coupled or offline simulation of earth surface variables and fluxes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masson, V.; Le Moigne, P.; Martin, E.; Faroux, S.; Alias, A.; Alkama, R.; Belamari, S.; Barbu, A.; Boone, A.; Bouyssel, F.; Brousseau, P.; Brun, E.; Calvet, J.-C.; Carrer, D.; Decharme, B.; Delire, C.; Donier, S.; Essaouini, K.; Gibelin, A.-L.; Giordani, H.; Habets, F.; Jidane, M.; Kerdraon, G.; Kourzeneva, E.; Lafaysse, M.; Lafont, S.; Lebeaupin Brossier, C.; Lemonsu, A.; Mahfouf, J.-F.; Marguinaud, P.; Mokhtari, M.; Morin, S.; Pigeon, G.; Salgado, R.; Seity, Y.; Taillefer, F.; Tanguy, G.; Tulet, P.; Vincendon, B.; Vionnet, V.; Voldoire, A.

    2013-07-01

    SURFEX is a new externalized land and ocean surface platform that describes the surface fluxes and the evolution of four types of surfaces: nature, town, inland water and ocean. It is mostly based on pre-existing, well-validated scientific models that are continuously improved. The motivation for the building of SURFEX is to use strictly identical scientific models in a high range of applications in order to mutualise the research and development efforts. SURFEX can be run in offline mode (0-D or 2-D runs) or in coupled mode (from mesoscale models to numerical weather prediction and climate models). An assimilation mode is included for numerical weather prediction and monitoring. In addition to momentum, heat and water fluxes, SURFEX is able to simulate fluxes of carbon dioxide, chemical species, continental aerosols, sea salt and snow particles. The main principles of the organisation of the surface are described first. Then, a survey is made of the scientific module (including the coupling strategy). Finally, the main applications of the code are summarised. The validation work undertaken shows that replacing the pre-existing surface models by SURFEX in these applications is usually associated with improved skill, as the numerous scientific developments contained in this community code are used to good advantage.

  6. The fate of pelagic CaCO3 production in a high CO2 ocean: a model study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Ethe

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available This model study addresses the change in pelagic calcium carbonate production (CaCO3, as calcite in the model and dissolution in response to rising atmospheric CO2. The parameterization of CaCO3 production includes a dependency on the saturation state of seawater with respect to calcite. It was derived from laboratory and mesocosm studies on particulate organic and inorganic carbon production in Emiliania huxleyi as a function of pCO2. The model predicts values of CaCO3 production and dissolution in line with recent estimates. The effect of rising pCO2 on CaCO3 production and dissolution was quantified by means of model simulations forced with atmospheric CO2 increasing at a rate of 1% per year from 286 ppm to 1144 ppm over a 140 year time-period. The simulation predicts a decrease of CaCO3 production by 27%. The combined change in production and dissolution of CaCO3 yields an excess uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere by the ocean of 5.9 GtC over the period of 140 years.

  7. A large Venous-Arterial PCO2 Is Associated with Poor Outcomes in Surgical Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    João M. Silva

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. This study evaluated whether large venous-arterial CO2 gap (PCO2 gap preoperatively is associated to poor outcome. Method. Prospective study which included adult high-risk surgical patients. The patients were pooled into two groups: wide [P(v-aCO2] versus narrow [P(v-aCO2]. In order to determine the best value to discriminate hospital mortality, it was applied a ROC (receiver operating characteristic curve for the [P(v-aCO2] values collected preoperatively, and the most accurate value was chosen as cut-off to define the groups. Results. The study included 66 patients. The [P(v-aCO2] value preoperatively that best discriminated hospital mortality was 5.0 mmHg, area=0.73. Preoperative patients with [P(v-aCO2] more than 5.0 mmHg presented a higher hospital mortality (36.4% versus 4.5% P=0.004, higher prevalence of circulatory shock (56.8% versus 22.7% P=0.01 and acute renal failure postoperatively (27.3% versus 4.5% P=0.02, and longer hospital length of stays 20.0 (14.0–30.0 versus 13.5 (9.0–25.0 days P=0.01. Conclusions. The PCO2 gap values more than 5.0 mmHg preoperatively were associated with worse postoperatively outcome.

  8. Effect of ocean acidification on the nutritional quality of phytoplankton for copepod reproduction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyers, M.; Cochlan, W. P.; Kimmerer, W.; Carpenter, E. J.

    2016-02-01

    Phytoplankton are the oceans' primary producers of essential polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), which provide marine organisms with nutrients needed for health and reproduction. It is hypothesized that future ocean acidification (OA) conditions could change the availability of phytoplankton PUFAs for ecologically significant predators such as copepods, affecting their reproductive success. Three species of phytoplankton (Rhodomonas salina, Skeletonema marinoi, Prorocentrum micans) were cultured under present-day (400ppm CO2, pH 8.1) and predicted future (1000ppm CO2, pH 7.8) oceanic conditions. For four days, female Acartia tonsa copepods were fed a phytoplankton mixture from either the present-day or predicted-future treatment. To assess changes in phytoplankton PUFA content, fatty acid profiles were analyzed via capillary gas chromatography. Copepod egg production (EP), hatching success (HS), and egg viability (EV) were determined to assess copepod reproductive success. Fatty acid analysis shows essential PUFAs comprise a smaller percentage of total fatty acids in phytoplankton cultured under high pCO2 (Rho 21.5%; Ske 14.1%; Pro 14.4%) compared to those cultured under present-day pCO2 (Rho 28.8%, Ske 32.7%, Pro 39.3%). Copepod reproduction data demonstrate that females fed phytoplankton cultured under high pCO2 have significantly lower EP (μ=14.3 eggs female-1), HS (μ=35.8%), and EV (μ=12.5%) compared to reproductive success of females fed phytoplankton cultured under present-day CO2 (EP μ=27.0 eggs female-1; HS μ=91.5%; EV μ=96.6%). This study demonstrates that OA can change the nutritional quality of primary producers, which can affect the reproductive success of fundamental secondary consumers.

  9. Seasonal variations in the aragonite saturation state in the upper open-ocean waters of the North Pacific Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Tae-Wook; Park, Geun-Ha; Kim, Dongseon; Lee, Kitack; Feely, Richard A.; Millero, Frank J.

    2015-06-01

    Seasonal variability of the aragonite saturation state (ΩAR) in the upper (50 m and 100 m depths) North Pacific Ocean (NPO) was investigated using multiple linear regression (MLR). The MLR algorithm derived from a high-quality carbon data set accurately predicted the ΩAR of evaluation data sets (three time series stations and P02 section) with acceptable uncertainty (<0.1 ΩAR). The algorithm was combined with seasonal climatology data, and the estimated ΩAR varied in the range of 0.4-0.6 in the midlatitude western NPO, with the largest variation found for the tropical eastern NPO. These marked variations were largely controlled by seasonal changes in vertical mixing and thermocline depth, both of which determine the degree of entrainment of CO2-rich corrosive waters from deeper depths. Our MLR-based subsurface ΩAR climatology is complementary to surface climatology based on pCO2 measurements.

  10. One-pot fabrication of graphene sheets decorated Co2P-Co hollow nanospheres for advanced lithium ion battery anodes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xie, Qingshui; Zeng, Deqian; Gong, Pingyun; Huang, Jian; Ma, Yating; Wang, Laisen; Peng, Dong-Liang

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Co 2 P-Co hollow nanospheres with graphene sheets decoration are prepared through one-pot solution approach. • Co 2 P-Co/graphene nanocomposites reveal greatly enhanced lithium storage performances than Co 2 P-Co counterparts. • The superb electrochemical performances derive from dual modification of graphene sheets and metal Co as well as their hollow configuration. - Abstract: The fabrication of Co 2 P-Co (Co-P composites) hollow nanospheres with graphene sheets decoration through one-pot solution approach is demonstrated and their potential as the anode materials for lithium ion batteries is assessed. A large specific capacity of 929 mA h g −1 can be retained for Co-P/graphene nanocomposites at 100 mA g −1 after 200 cycles. When cycled at a large current density of 2.0C, the Co-P/graphene nanocomposites deliver a decent reversible capacity of 567 mA h g −1 , which is much higher than the theoretical capacity of traditional graphite anode (372 mA h g −1 ). The obviously enhanced lithium storage properties of Co-P/graphene nanocomposites are put down to the dual modification of graphene sheets and metal Co as well as their hollow structures.

  11. Changes in CO2 during Ocean Anoxic Event 1d indicate similarities to other carbon cycle perturbations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richey, Jon D.; Upchurch, Garland R.; Montañez, Isabel P.; Lomax, Barry H.; Suarez, Marina B.; Crout, Neil M. J.; Joeckel, R. M.; Ludvigson, Greg A.; Smith, Jon J.

    2018-06-01

    Past greenhouse intervals of the Mesozoic were repeatedly punctuated by Ocean Anoxic Events (OAEs), major perturbations to the global carbon cycle and abrupt climate changes that may serve as relevant analogs for Earth's greenhouse gas-forced climate future. The key to better understanding these transient climate disruptions and possible CO2-forced tipping-points resides in high-resolution, precise, and accurate estimates of atmospheric CO2 for individual OAEs. Here we present a high-temporal resolution, multi-proxy pCO2 reconstruction for the onset of mid-Cretaceous (Albian-Cenomanian Boundary) OAE1d. Coupling of pCO2 estimates with carbon isotopic compositions (δ13C) of charcoal, vitrain, and cuticle from the Rose Creek Pit (RCP), Nebraska, reveals complex phasing, including a lag between the well-documented negative δ13C excursion defining the onset of OAE1d and the CO2 increase. This lag indicates that increased CO2 or other C-based greenhouse gases may not have been the primary cause of the negative excursion. Our study reveals a pCO2 increase within the interval of the negative δ13C excursion, reaching a maximum of up to ∼840 ppm (95% confidence interval -307 ppm/+167 ppm) toward its end. The reconstructed magnitude of CO2 increase (∼357 ppm) is similar to that of Late Cretaceous OAE2 but of smaller magnitude than that of other major carbon cycle perturbations of the Mesozoic assessed via stomatal methods (e.g., the Toarcian OAE [TOAE], Triassic-Jurassic boundary event, Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary event). Furthermore, our results indicate a possible shared causal or developmental mechanism with OAE1a and the TOAE.

  12. Effects of ocean acidification on the shells of four Mediterranean gastropod species near a CO2 seep.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duquette, Ashley; McClintock, James B; Amsler, Charles D; Pérez-Huerta, Alberto; Milazzo, Marco; Hall-Spencer, Jason M

    2017-11-30

    Marine CO 2 seeps allow the study of the long-term effects of elevated pCO 2 (ocean acidification) on marine invertebrate biomineralization. We investigated the effects of ocean acidification on shell composition and structure in four ecologically important species of Mediterranean gastropods (two limpets, a top-shell snail, and a whelk). Individuals were sampled from three sites near a volcanic CO 2 seep off Vulcano Island, Italy. The three sites represented ambient (8.15pH), moderate (8.03pH) and low (7.73pH) seawater mean pH. Shell mineralogy, microstructure, and mechanical strength were examined in all four species. We found that the calcite/aragonite ratio could vary and increased significantly with reduced pH in shells of one of the two limpet species. Moreover, each of the four gastropods displayed reductions in either inner shell toughness or elasticity at the Low pH site. These results suggest that near-future ocean acidification could alter shell biomineralization and structure in these common gastropods. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Comparison of the ocean surface vector winds over the Nordic Seas and their application for ocean modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dukhovskoy, Dmitry; Bourassa, Mark

    2017-04-01

    Ocean processes in the Nordic Seas and northern North Atlantic are strongly controlled by air-sea heat and momentum fluxes. The predominantly cyclonic, large-scale atmospheric circulation brings the deep ocean layer up to the surface preconditioning the convective sites in the Nordic Seas for deep convection. In winter, intensive cooling and possibly salt flux from newly formed sea ice erodes the near-surface stratification and the mixed layer merges with the deeper domed layer, exposing the very weakly stratified deep water mass to direct interaction with the atmosphere. Surface wind is one of the atmospheric parameters required for estimating momentum and turbulent heat fluxes to the sea ice and ocean surface. In the ocean models forced by atmospheric analysis, errors in surface wind fields result in errors in air-sea heat and momentum fluxes, water mass formation, ocean circulation, as well as volume and heat transport in the straits. The goal of the study is to assess discrepancies across the wind vector fields from reanalysis data sets and scatterometer-derived gridded products over the Nordic Seas and northern North Atlantic and to demonstrate possible implications of these differences for ocean modeling. The analyzed data sets include the reanalysis data from the National Center for Environmental Prediction Reanalysis 2 (NCEPR2), Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR), Arctic System Reanalysis (ASR) and satellite wind products Cross-Calibrated Multi-Platform (CCMP) wind product version 1.1 and recently released version 2.0, and Remote Sensing Systems QuikSCAT data. Large-scale and mesoscale characteristics of winds are compared at interannual, seasonal, and synoptic timescales. Numerical sensitivity experiments are conducted with a coupled ice-ocean model forced by different wind fields. The sensitivity experiments demonstrate differences in the net surface heat fluxes during storm events. Next, it is hypothesized that discrepancies in the wind vorticity

  14. Effects of ocean acidification on the swimming ability, development and biochemical responses of sand smelt larvae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva, Cátia S.E.; Novais, Sara C.; Lemos, Marco F.L.; Mendes, Susana; Oliveira, Ana P.; Gonçalves, Emanuel J.; Faria, Ana M.

    2016-01-01

    Ocean acidification, recognized as a major threat to marine ecosystems, has developed into one of the fastest growing fields of research in marine sciences. Several studies on fish larval stages point to abnormal behaviours, malformations and increased mortality rates as a result of exposure to increased levels of CO_2. However, other studies fail to recognize any consequence, suggesting species-specific sensitivity to increased levels of CO_2, highlighting the need of further research. In this study we investigated the effects of exposure to elevated pCO_2 on behaviour, development, oxidative stress and energy metabolism of sand smelt larvae, Atherina presbyter. Larvae were caught at Arrábida Marine Park (Portugal) and exposed to different pCO_2 levels (control: ~ 600 μatm, pH = 8.03; medium: ~ 1000 μatm, pH = 7.85; high: ~ 1800 μatm, pH = 7.64) up to 15 days, after which critical swimming speed (U_c_r_i_t), morphometric traits and biochemical biomarkers were determined. Measured biomarkers were related with: 1) oxidative stress — superoxide dismutase and catalase enzyme activities, levels of lipid peroxidation and DNA damage, and levels of superoxide anion production; 2) energy metabolism — total carbohydrate levels, electron transport system activity, lactate dehydrogenase and isocitrate dehydrogenase enzyme activities. Swimming speed was not affected by treatment, but exposure to increasing levels of pCO_2 leads to higher energetic costs and morphometric changes, with larger larvae in high pCO_2 treatment and smaller larvae in medium pCO_2 treatment. The efficient antioxidant response capacity and increase in energetic metabolism only registered at the medium pCO_2 treatment may indicate that at higher pCO_2 levels the capacity of larvae to restore their internal balance can be impaired. Our findings illustrate the need of using multiple approaches to explore the consequences of future pCO_2 levels on organisms. - Highlights: • Exposure to high pCO_2

  15. Surface wind mixing in the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robertson, Robin; Hartlipp, Paul

    2017-12-01

    Mixing at the ocean surface is key for atmosphere-ocean interactions and the distribution of heat, energy, and gases in the upper ocean. Winds are the primary force for surface mixing. To properly simulate upper ocean dynamics and the flux of these quantities within the upper ocean, models must reproduce mixing in the upper ocean. To evaluate the performance of the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) in replicating the surface mixing, the results of four different vertical mixing parameterizations were compared against observations, using the surface mixed layer depth, the temperature fields, and observed diffusivities for comparisons. The vertical mixing parameterizations investigated were Mellor- Yamada 2.5 level turbulent closure (MY), Large- McWilliams- Doney Kpp (LMD), Nakanishi- Niino (NN), and the generic length scale (GLS) schemes. This was done for one temperate site in deep water in the Eastern Pacific and three shallow water sites in the Baltic Sea. The model reproduced the surface mixed layer depth reasonably well for all sites; however, the temperature fields were reproduced well for the deep site, but not for the shallow Baltic Sea sites. In the Baltic Sea, the models overmixed the water column after a few days. Vertical temperature diffusivities were higher than those observed and did not show the temporal fluctuations present in the observations. The best performance was by NN and MY; however, MY became unstable in two of the shallow simulations with high winds. The performance of GLS nearly as good as NN and MY. LMD had the poorest performance as it generated temperature diffusivities that were too high and induced too much mixing. Further observational comparisons are needed to evaluate the effects of different stratification and wind conditions and the limitations on the vertical mixing parameterizations.

  16. Validation of Method Performance of pH, PCO2, PO2, Na(+), K(+) of Cobas b121 ABG Analyser.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nanda, Sunil Kumar; Ray, Lopamudra; Dinakaran, Asha

    2014-06-01

    The introduction of a new method or new analyser is a common occurrence in clinical biochemistry laboratory. Blood gas measurements and electrolytes are often performed in Point-of-Care (POC) settings. When a new POC analyser is obtained, the performance of the analyser should be evaluated by comparison to the measurements with the reference analyser in the laboratory. Evaluation of method performance of pH, PCO2, PO2, Na(+), K(+) of cobas b121 ABG analyser. The evaluation of method performance of pH, PO2, PCO2, Na(+), K(+) of cobas b121 ABG analyser was done by comparing the results of 50 patient samples run on cobas b121 with the results obtained from Rapid lab values (reference analyser). Correlation coefficient was calculated from the results obtained from both the analysers. Precision was calculated by running biorad ABG control samples. The correlation coefficient values obtained for parameters were close to 1.0 indicating good correlation. The CV obtained for all the parameters were less than 5 indicating good precision. The new ABG analyser, Cobas b121 correlated well with the reference ABG analyser (Rapid Lab) and could be used to run on patient samples.

  17. Technical Note: A minimally invasive experimental system for pCO2 manipulation in plankton cultures using passive gas exchange (atmospheric carbon control simulator)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Love, Brooke A.; Olson, M. Brady; Wuori, Tristen

    2017-05-01

    As research into the biotic effects of ocean acidification has increased, the methods for simulating these environmental changes in the laboratory have multiplied. Here we describe the atmospheric carbon control simulator (ACCS) for the maintenance of plankton under controlled pCO2 conditions, designed for species sensitive to the physical disturbance introduced by the bubbling of cultures and for studies involving trophic interaction. The system consists of gas mixing and equilibration components coupled with large-volume atmospheric simulation chambers. These chambers allow gas exchange to counteract the changes in carbonate chemistry induced by the metabolic activity of the organisms. The system is relatively low cost, very flexible, and when used in conjunction with semi-continuous culture methods, it increases the density of organisms kept under realistic conditions, increases the allowable time interval between dilutions, and/or decreases the metabolically driven change in carbonate chemistry during these intervals. It accommodates a large number of culture vessels, which facilitate multi-trophic level studies and allow the tracking of variable responses within and across plankton populations to ocean acidification. It also includes components that increase the reliability of gas mixing systems using mass flow controllers.

  18. Natural ocean acidification at Papagayo upwelling system (north Pacific Costa Rica): implications for reef development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez-Noguera, Celeste; Stuhldreier, Ines; Cortés, Jorge; Jiménez, Carlos; Morales, Álvaro; Wild, Christian; Rixen, Tim

    2018-04-01

    Numerous experiments have shown that ocean acidification impedes coral calcification, but knowledge about in situ reef ecosystem response to ocean acidification is still scarce. Bahía Culebra, situated at the northern Pacific coast of Costa Rica, is a location naturally exposed to acidic conditions due to the Papagayo seasonal upwelling. We measured pH and pCO2 in situ during two non-upwelling seasons (June 2012, May-June 2013), with a high temporal resolution of every 15 and 30 min, respectively, using two Submersible Autonomous Moored Instruments (SAMI-pH, SAMI-CO2). These results were compared with published data from the 2009 upwelling season. Findings revealed that the carbonate system in Bahía Culebra shows a high temporal variability. Incoming offshore waters drive intra- and interseasonal changes. Lowest pH (7.8) and highest pCO2 (658.3 µatm) values measured during a cold-water intrusion event in the non-upwelling season were similar to those minimum values reported from upwelling season (pH = 7.8, pCO2 = 643.5 µatm), unveiling that natural acidification also occurs sporadically in the non-upwelling season. This affects the interaction of photosynthesis, respiration, calcification and carbonate dissolution and the resulting diel cycle of pH and pCO2 in the reefs of Bahía Culebra. During the non-upwelling season, the aragonite saturation state (Ωa) rises to values of > 3.3 and during the upwelling season falls below 2.5. The Ωa threshold values for coral growth were derived from the correlation between measured Ωa and coral linear extension rates which were obtained from the literature and suggest that future ocean acidification will threaten the continued growth of reefs in Bahía Culebra. These data contribute to building a better understanding of the carbonate system dynamics and coral reefs' key response (e.g., coral growth) to natural low-pH conditions, in upwelling areas in the eastern tropical Pacific and beyond.

  19. Seagrass habitat metabolism increases short-term extremes and long-term offset of CO2 under future ocean acidification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pacella, Stephen R; Brown, Cheryl A; Waldbusser, George G; Labiosa, Rochelle G; Hales, Burke

    2018-04-10

    The role of rising atmospheric CO 2 in modulating estuarine carbonate system dynamics remains poorly characterized, likely due to myriad processes driving the complex chemistry in these habitats. We reconstructed the full carbonate system of an estuarine seagrass habitat for a summer period of 2.5 months utilizing a combination of time-series observations and mechanistic modeling, and quantified the roles of aerobic metabolism, mixing, and gas exchange in the observed dynamics. The anthropogenic CO 2 burden in the habitat was estimated for the years 1765-2100 to quantify changes in observed high-frequency carbonate chemistry dynamics. The addition of anthropogenic CO 2 alters the thermodynamic buffer factors (e.g., the Revelle factor) of the carbonate system, decreasing the seagrass habitat's ability to buffer natural carbonate system fluctuations. As a result, the most harmful carbonate system indices for many estuarine organisms [minimum pH T , minimum Ω arag , and maximum pCO 2(s.w.) ] change up to 1.8×, 2.3×, and 1.5× more rapidly than the medians for each parameter, respectively. In this system, the relative benefits of the seagrass habitat in locally mitigating ocean acidification increase with the higher atmospheric CO 2 levels predicted toward 2100. Presently, however, these mitigating effects are mixed due to intense diel cycling of CO 2 driven by aerobic metabolism. This study provides estimates of how high-frequency pH T , Ω arag , and pCO 2(s.w.) dynamics are altered by rising atmospheric CO 2 in an estuarine habitat, and highlights nonlinear responses of coastal carbonate parameters to ocean acidification relevant for water quality management.

  20. Seagrass habitat metabolism increases short-term extremes and long-term offset of CO2 under future ocean acidification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pacella, Stephen R.; Brown, Cheryl A.; Waldbusser, George G.; Labiosa, Rochelle G.; Hales, Burke

    2018-04-01

    The role of rising atmospheric CO2 in modulating estuarine carbonate system dynamics remains poorly characterized, likely due to myriad processes driving the complex chemistry in these habitats. We reconstructed the full carbonate system of an estuarine seagrass habitat for a summer period of 2.5 months utilizing a combination of time-series observations and mechanistic modeling, and quantified the roles of aerobic metabolism, mixing, and gas exchange in the observed dynamics. The anthropogenic CO2 burden in the habitat was estimated for the years 1765–2100 to quantify changes in observed high-frequency carbonate chemistry dynamics. The addition of anthropogenic CO2 alters the thermodynamic buffer factors (e.g., the Revelle factor) of the carbonate system, decreasing the seagrass habitat’s ability to buffer natural carbonate system fluctuations. As a result, the most harmful carbonate system indices for many estuarine organisms [minimum pHT, minimum Ωarag, and maximum pCO2(s.w.)] change up to 1.8×, 2.3×, and 1.5× more rapidly than the medians for each parameter, respectively. In this system, the relative benefits of the seagrass habitat in locally mitigating ocean acidification increase with the higher atmospheric CO2 levels predicted toward 2100. Presently, however, these mitigating effects are mixed due to intense diel cycling of CO2 driven by aerobic metabolism. This study provides estimates of how high-frequency pHT, Ωarag, and pCO2(s.w.) dynamics are altered by rising atmospheric CO2 in an estuarine habitat, and highlights nonlinear responses of coastal carbonate parameters to ocean acidification relevant for water quality management.

  1. Merged Land and Ocean Surface Temperature, Version 3.5

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The historical Merged Land-Ocean Surface Temperature Analysis (MLOST) is derived from two independent analyses, an Extended Reconstructed Sea Surface Temperature...

  2. Recurrence of ICA-PCoA aneurysms after neck clipping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sakaki, T; Takeshima, T; Tominaga, M; Hashimoto, H; Kawaguchi, S

    1994-01-01

    Between 1975 and 1992, 2211 patients underwent aneurysmal neck clipping at the Nara Medical University clinic and associated hospitals. The aneurysm in 931 of these patients was situated at the junction of the internal carotid artery (ICA) and posterior communicating artery (PCoA). Seven patients were readmitted 4 to 17 years after the first surgery because of regrowth and rupture of an ICA-PCoA aneurysmal sac that had arisen from the residual neck. On angiograms obtained following aneurysmal neck clipping, a large primitive type of PCoA was demonstrated in six patients and a small PCoA in one. A small residual aneurysm was confirmed in only two patients and angiographically complete neck clipping in five. Recurrent ICA-PCoA aneurysms were separated into two types based on the position of the old clip in relation to the new growth. Type 1 aneurysms regrow from the entire neck and balloon eccentrically. In this type, it is possible to apply the clip at the neck as in conventional clipping for a ruptured aneurysm. Type 2 includes aneurysms in which the proximal portion of a previous clip is situated at the corner of the ICA and aneurysmal neck and the distal portion on the enlarged dome of the aneurysm, because the sac is regrowing from a portion of the residual neck. In this type of aneurysm, a Sugita fenestrated clip can occlude the residual neck, overriding the old clip. Classifying these aneurysms into two groups is very useful from a surgical point of view because it is possible to apply a new clip without removing the old clip, which was found to be adherent to surrounding tissue.

  3. Quantitative Studies of Sublingual PCO2 as a Resuscitation End-Point in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Hemorrhagic Shock

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Ivatury, Pao

    2005-01-01

    This clinical study is examining the relationship between sublingual PCO2 (PslCO2) to real-time changes in microcirculatory blood flow of the sublingual mucosa in victims of traumatic and hemorrhagic shock...

  4. Evaluation of Scaling Approaches for the Oceanic Dissipation Rate of Turbulent Kinetic Energy in the Surface Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esters, L. T.; Ward, B.; Sutherland, G.; Ten Doeschate, A.; Landwehr, S.; Bell, T. G.; Christensen, K. H.

    2016-02-01

    The air-sea exchange of heat, gas and momentum plays an important role for the Earth's weather and global climate. The exchange processes between ocean and atmosphere are influenced by the prevailing surface ocean dynamics. This surface ocean is a highly turbulent region where there is enhanced production of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE). The dissipation rate of TKE (ɛ) in the surface ocean is an important process for governing the depth of both the mixing and mixed layers, which are important length-scales for many aspects of ocean research. However, there exist very limited observations of ɛ under open ocean conditions and consequently our understanding of how to model the dissipation profile is very limited. The approaches to model profiles of ɛ that exist, differ by orders of magnitude depending on their underlying theoretical assumption and included physical processes. Therefore, scaling ɛ is not straight forward and requires open ocean measurements of ɛ to validate the respective scaling laws. This validated scaling of ɛ, is for example required to produce accurate mixed layer depths in global climate models. Errors in the depth of the ocean surface boundary layer can lead to biases in sea surface temperature. Here, we present open ocean measurements of ɛ from the Air-Sea Interaction Profiler (ASIP) collected during several cruises in different ocean basins. ASIP is an autonomous upwardly rising microstructure profiler allowing undisturbed profiling up to the ocean surface. These direct measurements of ɛ under various types of atmospheric and oceanic conditions along with measurements of atmospheric fluxes and wave conditions allow us to make a unique assessment of several scaling approaches based on wind, wave and buoyancy forcing. This will allow us to best assess the most appropriate ɛ-based parameterisation for air-sea exchange.

  5. The timescales of global surface-ocean connectivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jönsson, Bror F; Watson, James R

    2016-04-19

    Planktonic communities are shaped through a balance of local evolutionary adaptation and ecological succession driven in large part by migration. The timescales over which these processes operate are still largely unresolved. Here we use Lagrangian particle tracking and network theory to quantify the timescale over which surface currents connect different regions of the global ocean. We find that the fastest path between two patches--each randomly located anywhere in the surface ocean--is, on average, less than a decade. These results suggest that marine planktonic communities may keep pace with climate change--increasing temperatures, ocean acidification and changes in stratification over decadal timescales--through the advection of resilient types.

  6. Marine CDOM accumulation during a coastal Arctic mesocosm experiment: No response to elevated pCO2 levels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavlov, Alexey K.; Silyakova, Anna; Granskog, Mats A.; Bellerby, Richard G. J.; Engel, Anja; Schulz, Kai G.; Brussaard, Corina P. D.

    2014-06-01

    A large-scale multidisciplinary mesocosm experiment in an Arctic fjord (Kongsfjorden, Svalbard; 78°56.2'N) was used to study Arctic marine food webs and biogeochemical elements cycling at natural and elevated future carbon dioxide (CO2) levels. At the start of the experiment, marine-derived chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) dominated the CDOM pool. Thus, this experiment constituted a convenient case to study production of autochthonous CDOM, which is typically masked by high levels of CDOM of terrestrial origin in the Arctic Ocean proper. CDOM accumulated during the experiment in line with an increase in bacterial abundance; however, no response was observed to increased pCO2 levels. Changes in CDOM absorption spectral slopes indicate that bacteria were most likely responsible for the observed CDOM dynamics. Distinct absorption peaks (at 330 and 360 nm) were likely associated with mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs). Due to the experimental setup, MAAs were produced in absence of ultraviolet exposure providing evidence for MAAs to be considered as multipurpose metabolites rather than simple photoprotective compounds. We showed that a small increase in CDOM during the experiment made it a major contributor to total absorption in a range of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, 400-700 nm) and, therefore, is important for spectral light availability and may be important for photosynthesis and phytoplankton groups composition in a rapidly changing Arctic marine ecosystem.

  7. Pacific-wide contrast highlights resistance of reef calcifiers to ocean acidification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Comeau, S; Carpenter, R C; Nojiri, Y; Putnam, H M; Sakai, K; Edmunds, P J

    2014-09-07

    Ocean acidification (OA) and its associated decline in calcium carbonate saturation states is one of the major threats that tropical coral reefs face this century. Previous studies of the effect of OA on coral reef calcifiers have described a wide variety of outcomes for studies using comparable partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) ranges, suggesting that key questions remain unresolved. One unresolved hypothesis posits that heterogeneity in the response of reef calcifiers to high pCO2 is a result of regional-scale variation in the responses to OA. To test this hypothesis, we incubated two coral taxa (Pocillopora damicornis and massive Porites) and two calcified algae (Porolithon onkodes and Halimeda macroloba) under 400, 700 and 1000 μatm pCO2 levels in experiments in Moorea (French Polynesia), Hawaii (USA) and Okinawa (Japan), where environmental conditions differ. Both corals and H. macroloba were insensitive to OA at all three locations, while the effects of OA on P. onkodes were location-specific. In Moorea and Hawaii, calcification of P. onkodes was depressed by high pCO2, but for specimens in Okinawa, there was no effect of OA. Using a study of large geographical scale, we show that resistance to OA of some reef species is a constitutive character expressed across the Pacific. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  8. Dual pO2/pCO2 fibre optic sensing film.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davenport, John J; Hickey, Michelle; Phillips, Justin P; Kyriacou, Panayiotis A

    2017-05-15

    A fibre optic multi-sensor has been developed for biomedical sensing applications using a tip coating solution sensitive to both oxygen and carbon dioxide. An oxygen sensitive phosphorescence quenching complex based on platinum octaethylporphyrin (PtOEP) was combined with a carbon dioxide sensitive phosphorescence compound based on 8-hydroxypyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid trisodium salt (HPTS). When excited by blue light (470 nm), the resultant coating had two fluorescent peaks at 515 nm (green) and 645 nm (red) which responded to partial pressure of CO 2 and O 2 respectively. The sensor was tested in vitro and shown to be able to measure CO 2 and O 2 simultaneously and in real time, with calibration constants of 0.0384 kPa -1 and 0.309 kPa -1 respectively. The O 2 sensitive peak received some overlap from the 515 nm peak (0.38% of peak intensity) as well as some cross-sensitivity (maximum, 5.1 kPa pCO 2 gave a measurement equivalent to 0.43 kPa of O 2 , a ratio of 0.08 : 1). However, these effects can be subtracted from measurements and no significant cross-sensitivity or overlap was seen in CO 2 measurements from O 2 . This novel compound presents great potential for use in medical sensors and we expect it to be important to a wide range of future applications.

  9. Ikaite crystals in melting sea ice – implications for pCO2 and pH levels in Arctic surface waters

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rysgaard, Søren; Glud, R.N.; Lennert, K.

    2012-01-01

    A major issue of Arctic marine science is to understand whether the Arctic Ocean is, or will be, a source or sink for air-sea CO 2 exchange. This has been complicated by the recent discoveries of ikaite (a polymorph of CaCO 3•6H 2O) in Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, which indicate that multiple...... chemical transformations occur in sea ice with a possible effect on CO 2 and pH conditions in surface waters. Here, we report on biogeochemical conditions, microscopic examinations and x-ray diffraction analysis of single crystals from a melting 1.7 km 2 (0.5-1 m thick) drifting ice floe in the Fram Strait...... during summer. Our findings show that ikaite crystals are present throughout the sea ice but with larger crystals appearing in the upper ice layers. Ikaite crystals placed at elevated temperatures disintegrated into smaller crystallites and dissolved. During our field campaign in late June, melt reduced...

  10. UV sensitivity of planktonic net community production in ocean surface waters

    Science.gov (United States)

    Regaudie-de-Gioux, Aurore; Agustí, Susana; Duarte, Carlos M.

    2014-05-01

    The net plankton community metabolism of oceanic surface waters is particularly important as it more directly affects the partial pressure of CO2 in surface waters and thus the air-sea fluxes of CO2. Plankton communities in surface waters are exposed to high irradiance that includes significant ultraviolet blue (UVB, 280-315 nm) radiation. UVB radiation affects both photosynthetic and respiration rates, increase plankton mortality rates, and other metabolic and chemical processes. Here we test the sensitivity of net community production (NCP) to UVB of planktonic communities in surface waters across contrasting regions of the ocean. We observed here that UVB radiation affects net plankton community production at the ocean surface, imposing a shift in NCP by, on average, 50% relative to the values measured when excluding partly UVB. Our results show that under full solar radiation, the metabolic balance shows the prevalence of net heterotrophic community production. The demonstration of an important effect of UVB radiation on NCP in surface waters presented here is of particular relevance in relation to the increased UVB radiation derived from the erosion of the stratospheric ozone layer. Our results encourage design future research to further our understanding of UVB effects on the metabolic balance of plankton communities.

  11. The influence of Southern Ocean surface buoyancy forcing on glacial-interglacial changes in the global deep ocean stratification

    OpenAIRE

    Sun, S; Eisenman, I; Stewart, AL

    2016-01-01

    ©2016. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. Previous studies have suggested that the global ocean density stratification below ∼3000 m is approximately set by its direct connection to the Southern Ocean surface density, which in turn is constrained by the atmosphere. Here the role of Southern Ocean surface forcing in glacial-interglacial stratification changes is investigated using a comprehensive climate model and an idealized conceptual model. Southern Ocean surface forcing is f...

  12. Differential response to ocean acidification in physiological traits of Concholepas concholepas populations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lardies, Marco A.; Arias, María Belén; Poupin, María Josefina; Manríquez, Patricio H.; Torres, Rodrigo; Vargas, Cristian A.; Navarro, Jorge M.; Lagos, Nelson A.

    2014-07-01

    Phenotypic adaptation to environmental fluctuations frequently occurs by preexisting plasticity and its role as a major component of variation in physiological diversity is being widely recognized. Few studies have considered the change in phenotypic flexibility among geographic populations in marine calcifiers to ocean acidification projections, despite the fact that this type of study provides understanding about how the organism may respond to this chemical change in the ocean. We examined the geographic variation in CO2 seawater concentrations in the phenotype and in the reaction norm of physiological traits using a laboratory mesocosm approach with short-term acclimation in two contrasting populations (Antofagasta and Calfuco) of the intertidal snail Concholepas concholepas. Our results show that elevated pCO2 conditions increase standard metabolic rates in both populations of the snail juveniles, likely due to the higher energy cost of homeostasis. Juveniles of C. concholepas in the Calfuco (southern) population showed a lower increment of metabolic rate in high-pCO2 environments concordant with a lesser gene expression of a heat shock protein with respect to the Antofagasta (northern) population. Combined these results indicate a negative effect of ocean acidification on whole-organism functioning of C. concholepas. Finally, the significant Population × pCO2 level interaction in both studied traits indicates that there is variation between populations in response to high-pCO2 conditions.

  13. The larvae of congeneric gastropods showed differential responses to the combined effects of ocean acidification, temperature and salinity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Haoyu; Cheung, S G; Shin, Paul K S

    2014-02-15

    The tolerance and physiological responses of the larvae of two congeneric gastropods, the intertidal Nassarius festivus and subtidal Nassarius conoidalis, to the combined effects of ocean acidification (pCO2 at 380, 950, 1250 ppm), temperature (15, 30°C) and salinity (10, 30 psu) were compared. Results of three-way ANOVA on cumulative mortality after 72-h exposure showed significant interactive effects in which mortality increased with pCO2 and temperature, but reduced at higher salinity for both species, with higher mortality being obtained for N. conoidalis. Similarly, respiration rate of the larvae increased with temperature and pCO2 level for both species, with a larger percentage increase for N. conoidalis. Larval swimming speed increased with temperature and salinity for both species whereas higher pCO2 reduced swimming speed in N. conoidalis but not N. festivus. The present findings indicated that subtidal congeneric species are more sensitive than their intertidal counterparts to the combined effects of these stressors. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Oceanic acidification affects marine carbon pump and triggers extended marine oxygen holes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofmann, Matthias; Schellnhuber, Hans-Joachim

    2009-03-03

    Rising atmospheric CO(2) levels will not only drive future global mean temperatures toward values unprecedented during the whole Quaternary but will also lead to massive acidification of sea water. This constitutes by itself an anthropogenic planetary-scale perturbation that could significantly modify oceanic biogeochemical fluxes and severely damage marine biota. As a step toward the quantification of such potential impacts, we present here a simulation-model-based assessment of the respective consequences of a business-as-usual fossil-fuel-burning scenario where a total of 4,075 Petagrams of carbon is released into the atmosphere during the current millennium. In our scenario, the atmospheric pCO(2) level peaks at approximately 1,750 microatm in the year 2200 while the sea-surface pH value drops by >0.7 units on global average, inhibiting the growth of marine calcifying organisms. The study focuses on quantifying 3 major concomitant effects. The first one is a significant (climate-stabilizing) negative feedback on rising pCO(2) levels as caused by the attenuation of biogenic calcification. The second one is related to the biological carbon pump. Because mineral ballast, notably CaCO(3), is found to play a dominant role in carrying organic matter through the water column, a reduction of its export fluxes weakens the strength of the biological carbon pump. There is, however, a third effect with severe consequences: Because organic matter is oxidized in shallow waters when mineral-ballast fluxes weaken, oxygen holes (hypoxic zones) start to expand considerably in the oceans in our model world--with potentially harmful impacts on a variety of marine ecosystems.

  15. The combined effects of ocean warming and acidification on shallow-water meiofaunal assemblages.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Matthew R; Torres, Rodrigo; Manríquez, Patricio H

    2017-10-01

    Climate change due to increased anthropogenic CO 2 in the atmosphere is causing an increase in seawater temperatures referred to as ocean warming and a decrease in seawater pH, referred to as ocean acidification. The meiofauna play an important role in the ecology of marine ecosystems and the functions they provide. Using microcosms, meiofaunal assemblages were exposed to two temperatures (15 and 19 °C) and two pHs (pCO 2 of 400 and 1000 ppm), both individually and in combination, for a period of 90 days. The hypothesis that increased temperature will increase meiofaunal abundance was not supported. The hypothesis that a reduced pH will reduce meiofaunal abundance and species richness was supported. The combination of future conditions of temperature and pH (19 °C and pCO 2 of 1000 ppm) did not affect overall abundance but the structure of the nematode assemblage changed becoming dominated by a few opportunistic species. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Natural variability in the surface ocean carbonate ion concentration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lovenduski, N. S.; Long, M. C.; Lindsay, K.

    2015-11-01

    We investigate variability in the surface ocean carbonate ion concentration ([CO32-]) on the basis of a~long control simulation with an Earth System Model. The simulation is run with a prescribed, pre-industrial atmospheric CO2 concentration for 1000 years, permitting investigation of natural [CO32-] variability on interannual to multi-decadal timescales. We find high interannual variability in surface [CO32-] in the tropical Pacific and at the boundaries between the subtropical and subpolar gyres in the Northern Hemisphere, and relatively low interannual variability in the centers of the subtropical gyres and in the Southern Ocean. Statistical analysis of modeled [CO32-] variance and autocorrelation suggests that significant anthropogenic trends in the saturation state of aragonite (Ωaragonite) are already or nearly detectable at the sustained, open-ocean time series sites, whereas several decades of observations are required to detect anthropogenic trends in Ωaragonite in the tropical Pacific, North Pacific, and North Atlantic. The detection timescale for anthropogenic trends in pH is shorter than that for Ωaragonite, due to smaller noise-to-signal ratios and lower autocorrelation in pH. In the tropical Pacific, the leading mode of surface [CO32-] variability is primarily driven by variations in the vertical advection of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in association with El Niño-Southern Oscillation. In the North Pacific, surface [CO32-] variability is caused by circulation-driven variations in surface DIC and strongly correlated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, with peak spectral power at 20-30-year periods. North Atlantic [CO32-] variability is also driven by variations in surface DIC, and exhibits weak correlations with both the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. As the scientific community seeks to detect the anthropogenic influence on ocean carbonate chemistry, these results will aid the interpretation of trends

  17. Iron Fertilization of the Southern Ocean: Regional Simulation and Analysis of C-Sequestration in the Ross Sea

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kevin Arrigo

    2012-03-13

    A modified version of the dynamic 3-dimensional mesoscale Coupled Ice, Atmosphere, and Ocean model (CIAO) of the Ross Sea ecosystem has been used to simulate the impact of environmental perturbations upon primary production and biogenic CO2 uptake. The Ross Sea supports two taxonomically, and spatially distinct phytoplankton populations; the haptophyte Phaeocystis antarctica and diatoms. Nutrient utilization ratios predict that P. antarctica and diatoms will be driven to nitrate and phosphate limitation, respectively. Model and field data have confirmed that the Ross Sea is iron limited with only two-thirds of the macronutrients consumed by the phytoplankton by the end of the growing season. In this study, the CIAO model was improved to simulate a third macronutrient (phosphate), dissolved organic carbon, air-sea gas exchange, and the carbonate system. This enabled us to effectively model pCO2 and subsequently oceanic CO2 uptake via gas exchange, allowing investigations into the affect of alleviating iron limitation on both pCO2 and nutrient drawdown.

  18. Deglacial upwelling, productivity and CO2 outgassing in the North Pacific Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, William R.; Rae, James W. B.; Wills, Robert C. J.; Shevenell, Amelia E.; Taylor, Ben; Burke, Andrea; Foster, Gavin L.; Lear, Caroline H.

    2018-05-01

    The interplay between ocean circulation and biological productivity affects atmospheric CO2 levels and marine oxygen concentrations. During the warming of the last deglaciation, the North Pacific experienced a peak in productivity and widespread hypoxia, with changes in circulation, iron supply and light limitation all proposed as potential drivers. Here we use the boron-isotope composition of planktic foraminifera from a sediment core in the western North Pacific to reconstruct pH and dissolved CO2 concentrations from 24,000 to 8,000 years ago. We find that the productivity peak during the Bølling-Allerød warm interval, 14,700 to 12,900 years ago, was associated with a decrease in near-surface pH and an increase in pCO2, and must therefore have been driven by increased supply of nutrient- and CO2-rich waters. In a climate model ensemble (PMIP3), the presence of large ice sheets over North America results in high rates of wind-driven upwelling within the subpolar North Pacific. We suggest that this process, combined with collapse of North Pacific Intermediate Water formation at the onset of the Bølling-Allerød, led to high rates of upwelling of water rich in nutrients and CO2, and supported the peak in productivity. The respiration of this organic matter, along with poor ventilation, probably caused the regional hypoxia. We suggest that CO2 outgassing from the North Pacific helped to maintain high atmospheric CO2 concentrations during the Bølling-Allerød and contributed to the deglacial CO2 rise.

  19. The Arctic Ocean marine carbon cycle: evaluation of air-sea CO2 exchanges, ocean acidification impacts and potential feedbacks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. R. Bates

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available At present, although seasonal sea-ice cover mitigates atmosphere-ocean gas exchange, the Arctic Ocean takes up carbon dioxide (CO2 on the order of −66 to −199 Tg C year−1 (1012 g C, contributing 5–14% to the global balance of CO2 sinks and sources. Because of this, the Arctic Ocean has an important influence on the global carbon cycle, with the marine carbon cycle and atmosphere-ocean CO2 exchanges sensitive to Arctic Ocean and global climate change feedbacks. In the near-term, further sea-ice loss and increases in phytoplankton growth rates are expected to increase the uptake of CO2 by Arctic Ocean surface waters, although mitigated somewhat by surface warming in the Arctic. Thus, the capacity of the Arctic Ocean to uptake CO2 is expected to alter in response to environmental changes driven largely by climate. These changes are likely to continue to modify the physics, biogeochemistry, and ecology of the Arctic Ocean in ways that are not yet fully understood. In surface waters, sea-ice melt, river runoff, cooling and uptake of CO2 through air-sea gas exchange combine to decrease the calcium carbonate (CaCO3 mineral saturation states (Ω of seawater while seasonal phytoplankton primary production (PP mitigates this effect. Biological amplification of ocean acidification effects in subsurface waters, due to the remineralization of organic matter, is likely to reduce the ability of many species to produce CaCO3 shells or tests with profound implications for Arctic marine ecosystems

  20. Respiration of new and old carbon in the surface ocean: Implications for estimates of global oceanic gross primary productivity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carvalho, Matheus C.; Schulz, Kai G.; Eyre, Bradley D.

    2017-06-01

    New respiration (Rnew, of freshly fixated carbon) and old respiration (Rold, of storage carbon) were estimated for different regions of the global surface ocean using published data on simultaneous measurements of the following: (1) primary productivity using 14C (14PP); (2) gross primary productivity (GPP) based on 18O or O2; and (3) net community productivity (NCP) using O2. The ratio Rnew/GPP in 24 h incubations was typically between 0.1 and 0.3 regardless of depth and geographical area, demonstrating that values were almost constant regardless of large variations in temperature (0 to 27°C), irradiance (surface to 100 m deep), nutrients (nutrient-rich and nutrient-poor waters), and community composition (diatoms, flagellates, etc,). As such, between 10 and 30% of primary production in the surface ocean is respired in less than 24 h, and most respiration (between 55 and 75%) was of older carbon. Rnew was most likely associated with autotrophs, with minor contribution from heterotrophic bacteria. Patterns were less clear for Rold. Short 14C incubations are less affected by respiratory losses. Global oceanic GPP is estimated to be between 70 and 145 Gt C yr-1.Plain Language SummaryHere we present a comprehensive coverage of ocean new and old respiration. Our results show that nearly 20% of oceanic gross primary production is consumed in the first 24 h. However, most (about 60%) respiration is of older carbon fixed at least 24 h before its consumption. Rates of new respiration relative to gross primary production were remarkably constant for the entire ocean, which allowed a preliminary estimation of global primary productivity as between 70 and 145 gt C yr-1.

  1. Tectonic Reorganization and the Cause of Paleocene and Eocene pCO2 Anomalies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Austermann, Jacqueline; Carter, Laura B.; Middleton, Jennifer; Stellmann, Jessica; Pyle, Lacey

    2017-04-01

    climates and organic carbon burial due to higher productivity. With this analysis we estimate the possible magnitudes and timescales for carbon fluxes associated with the above factors and compare our calculated rates of carbon sinks/sources to the observed change in pCO2 and global temperature across the Paleocene and Eocene.

  2. Ocean Acidification Disrupts Prey Responses to Predator Cues but Not Net Prey Shell Growth in Concholepas concholepas (loco)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manríquez, Patricio H.; Jara, María Elisa; Mardones, María Loreto; Navarro, Jorge M.; Torres, Rodrigo; Lardies, Marcos A.; Vargas, Cristian A.; Duarte, Cristian; Widdicombe, Stephen; Salisbury, Joseph; Lagos, Nelson A.

    2013-01-01

    Background Most research on Ocean Acidification (OA) has largely focused on the process of calcification and the physiological trade-offs employed by calcifying organisms to support the building of calcium carbonate structures. However, there is growing evidence that OA can also impact upon other key biological processes such as survival, growth and behaviour. On wave-swept rocky shores the ability of gastropods to self-right after dislodgement, and rapidly return to normal orientation, reduces the risk of predation. Methodology/Principal Findings The impacts of OA on this self-righting behaviour and other important parameters such as growth, survival, shell dissolution and shell deposition in Concholepas concholepas (loco) were investigated under contrasting pCO2 levels. Although no impacts of OA on either growth or net shell calcification were found, the results did show that OA can significantly affect self-righting behaviour during the early ontogeny of this species with significantly faster righting times recorded for individuals of C. concholepas reared under increased average pCO2 concentrations (± SE) (716±12 and 1036±14 µatm CO2) compared to those reared at concentrations equivalent to those presently found in the surface ocean (388±8 µatm CO2). When loco were also exposed to the predatory crab Acanthocyclus hassleri, righting times were again increased by exposure to elevated CO2, although self-righting times were generally twice as fast as those observed in the absence of the crab. Conclusions and Significance These results suggest that self-righting in the early ontogeny of C. concholepas will be positively affected by pCO2 levels expected by the end of the 21st century and beginning of the next one. However, as the rate of self-righting is an adaptive trait evolved to reduce lethal predatory attacks, our result also suggest that OA may disrupt prey responses to predators in nature. PMID:23844231

  3. Ocean acidification disrupts prey responses to predator cues but not net prey shell growth in Concholepas concholepas (loco.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricio H Manríquez

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Most research on Ocean Acidification (OA has largely focused on the process of calcification and the physiological trade-offs employed by calcifying organisms to support the building of calcium carbonate structures. However, there is growing evidence that OA can also impact upon other key biological processes such as survival, growth and behaviour. On wave-swept rocky shores the ability of gastropods to self-right after dislodgement, and rapidly return to normal orientation, reduces the risk of predation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The impacts of OA on this self-righting behaviour and other important parameters such as growth, survival, shell dissolution and shell deposition in Concholepas concholepas (loco were investigated under contrasting pCO2 levels. Although no impacts of OA on either growth or net shell calcification were found, the results did show that OA can significantly affect self-righting behaviour during the early ontogeny of this species with significantly faster righting times recorded for individuals of C. concholepas reared under increased average pCO2 concentrations (± SE (716 ± 12 and 1036 ± 14 µatm CO2 compared to those reared at concentrations equivalent to those presently found in the surface ocean (388 ± 8 µatm CO2. When loco were also exposed to the predatory crab Acanthocyclus hassleri, righting times were again increased by exposure to elevated CO2, although self-righting times were generally twice as fast as those observed in the absence of the crab. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: These results suggest that self-righting in the early ontogeny of C. concholepas will be positively affected by pCO2 levels expected by the end of the 21st century and beginning of the next one. However, as the rate of self-righting is an adaptive trait evolved to reduce lethal predatory attacks, our result also suggest that OA may disrupt prey responses to predators in nature.

  4. tavgM_2d_ocn_Nx: MERRA 2D IAU Ocean Surface Diagnostic, Diurnal 0.667 x 0.5 degree V5.2.0 (MATUNXOCN) at GES DISC

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The MATUNXOCN or tavgU_2d_ocn_Nx data product is the MERRA Data Assimilation System 2-Dimensional ocean surface single-level diagnostics that is monthly mean...

  5. Effects of ocean warming and acidification on survival, growth and skeletal development in the early benthic juvenile sea urchin (Heliocidaris erythrogramma).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolfe, Kennedy; Dworjanyn, Symon A; Byrne, Maria

    2013-09-01

    Co-occurring ocean warming, acidification and reduced carbonate mineral saturation have significant impacts on marine biota, especially calcifying organisms. The effects of these stressors on development and calcification in newly metamorphosed juveniles (ca. 0.5 mm test diameter) of the intertidal sea urchin Heliocidaris erythrogramma, an ecologically important species in temperate Australia, were investigated in context with present and projected future conditions. Habitat temperature and pH/pCO2 were documented to place experiments in a biologically and ecologically relevant context. These parameters fluctuated diurnally up to 10 °C and 0.45 pH units. The juveniles were exposed to three temperature (21, 23 and 25 °C) and four pH (8.1, 7.8, 7.6 and 7.4) treatments in all combinations, representing ambient sea surface conditions (21 °C, pH 8.1; pCO2 397; ΩCa 4.7; ΩAr 3.1), near-future projected change (+2-4 °C, -0.3-0.5 pH units; pCO2 400-1820; ΩCa 5.0-1.6; ΩAr 3.3-1.1), and extreme conditions experienced at low tide (+4 °C, -0.3-0.7 pH units; pCO2 2850-2967; ΩCa 1.1-1.0; ΩAr 0.7-0.6). The lowest pH treatment (pH 7.4) was used to assess tolerance levels. Juvenile survival and test growth were resilient to current and near-future warming and acidification. Spine development, however, was negatively affected by near-future increased temperature (+2-4 °C) and extreme acidification (pH 7.4), with a complex interaction between stressors. Near-future warming was the more significant stressor. Spine tips were dissolved in the pH 7.4 treatments. Adaptation to fluctuating temperature-pH conditions in the intertidal may convey resilience to juvenile H. erythrogramma to changing ocean conditions, however, ocean warming and acidification may shift baseline intertidal temperature and pH/pCO2 to levels that exceed tolerance limits. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. Statistical fluctuations of an ocean surface inferred from shoes and ships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lerche, Ian; Maubeuge, Frédéric

    1995-12-01

    This paper shows that it is possible to roughly estimate some ocean properties using simple time-dependent statistical models of ocean fluctuations. Based on a real incident, the loss by a vessel of a Nike shoes container in the North Pacific Ocean, a statistical model was tested on data sets consisting of the Nike shoes found by beachcombers a few months later. This statistical treatment of the shoes' motion allows one to infer velocity trends of the Pacific Ocean, together with their fluctuation strengths. The idea is to suppose that there is a mean bulk flow speed that can depend on location on the ocean surface and time. The fluctuations of the surface flow speed are then treated as statistically random. The distribution of shoes is described in space and time using Markov probability processes related to the mean and fluctuating ocean properties. The aim of the exercise is to provide some of the properties of the Pacific Ocean that are otherwise calculated using a sophisticated numerical model, OSCURS, where numerous data are needed. Relevant quantities are sharply estimated, which can be useful to (1) constrain output results from OSCURS computations, and (2) elucidate the behavior patterns of ocean flow characteristics on long time scales.

  7. Incorporation of Mg, Sr, Ba, U, and B in High-Mg Calcite Benthic Foraminifers Cultured Under Controlled pCO2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Not, C.; Thibodeau, B.; Yokoyama, Y.

    2018-01-01

    Measurement of elemental ratios (E/Ca) has been performed in two symbiont-bearing species of high-Mg calcite benthic foraminifers (hyaline, Baculogypsina sphaerulata and porcelaneous, Amphisorus hemprichii), cultured under five pCO2 levels, representing preindustrial, modern, and three predicted future values. E/Ca ratios were analyzed by Laser Ablation coupled with Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (LA-ICP-MS). We measured several E/Ca, such as Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca, U/Ca, and B/Ca simultaneously. We observed that high-Mg calcite benthic foraminifers possess higher E/Ca than low-Mg calcite foraminifers, irrespective of their calcification mode (hyaline or porcelaneous). In both modes of calcification, Mg, Sr, Ba, U, and B incorporation could be controlled by Rayleigh fractionation. However, more data are needed to validate and quantify the relative importance of this process and closely investigate the presence/absence of other mechanism. Therefore, it highlights the need for a multielemental approach when looking at trace element incorporation. Finally, no significant relationship was observed between the different ratios and the pCO2 of the water, suggesting that none of the Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, Ba/Ca, U/Ca, and B/Ca is sensitive to bottom water pCO2 or pH for these species.

  8. The response of calcifying plankton to climate change in the Pliocene

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. V. Davis

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available As a result of anthropogenic pCO2 increases, future oceans are growing warmer and lower in pH and oxygen, conditions that are likely to impact planktic communities. Past intervals of elevated and changing pCO2 and temperatures can offer a glimpse into the response of marine calcifying plankton to changes in surface oceans under conditions similar to those projected for the future. Here we present new records of planktic foraminiferal and coccolith calcification (weight and size from Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 607 (mid-North Atlantic and Ocean Drilling Program Site 999 (Caribbean Sea from the Pliocene, the last time that pCO2 was similar to today, and extending through a global cooling event into the intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciation (3.3 to 2.6 million years ago. Test weights of both surface-dwelling Foraminifera Globigerina bulloides and thermocline-dwelling Foraminifera Globorotalia puncticulata vary with a potential link to regional temperature variation in the North Atlantic, whereas in the tropics Globigerinoides ruber test weight remains stable. In contrast, reticulofenestrid coccoliths show a narrowing size range and a decline in the largest lith diameters over this interval. Our results suggest no major changes in plankton calcite production during the high pCO2 Pliocene or during the transition into an icehouse world.

  9. The Sentinel-3 Surface Topography Mission (S-3 STM): Level 2 SAR Ocean Retracker

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dinardo, S.; Lucas, B.; Benveniste, J.

    2015-12-01

    The SRAL Radar Altimeter, on board of the ESA Mission Sentinel-3 (S-3), has the capacity to operate either in the Pulse-Limited Mode (also known as LRM) or in the novel Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) mode. Thanks to the initial results from SAR Altimetry obtained exploiting CryoSat-2 data, lately the interest by the scientific community in this new technology has significantly increased and consequently the definition of accurate processing methodologies (along with validation strategies) has now assumed a capital importance. In this paper, we present the algorithm proposed to retrieve from S-3 STM SAR return waveforms the standard ocean geophysical parameters (ocean topography, wave height and sigma nought) and the validation results that have been so far achieved exploiting the CryoSat-2 data as well as the simulated data. The inversion method (retracking) to extract from the return waveform the geophysical information is a curve best-fitting scheme based on the bounded Levenberg-Marquardt Least-Squares Estimation Method (LEVMAR-LSE). The S-3 STM SAR Ocean retracking algorithm adopts, as return waveform’s model, the “SAMOSA” model [Ray et al, 2014], named after the R&D project SAMOSA (led by Satoc and funded by ESA), in which it has been initially developed. The SAMOSA model is a physically-based model that offers a complete description of a SAR Altimeter return waveform from ocean surface, expressed in the form of maps of reflected power in Delay-Doppler space (also known as stack) or expressed as multilooked echoes. SAMOSA is able to account for an elliptical antenna pattern, mispointing errors in roll and yaw, surface scattering pattern, non-linear ocean wave statistics and spherical Earth surface effects. In spite of its truly comprehensive character, the SAMOSA model comes with a compact analytical formulation expressed in term of Modified Bessel functions. The specifications of the retracking algorithm have been gathered in a technical document (DPM

  10. Satellite-based Calibration of Heat Flux at the Ocean Surface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barron, C. N.; Dastugue, J. M.; May, J. C.; Rowley, C. D.; Smith, S. R.; Spence, P. L.; Gremes-Cordero, S.

    2016-02-01

    Model forecasts of upper ocean heat content and variability on diurnal to daily scales are highly dependent on estimates of heat flux through the air-sea interface. Satellite remote sensing is applied to not only inform the initial ocean state but also to mitigate errors in surface heat flux and model representations affecting the distribution of heat in the upper ocean. Traditional assimilation of sea surface temperature (SST) observations re-centers ocean models at the start of each forecast cycle. Subsequent evolution depends on estimates of surface heat fluxes and upper-ocean processes over the forecast period. The COFFEE project (Calibration of Ocean Forcing with satellite Flux Estimates) endeavors to correct ocean forecast bias through a responsive error partition among surface heat flux and ocean dynamics sources. A suite of experiments in the southern California Current demonstrates a range of COFFEE capabilities, showing the impact on forecast error relative to a baseline three-dimensional variational (3DVAR) assimilation using Navy operational global or regional atmospheric forcing. COFFEE addresses satellite-calibration of surface fluxes to estimate surface error covariances and links these to the ocean interior. Experiment cases combine different levels of flux calibration with different assimilation alternatives. The cases may use the original fluxes, apply full satellite corrections during the forecast period, or extend hindcast corrections into the forecast period. Assimilation is either baseline 3DVAR or standard strong-constraint 4DVAR, with work proceeding to add a 4DVAR expanded to include a weak constraint treatment of the surface flux errors. Covariance of flux errors is estimated from the recent time series of forecast and calibrated flux terms. While the California Current examples are shown, the approach is equally applicable to other regions. These approaches within a 3DVAR application are anticipated to be useful for global and larger

  11. Calcifying algae maintain settlement cues to larval abalone following algal exposure to extreme ocean acidification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Leary, Jennifer K; Barry, James P; Gabrielson, Paul W; Rogers-Bennett, Laura; Potts, Donald C; Palumbi, Stephen R; Micheli, Fiorenza

    2017-07-18

    Ocean acidification (OA) increasingly threatens marine systems, and is especially harmful to calcifying organisms. One important question is whether OA will alter species interactions. Crustose coralline algae (CCA) provide space and chemical cues for larval settlement. CCA have shown strongly negative responses to OA in previous studies, including disruption of settlement cues to corals. In California, CCA provide cues for seven species of harvested, threatened, and endangered abalone. We exposed four common CCA genera and a crustose calcifying red algae, Peyssonnelia (collectively CCRA) from California to three pCO 2 levels ranging from 419-2,013 µatm for four months. We then evaluated abalone (Haliotis rufescens) settlement under ambient conditions among the CCRA and non-algal controls that had been previously exposed to the pCO 2 treatments. Abalone settlement and metamorphosis increased from 11% in the absence of CCRA to 45-69% when CCRA were present, with minor variation among CCRA genera. Though all CCRA genera reduced growth during exposure to increased pCO 2 , abalone settlement was unaffected by prior CCRA exposure to increased pCO 2 . Thus, we find no impacts of OA exposure history on CCRA provision of settlement cues. Additionally, there appears to be functional redundancy in genera of CCRA providing cues to abalone, which may further buffer OA effects.

  12. An Optimization Method for Virtual Globe Ocean Surface Dynamic Visualization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    HUANG Wumeng

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The existing visualization method in the virtual globe mainly uses the projection grid to organize the ocean grid. This special grid organization has the defects in reflecting the difference characteristics of different ocean areas. The method of global ocean visualization based on global discrete grid can make up the defect of the projection grid method by matching with the discrete space of the virtual globe, so it is more suitable for the virtual ocean surface simulation application.But the available global discrete grids method has many problems which limiting its application such as the low efficiency of rendering and loading, the need of repairing grid crevices. To this point, we propose an optimization for the global discrete grids method. At first, a GPU-oriented multi-scale grid model of ocean surface which develops on the foundation of global discrete grids was designed to organize and manage the ocean surface grids. Then, in order to achieve the wind-drive wave dynamic rendering, this paper proposes a dynamic wave rendering method based on the multi-scale ocean surface grid model to support real-time wind field updating. At the same time, considering the effect of repairing grid crevices on the system efficiency, this paper presents an efficient method for repairing ocean surface grid crevices based on the characteristics of ocean grid and GPU technology. At last, the feasibility and validity of the method are verified by the comparison experiment. The experimental results show that the proposed method is efficient, stable and fast, and can compensate for the lack of function of the existing methods, so the application range is more extensive.

  13. Natural ocean acidification at Papagayo upwelling system (north Pacific Costa Rica: implications for reef development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Sánchez-Noguera

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Numerous experiments have shown that ocean acidification impedes coral calcification, but knowledge about in situ reef ecosystem response to ocean acidification is still scarce. Bahía Culebra, situated at the northern Pacific coast of Costa Rica, is a location naturally exposed to acidic conditions due to the Papagayo seasonal upwelling. We measured pH and pCO2 in situ during two non-upwelling seasons (June 2012, May–June 2013, with a high temporal resolution of every 15 and 30 min, respectively, using two Submersible Autonomous Moored Instruments (SAMI-pH, SAMI-CO2. These results were compared with published data from the 2009 upwelling season. Findings revealed that the carbonate system in Bahía Culebra shows a high temporal variability. Incoming offshore waters drive intra- and interseasonal changes. Lowest pH (7.8 and highest pCO2 (658.3 µatm values measured during a cold-water intrusion event in the non-upwelling season were similar to those minimum values reported from upwelling season (pH  =  7.8, pCO2  =  643.5 µatm, unveiling that natural acidification also occurs sporadically in the non-upwelling season. This affects the interaction of photosynthesis, respiration, calcification and carbonate dissolution and the resulting diel cycle of pH and pCO2 in the reefs of Bahía Culebra. During the non-upwelling season, the aragonite saturation state (Ωa rises to values of  >  3.3 and during the upwelling season falls below 2.5. The Ωa threshold values for coral growth were derived from the correlation between measured Ωa and coral linear extension rates which were obtained from the literature and suggest that future ocean acidification will threaten the continued growth of reefs in Bahía Culebra. These data contribute to building a better understanding of the carbonate system dynamics and coral reefs' key response (e.g., coral growth to natural low-pH conditions, in upwelling areas in the eastern tropical

  14. Ocean Acidification and Increased Temperature Have Both Positive and Negative Effects on Early Ontogenetic Traits of a Rocky Shore Keystone Predator Species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manríquez, Patricio H; Jara, María Elisa; Seguel, Mylene E; Torres, Rodrigo; Alarcon, Emilio; Lee, Matthew R

    2016-01-01

    The combined effect of ocean acidification and warming is expected to have significant effects on several traits of marine organisms. The gastropod Concholepas concholepas is a rocky shore keystone predator characteristic of the south-eastern Pacific coast of South America and an important natural resource exploited by small-scale artisanal fishermen along the coast of Chile and Peru. In this study, we used small juveniles of C. concholepas collected from the rocky intertidal habitats of southern Chile (39 °S) to evaluate under laboratory conditions the potential consequences of projected near-future levels of ocean acidification and warming for important early ontogenetic traits. The individuals were exposed long-term (5.8 months) to contrasting pCO2 (ca. 500 and 1400 μatm) and temperature (15 and 19 °C) levels. After this period we compared body growth traits, dislodgement resistance, predator-escape response, self-righting and metabolic rates. With respect to these traits there was no evidence of a synergistic interaction between pCO2 and temperature. Shell growth was negatively affected by high pCO2 levels only at 15 °C. High pCO2 levels also had a negative effect on the predator-escape response. Conversely, dislodgement resistance and self-righting were positively affected by high pCO2 levels at both temperatures. High tenacity and fast self-righting would reduce predation risk in nature and might compensate for the negative effects of high pCO2 levels on other important defensive traits such as shell size and escape behaviour. We conclude that climate change might produce in C. concholepas positive and negative effects in physiology and behaviour. In fact, some of the behavioural responses might be a consequence of physiological effects, such as changes in chemosensory capacity (e.g. predator-escape response) or secretion of adhesive mucous (e.g. dislodgement resistance). Moreover, we conclude that positive behavioural responses may assist in the

  15. Ocean Acidification and Increased Temperature Have Both Positive and Negative Effects on Early Ontogenetic Traits of a Rocky Shore Keystone Predator Species.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricio H Manríquez

    Full Text Available The combined effect of ocean acidification and warming is expected to have significant effects on several traits of marine organisms. The gastropod Concholepas concholepas is a rocky shore keystone predator characteristic of the south-eastern Pacific coast of South America and an important natural resource exploited by small-scale artisanal fishermen along the coast of Chile and Peru. In this study, we used small juveniles of C. concholepas collected from the rocky intertidal habitats of southern Chile (39 °S to evaluate under laboratory conditions the potential consequences of projected near-future levels of ocean acidification and warming for important early ontogenetic traits. The individuals were exposed long-term (5.8 months to contrasting pCO2 (ca. 500 and 1400 μatm and temperature (15 and 19 °C levels. After this period we compared body growth traits, dislodgement resistance, predator-escape response, self-righting and metabolic rates. With respect to these traits there was no evidence of a synergistic interaction between pCO2 and temperature. Shell growth was negatively affected by high pCO2 levels only at 15 °C. High pCO2 levels also had a negative effect on the predator-escape response. Conversely, dislodgement resistance and self-righting were positively affected by high pCO2 levels at both temperatures. High tenacity and fast self-righting would reduce predation risk in nature and might compensate for the negative effects of high pCO2 levels on other important defensive traits such as shell size and escape behaviour. We conclude that climate change might produce in C. concholepas positive and negative effects in physiology and behaviour. In fact, some of the behavioural responses might be a consequence of physiological effects, such as changes in chemosensory capacity (e.g. predator-escape response or secretion of adhesive mucous (e.g. dislodgement resistance. Moreover, we conclude that positive behavioural responses may assist

  16. Ocean Acidification and Increased Temperature Have Both Positive and Negative Effects on Early Ontogenetic Traits of a Rocky Shore Keystone Predator Species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manríquez, Patricio H.; Jara, María Elisa; Seguel, Mylene E.; Torres, Rodrigo; Alarcon, Emilio; Lee, Matthew R.

    2016-01-01

    The combined effect of ocean acidification and warming is expected to have significant effects on several traits of marine organisms. The gastropod Concholepas concholepas is a rocky shore keystone predator characteristic of the south-eastern Pacific coast of South America and an important natural resource exploited by small-scale artisanal fishermen along the coast of Chile and Peru. In this study, we used small juveniles of C. concholepas collected from the rocky intertidal habitats of southern Chile (39°S) to evaluate under laboratory conditions the potential consequences of projected near-future levels of ocean acidification and warming for important early ontogenetic traits. The individuals were exposed long-term (5.8 months) to contrasting pCO2 (ca. 500 and 1400 μatm) and temperature (15 and 19°C) levels. After this period we compared body growth traits, dislodgement resistance, predator-escape response, self-righting and metabolic rates. With respect to these traits there was no evidence of a synergistic interaction between pCO2 and temperature. Shell growth was negatively affected by high pCO2 levels only at 15°C. High pCO2 levels also had a negative effect on the predator-escape response. Conversely, dislodgement resistance and self-righting were positively affected by high pCO2 levels at both temperatures. High tenacity and fast self-righting would reduce predation risk in nature and might compensate for the negative effects of high pCO2 levels on other important defensive traits such as shell size and escape behaviour. We conclude that climate change might produce in C. concholepas positive and negative effects in physiology and behaviour. In fact, some of the behavioural responses might be a consequence of physiological effects, such as changes in chemosensory capacity (e.g. predator-escape response) or secretion of adhesive mucous (e.g. dislodgement resistance). Moreover, we conclude that positive behavioural responses may assist in the adaptation

  17. Investigating the Potential Impact of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) Altimeter on Ocean Mesoscale Prediction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrier, M.; Ngodock, H.; Smith, S. R.; Souopgui, I.

    2016-02-01

    NASA's Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite, scheduled for launch in 2020, will provide sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) observations with a wider swath width and higher spatial resolution than current satellite altimeters. It is expected that this will help to further constrain ocean models in terms of the mesoscale circulation. In this work, this expectation is investigated by way of twin data assimilation experiments using the Navy Coastal Ocean Model Four Dimensional Variational (NCOM-4DVAR) data assimilation system using a weak constraint formulation. Here, a nature run is created from which SWOT observations are sampled, as well as along-track SSHA observations from simulated Jason-2 tracks. The simulated SWOT data has appropriate spatial coverage, resolution, and noise characteristics based on an observation-simulator program provided by the SWOT science team. The experiment is run for a three-month period during which the analysis is updated every 24 hours and each analysis is used to initialize a 96 hour forecast. The forecasts in each experiment are compared to the available nature run to determine the impact of the assimilated data. It is demonstrated here that the SWOT observations help to constrain the model mesoscale in a more consistent manner than traditional altimeter observations. The findings of this study suggest that data from SWOT may have a substantial impact on improving the ocean model analysis and forecast of mesoscale features and surface ocean transport.

  18. Over-calcified forms of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi in high-CO2 waters are not preadapted to ocean acidification

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Dassow, Peter; Díaz-Rosas, Francisco; Mahdi Bendif, El; Gaitán-Espitia, Juan-Diego; Mella-Flores, Daniella; Rokitta, Sebastian; John, Uwe; Torres, Rodrigo

    2018-03-01

    Marine multicellular organisms inhabiting waters with natural high fluctuations in pH appear more tolerant to acidification than conspecifics occurring in nearby stable waters, suggesting that environments of fluctuating pH hold genetic reservoirs for adaptation of key groups to ocean acidification (OA). The abundant and cosmopolitan calcifying phytoplankton Emiliania huxleyi exhibits a range of morphotypes with varying degrees of coccolith mineralization. We show that E. huxleyi populations in the naturally acidified upwelling waters of the eastern South Pacific, where pH drops below 7.8 as is predicted for the global surface ocean by the year 2100, are dominated by exceptionally over-calcified morphotypes whose distal coccolith shield can be almost solid calcite. Shifts in morphotype composition of E. huxleyi populations correlate with changes in carbonate system parameters. We tested if these correlations indicate that the hyper-calcified morphotype is adapted to OA. In experimental exposures to present-day vs. future pCO2 (400 vs. 1200 µatm), the over-calcified morphotypes showed the same growth inhibition (-29.1±6.3 %) as moderately calcified morphotypes isolated from non-acidified water (-30.7±8.8 %). Under the high-CO2-low-pH condition, production rates of particulate organic carbon (POC) increased, while production rates of particulate inorganic carbon (PIC) were maintained or decreased slightly (but not significantly), leading to lowered PIC / POC ratios in all strains. There were no consistent correlations of response intensity with strain origin. The high-CO2-low-pH condition affected coccolith morphology equally or more strongly in over-calcified strains compared to moderately calcified strains. High-CO2-low-pH conditions appear not to directly select for exceptionally over-calcified morphotypes over other morphotypes, but perhaps indirectly by ecologically correlated factors. More generally, these results suggest that oceanic planktonic

  19. Chromophoric dissolved organic matter in experimental mesocosms maintained under different pCO2 levels

    OpenAIRE

    Rochelle-Newall, E.; Delille, B.; Frankignoulle, M.; Gattuso, J.-P.; Jacquet, S.; Riebesell, Ulf; Terbrüggen, A.; Zondervan, I.

    2004-01-01

    Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) represents the optically active fraction of the bulk dissolved organic matter (DOM) pool. Recent evidence pointed towards a microbial source of CDOM in the aquatic environment and led to the proposal that phytoplankton is not a direct source of CDOM, but that heterotrophic bacteria, through reprocessing of DOM of algal origin, are an important source of CDOM. In a recent experiment designed at looking at the effects of elevated pCO2 on blooms of th...

  20. Increasing pCO2 correlates with low concentrations of intracellular dimethylsulfoniopropionate in the sea anemone Anemonia viridis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borell, Esther M; Steinke, Michael; Horwitz, Rael; Fine, Maoz

    2014-02-01

    Marine anthozoans maintain a mutualistic symbiosis with dinoflagellates that are prolific producers of the algal secondary metabolite dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), the precursor of the climate-cooling trace gas dimethyl sulfide (DMS). Surprisingly, little is known about the physiological role of DMSP in anthozoans and the environmental factors that regulate its production. Here, we assessed the potential functional role of DMSP as an antioxidant and determined how future increases in seawater pCO2 may affect DMSP concentrations in the anemone Anemonia viridis along a natural pCO2 gradient at the island of Vulcano, Italy. There was no significant difference in zooxanthellae genotype and characteristics (density of zooxanthellae, and chlorophyll a) as well as protein concentrations between anemones from three stations along the gradient, V1 (3232 μatm CO2), V2 (682 μatm) and control (463 μatm), which indicated that A. viridis can acclimate to various seawater pCO2. In contrast, DMSP concentrations in anemones from stations V1 (33.23 ± 8.30 fmol cell(-1)) and V2 (34.78 ± 8.69 fmol cell(-1)) were about 35% lower than concentrations in tentacles from the control station (51.85 ± 12.96 fmol cell(-1)). Furthermore, low tissue concentrations of DMSP coincided with low activities of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD). Superoxide dismutase activity for both host (7.84 ± 1.37 U·mg(-1) protein) and zooxanthellae (2.84 ± 0.41 U·mg(-1) protein) at V1 was 40% lower than at the control station (host: 13.19 ± 1.42; zooxanthellae: 4.72 ± 0.57 U·mg(-1) protein). Our results provide insight into coastal DMSP production under predicted environmental change and support the function of DMSP as an antioxidant in symbiotic anthozoans.

  1. tavgM_2d_ocn_Nx: MERRA 2D IAU Ocean Surface Diagnostic, Monthly Mean 0.667 x 0.5 degree V5.2.0 (MATMNXOCN) at GES DISC

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The MATMNXOCN or tavgM_2d_ocn_Nx data product is the MERRA Data Assimilation System 2-Dimensional ocean surface single-level diagnostics that is monthly mean...

  2. A Key Marine Diazotroph in a Changing Ocean: The Interacting Effects of Temperature, CO2 and Light on the Growth of Trichodesmium erythraeum IMS101.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tobias G Boatman

    Full Text Available Trichodesmium is a globally important marine diazotroph that accounts for approximately 60 - 80% of marine biological N2 fixation and as such plays a key role in marine N and C cycles. We undertook a comprehensive assessment of how the growth rate of Trichodesmium erythraeum IMS101 was directly affected by the combined interactions of temperature, pCO2 and light intensity. Our key findings were: low pCO2 affected the lower temperature tolerance limit (Tmin but had no effect on the optimum temperature (Topt at which growth was maximal or the maximum temperature tolerance limit (Tmax; low pCO2 had a greater effect on the thermal niche width than low-light; the effect of pCO2 on growth rate was more pronounced at suboptimal temperatures than at supraoptimal temperatures; temperature and light had a stronger effect on the photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm than did CO2; and at Topt, the maximum growth rate increased with increasing CO2, but the initial slope of the growth-irradiance curve was not affected by CO2. In the context of environmental change, our results suggest that the (i nutrient replete growth rate of Trichodesmium IMS101 would have been severely limited by low pCO2 at the last glacial maximum (LGM, (ii future increases in pCO2 will increase growth rates in areas where temperature ranges between Tmin to Topt, but will have negligible effect at temperatures between Topt and Tmax, (iii areal increase of warm surface waters (> 18°C has allowed the geographic range to increase significantly from the LGM to present and that the range will continue to expand to higher latitudes with continued warming, but (iv continued global warming may exclude Trichodesmium spp. from some tropical regions by 2100 where temperature exceeds Topt.

  3. Ocean acidification increases cadmium accumulation in marine bivalves: a potential threat to seafood safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Wei; Zhao, Xinguo; Han, Yu; Che, Zhumei; Chai, Xueliang; Liu, Guangxu

    2016-01-21

    To date, the effects of ocean acidification on toxic metals accumulation and the underlying molecular mechanism remains unknown in marine bivalve species. In the present study, the effects of the realistic future ocean pCO2 levels on the cadmium (Cd) accumulation in the gills, mantle and adductor muscles of three bivalve species, Mytilus edulis, Tegillarca granosa, and Meretrix meretrix, were investigated. The results obtained suggested that all species tested accumulated significantly higher Cd (p ocean acidification-induced increase in Cd accumulation may have occurred due to (i) the ocean acidification increased the concentration of Cd and the Cd(2+)/Ca(2+) in the seawater, which in turn increased the Cd influx through Ca channel; (ii) the acidified seawater may have brought about epithelia damage, resulting in easier Cd penetration; and (iii) ocean acidification hampered Cd exclusion.

  4. Natural variability in the surface ocean carbonate ion concentration

    OpenAIRE

    N. S. Lovenduski; M. C. Long; K. Lindsay

    2015-01-01

    We investigate variability in the surface ocean carbonate ion concentration ([CO32−]) on the basis of a long control simulation with a fully-coupled Earth System Model. The simulation is run with a prescribed, pre-industrial atmospheric CO2 concentration for 1000 years, permitting investigation of natural [CO32−] variability on interannual to multi-decadal timescales. We find high interannual variability in surface [CO32−] in the tropical...

  5. Natural variability in the surface ocean carbonate ion concentration

    OpenAIRE

    Lovenduski, N. S.; Long, M. C.; Lindsay, K.

    2015-01-01

    We investigate variability in the surface ocean carbonate ion concentration ([CO32−]) on the basis of a~long control simulation with an Earth System Model. The simulation is run with a prescribed, pre-industrial atmospheric CO2 concentration for 1000 years, permitting investigation of natural [CO32−] variability on interannual to multi-decadal timescales. We find high interannual variability in surface [CO32−] in the tropical Pacific and ...

  6. Natural variability in the surface ocean carbonate ion concentration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. S. Lovenduski

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available We investigate variability in the surface ocean carbonate ion concentration ([CO32−] on the basis of a~long control simulation with an Earth System Model. The simulation is run with a prescribed, pre-industrial atmospheric CO2 concentration for 1000 years, permitting investigation of natural [CO32−] variability on interannual to multi-decadal timescales. We find high interannual variability in surface [CO32−] in the tropical Pacific and at the boundaries between the subtropical and subpolar gyres in the Northern Hemisphere, and relatively low interannual variability in the centers of the subtropical gyres and in the Southern Ocean. Statistical analysis of modeled [CO32−] variance and autocorrelation suggests that significant anthropogenic trends in the saturation state of aragonite (Ωaragonite are already or nearly detectable at the sustained, open-ocean time series sites, whereas several decades of observations are required to detect anthropogenic trends in Ωaragonite in the tropical Pacific, North Pacific, and North Atlantic. The detection timescale for anthropogenic trends in pH is shorter than that for Ωaragonite, due to smaller noise-to-signal ratios and lower autocorrelation in pH. In the tropical Pacific, the leading mode of surface [CO32−] variability is primarily driven by variations in the vertical advection of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC in association with El Niño–Southern Oscillation. In the North Pacific, surface [CO32−] variability is caused by circulation-driven variations in surface DIC and strongly correlated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, with peak spectral power at 20–30-year periods. North Atlantic [CO32−] variability is also driven by variations in surface DIC, and exhibits weak correlations with both the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. As the scientific community seeks to detect the anthropogenic influence on ocean carbonate chemistry, these results

  7. Use of a Land-Based, Dual-Parameter Analyzer for Tracking Ocean Acidification in Nearshore Coastal Habitats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shea, M.; Alin, S. R.; Evans, W.; Sutton, A.; Hales, B. R.; Newton, J.; Feely, R. A.

    2016-12-01

    In 2007 to 2008, U.S. Pacific Northwest shellfish hatcheries experienced unprecedented larval mortality, attributed to upwelling along the Washington-Oregon coast that brought seawater enriched in anthropogenic CO2 and undersaturated with respect to aragonite to the surface. In response, several hatcheries have been outfitted with land-based analyzers to measure CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) and total dissolved CO2 (TCO2) through U.S. IOOS and NOAA OAP funding. This analyzer, developed at Oregon State University and known as the `Burke-O-Lator,' allows users to track CO2 system parameters in real-time. The data are available in near real-time on the IOOS Pacific Region Ocean Acidification (IPACOA) data portal, which feeds to the Global Ocean Acidification Observing Network (GOA-ON). Here, we explore the broader use of this system as an environmental monitoring tool. Most of the high-quality OA time-series locations in GOA-ON are in the open and coastal ocean, yet many areas of biological interest—such as shellfish hatcheries, shellfish farms, and coastal laboratories—are in the nearshore area of the coastal zone. A truly globally integrated assessment of OA must include nearshore conditions, which have been shown to be quite different in terms of variability, drivers, and range. We evaluated two pCO2 time-series from the coastal nearshore: the Taylor Shellfish Hatchery Burke-O-Lator system on the shore of Dabob Bay in Puget Sound, WA, and the nearby but offshore Dabob ORCA buoy MAPCO2 system within the bay. Preliminary comparison of three years of data reveals similar patterns despite differences in location and seawater intake depth, highlighting the opportunity for the addition of coupled nearshore biology and biogeochemistry measurements in GOA-ON. In addition, the well-calibrated, dual-parameter nature of the system is important for constraining nearshore chemistry, as biology, groundwater, and river inputs can lead to strong variability in carbonate

  8. Modeling long-term carbon residue in the ocean-atmosphere system following large CO2 emissions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Towles, N. J.; Olson, P.; Gnanadesikan, A.

    2013-12-01

    We use the LOSCAR carbon cycle model (Zeebe et al., 2009; Zeebe, 2012) to calculate the residual carbon in the ocean and atmosphere following large CO2 emissions. We consider the system response to CO2 emissions ranging from 100 to 20000 PgC, and emission durations from 100 yr to 100 kyr, subject to a wide range of system parameters such as the strengths of silicate weathering and the oceanic biological carbon pump. We define the carbon gain factor as the ratio of residual carbon in the ocean-atmosphere to the total emitted carbon. For moderate sized emissions shorter than about 50 kyr, we find that the carbon gain factor grows during the emission and peaks at about 1.7, primarily due to the erosion of carbonate marine sediments. In contrast, for longer emissions, the carbon gain factor peaks at a smaller value, and for very large emissions (more than 5000 PgC), the gain factor decreases with emission size due to carbonate sediment exhaustion. This gain factor is sensitive to model parameters such as low latitude efficiency of the biological pump. The timescale for removal of the residual carbon (reducing the carbon gain factor to zero) depends strongly on the assumed sensitivity of silicate weathering to atmospheric pCO2, and ranges from less than one million years to several million years.

  9. Out of Thin Air: Microbial Utilization of Atmospheric Gaseous Organics in the Surface Ocean

    KAUST Repository

    Arrieta, J M; Duarte, Carlos M.; Sala, M. Montserrat; Dachs, Jordi

    2016-01-01

    Volatile and semi-volatile gas-phase organic carbon (GOC) is a largely neglected component of the global carbon cycle, with poorly resolved pools and fluxes of natural and anthropogenic GOC in the biosphere. Substantial amounts of atmospheric GOC are exchanged with the surface ocean, and subsequent utilization of specific GOC compounds by surface ocean microbial communities has been demonstrated. Yet, the final fate of the bulk of the atmospheric GOC entering the surface ocean is unknown. Our data show experimental evidence of efficient use of atmospheric GOC by marine prokaryotes at different locations in the NE Subtropical Atlantic, the Arctic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. We estimate that between 2 and 27% of the prokaryotic carbon demand was supported by GOC with a major fraction of GOC inputs being consumed within the mixed layer. The role of the atmosphere as a key vector of organic carbon subsidizing marine microbial metabolism is a novel link yet to be incorporated into the microbial ecology of the surface ocean as well as into the global carbon budget.

  10. Out of Thin Air: Microbial Utilization of Atmospheric Gaseous Organics in the Surface Ocean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arrieta, Jesús M; Duarte, Carlos M; Sala, M Montserrat; Dachs, Jordi

    2015-01-01

    Volatile and semi-volatile gas-phase organic carbon (GOC) is a largely neglected component of the global carbon cycle, with poorly resolved pools and fluxes of natural and anthropogenic GOC in the biosphere. Substantial amounts of atmospheric GOC are exchanged with the surface ocean, and subsequent utilization of specific GOC compounds by surface ocean microbial communities has been demonstrated. Yet, the final fate of the bulk of the atmospheric GOC entering the surface ocean is unknown. Our data show experimental evidence of efficient use of atmospheric GOC by marine prokaryotes at different locations in the NE Subtropical Atlantic, the Arctic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. We estimate that between 2 and 27% of the prokaryotic carbon demand was supported by GOC with a major fraction of GOC inputs being consumed within the mixed layer. The role of the atmosphere as a key vector of organic carbon subsidizing marine microbial metabolism is a novel link yet to be incorporated into the microbial ecology of the surface ocean as well as into the global carbon budget.

  11. Out of thin air: Microbial utilization of atmospheric gaseous organics in the surface ocean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jesus M Arrieta

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Volatile and semi-volatile gas-phase organic carbon (GOC is a largely neglected component of the global carbon cycle, with poorly resolved pools and fluxes of natural and anthropogenic GOC in the biosphere. Substantial amounts of atmospheric GOC are exchanged with the surface ocean, and subsequent utilization of specific GOC compounds by surface ocean microbial communities has been demonstrated. Yet, the final fate of the bulk of the atmospheric GOC entering the surface ocean is unknown. Our data show experimental evidence of efficient use of atmospheric GOC by marine prokaryotes at different locations in the NE Subtropical Atlantic, the Arctic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. We estimate that between 2 to 27% of the prokaryotic carbon demand was supported by GOC with a major fraction of GOC inputs being consumed within the mixed layer. The role of the atmosphere as a key vector of organic carbon subsidising marine microbial metabolism is a novel link yet to be incorporated into the microbial ecology of the surface ocean as well as into the global carbon budget.

  12. Out of Thin Air: Microbial Utilization of Atmospheric Gaseous Organics in the Surface Ocean

    KAUST Repository

    Arrieta, Jesus

    2016-01-20

    Volatile and semi-volatile gas-phase organic carbon (GOC) is a largely neglected component of the global carbon cycle, with poorly resolved pools and fluxes of natural and anthropogenic GOC in the biosphere. Substantial amounts of atmospheric GOC are exchanged with the surface ocean, and subsequent utilization of specific GOC compounds by surface ocean microbial communities has been demonstrated. Yet, the final fate of the bulk of the atmospheric GOC entering the surface ocean is unknown. Our data show experimental evidence of efficient use of atmospheric GOC by marine prokaryotes at different locations in the NE Subtropical Atlantic, the Arctic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. We estimate that between 2 and 27% of the prokaryotic carbon demand was supported by GOC with a major fraction of GOC inputs being consumed within the mixed layer. The role of the atmosphere as a key vector of organic carbon subsidizing marine microbial metabolism is a novel link yet to be incorporated into the microbial ecology of the surface ocean as well as into the global carbon budget.

  13. Testing the effects of elevated pCO2 on coccolithophores (Prymnesiophysceae): comparison between haploid and diploid life stages

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fiorini, S.; Middelburg, J.J.; Gattuso, J.P.

    2011-01-01

    The response of Emiliania huxleyi (Lohmann) W. W. Hay et H. Mohler, Calcidiscus leptoporus (G. Murray et V. H. Blackman) J. Schiller, and Syracosphaera pulchra Lohmann to elevated partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) was investigated in batch cultures. We reported on the response of both

  14. SWOT, The Surface Water and Ocean Topography Satellite Mission (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alsdorf, D.; Andreadis, K.; Bates, P. D.; Biancamaria, S.; Clark, E.; Durand, M. T.; Fu, L.; Lee, H.; Lettenmaier, D. P.; Mognard, N. M.; Moller, D.; Morrow, R. A.; Rodriguez, E.; Shum, C.

    2009-12-01

    Surface fresh water is essential for life, yet we have surprisingly poor knowledge of its variability in space and time. Similarly, ocean circulation fundamentally drives global climate variability, yet the ocean current and eddy field that affects ocean circulation and heat transport at the sub-mesoscale resolution and particularly near coastal and estuary regions, is poorly known. About 50% of the vertical exchange of water properties (nutrients, dissovled CO2, heat, etc) in the upper ocean is taking place at the sub-mesoscale. Measurements from the Surface Water and Ocean Topography satellite mission (SWOT) will make strides in understanding these processes and improving global ocean models for studying climate change. SWOT is a swath-based interferometric-altimeter designed to acquire elevations of ocean and terrestrial water surfaces at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions. The mission will provide measurements of storage changes in lakes, reservoirs, and wetlands as well as estimates of discharge in rivers. These measurements are important for global water and energy budgets, constraining hydrodynamic models of floods, carbon evasion through wetlands, and water management, especially in developing nations. Perhaps most importantly, SWOT measurements will provide a fundamental understanding of the spatial and temporal variations in global surface waters, which for many countries are the primary source of water. An on-going effort, the “virtual mission” (VM) is designed to help constrain the required height and slope accuracies, the spatial sampling (both pixels and orbital coverage), and the trade-offs in various temporal revisits. Example results include the following: (1) Ensemble Kalman filtering of VM simulations recover water depth and discharge, reducing the discharge RMSE from 23.2% to 10.0% over an 84-day simulation period, relative to a simulation without assimilation. (2) Ensemble-based data assimilation of SWOT like measurements yields

  15. Interactive effects of near-future temperature increase and ocean acidification on physiology and gonad development in adult Pacific sea urchin, Echinometra sp . A

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uthicke, S.; Liddy, M.; Nguyen, H. D.; Byrne, M.

    2014-09-01

    Increased atmospheric CO2 will have a twofold impact on future marine ecosystems, increasing global sea surface temperatures and uptake of CO2 (Ocean Acidification). Many experiments focus on the investigation of one of these stressors, but under realistic future climate predictions, these stressors may have interactive effects on individuals. Here, we investigate the effect of warming and acidification in combination. We test for interactive effects of potential near-future (2100) temperature (+2 to 3 °C) and pCO2 (~860-940 μAtm) levels on the physiology of the tropical echinoid Echinometra sp . A. The greatest reduction in growth was under simultaneous temperature and pH/ pCO2 stress (marginally significant temperature × pH/ pCO2 interaction). This was mirrored by the physiological data, with highest metabolic activity (measured as respiration and ammonium excretion) occurring at the increased temperature and pCO2 treatment, although this was not significant for excretion. The perivisceral coelomic fluid pH was ~7.5-7.6, as typical for echinoids, and showed no significant changes between treatments. Indicative of active calcification, internal magnesium and calcium concentrations were reduced compared to the external medium, but were not different between treatments. Gonad weight was lower at the higher temperature, and this difference was more distinct and statistically significant for males. The condition of the gonads assessed by histology declined in increased temperature and low pH treatments. The Echinometra grew in all treatments indicating active calcification of their magnesium calcite tests even as carbonate mineral saturation decreased. Our results indicate that the interactive temperature and pH effects are more important for adult echinoids than individual stressors. Although adult specimens grow and survive in near-future conditions, higher energy demands may influence gonad development and thus population maintenance.

  16. Evaluation of Oceanic Surface Observation for Reproducing the Upper Ocean Structure in ECHAM5/MPI-OM

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Hao; Zheng, Fei; Zhu, Jiang

    2017-12-01

    Better constraints of initial conditions from data assimilation are necessary for climate simulations and predictions, and they are particularly important for the ocean due to its long climate memory; as such, ocean data assimilation (ODA) is regarded as an effective tool for seasonal to decadal predictions. In this work, an ODA system is established for a coupled climate model (ECHAM5/MPI-OM), which can assimilate all available oceanic observations using an ensemble optimal interpolation approach. To validate and isolate the performance of different surface observations in reproducing air-sea climate variations in the model, a set of observing system simulation experiments (OSSEs) was performed over 150 model years. Generally, assimilating sea surface temperature, sea surface salinity, and sea surface height (SSH) can reasonably reproduce the climate variability and vertical structure of the upper ocean, and assimilating SSH achieves the best results compared to the true states. For the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), assimilating different surface observations captures true aspects of ENSO well, but assimilating SSH can further enhance the accuracy of ENSO-related feedback processes in the coupled model, leading to a more reasonable ENSO evolution and air-sea interaction over the tropical Pacific. For ocean heat content, there are still limitations in reproducing the long time-scale variability in the North Atlantic, even if SSH has been taken into consideration. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of assimilating surface observations in capturing the interannual signal and, to some extent, the decadal signal but still highlight the necessity of assimilating profile data to reproduce specific decadal variability.

  17. Extreme diving behaviour in devil rays links surface waters and the deep ocean

    KAUST Repository

    Thorrold, Simon R.

    2014-07-01

    Ecological connections between surface waters and the deep ocean remain poorly studied despite the high biomass of fishes and squids residing at depths beyond the euphotic zone. These animals likely support pelagic food webs containing a suite of predators that include commercially important fishes and marine mammals. Here we deploy pop-up satellite archival transmitting tags on 15 Chilean devil rays (Mobula tarapacana) in the central North Atlantic Ocean, which provide movement patterns of individuals for up to 9 months. Devil rays were considered surface dwellers but our data reveal individuals descending at speeds up to 6.0 ms-1 to depths of almost 2,000 m and water temperatures <4 C. The shape of the dive profiles suggests that the rays are foraging at these depths in deep scattering layers. Our results provide evidence of an important link between predators in the surface ocean and forage species occupying pelagic habitats below the euphotic zone in ocean ecosystems. 2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

  18. UV sensitivity of planktonic net community production in ocean surface waters

    OpenAIRE

    Regaudie de Gioux, Aurore; Agustí, Susana; Duarte, Carlos M.

    2014-01-01

    The net plankton community metabolism of oceanic surface waters is particularly important as it more directly affects the partial pressure of CO2 in surface waters and thus the air-sea fluxes of CO2. Plankton communities in surface waters are exposed to high irradiance that includes significant ultraviolet blue (UVB, 280-315 nm) radiation. UVB radiation affects both photosynthetic and respiration rates, increase plankton mortality rates, and other metabolic and chemical processes. Here we tes...

  19. Coral energy reserves and calcification in a high-CO2 world at two temperatures.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Verena Schoepf

    Full Text Available Rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations threaten coral reefs globally by causing ocean acidification (OA and warming. Yet, the combined effects of elevated pCO2 and temperature on coral physiology and resilience remain poorly understood. While coral calcification and energy reserves are important health indicators, no studies to date have measured energy reserve pools (i.e., lipid, protein, and carbohydrate together with calcification under OA conditions under different temperature scenarios. Four coral species, Acropora millepora, Montipora monasteriata, Pocillopora damicornis, Turbinaria reniformis, were reared under a total of six conditions for 3.5 weeks, representing three pCO2 levels (382, 607, 741 µatm, and two temperature regimes (26.5, 29.0 °C within each pCO2 level. After one month under experimental conditions, only A. millepora decreased calcification (-53% in response to seawater pCO2 expected by the end of this century, whereas the other three species maintained calcification rates even when both pCO2 and temperature were elevated. Coral energy reserves showed mixed responses to elevated pCO2 and temperature, and were either unaffected or displayed nonlinear responses with both the lowest and highest concentrations often observed at the mid-pCO2 level of 607 µatm. Biweekly feeding may have helped corals maintain calcification rates and energy reserves under these conditions. Temperature often modulated the response of many aspects of coral physiology to OA, and both mitigated and worsened pCO2 effects. This demonstrates for the first time that coral energy reserves are generally not metabolized to sustain calcification under OA, which has important implications for coral health and bleaching resilience in a high-CO2 world. Overall, these findings suggest that some corals could be more resistant to simultaneously warming and acidifying oceans than previously expected.

  20. The Proposed Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Lee-Lueng; Alsdorf, Douglas; Rodriguez, Ernesto; Morrow, Rosemary; Mognard, Nelly; Vaze, Parag; Lafon, Thierry

    2012-01-01

    A new space mission concept called Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) is being developed jointly by a collaborative effort of the international oceanographic and hydrological communities for making high-resolution measurement of the water elevation of both the ocean and land surface water to answer the questions about the oceanic submesoscale processes and the storage and discharge of land surface water. The key instrument payload would be a Ka-band radar interferometer capable of making high-resolution wide-swath altimetry measurement. This paper describes the proposed science objectives and requirements as well as the measurement approach of SWOT, which is baselined to be launched in 2019. SWOT would demonstrate this new approach to advancing both oceanography and land hydrology and set a standard for future altimetry missions.

  1. Response of Halimeda to ocean acidification: Field and laboratory evidence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robbins, L.L.; Knorr, P.O.; Hallock, P.

    2009-01-01

    Rising atmospheric pCO2 levels are changing ocean chemistry more dramatically now than in the last 20 million years. In fact, pHvalues of the open ocean have decreased by 0.1 since the 1800s and are predicted to decrease 0.1-0.4 globally in the next 90 years. Ocean acidification will affect fundamental geochemical and biological processes including calcification and carbonate sediment production. The west Florida shelf is a natural laboratory to examine the effects of ocean acidification on aragonite production by calcareous green algae. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of crystal morphology of calcifying organisms reveals ultrastructural details of calcification that occurred at different saturation states. Comparison of archived and recent specimens of calcareous green alga Halimeda spp. from the west Florida shelf, demonstrates crystal changes in shape and abundance over a 40+ year time span. Halimeda crystal data from apical sections indicate that increases in crystal concentration and decreases in crystal width occurred over the last 40+ years. Laboratory experiments using living specimens of Halimeda grown in environments with known pH values were used to constrain historical observations. Percentages of organic and inorganic carbon per sample weight of pooled species did not significantly change. However, individual species showed decreased inorganic carbon and increased organic carbon in more recent samples, although the sample sizes were limited. These results indicate that the effect of increased pCO 2 and decreased pH on calcification is reflected in the crystal morphology of this organism. More data are needed to confirm the observed changes in mass of crystal and organic carbon. ?? Author(s) 2009.

  2. Ka-band Doppler Scatterometer for Measurements of Ocean Vector Winds and Surface Currents

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Ocean surface currents impact heat transport, surface momentum and gas fluxes, ocean productivity and marine biological communities. Ocean currents also have social...

  3. Parameterization of atmosphere-surface exchange of CO2 over sea ice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, L. L.; Jensen, B.; Glud, Ronnie N.

    2014-01-01

    are discussed. We found the flux to be small during the late winter with fluxes in both directions. Not surprisingly we find that the resistance across the surface controls the fluxes and detailed knowledge of the brine volume and carbon chemistry within the brines as well as knowledge of snow cover and carbon...... chemistry in the ice are essential to estimate the partial pressure of pCO2 and CO2 flux. Further investigations of surface structure and snow cover and driving parameters such as heat flux, radiation, ice temperature and brine processes are required to adequately parameterize the surface resistance....

  4. Effect of sampling site, repeated sampling, pH, and PCO2 on plasma lactate concentration in healthy dogs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, D; Rozanski, E R; Shofer, F S; Laster, L L; Drobatz, K J

    1999-04-01

    To characterize the variation in plasma lactate concentration among samples from commonly used blood sampling sites in conscious, healthy dogs. 60 healthy dogs. Cross-sectional study using a replicated Latin square design. Each dog was assigned to 1 of 6 groups (n = 10) representing all possible orders for 3 sites (cephalic vein, jugular vein, and femoral artery) used to obtain blood. Samples were analyzed immediately, by use of direct amperometry for pH, PO2, Pco2, glucose, and lactate concentration. Significant differences in plasma lactate concentrations were detected among blood samples from the cephalic vein (highest), femoral artery, and jugular vein (lowest). Mean plasma lactate concentration in the first sample obtained, irrespective of sampling site, was lower than in subsequent samples. Covariation was identified among plasma lactate concentration, pH, and PCO2, but correlation coefficients were low. Plasma lactate concentrations differed among blood samples from various sites. A reference range for plasma lactate concentration was 0.3 to 2.5 mmol/L. Differences in plasma lactate concentrations among samples from various sites and with repeated sampling, in healthy dogs, are small. Use of the reference range may facilitate the clinical use of plasma lactate concentration in dogs.

  5. Microwave Remote Sensing Modeling of Ocean Surface Salinity and Winds Using an Empirical Sea Surface Spectrum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yueh, Simon H.

    2004-01-01

    Active and passive microwave remote sensing techniques have been investigated for the remote sensing of ocean surface wind and salinity. We revised an ocean surface spectrum using the CMOD-5 geophysical model function (GMF) for the European Remote Sensing (ERS) C-band scatterometer and the Ku-band GMF for the NASA SeaWinds scatterometer. The predictions of microwave brightness temperatures from this model agree well with satellite, aircraft and tower-based microwave radiometer data. This suggests that the impact of surface roughness on microwave brightness temperatures and radar scattering coefficients of sea surfaces can be consistently characterized by a roughness spectrum, providing physical basis for using combined active and passive remote sensing techniques for ocean surface wind and salinity remote sensing.

  6. Ocean acidification impairs crab foraging behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dodd, Luke F; Grabowski, Jonathan H; Piehler, Michael F; Westfield, Isaac; Ries, Justin B

    2015-07-07

    Anthropogenic elevation of atmospheric CO2 is driving global-scale ocean acidification, which consequently influences calcification rates of many marine invertebrates and potentially alters their susceptibility to predation. Ocean acidification may also impair an organism's ability to process environmental and biological cues. These counteracting impacts make it challenging to predict how acidification will alter species interactions and community structure. To examine effects of acidification on consumptive and behavioural interactions between mud crabs (Panopeus herbstii) and oysters (Crassostrea virginica), oysters were reared with and without caged crabs for 71 days at three pCO2 levels. During subsequent predation trials, acidification reduced prey consumption, handling time and duration of unsuccessful predation attempt. These negative effects of ocean acidification on crab foraging behaviour more than offset any benefit to crabs resulting from a reduction in the net rate of oyster calcification. These findings reveal that efforts to evaluate how acidification will alter marine food webs should include quantifying impacts on both calcification rates and animal behaviour. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

  7. Carbon dynamics and CO2 air-sea exchanges in the eutrophied coastal waters of the Southern Bight of the North Sea: a modelling study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. Gypens

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available A description of the carbonate system has been incorporated in the MIRO biogeochemical model to investigate the contribution of diatom and Phaeocystis blooms to the seasonal dynamics of air-sea CO2 exchanges in the Eastern Channel and Southern Bight of the North Sea, with focus on the eutrophied Belgian coastal waters. For this application, the model was implemented in a simplified three-box representation of the hydrodynamics with the open ocean boundary box ‘Western English Channel’ (WCH and the ‘French Coastal Zone’ (FCZ and ‘Belgian Coastal Zone’ (BCZ boxes receiving carbon and nutrients from the rivers Seine and Scheldt, respectively. Results were obtained by running the model for the 1996–1999 period. The simulated partial pressures of CO2 (pCO2 were successfully compared with data recorded over the same period in the central BCZ at station 330 (51°26.05′ N; 002°48.50′ E. Budget calculations based on model simulations of carbon flow rates indicated for BCZ a low annual sink of atmospheric CO2 (−0.17 mol C m-2 y-1. On the opposite, surface water pCO2 in WCH was estimated to be at annual equilibrium with respect to atmospheric CO2. The relative contribution of biological, chemical and physical processes to the modelled seasonal variability of pCO2 in BCZ was further explored by running model scenarios with separate closures of biological activities and/or river inputs of carbon. The suppression of biological processes reversed direction of the CO2 flux in BCZ that became, on an annual scale, a significant source for atmospheric CO2 (+0.53 mol C m-2 y-1. Overall biological activity had a stronger influence on the modelled seasonal cycle of pCO2 than temperature. Especially Phaeocystis colonies which growth in spring were associated with an important sink of atmospheric CO2 that counteracted the temperature-driven increase of pCO2 at this period of the year. However, river inputs of organic and inorganic carbon were

  8. Physiological basis for high CO2 tolerance in marine ectothermic animals: pre-adaptation through lifestyle and ontogeny?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Bleich

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Future ocean acidification has the potential to adversely affect many marine organisms. A growing body of evidence suggests that many species could suffer from reduced fertilization success, decreases in larval- and adult growth rates, reduced calcification rates, and even mortality when being exposed to near-future levels (year 2100 scenarios of ocean acidification. Little research focus is currently placed on those organisms/taxa that might be less vulnerable to the anticipated changes in ocean chemistry; this is unfortunate, as the comparison of more vulnerable to more tolerant physiotypes could provide us with those physiological traits that are crucial for ecological success in a future ocean. Here, we attempt to summarize some ontogenetic and lifestyle traits that lead to an increased tolerance towards high environmental pCO2. In general, marine ectothermic metazoans with an extensive extracellular fluid volume may be less vulnerable to future acidification as their cells are already exposed to much higher pCO2 values (0.1 to 0.4 kPa, ca. 1000 to 3900 μatm than those of unicellular organisms and gametes, for which the ocean (0.04 kPa, ca. 400 μatm is the extracellular space. A doubling in environmental pCO2 therefore only represents a 10% change in extracellular pCO2 in some marine teleosts. High extracellular pCO2 values are to some degree related to high metabolic rates, as diffusion gradients need to be high in order to excrete an amount of CO2 that is directly proportional to the amount of O2 consumed. In active metazoans, such as teleost fish, cephalopods and many brachyuran crustaceans, exercise induced increases in metabolic rate require an efficient ion-regulatory machinery for CO2 excretion and acid-base regulation, especially when anaerobic metabolism is involved and metabolic protons leak into the extracellular space. These ion-transport systems, which are located in highly developed gill epithelia, form the basis for

  9. Red coral extinction risk enhanced by ocean acidification.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cerrano, Carlo; Cardini, Ulisse; Bianchelli, Silvia; Corinaldesi, Cinzia; Pusceddu, Antonio; Danovaro, Roberto

    2013-01-01

    The red coral Corallium rubrum is a habitat-forming species with a prominent and structural role in mesophotic habitats, which sustains biodiversity hotspots. This precious coral is threatened by both over-exploitation and temperature driven mass mortality events. We report here that biocalcification, growth rates and polyps' (feeding) activity of Corallium rubrum are significantly reduced at pCO2 scenarios predicted for the end of this century (0.2 pH decrease). Since C. rubrum is a long-living species (>200 years), our results suggest that ocean acidification predicted for 2100 will significantly increases the risk of extinction of present populations. Given the functional role of these corals in the mesophotic zone, we predict that ocean acidification might have cascading effects on the functioning of these habitats worldwide.

  10. Intra-population variability of ocean acidification impacts on the physiology of Baltic blue mussels (Mytilus edulis): integrating tissue and organism response.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stapp, L S; Thomsen, J; Schade, H; Bock, C; Melzner, F; Pörtner, H O; Lannig, G

    2017-05-01

    Increased maintenance costs at cellular, and consequently organism level, are thought to be involved in shaping the sensitivity of marine calcifiers to ocean acidification (OA). Yet, knowledge of the capacity of marine calcifiers to undergo metabolic adaptation is sparse. In Kiel Fjord, blue mussels thrive despite periodically high seawater PCO 2 , making this population interesting for studying metabolic adaptation under OA. Consequently, we conducted a multi-generation experiment and compared physiological responses of F1 mussels from 'tolerant' and 'sensitive' families exposed to OA for 1 year. Family classifications were based on larval survival; tolerant families settled at all PCO 2 levels (700, 1120, 2400 µatm) while sensitive families did not settle at the highest PCO 2 (≥99.8% mortality). We found similar filtration rates between family types at the control and intermediate PCO 2 level. However, at 2400 µatm, filtration and metabolic scope of gill tissue decreased in tolerant families, indicating functional limitations at the tissue level. Routine metabolic rates (RMR) and summed tissue respiration (gill and outer mantle tissue) of tolerant families were increased at intermediate PCO 2 , indicating elevated cellular homeostatic costs in various tissues. By contrast, OA did not affect tissue and routine metabolism of sensitive families. However, tolerant mussels were characterised by lower RMR at control PCO 2 than sensitive families, which had variable RMR. This might provide the energetic scope to cover increased energetic demands under OA, highlighting the importance of analysing intra-population variability. The mechanisms shaping such difference in RMR and scope, and thus species' adaptation potential, remain to be identified.

  11. Vulnerability of the paper Nautilus (Argonauta nodosa) shell to a climate-change ocean: potential for extinction by dissolution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolfe, Kennedy; Smith, Abigail M; Trimby, Patrick; Byrne, Maria

    2012-10-01

    Shell calcification in argonauts is unique. Only females of these cephalopods construct the paper nautilus shell, which is used as a brood chamber for developing embryos in the pelagic realm. As one of the thinnest (225 μm) known adult mollusc shells, and lacking an outer protective periostracum-like cover, this shell may be susceptible to dissolution as the ocean warms and decreases in pH. Vulnerability of the A. nodosa shell was investigated through immersion of shell fragments in multifactorial experiments of control (19 °C/pH 8.1; pCO(2) 419; Ω(Ca) = 4.23) and near-future conditions (24 °C/pH 7.8-7.6; pCO(2) 932-1525; Ω(Ca) = 2.72-1.55) for 14 days. More extreme pH treatments (pH 7.4-7.2; pCO(2) 2454-3882; Ω(Ca) = 1.20-0.67) were used to assess tipping points in shell dissolution. X-ray diffractometry revealed no change in mineralogy between untreated and treated shells. Reduced shell weight due to dissolution was evident in shells incubated at pH 7.8 (projected for 2070) after 14 days at control temperature, with increased dissolution in warmer and lower pH treatments. The greatest dissolution was recorded at 24 °C (projected for local waters by 2100) compared to control temperature across all low-pH treatments. Scanning electron microscopy revealed dissolution and etching of shell mineral in experimental treatments. In the absence of compensatory mineralization, the uncovered female brood chamber will be susceptible to dissolution as ocean pH decreases. Since the shell was a crucial adaptation for the evolution of the argonauts' holopelagic existence, persistence of A. nodosa may be compromised by shell dissolution in an ocean-change world.

  12. Effect of a Jurassic oceanic anoxic event on belemnite ecology and evolution

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ullmann, Clemens Vinzenz; Thibault, Nicolas Rudolph; Ruhl, Micha

    2014-01-01

    The Toarcian oceanic anoxic event (T-OAE; ∼183 million y ago) is possibly the most extreme episode of widespread ocean oxygen deficiency in the Phanerozoic, coinciding with rapid atmospheric pCO2 increase and significant loss of biodiversity in marine faunas. The event is a unique past tipping...... point in the Earth system, where rapid and massive release of isotopically light carbon led to a major perturbation in the global carbon cycle as recorded in organic and inorganic C isotope records. Modern marine ecosystems are projected to experience major loss in biodiversity in response to enhanced...

  13. Reviews and Syntheses: Responses of coccolithophores to ocean acidification: a meta-analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meyer, J.; Riebesell, U.

    2015-03-01

    Concerning their sensitivity to ocean acidification, coccolithophores, a group of calcifying single-celled phytoplankton, are one of the best-studied groups of marine organisms. However, in spite of the large number of studies investigating coccolithophore physiological responses to ocean acidification, uncertainties still remain due to variable and partly contradictory results. In the present study we have used all existing data in a meta-analysis to estimate the effect size of future pCO2 changes on the rates of calcification and photosynthesis and the ratio of particulate inorganic to organic carbon (PIC / POC) in different coccolithophore species. Our results indicate that ocean acidification has a negative effect on calcification and the cellular PIC / POC ratio in the two most abundant coccolithophore species: Emiliania huxleyi and Gephyrocapsa oceanica. In contrast, the more heavily calcified species Coccolithus braarudii did not show a distinct response when exposed to elevated pCO2/reduced pH. Photosynthesis in Gephyrocapsa oceanica was positively affected by high CO2, while no effect was observed for the other coccolithophore species. There was no indication that the method of carbonate chemistry manipulation was responsible for the inconsistent results regarding observed responses in calcification and the PIC / POC ratio. The perturbation method, however, appears to affect photosynthesis, as responses varied significantly between total alkalinity (TA) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) manipulations. These results emphasize that coccolithophore species respond differently to ocean acidification, both in terms of calcification and photosynthesis. Where negative effects occur, they become evident at CO2 levels in the range projected for this century in the case of unabated CO2 emissions. As the data sets used in this meta-analysis do not account for adaptive responses, ecological fitness and ecosystem interactions, the question remains as to how these

  14. On the radiocarbon record in banded corals: exchange parameters and net transport of 14CO2 between atmosphere and surface ocean

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Druffel, E.M.; Suess, H.E.

    1983-01-01

    We have made radiocarbon measurements of banded hermatypic corals from Florida, Belize, and the Galapagos Islands. Interpretation is presented here of these previously reported results. These measurements represent the 14 C/ 12 C ratios in dissolved inorganic carbon (DIOC) in the surface ocean waters of the Gulf Stream and the Peru Current at the time of coral ring formation. A depletion in radiocarbon concentration was observed incoral rings that grew from A.D. 1900--1952. It was caused by dilution of existing 14 C levels with dead CO 2 from fossil fuel burning (the Suess effect, or S/sub e/). A similar trend was observed in the distribution of bomb-produced 14 C in corals that had grown during the years following A.D. 1952. The concentration of bomb-produced radiocarbon was much higher in corals from temperate regions (Florida, Belize, Hawaiian Islands) than in corals from tropical regions (Galapagos Islands and Canton Island). The apparent radiocarbon ages of the surface waters in temperate and tropical oceans during the preanthropogenic period range from about 280 to 520 years B.P. (-40 to -69%). At all investigated locations, it is likely that waters at subsurface depths have the same apparent radiocarbon age of about 670 years B.P. From the change of oceanic δ 14 C in the surface during post-bomb times, the approximate annual rate of net input of 14 CO 2 to the ocean waters is calculated to be about 8% of the prevailing 14 C difference between atmosphere and ocean. From this input and from preanthropogenic δ 14 C values found at each location, it can be seen that vertical mixing of water in the Peru Current is about 3 times greater than that in the Gulf Stream

  15. Were Oceanic Plateaus Instrumental for Calcareous Nannoplankton Evolution?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erba, E.; Casellato, C.; Bottini, C.

    2011-12-01

    The history of calcareous nannoplankton shows a general increase in species richness through the Mesozoic. Fertility and chemistry of the oceans, climate and pCO2 seem instrumental for nannoplankton abundance, diversification and adaptation, but high-resolution chronology of paleobiological and geological events is crucial for the understanding of evolutionary processes relative to ecosystem perturbations. Natural variations in atmospheric CO2 are essentially triggered by igneous activity and the role of ocean crust production in the evolution of seawater composition, nutrient cycling, climate change and, consequently, in calcareous nannoplankton biodiversity, might be more relevant than generally thought. Indeed, two major steps in nannofloral Mesozoic evolution correlate with construction of gigantic oceanic plateaus, namely the Shatsky Rise (SR) (Tithonian/Berriasian boundary interval) and the Ontong Java Plateau (OJP) (Barremian/Aptian boundary interval). During the latest Jurassic calcareous nannoplankton experienced a rapid diversification and rise in abundance of several taxa including heavily calcified nannoliths with consequent major increase in biogenic calcite production. The Tithonian origination of coccoliths and nannoliths suggests ideal paleoecological conditions for calcareous nannoplankton, presumably thriving in stable, relatively oligotrophic and cool oceans under low pCO2. Recent data indicate that this speciation and calcification episode was interrupted during magnetochron CM19r, prior to massive diversification of nannoconids. In the late Barremian-early Aptian interval, the nannoconid decline and crisis are paralleled by a major nannoplankton (mainly coccolith) speciation episode. Such calcification failure and coccolith diversification might reflect disruption of the thermocline, increased fertility and warming under excess CO2 levels. These evolutionary steps show rapid speciation, but differ because nannoliths became dominant in the late

  16. Chemistry of Frozen NaCl and MgSO4 Brines - Implications for Surface Expression of Europa's Ocean Composition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, P. V.; Hodyss, R. P.; Choukroun, M.; Vu, T. H.

    2015-12-01

    The composition of Europa's subsurface ocean is a critical determinant of its habitability, but current analysis of the ocean composition is limited to its expression on the Europan surface. While there is observational evidence indicating that ocean materials make their way to the surface, our understanding of the chemical processes that can alter this material under Europan surface conditions is limited. We present experimental data on the chemistry of mixed solutions of NaCl and MgSO4 as they are frozen to 100 K, replicating the conditions that may occur when subsurface ocean fluids are emplaced onto Europa's surface. Confocal micro-Raman spectroscopy is used to study the formation of salts during the freezing process, and the interaction of ions in the frozen brines. Our data indicate that mixed aqueous solutions of NaCl and MgSO4 form Na2SO4 and MgCl2 preferentially when frozen, rather than making NaCl and MgSO4 precipitates. The detection of epsomite (MgSO4Ÿ•7H2O) on Europa's surface may therefore imply an ocean composition relatively low in sodium, unless radiolytic chemistry converts MgCl2 to MgSO4 as suggested by Hand and Brown 2013 (ApJ 145 110). These results have important implications for the interpretation of remote sensing data of Europa's surface.

  17. Modeling Geometric Arrangements of TiO2-Based Catalyst Substrates and Isotropic Light Sources to Enhance the Efficiency of a Photocatalystic Oxidation (PCO) Reactor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richards, Jeffrey T.; Levine, Lanfang H.; Husk, Geoffrey K.

    2011-01-01

    The closed confined environments of the ISS, as well as in future spacecraft for exploration beyond LEO, provide many challenges to crew health. One such challenge is the availability of a robust, energy efficient, and re-generable air revitalization system that controls trace volatile organic contaminants (VOCs) to levels below a specified spacecraft maximum allowable concentration (SMAC). Photocatalytic oxidation (PCO), which is capable of mineralizing VOCs at room temperature and of accommodating a high volumetric flow, is being evaluated as an alternative trace contaminant control technology. In an architecture of a combined air and water management system, placing a PCO unit before a condensing heat exchanger for humidity control will greatly reduce the organic load into the humidity condensate loop ofthe water processing assembly (WPA) thereby enhancing the life cycle economics ofthe WPA. This targeted application dictates a single pass efficiency of greater than 90% for polar VOCs. Although this target was met in laboratory bench-scaled reactors, no commercial or SBIR-developed prototype PCO units examined to date have achieved this goal. Furthermore, the formation of partial oxidation products (e.g., acetaldehyde) was not eliminated. It is known that single pass efficiency and partial oxidation are strongly dependent upon the contact time and catalyst illumination, hence the requirement for an efficient reactor design. The objective of this study is to maximize the apparent contact time and illuminated catalyst surface area at a given reactor volume and volumetric flow. In this study, a Ti02-based photocatalyst is assumed to be immobilized on porous substrate panels and illumination derived from linear isotropic light sources. Mathematical modeling using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analyses were performed to investigate the effect of: 1) the geometry and configuration of catalyst-coated substrate panels, 2) porosity of the supporting substrate, and 3

  18. Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM) /Jason-2: Level-2 Geophysical Data Records (GDR) (NODC Accession 0043269)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — OSTM/JASON-2 is a follow-on mission continuing the TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1, and is designed to ensure continuity of high quality measurements for ocean science...

  19. Quantifying the drivers of ocean-atmosphere CO2 fluxes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lauderdale, Jonathan M.; Dutkiewicz, Stephanie; Williams, Richard G.; Follows, Michael J.

    2016-07-01

    A mechanistic framework for quantitatively mapping the regional drivers of air-sea CO2 fluxes at a global scale is developed. The framework evaluates the interplay between (1) surface heat and freshwater fluxes that influence the potential saturated carbon concentration, which depends on changes in sea surface temperature, salinity and alkalinity, (2) a residual, disequilibrium flux influenced by upwelling and entrainment of remineralized carbon- and nutrient-rich waters from the ocean interior, as well as rapid subduction of surface waters, (3) carbon uptake and export by biological activity as both soft tissue and carbonate, and (4) the effect on surface carbon concentrations due to freshwater precipitation or evaporation. In a steady state simulation of a coarse-resolution ocean circulation and biogeochemistry model, the sum of the individually determined components is close to the known total flux of the simulation. The leading order balance, identified in different dynamical regimes, is between the CO2 fluxes driven by surface heat fluxes and a combination of biologically driven carbon uptake and disequilibrium-driven carbon outgassing. The framework is still able to reconstruct simulated fluxes when evaluated using monthly averaged data and takes a form that can be applied consistently in models of different complexity and observations of the ocean. In this way, the framework may reveal differences in the balance of drivers acting across an ensemble of climate model simulations or be applied to an analysis and interpretation of the observed, real-world air-sea flux of CO2.

  20. Intraseasonal sea surface warming in the western Indian Ocean by oceanic equatorial Rossby waves

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-05-09

    USA, 2Naval Research Laboratory, Ocean Dynamics and Prediction Branch, Stennis Space Center, Hancock County, Mississippi, USA, 3Department of Physics ...IO and predominantly located south of the equator. The intraseasonal currents associated with downwelling ER waves act on the temperature gradient to...yield warm anomalies in the western IO, even in the presence of cooling by surface fluxes. The SST gradient is unique to the western IO and likely

  1. Breaking of ocean surface waves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Babanin, A.V.

    2009-01-01

    Wind-generated waves are the most prominent feature of the ocean surface, and so are breaking waves manifested by the appearance of sporadic whitecaps. Such breaking represents one of the most interesting and most challenging problems for both fluid mechanics and physical oceanography. It is an intermittent random process, very fast by comparison with other processes in the wave breaking on the water surface is not continuous, but its role in maintaining the energy balance within the continuous wind-wave field is critical. Ocean wave breaking also plays the primary role in the air-sea exchange of momentum, mass and heat, and it is of significant importance for ocean remote sensing, coastal and maritime engineering, navigation and other practical applications. Understanding the wave breaking its occurrence, the breaking rates and even ability to describe its onset has been hindered for decades by the strong non-linearity of the process, together with its irregular and ferocious nature. Recently, this knowledge has significantly advanced, and the review paper is an attempt to summarise the facts into a consistent, albeit still incomplete picture of the phenomenon. In the paper, variety of definitions related to the were breaking are discussed and formulated and methods for breaking detection and measurements are examined. Most of attention is dedicated to the research of wave breaking probability and severity. Experimental, observational, numerical and statistical approaches and their outcomes are reviewed. Present state of the wave-breaking research and knowledge is analysed and main outstanding problems are outlined (Authors)

  2. Variability of the reflectance coefficient of skylight from the ocean surface and its implications to ocean color.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gilerson, Alexander; Carrizo, Carlos; Foster, Robert; Harmel, Tristan

    2018-04-16

    The value and spectral dependence of the reflectance coefficient (ρ) of skylight from wind-roughened ocean surfaces is critical for determining accurate water leaving radiance and remote sensing reflectances from shipborne, AERONET-Ocean Color and satellite observations. Using a vector radiative transfer code, spectra of the reflectance coefficient and corresponding radiances near the ocean surface and at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) are simulated for a broad range of parameters including flat and windy ocean surfaces with wind speeds up to 15 m/s, aerosol optical thicknesses of 0-1 at 440nm, wavelengths of 400-900 nm, and variable Sun and viewing zenith angles. Results revealed a profound impact of the aerosol load and type on the spectral values of ρ. Such impacts, not included yet in standard processing, may produce significant inaccuracies in the reflectance spectra retrieved from above-water radiometry and satellite observations. Implications for satellite cal/val activities as well as potential changes in measurement and data processing schemes are discussed.

  3. Intercomparison of oceanic and atmospheric forced and coupled mesoscale simulations Part I: Surface fluxes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Josse

    1999-04-01

    Full Text Available A mesoscale non-hydrostatic atmospheric model has been coupled with a mesoscale oceanic model. The case study is a four-day simulation of a strong storm event observed during the SEMAPHORE experiment over a 500 × 500 km2 domain. This domain encompasses a thermohaline front associated with the Azores current. In order to analyze the effect of mesoscale coupling, three simulations are compared: the first one with the atmospheric model forced by realistic sea surface temperature analyses; the second one with the ocean model forced by atmospheric fields, derived from weather forecast re-analyses; the third one with the models being coupled. For these three simulations the surface fluxes were computed with the same bulk parametrization. All three simulations succeed well in representing the main oceanic or atmospheric features observed during the storm. Comparison of surface fields with in situ observations reveals that the winds of the fine mesh atmospheric model are more realistic than those of the weather forecast re-analyses. The low-level winds simulated with the atmospheric model in the forced and coupled simulations are appreciably stronger than the re-analyzed winds. They also generate stronger fluxes. The coupled simulation has the strongest surface heat fluxes: the difference in the net heat budget with the oceanic forced simulation reaches on average 50 Wm-2 over the simulation period. Sea surface-temperature cooling is too weak in both simulations, but is improved in the coupled run and matches better the cooling observed with drifters. The spatial distributions of sea surface-temperature cooling and surface fluxes are strongly inhomogeneous over the simulation domain. The amplitude of the flux variation is maximum in the coupled run. Moreover the weak correlation between the cooling and heat flux patterns indicates that the surface fluxes are not responsible for the whole cooling and suggests that the response of the ocean mixed layer

  4. Intercomparison of oceanic and atmospheric forced and coupled mesoscale simulations Part I: Surface fluxes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Giordani

    Full Text Available A mesoscale non-hydrostatic atmospheric model has been coupled with a mesoscale oceanic model. The case study is a four-day simulation of a strong storm event observed during the SEMAPHORE experiment over a 500 × 500 km2 domain. This domain encompasses a thermohaline front associated with the Azores current. In order to analyze the effect of mesoscale coupling, three simulations are compared: the first one with the atmospheric model forced by realistic sea surface temperature analyses; the second one with the ocean model forced by atmospheric fields, derived from weather forecast re-analyses; the third one with the models being coupled. For these three simulations the surface fluxes were computed with the same bulk parametrization. All three simulations succeed well in representing the main oceanic or atmospheric features observed during the storm. Comparison of surface fields with in situ observations reveals that the winds of the fine mesh atmospheric model are more realistic than those of the weather forecast re-analyses. The low-level winds simulated with the atmospheric model in the forced and coupled simulations are appreciably stronger than the re-analyzed winds. They also generate stronger fluxes. The coupled simulation has the strongest surface heat fluxes: the difference in the net heat budget with the oceanic forced simulation reaches on average 50 Wm-2 over the simulation period. Sea surface-temperature cooling is too weak in both simulations, but is improved in the coupled run and matches better the cooling observed with drifters. The spatial distributions of sea surface-temperature cooling and surface fluxes are strongly inhomogeneous over the simulation domain. The amplitude of the flux variation is maximum in the coupled run. Moreover the weak correlation between the cooling and heat flux patterns indicates that the surface fluxes are not responsible for the whole cooling and suggests that the response of the ocean mixed layer

  5. Antagonistic Effects of Ocean Acidification and Rising Sea Surface Temperature on the Dissolution of Coral Reef Carbonate Sediments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Trnovsky

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Increasing atmospheric CO2 is raising sea surface temperature (SST and increasing seawater CO2 concentrations, resulting in a lower oceanic pH (ocean acidification; OA, which is expected to reduce the accretion of coral reef ecosystems. Although sediments comprise most of the calcium carbonate (CaCO3 within coral reefs, no in situ studies have looked at the combined effects of increased SST and OA on the dissolution of coral reef CaCO3 sediments. In situ benthic chamber incubations were used to measure dissolution rates in permeable CaCO3 sands under future OA and SST scenarios in a coral reef lagoon on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef (Heron Island. End of century (2100 simulations (temperature +2.7°C and pH -0.3 shifted carbonate sediments from net precipitating to net dissolving. Warming increased the rate of benthic respiration (R by 29% per 1°C and lowered the ratio of productivity to respiration (P/R; ΔP/R = -0.23, which increased the rate of CaCO3 sediment dissolution (average net increase of 18.9 mmol CaCO3 m-2 d-1 for business as usual scenarios. This is most likely due to the influence of warming on benthic P/R which, in turn, was an important control on sediment dissolution through the respiratory production of CO2. The effect of increasing CO2 on CaCO3 sediment dissolution (average net increase of 6.5 mmol CaCO3 m-2 d-1 for business as usual scenarios was significantly less than the effect of warming. However, the combined effect of increasing both SST and pCO2 on CaCO3 sediment dissolution was non-additive (average net increase of 5.6 mmol CaCO3 m-2 d-1 due to the different responses of the benthic community. This study highlights that benthic biogeochemical processes such as metabolism and associated CaCO3 sediment dissolution respond rapidly to changes in SST and OA, and that the response to multiple environmental changes are not necessarily additive.

  6. Improving NOAA's NWLON Through Enhanced Data Inputs from NASA's Ocean Surface Topography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guest, DeNeice C.

    2010-01-01

    This report assesses the benefit of incorporating NASA's OSTM (Ocean Surface Topography Mission) altimeter data (C- and Ku-band) into NOAA's (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) NWLON (National Water Level Observation Network) DSS (Decision Support System). This data will enhance the NWLON DSS by providing additional inforrnation because not all stations collect all meteorological parameters (sea-surface height, ocean tides, wave height, and wind speed over waves). OSTM will also provide data where NWLON stations are not present. OSTM will provide data on seasurface heights for determining sea-level rise and ocean circulation. Researchers and operational users currently use satellite altimeter data products with the GSFCOO NASA data model to obtain sea-surface height and ocean circulation inforrnation. Accurate and tirnely inforrnation concerning sea-level height, tide, and ocean currents is needed to irnprove coastal tidal predictions, tsunarni and storm surge warnings, and wetland restoration.

  7. Sea surface temperature predictions using a multi-ocean analysis ensemble scheme

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ying; Zhu, Jieshun; Li, Zhongxian; Chen, Haishan; Zeng, Gang

    2017-08-01

    This study examined the global sea surface temperature (SST) predictions by a so-called multiple-ocean analysis ensemble (MAE) initialization method which was applied in the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Climate Forecast System Version 2 (CFSv2). Different from most operational climate prediction practices which are initialized by a specific ocean analysis system, the MAE method is based on multiple ocean analyses. In the paper, the MAE method was first justified by analyzing the ocean temperature variability in four ocean analyses which all are/were applied for operational climate predictions either at the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts or at NCEP. It was found that these systems exhibit substantial uncertainties in estimating the ocean states, especially at the deep layers. Further, a set of MAE hindcasts was conducted based on the four ocean analyses with CFSv2, starting from each April during 1982-2007. The MAE hindcasts were verified against a subset of hindcasts from the NCEP CFS Reanalysis and Reforecast (CFSRR) Project. Comparisons suggested that MAE shows better SST predictions than CFSRR over most regions where ocean dynamics plays a vital role in SST evolutions, such as the El Niño and Atlantic Niño regions. Furthermore, significant improvements were also found in summer precipitation predictions over the equatorial eastern Pacific and Atlantic oceans, for which the local SST prediction improvements should be responsible. The prediction improvements by MAE imply a problem for most current climate predictions which are based on a specific ocean analysis system. That is, their predictions would drift towards states biased by errors inherent in their ocean initialization system, and thus have large prediction errors. In contrast, MAE arguably has an advantage by sampling such structural uncertainties, and could efficiently cancel these errors out in their predictions.

  8. A data assimilating model for estimating Southern Ocean biogeochemistry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verdy, A.; Mazloff, M. R.

    2017-09-01

    A Biogeochemical Southern Ocean State Estimate (B-SOSE) is introduced that includes carbon and oxygen fields as well as nutrient cycles. The state estimate is constrained with observations while maintaining closed budgets and obeying dynamical and thermodynamic balances. Observations from profiling floats, shipboard data, underway measurements, and satellites are used for assimilation. The years 2008-2012 are chosen due to the relative abundance of oxygen observations from Argo floats during this time. The skill of the state estimate at fitting the data is assessed. The agreement is best for fields that are constrained with the most observations, such as surface pCO2 in Drake Passage (44% of the variance captured) and oxygen profiles (over 60% of the variance captured at 200 and 1000 m). The validity of adjoint method optimization for coupled physical-biogeochemical state estimation is demonstrated with a series of gradient check experiments. The method is shown to be mature and ready to synthesize in situ biogeochemical observations as they become more available. Documenting the B-SOSE configuration and diagnosing the strengths and weaknesses of the solution informs usage of this product as both a climate baseline and as a way to test hypotheses. Transport of Intermediate Waters across 32°S supplies significant amounts of nitrate to the Atlantic Ocean (5.57 ± 2.94 Tmol yr-1) and Indian Ocean (5.09 ± 3.06 Tmol yr-1), but much less nitrate reaches the Pacific Ocean (1.78 ± 1.91 Tmol yr-1). Estimates of air-sea carbon dioxide fluxes south of 50°S suggest a mean uptake of 0.18 Pg C/yr for the time period analyzed.

  9. Contrasting self-aggregation over land and ocean surfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inda Diaz, H. A.; O'Brien, T. A.

    2017-12-01

    The spontaneous organization of convection into clusters, or self-aggregation, demonstrably changes the nature and statistics of precipitation. While there has been much recent progress in this area, the processes that control self-aggregation are still poorly understood. Most of the work to date has focused on self-aggregation over ocean-like surfaces, but it is particularly pressing to understand what controls convective aggregation over land, since the associated change in precipitation statistics—between non-aggregated and aggregated convection—could have huge impacts on society and infrastructure. Radiative-convective equilibrium (RCE), has been extensively used as an idealized framework to study the tropical atmosphere. Self-aggregation manifests in numerous numerical models of RCE, nevertheless, there is still a lack of understanding in how it relates to convective organization in the observed world. Numerous studies have examined self-aggregation using idealized Cloud Resolving Models (CRMs) and General Circulation Models over the ocean, however very little work has been done on RCE and self-aggregation over land. Idealized models of RCE over ocean have shown that aggregation is sensitive to sea surface temperature (SST), more intense precipitation occurs in aggregated systems, and a variety of feedbacks—such as surface flux, cloud radiative, and upgradient moisture transport— contribute to the maintenance of aggregation, however it is not clear if these results apply over land. Progress in this area could help relate understanding of self-aggregation in idealized simulations to observations. In order to explore the behavior of self-aggregation over land, we use a CRM to simulate idealized RCE over land. In particular, we examine the aggregation of convection and how it compares with aggregation over ocean. Based on previous studies, where a variety of different CRMs exhibit a SST threshold below which self-aggregation does not occur, we hypothesize

  10. Late-Quaternary variation in C3 and C4 grass abundance in southeastern Australia as inferred from δ13C analysis: Assessing the roles of climate, pCO2, and fire

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nelson, David M.; Urban, Michael A.; Kershaw, A. Peter; Hu, Feng Sheng

    2016-05-01

    Climate, atmospheric pCO2, and fire all may exert major influences on the relative abundance of C3 and C4 grasses in the present-day vegetation. However, the relative role of these factors in driving variation in C3 and C4 grass abundances in the paleorecord is uncertain, and C4 abundance is often interpreted narrowly as a proxy indicator of aridity or pCO2. We measured δ13C values of individual grains of grass (Poaceae) pollen in the sediments of two sites in southeastern Australia to assess changes in the proportions of C3 and C4 grasses during the past 25,000 years. These data were compared with shifts in pCO2, temperature, moisture balance, and fire to assess how these factors were related to long-term variation of C4 grass abundance during the late Quaternary. At Caledonia Fen, a high-elevation site in the Snowy Mountains, C4 grass abundance decreased from an average of 66% during the glacial period to 11% during the Holocene, primarily in response to increased pCO2 and temperature. In contrast, this pattern did not exist in low-elevation savannah woodlands around Tower Hill Northwest Crater, where C4 grass abundance instead varied in response to shifts in regional aridity. Fire did not appear to have strongly influenced the proportions of C3 and C4 grasses on the landscape at millennial timescales at either site. These patterns are similar to those of a recent study in East Africa, suggesting that elevation-related climatic differences influence how the abundance of C3 and C4 grasses responds to shifts in climate and pCO2. These results caution against using C4 plant abundance as a proxy indicator of either climate or pCO2 without an adequate understanding of key controlling factors.

  11. Intercomparison of oceanic and atmospheric forced and coupled mesoscale simulations. Part I: Surface fluxes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Josse, P.; Caniaux, G.; Giordani, H.; Planton, S.

    1999-04-01

    A mesoscale non-hydrostatic atmospheric model has been coupled with a mesoscale oceanic model. The case study is a four-day simulation of a strong storm event observed during the SEMAPHORE experiment over a 500 × 500 km2 domain. This domain encompasses a thermohaline front associated with the Azores current. In order to analyze the effect of mesoscale coupling, three simulations are compared: the first one with the atmospheric model forced by realistic sea surface temperature analyses; the second one with the ocean model forced by atmospheric fields, derived from weather forecast re-analyses; the third one with the models being coupled. For these three simulations the surface fluxes were computed with the same bulk parametrization. All three simulations succeed well in representing the main oceanic or atmospheric features observed during the storm. Comparison of surface fields with in situ observations reveals that the winds of the fine mesh atmospheric model are more realistic than those of the weather forecast re-analyses. The low-level winds simulated with the atmospheric model in the forced and coupled simulations are appreciably stronger than the re-analyzed winds. They also generate stronger fluxes. The coupled simulation has the strongest surface heat fluxes: the difference in the net heat budget with the oceanic forced simulation reaches on average 50 Wm-2 over the simulation period. Sea surface-temperature cooling is too weak in both simulations, but is improved in the coupled run and matches better the cooling observed with drifters. The spatial distributions of sea surface-temperature cooling and surface fluxes are strongly inhomogeneous over the simulation domain. The amplitude of the flux variation is maximum in the coupled run. Moreover the weak correlation between the cooling and heat flux patterns indicates that the surface fluxes are not responsible for the whole cooling and suggests that the response of the ocean mixed layer to the atmosphere is

  12. Painted Goby Larvae under High-CO2 Fail to Recognize Reef Sounds.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joana M Castro

    Full Text Available Atmospheric CO2 levels have been increasing at an unprecedented rate due to anthropogenic activity. Consequently, ocean pCO2 is increasing and pH decreasing, affecting marine life, including fish. For many coastal marine fishes, selection of the adult habitat occurs at the end of the pelagic larval phase. Fish larvae use a range of sensory cues, including sound, for locating settlement habitat. This study tested the effect of elevated CO2 on the ability of settlement-stage temperate fish to use auditory cues from adult coastal reef habitats. Wild late larval stages of painted goby (Pomatoschistus pictus were exposed to control pCO2 (532 μatm, pH 8.06 and high pCO2 (1503 μatm, pH 7.66 conditions, likely to occur in nearshore regions subjected to upwelling events by the end of the century, and tested in an auditory choice chamber for their preference or avoidance to nighttime reef recordings. Fish reared in control pCO2 conditions discriminated reef soundscapes and were attracted by reef recordings. This behaviour changed in fish reared in the high CO2 conditions, with settlement-stage larvae strongly avoiding reef recordings. This study provides evidence that ocean acidification might affect the auditory responses of larval stages of temperate reef fish species, with potentially significant impacts on their survival.

  13. Nitrate fertilisation does not enhance CO2 responses in two tropical seagrass species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ow, Y X; Vogel, N; Collier, C J; Holtum, J A M; Flores, F; Uthicke, S

    2016-03-15

    Seagrasses are often considered "winners" of ocean acidification (OA); however, seagrass productivity responses to OA could be limited by nitrogen availability, since nitrogen-derived metabolites are required for carbon assimilation. We tested nitrogen uptake and assimilation, photosynthesis, growth, and carbon allocation responses of the tropical seagrasses Halodule uninervis and Thalassia hemprichii to OA scenarios (428, 734 and 1213 μatm pCO2) under two nutrients levels (0.3 and 1.9 μM NO3(-)). Net primary production (measured as oxygen production) and growth in H. uninervis increased with pCO2 enrichment, but were not affected by nitrate enrichment. However, nitrate enrichment reduced whole plant respiration in H. uninervis. Net primary production and growth did not show significant changes with pCO2 or nitrate by the end of the experiment (24 d) in T. hemprichii. However, nitrate incorporation in T. hemprichii was higher with nitrate enrichment. There was no evidence that nitrogen demand increased with pCO2 enrichment in either species. Contrary to our initial hypothesis, nutrient increases to levels approximating present day flood plumes only had small effects on metabolism. This study highlights that the paradigm of increased productivity of seagrasses under ocean acidification may not be valid for all species under all environmental conditions.

  14. Nitrate fertilisation does not enhance CO2 responses in two tropical seagrass species

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ow, Y. X.; Vogel, N.; Collier, C. J.; Holtum, J. A. M.; Flores, F.; Uthicke, S.

    2016-03-01

    Seagrasses are often considered “winners” of ocean acidification (OA); however, seagrass productivity responses to OA could be limited by nitrogen availability, since nitrogen-derived metabolites are required for carbon assimilation. We tested nitrogen uptake and assimilation, photosynthesis, growth, and carbon allocation responses of the tropical seagrasses Halodule uninervis and Thalassia hemprichii to OA scenarios (428, 734 and 1213 μatm pCO2) under two nutrients levels (0.3 and 1.9 μM NO3-). Net primary production (measured as oxygen production) and growth in H. uninervis increased with pCO2 enrichment, but were not affected by nitrate enrichment. However, nitrate enrichment reduced whole plant respiration in H. uninervis. Net primary production and growth did not show significant changes with pCO2 or nitrate by the end of the experiment (24 d) in T. hemprichii. However, nitrate incorporation in T. hemprichii was higher with nitrate enrichment. There was no evidence that nitrogen demand increased with pCO2 enrichment in either species. Contrary to our initial hypothesis, nutrient increases to levels approximating present day flood plumes only had small effects on metabolism. This study highlights that the paradigm of increased productivity of seagrasses under ocean acidification may not be valid for all species under all environmental conditions.

  15. Effects of Sea-Surface Waves and Ocean Spray on Air-Sea Momentum Fluxes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ting; Song, Jinbao

    2018-04-01

    The effects of sea-surface waves and ocean spray on the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) at different wind speeds and wave ages were investigated. An MABL model was developed that introduces a wave-induced component and spray force to the total surface stress. The theoretical model solution was determined assuming the eddy viscosity coefficient varied linearly with height above the sea surface. The wave-induced component was evaluated using a directional wave spectrum and growth rate. Spray force was described using interactions between ocean-spray droplets and wind-velocity shear. Wind profiles and sea-surface drag coefficients were calculated for low to high wind speeds for wind-generated sea at different wave ages to examine surface-wave and ocean-spray effects on MABL momentum distribution. The theoretical solutions were compared with model solutions neglecting wave-induced stress and/or spray stress. Surface waves strongly affected near-surface wind profiles and sea-surface drag coefficients at low to moderate wind speeds. Drag coefficients and near-surface wind speeds were lower for young than for old waves. At high wind speeds, ocean-spray droplets produced by wind-tearing breaking-wave crests affected the MABL strongly in comparison with surface waves, implying that wave age affects the MABL only negligibly. Low drag coefficients at high wind caused by ocean-spray production increased turbulent stress in the sea-spray generation layer, accelerating near-sea-surface wind. Comparing the analytical drag coefficient values with laboratory measurements and field observations indicated that surface waves and ocean spray significantly affect the MABL at different wind speeds and wave ages.

  16. A statistical-dynamical scheme for reconstructing ocean forcing in the Atlantic. Part I: weather regimes as predictors for ocean surface variables

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cassou, Christophe; Minvielle, Marie; Terray, Laurent [CERFACS/CNRS, Climate Modelling and Global Change Team, Toulouse (France); Perigaud, Claire [JPL-NASA, Ocean Science Element, Pasadena, CA (United States)

    2011-01-15

    The links between the observed variability of the surface ocean variables estimated from reanalysis and the overlying atmosphere decomposed in classes of large-scale atmospheric circulation via clustering are investigated over the Atlantic from 1958 to 2002. Daily 500 hPa geopotential height and 1,000 hPa wind anomaly maps are classified following a weather-typing approach to describe the North Atlantic and tropical Atlantic atmospheric dynamics, respectively. The algorithm yields patterns that correspond in the extratropics to the well-known North Atlantic-Europe weather regimes (NAE-WR) accounting for the barotropic dynamics, and in the tropics to wind classes (T-WC) representing the alteration of the trades. 10-m wind and 2-m temperature (T2) anomaly composites derived from regime/wind class occurrence are indicative of strong relationships between daily large-scale atmospheric circulation and ocean surface over the entire Atlantic basin. High temporal correlation values are obtained basin-wide at low frequency between the observed fields and their reconstruction by multiple linear regressions with the frequencies of occurrence of both NAE-WR and T-WC used as sole predictors. Additional multiple linear regressions also emphasize the importance of accounting for the strength of the daily anomalous atmospheric circulation estimated by the combined distances to all regimes centroids in order to reproduce the daily to interannual variability of the Atlantic ocean. We show that for most of the North Atlantic basin the occurrence of NAE-WR generally sets the sign of the ocean surface anomaly for a given day, and that the inter-regime distances are valuable predictors for the magnitude of that anomaly. Finally, we provide evidence that a large fraction of the low-frequency trends in the Atlantic observed at the surface over the last 50 years can be traced back, except for T2, to changes in occurrence of tropical and extratropical weather classes. All together, our

  17. Shallow water marine sediment bacterial community shifts along a natural CO2 gradient in the Mediterranean Sea off Vulcano, Italy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerfahi, Dorsaf; Hall-Spencer, Jason M; Tripathi, Binu M; Milazzo, Marco; Lee, Junghoon; Adams, Jonathan M

    2014-05-01

    The effects of increasing atmospheric CO(2) on ocean ecosystems are a major environmental concern, as rapid shoaling of the carbonate saturation horizon is exposing vast areas of marine sediments to corrosive waters worldwide. Natural CO(2) gradients off Vulcano, Italy, have revealed profound ecosystem changes along rocky shore habitats as carbonate saturation levels decrease, but no investigations have yet been made of the sedimentary habitat. Here, we sampled the upper 2 cm of volcanic sand in three zones, ambient (median pCO(2) 419 μatm, minimum Ω(arag) 3.77), moderately CO(2)-enriched (median pCO(2) 592 μatm, minimum Ω(arag) 2.96), and highly CO(2)-enriched (median pCO(2) 1611 μatm, minimum Ω(arag) 0.35). We tested the hypothesis that increasing levels of seawater pCO(2) would cause significant shifts in sediment bacterial community composition, as shown recently in epilithic biofilms at the study site. In this study, 454 pyrosequencing of the V1 to V3 region of the 16S rRNA gene revealed a shift in community composition with increasing pCO(2). The relative abundances of most of the dominant genera were unaffected by the pCO(2) gradient, although there were significant differences for some 5 % of the genera present (viz. Georgenia, Lutibacter, Photobacterium, Acinetobacter, and Paenibacillus), and Shannon Diversity was greatest in sediments subject to long-term acidification (>100 years). Overall, this supports the view that globally increased ocean pCO(2) will be associated with changes in sediment bacterial community composition but that most of these organisms are resilient. However, further work is required to assess whether these results apply to other types of coastal sediments and whether the changes in relative abundance of bacterial taxa that we observed can significantly alter the biogeochemical functions of marine sediments.

  18. Foraminiferal calcification and CO2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nooijer, L. D.; Toyofuku, T.; Reichart, G. J.

    2017-12-01

    Ongoing burning of fossil fuels increases atmospheric CO2, elevates marine dissolved CO2 and decreases pH and the saturation state with respect to calcium carbonate. Intuitively this should decrease the ability of CaCO3-producing organisms to build their skeletons and shells. Whereas on geological time scales weathering and carbonate deposition removes carbon from the geo-biosphere, on time scales up to thousands of years, carbonate precipitation increases pCO2 because of the associated shift in seawater carbon speciation. Hence reduced calcification provides a potentially important negative feedback on increased pCO2 levels. Here we show that foraminifera form their calcium carbonate by active proton pumping. This elevates the internal pH and acidifies the direct foraminiferal surrounding. This also creates a strong pCO2 gradient and facilitates the uptake of DIC in the form of carbon dioxide. This finding uncouples saturation state from calcification and predicts that the added carbon due to ocean acidification will promote calcification by these organisms. This unknown effect could add substantially to atmospheric pCO2 levels, and might need to be accounted for in future mitigation strategies.

  19. Terrestrial cooling in Northern Europe during the eocene-oligocene transition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hren, Michael T; Sheldon, Nathan D; Grimes, Stephen T; Collinson, Margaret E; Hooker, Jerry J; Bugler, Melanie; Lohmann, Kyger C

    2013-05-07

    Geochemical and modeling studies suggest that the transition from the "greenhouse" state of the Late Eocene to the "icehouse" conditions of the Oligocene 34-33.5 Ma was triggered by a reduction of atmospheric pCO2 that enabled the rapid buildup of a permanent ice sheet on the Antarctic continent. Marine records show that the drop in pCO2 during this interval was accompanied by a significant decline in high-latitude sea surface and deep ocean temperature and enhanced seasonality in middle and high latitudes. However, terrestrial records of this climate transition show heterogeneous responses to changing pCO2 and ocean temperatures, with some records showing a significant time lag in the temperature response to declining pCO2. We measured the Δ47 of aragonite shells of the freshwater gastropod Viviparus lentus from the Solent Group, Hampshire Basin, United Kingdom, to reconstruct terrestrial temperature and hydrologic change in the North Atlantic region during the Eocene-Oligocene transition. Our data show a decrease in growing-season surface water temperatures (~10 °C) during the Eocene-Oligocene transition, corresponding to an average decrease in mean annual air temperature of ~4-6 °C from the Late Eocene to Early Oligocene. The magnitude of cooling is similar to observed decreases in North Atlantic sea surface temperature over this interval and occurs during major glacial expansion. This suggests a close linkage between atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, Northern Hemisphere temperature, and expansion of the Antarctic ice sheets.

  20. Sea surface height determination in the arctic ocean from Cryosat2 SAR data, the impact of using different empirical retrackers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jain, Maulik; Andersen, Ole Baltazar; Stenseng, Lars

    2012-01-01

    Cryosat2 Level 1B SAR data can be processed using different empirical retrackers to determine the sea surface height and its variations in the Arctic Ocean. Two improved retrackers based on the combination of OCOG (Offset Centre of Gravity), Threshold methods and Leading Edge Retrieval is used...

  1. View-Dependent Tessellation and Simulation of Ocean Surfaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Puig-Centelles

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Modeling and rendering realistic ocean scenes have been thoroughly investigated for many years. Its appearance has been studied and it is possible to find very detailed simulations where a high degree of realism is achieved. Nevertheless, among the solutions to ocean rendering, real-time management of the huge heightmaps that are necessary for rendering an ocean scene is still not solved. We propose a new technique for simulating the ocean surface on GPU. This technique is capable of offering view-dependent approximations of the mesh while maintaining coherence among the extracted approximations. This feature is very important as most solutions previously presented must retessellate from the initial mesh. Our solution is able to use the latest extracted approximation when refining or coarsening the mesh.

  2. Airborne Optical Remote Sensing of Ocean Surface Current Variability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, S. P.; Zuckerman, S.; Stuart, G.

    2016-02-01

    Accurate and timely knowledge of open ocean surface currents are needed for a variety of engineering and emergency missions, as well as for improving scientific understanding of ocean dynamics. This paper presents surface current observations from a new airborne current measurement capability called the Remote Ocean Current Imaging System (ROCIS). ROCIS exploits space-time processing of airborne ocean wave imagery to produce real-time maps of surface currents every 1 km along the flight track. Post-processing of the data allows for more in depth sensitivity studies than can be undertaken with the real-time measurements alone, providing swaths of current retrievals at higher spatial resolutions. Currents can be calculated on scales down to 100 m, across swaths 3 km wide, along the entire flight path. Here, we report on results for multiple ROCIS data collection flights over the Gulf of Mexico conducted in 2012, 2014 and 2015. We show comparisons to in situ current measurements, explore performance as a function of altitude, dwell, wind speed, and wave height, and discuss sources of error. We present examples of current retrievals revealing mesoscale and submesoscale variability. Lastly, we present horizontal kinetic energy spectra from select flights covering a range of spatial scales from hundreds of meters to hundreds of kilometers.

  3. Possible factors that control calcite dissolution in the western tropical Indian Ocean

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Naik, S.S.; Naidu, P.D.

    and preservation of calcium carbonate in deep-sea sedi- ments 1 . Carbon dioxide dissolved in sea water is present as CO 2 gas, H 2 CO 3 , HCO – 3 and CO = 3 . All these species together con- stitute the Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC) 2 which controls... the sea water pH, which in turn controls preservation/ dissolution of CaCO 3 . Precipitation of carbonate carbon results in an increase in ocean pCO 2 , and with it an increase in atmospheric CO 2 concentration. Con- versely, dissolution of CaCO 3...

  4. Surface wave effects in the NEMO ocean model: Forced and coupled experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Breivik, Øyvind; Mogensen, Kristian; Bidlot, Jean-Raymond; Balmaseda, Magdalena Alonso; Janssen, Peter A. E. M.

    2015-04-01

    The NEMO general circulation ocean model is extended to incorporate three physical processes related to ocean surface waves, namely the surface stress (modified by growth and dissipation of the oceanic wavefield), the turbulent kinetic energy flux from breaking waves, and the Stokes-Coriolis force. Experiments are done with NEMO in ocean-only (forced) mode and coupled to the ECMWF atmospheric and wave models. Ocean-only integrations are forced with fields from the ERA-Interim reanalysis. All three effects are noticeable in the extratropics, but the sea-state-dependent turbulent kinetic energy flux yields by far the largest difference. This is partly because the control run has too vigorous deep mixing due to an empirical mixing term in NEMO. We investigate the relation between this ad hoc mixing and Langmuir turbulence and find that it is much more effective than the Langmuir parameterization used in NEMO. The biases in sea surface temperature as well as subsurface temperature are reduced, and the total ocean heat content exhibits a trend closer to that observed in a recent ocean reanalysis (ORAS4) when wave effects are included. Seasonal integrations of the coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean model consisting of NEMO, the wave model ECWAM, and the atmospheric model of ECMWF similarly show that the sea surface temperature biases are greatly reduced when the mixing is controlled by the sea state and properly weighted by the thickness of the uppermost level of the ocean model. These wave-related physical processes were recently implemented in the operational coupled ensemble forecast system of ECMWF.

  5. The pH and pCO2 dependence of sulfate reduction in shallow-sea hydrothermal CO2 - venting sediments (Milos Island, Greece).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bayraktarov, Elisa; Price, Roy E; Ferdelman, Timothy G; Finster, Kai

    2013-01-01

    Microbial sulfate reduction (SR) is a dominant process of organic matter mineralization in sulfate-rich anoxic environments at neutral pH. Recent studies have demonstrated SR in low pH environments, but investigations on the microbial activity at variable pH and CO2 partial pressure are still lacking. In this study, the effect of pH and pCO2 on microbial activity was investigated by incubation experiments with radioactive (35)S targeting SR in sediments from the shallow-sea hydrothermal vent system of Milos, Greece, where pH is naturally decreased by CO2 release. Sediments differed in their physicochemical characteristics with distance from the main site of fluid discharge. Adjacent to the vent site (T ~40-75°C, pH ~5), maximal sulfate reduction rates (SRR) were observed between pH 5 and 6. SR in hydrothermally influenced sediments decreased at neutral pH. Sediments unaffected by hydrothermal venting (T ~26°C, pH ~8) expressed the highest SRR between pH 6 and 7. Further experiments investigating the effect of pCO2 on SR revealed a steep decrease in activity when the partial pressure increased from 2 to 3 bar. Findings suggest that sulfate reducing microbial communities associated with hydrothermal vent system are adapted to low pH and high CO2, while communities at control sites required a higher pH for optimal activity.

  6. Vertical observation of molecular hydrogen and carbon monoxide: Implication for non-photochemical H2 production at ocean surface and subsurface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kawagucci, S.; Narita, T.; Obata, H.; Ogawa, H.; Gamo, T.

    2009-12-01

    Biological nitrogen fixation is a key metabolism controlling marine N-cycling and also known as a main H2 source. Recently, it was proposed that a monitoring of surface H2 concentration could be used quickly to figure out the spatial extent of biological nitrogen fixation activity without onboard incubation required for currently used methods for detecting the activity. However, H2 behavior in ocean water was still unresolved. This study carried out vertical observation of H2 and CO concentrations in south of Japan, western North Pacific. Because carbon monoxide, CO, in seawater has no relation with nitrogen fixation metabolism and is produced dominantly by the photochemical reaction, which is an altanative H2 source, simultaneous observation and comparison of H2 and CO concentration is helpful to investigate H2 behavior in ocean water. Reductive gases in seawater were observed during the R/V Tansei-maru KT-08-14 cruise by using a wired CTD-CMS (CTD-carousel multiple sampling) system to conduct vertical sampling (at most 200 m depth) and by using a plastic bucket for sampling surface seawater. The sample in the Niskin-X bottle was directed to the bottom of a 120 mL brown-colored glass vial allowed to overflow by 2 volumes before the tube was slowly withdrawn. After the addition of 0.5 mL HgCl2-saturated solution for poisoning, the PTFE-lined butyl-gum septum was used to cap the vials. Molecular hydrogen (H2) and carbon monoxide (CO) were analyzed at an onboard laboratory within 6 hours after subsampling. 20 mL of sample water was substituted by 20 mL of H2- and CO-free air using a gas-tight syringe; then the vial was put on an automatic shaker and shaken upside down for 6 minutes to achieve a complete equilibrium between the dissolved and head space gases in the vial. The equilibrated headspace was taken by another gas-tight syringe and then injected into a gas chromatograph equipped with a trace reduced gas detector. Vertical distribution of dissolved H2 and CO

  7. Uncertainty in the global oceanic CO2 uptake induced by wind forcing: quantification and spatial analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Roobaert

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The calculation of the air–water CO2 exchange (FCO2 in the ocean not only depends on the gradient in CO2 partial pressure at the air–water interface but also on the parameterization of the gas exchange transfer velocity (k and the choice of wind product. Here, we present regional and global-scale quantifications of the uncertainty in FCO2 induced by several widely used k formulations and four wind speed data products (CCMP, ERA, NCEP1 and NCEP2. The analysis is performed at a 1°  ×  1° resolution using the sea surface pCO2 climatology generated by Landschützer et al. (2015a for the 1991–2011 period, while the regional assessment relies on the segmentation proposed by the Regional Carbon Cycle Assessment and Processes (RECCAP project. First, we use k formulations derived from the global 14C inventory relying on a quadratic relationship between k and wind speed (k = c ⋅ U102; Sweeney et al., 2007; Takahashi et al., 2009; Wanninkhof, 2014, where c is a calibration coefficient and U10 is the wind speed measured 10 m above the surface. Our results show that the range of global FCO2, calculated with these k relationships, diverge by 12 % when using CCMP, ERA or NCEP1. Due to differences in the regional wind patterns, regional discrepancies in FCO2 are more pronounced than global. These global and regional differences significantly increase when using NCEP2 or other k formulations which include earlier relationships (i.e., Wanninkhof, 1992; Wanninkhof et al., 2009 as well as numerous local and regional parameterizations derived experimentally. To minimize uncertainties associated with the choice of wind product, it is possible to recalculate the coefficient c globally (hereafter called c∗ for a given wind product and its spatio-temporal resolution, in order to match the last evaluation of the global k value. We thus performed these recalculations for each wind product at the resolution and time period of our study

  8. Uncertainty in the global oceanic CO2 uptake induced by wind forcing: quantification and spatial analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roobaert, Alizée; Laruelle, Goulven G.; Landschützer, Peter; Regnier, Pierre

    2018-03-01

    The calculation of the air-water CO2 exchange (FCO2) in the ocean not only depends on the gradient in CO2 partial pressure at the air-water interface but also on the parameterization of the gas exchange transfer velocity (k) and the choice of wind product. Here, we present regional and global-scale quantifications of the uncertainty in FCO2 induced by several widely used k formulations and four wind speed data products (CCMP, ERA, NCEP1 and NCEP2). The analysis is performed at a 1° × 1° resolution using the sea surface pCO2 climatology generated by Landschützer et al. (2015a) for the 1991-2011 period, while the regional assessment relies on the segmentation proposed by the Regional Carbon Cycle Assessment and Processes (RECCAP) project. First, we use k formulations derived from the global 14C inventory relying on a quadratic relationship between k and wind speed (k = c ṡ U102; Sweeney et al., 2007; Takahashi et al., 2009; Wanninkhof, 2014), where c is a calibration coefficient and U10 is the wind speed measured 10 m above the surface. Our results show that the range of global FCO2, calculated with these k relationships, diverge by 12 % when using CCMP, ERA or NCEP1. Due to differences in the regional wind patterns, regional discrepancies in FCO2 are more pronounced than global. These global and regional differences significantly increase when using NCEP2 or other k formulations which include earlier relationships (i.e., Wanninkhof, 1992; Wanninkhof et al., 2009) as well as numerous local and regional parameterizations derived experimentally. To minimize uncertainties associated with the choice of wind product, it is possible to recalculate the coefficient c globally (hereafter called c∗) for a given wind product and its spatio-temporal resolution, in order to match the last evaluation of the global k value. We thus performed these recalculations for each wind product at the resolution and time period of our study but the resulting global FCO2 estimates

  9. Effects of Ocean Acidification and Warming on Sperm Activity and Early Life Stages of the Mediterranean Mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mikko Vihtakari

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Larval stages are among those most vulnerable to ocean acidification (OA. Projected atmospheric CO2 levels for the end of this century may lead to negative impacts on communities dominated by calcifying taxa with planktonic life stages. We exposed Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis sperm and early life stages to pHT levels of 8.0 (current pH and 7.6 (2100 level by manipulating pCO2 level (380 and 1000 ppm. Sperm activity was examined at ambient temperatures (16–17 °C using individual males as replicates. We also assessed the effects of temperature (ambient and ≈20 °C and pH on larval size, survival, respiration and calcification of late trochophore/early D-veliger stages using a cross-factorial design. Increased pCO2 had a negative effect on the percentage of motile sperm (mean response ratio R= 71% and sperm swimming speed (R= 74%, possibly indicating reduced fertilization capacity of sperm in low concentrations. Increased temperature had a more prominent effect on larval stages than pCO2, reducing performance (RSize = 90% and RSurvival = 70% and increasing energy demand (RRespiration = 429%. We observed no significant interactions between pCO2 and temperature. Our results suggest that increasing temperature might have a larger impact on very early larval stages of M. galloprovincialis than OA at levels predicted for the end of the century.

  10. Investigation of the interactions of critical scale-up parameters (pH, pO2 and pCO2) on CHO batch performance and critical quality attributes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brunner, Matthias; Fricke, Jens; Kroll, Paul; Herwig, Christoph

    2017-02-01

    Understanding process parameter interactions and their effects on mammalian cell cultivations is an essential requirement for robust process scale-up. Furthermore, knowledge of the relationship between the process parameters and the product critical quality attributes (CQAs) is necessary to satisfy quality by design guidelines. So far, mainly the effect of single parameters on CQAs was investigated. Here, we present a comprehensive study to investigate the interactions of scale-up relevant parameters as pH, pO 2 and pCO 2 on CHO cell physiology, process performance and CQAs, which was based on design of experiments and extended product quality analytics. The study used a novel control strategy in which process parameters were decoupled from each other, and thus allowed their individual control at defined set points. Besides having identified the impact of single parameters on process performance and product quality, further significant interaction effects of process parameters on specific cell growth, specific productivity and amino acid metabolism could be derived using this method. Concerning single parameter effects, several monoclonal antibody (mAb) charge variants were affected by process pCO 2 and pH. N-glycosylation analysis showed positive correlations between mAb sialylation and high pH values as well as a relationship between high mannose variants and process pH. This study additionally revealed several interaction effects as process pH and pCO 2 interactions on mAb charge variants and N-glycosylation pattern. Hence, through our process control strategy and multivariate investigation, novel significant process parameter interactions and single effects were identified which have to be taken into account especially for process scale-up.

  11. Aerosol indirect effects on the nighttime Arctic Ocean surface from thin, predominantly liquid clouds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. M. Zamora

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Aerosol indirect effects have potentially large impacts on the Arctic Ocean surface energy budget, but model estimates of regional-scale aerosol indirect effects are highly uncertain and poorly validated by observations. Here we demonstrate a new way to quantitatively estimate aerosol indirect effects on a regional scale from remote sensing observations. In this study, we focus on nighttime, optically thin, predominantly liquid clouds. The method is based on differences in cloud physical and microphysical characteristics in carefully selected clean, average, and aerosol-impacted conditions. The cloud subset of focus covers just ∼ 5 % of cloudy Arctic Ocean regions, warming the Arctic Ocean surface by ∼ 1–1.4 W m−2 regionally during polar night. However, within this cloud subset, aerosol and cloud conditions can be determined with high confidence using CALIPSO and CloudSat data and model output. This cloud subset is generally susceptible to aerosols, with a polar nighttime estimated maximum regionally integrated indirect cooling effect of ∼ −0.11 W m−2 at the Arctic sea ice surface (∼ 8 % of the clean background cloud effect, excluding cloud fraction changes. Aerosol presence is related to reduced precipitation, cloud thickness, and radar reflectivity, and in some cases, an increased likelihood of cloud presence in the liquid phase. These observations are inconsistent with a glaciation indirect effect and are consistent with either a deactivation effect or less-efficient secondary ice formation related to smaller liquid cloud droplets. However, this cloud subset shows large differences in surface and meteorological forcing in shallow and higher-altitude clouds and between sea ice and open-ocean regions. For example, optically thin, predominantly liquid clouds are much more likely to overlay another cloud over the open ocean, which may reduce aerosol indirect effects on the surface. Also, shallow clouds over

  12. tavg1_2d_ocn_Nx: MERRA 2D IAU Ocean Surface Diagnostic, Time Average 1-hourly 0.667 x 0.5 degree V5.2.0 (MAT1NXOCN) at GES DISC

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The MAT1NXOCN or tavg1_2d_ocn_Nx data product is the MERRA Data Assimilation System 2-Dimensional ocean surface single-level diagnostics that is time averaged...

  13. Improvements to the swath-level near-surface atmospheric state parameter retrievals within the NRL Ocean Surface Flux System (NFLUX)

    Science.gov (United States)

    May, J. C.; Rowley, C. D.; Meyer, H.

    2017-12-01

    The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) Ocean Surface Flux System (NFLUX) is an end-to-end data processing and assimilation system used to provide near-real-time satellite-based surface heat flux fields over the global ocean. The first component of NFLUX produces near-real-time swath-level estimates of surface state parameters and downwelling radiative fluxes. The focus here will be on the satellite swath-level state parameter retrievals, namely surface air temperature, surface specific humidity, and surface scalar wind speed over the ocean. Swath-level state parameter retrievals are produced from satellite sensor data records (SDRs) from four passive microwave sensors onboard 10 platforms: the Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) sensor onboard the DMSP F16, F17, and F18 platforms; the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A (AMSU-A) sensor onboard the NOAA-15, NOAA-18, NOAA-19, Metop-A, and Metop-B platforms; the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) sensor onboard the S-NPP platform; and the Advanced Microwave Scannin Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) sensor onboard the GCOM-W1 platform. The satellite SDRs are translated into state parameter estimates using multiple polynomial regression algorithms. The coefficients to the algorithms are obtained using a bootstrapping technique with all available brightness temperature channels for a given sensor, in addition to a SST field. For each retrieved parameter for each sensor-platform combination, unique algorithms are developed for ascending and descending orbits, as well as clear vs cloudy conditions. Each of the sensors produces surface air temperature and surface specific humidity retrievals. The SSMIS and AMSR2 sensors also produce surface scalar wind speed retrievals. Improvement is seen in the SSMIS retrievals when separate algorithms are used for the even and odd scans, with the odd scans performing better than the even scans. Currently, NFLUX treats all SSMIS scans as even scans. Additional improvement in all of

  14. Deep ocean nutrients during the Last Glacial Maximum deduced from sponge silicon isotopic compositions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hendry, Katharine R.; Georg, R. Bastian; Rickaby, Rosalind E. M.; Robinson, Laura F.; Halliday, Alex N.

    2010-04-01

    The relative importance of biological and physical processes within the Southern Ocean for the storage of carbon and atmospheric pCO 2 on glacial-interglacial timescales remains uncertain. Understanding the impact of surface biological production on carbon export in the past relies on the reconstruction of the nutrient supply from upwelling deep waters. In particular, the upwelling of silicic acid (Si(OH) 4) is tightly coupled to carbon export in the Southern Ocean via diatom productivity. Here, we address how changes in deep water Si(OH) 4 concentrations can be reconstructed using the silicon isotopic composition of deep-sea sponges. We report δ30Si of modern deep-sea sponge spicules and show that they reflect seawater Si(OH) 4 concentration. The fractionation factor of sponge δ30Si compared to seawater δ30Si shows a positive relationship with Si(OH) 4, which may be a growth rate effect. Application of this proxy in two down-core records from the Scotia Sea reveals that Si(OH) 4 concentrations in the deep Southern Ocean during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) were no different than today. Our result does not support a coupling of carbon and nutrient build up in an isolated deep ocean reservoir during the LGM. Our data, combined with records of stable isotopes from diatoms, are only consistent with enhanced LGM Southern Ocean nutrient utilization if there was also a concurrent reduction in diatom silicification or a shift from siliceous to organic-walled phytoplankton.

  15. Constraints on Europa's Ocean Composition Imposed by Its Surface Composition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, P. V.; Hodyss, R. P.; Vu, T. H.; Choukroun, M.

    2017-12-01

    Of the non-terrestrial environments within our Solar System, Europa's global liquid water ocean is arguably the most likely to be habitable. As such, understanding the habitability of Europa's ocean is of great interest to astrobiology and is the focus of missions currently being considered for further exploration of Europa. However, direct analysis of the ocean is unlikely in the foreseeable future. As such, our best means of constraining the subsurface ocean composition and its subsequent habitability currently is by further study of Europa's surface chemical composition. Recently, there has been a body of work published that looks at the chemistry of frozen brines representing putative ocean compositions. Here we take a simplified model of a four ionic component (Na, Mg, SO4, Cl) solution and map out what minerals are formed upon freezing as a function of relative ionic concentration, pH, etc. A `flow-chart' of the freezing sequence was developed based on both published and recently acquired experimental results. In performing this exercise, we are able to begin making meaningful links between observations of the surface chemistry and the chemical environment of the internal ocean.

  16. Connecting the Mississippi River with Carbon Variability in the Gulf of Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Z. G.; He, R.; Fennel, K.; Cai, W. J.; Lohrenz, S. E.; Huang, W. J.; Tian, H.; Ren, W.

    2016-02-01

    To understand the linkage between landuse/land-cover change within the Mississippi basin and the carbon dynamics in the Gulf of Mexico, a three-dimensional coupled physical-biogeochemical model was used to the examine temporal and spatial variability of surface ocean pCO2 in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). The model is driven by realistic atmospheric forcing, open boundary conditions from a data-assimilative global ocean circulation model, and freshwater and terrestrial nutrient and carbon input from major rivers provided by the Dynamic Land Ecosystem Model (DLEM). A seven-year model hindcast (2004-2010) was performed and was validated against the recently updated Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory global ocean carbon dataset. Model simulated seawater pCO2 and air-sea CO2 flux are in good agreement with in-situ measurements. An inorganic carbon budget was estimated based on the multi-year mean of the model results. Overall, the GoM is a sink of atmospheric CO2 with a flux of 0.92 × 1012 mol C yr-1, which, together with the enormous fluvial carbon input, is balanced by carbon export through the Loop Current. In a sensitivity experiment with all biological sources and sinks of carbon disabled surface pCO2 was elevated by 70 ppm, suggesting that biological uptake is the most important reason for the simulated CO2 sink. The impact from landuse and land-cover changes within the Mississippi River basin on coastal pCO2 dynamics is also discussed based on a scenario run driven by river conditions during the 1904-1910 provided by the DLEM model.

  17. Multi-mission mean sea surface and geoid models for ocean monitoring within the GOCINA project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andersen, O. B.; Knudsen, P.; Anne, V. L.

    2004-05-01

    A major goal of the EU project GOCINA (Geoid and Ocean Circulation In the North Atlantic) is to develop tools for ocean monitoring using satellite altimetry combined with satellite gravimetry. Furthermore, the project will determine an accurate geoid in the region between Greenland and the UK and, hereby, create a platform for validation of future GOCE Level 2 data and higher order scientific products. The central quantity bridging the geoid and the ocean circulation is the mean dynamic topography, which is the difference between the mean sea surface and the geoid. The mean dynamic topography provides the absolute reference surface for the ocean circulation. The improved determination of the mean circulation will advance the understanding of the role of the ocean mass and heat transport in climate change. To calculate the best possible synthetic mean dynamic topographies a new mean sea surface (KMS03) has been derived from nine years of altimetric data (1993-2001). The regional geoid has furthermore being updated using GRACE and gravimetric data from a recent airborne survey. New synthetic mean dynamic topography models have been computed from the best available geoid models (EGM96, GRACE, GOCINA) and the present mean sea surface models (i.e. CLS01, GSFC00, KMS03). These models will be compared with state of the art hydrodynamic mean dynamic topography models in the North Atlantic GOCINA area. An extended comparison in the Artic Ocean will also be presented to demonstrate the impact of improved geoid and mean sea surface modeling. Particularly using the GRACE derived geoid models, and the KMS03 mean sea surface.

  18. Response to ocean acidification in larvae of a large tropical marine fish, Rachycentron canadum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bignami, Sean; Sponaugle, Su; Cowen, Robert K

    2013-04-01

    Currently, ocean acidification is occurring at a faster rate than at any time in the last 300 million years, posing an ecological challenge to marine organisms globally. There is a critical need to understand the effects of acidification on the vulnerable larval stages of marine fishes, as there is potential for large ecological and economic impacts on fish populations and the human economies that rely on them. We expand upon the narrow taxonomic scope found in the literature today, which overlooks many life history characteristics of harvested species, by reporting on the larvae of Rachycentron canadum (cobia), a large, highly mobile, pelagic-spawning, widely distributed species with a life history and fishery value contrasting other species studied to date. We raised larval cobia through the first 3 weeks of ontogeny under conditions of predicted future ocean acidification to determine effects on somatic growth, development, otolith formation, swimming ability, and swimming activity. Cobia exhibited resistance to treatment effects on growth, development, swimming ability, and swimming activity at 800 and 2100 μatm pCO2 . However, these scenarios resulted in a significant increase in otolith size (up to 25% larger area) at the lowest pCO2 levels reported to date, as well as the first report of significantly wider daily otolith growth increments. When raised under more extreme scenarios of 3500 and 5400 μatm pCO2 , cobia exhibited significantly reduced size-at-age (up to 25% smaller) and a 2-3 days developmental delay. The robust nature of cobia may be due to the naturally variable environmental conditions this species currently encounters throughout ontogeny in coastal environments, which may lead to an increased acclimatization ability even during long-term exposure to stressors. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  19. Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM) /Jason-2: Telemetry (NODC Accession 0044986)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This accession contains the data descriptions for the OSTM/Jason-2 Telemetry data, which is served through the NOAA/NESDIS Comprehensive Large Array-data Stewardship...

  20. Deterministic chaos at the ocean surface: applications and interpretations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. J. Palmer

    1998-01-01

    Full Text Available Ocean surface, grazing-angle radar backscatter data from two separate experiments, one of which provided coincident time series of measured surface winds, were found to exhibit signatures of deterministic chaos. Evidence is presented that the lowest dimensional underlying dynamical system responsible for the radar backscatter chaos is that which governs the surface wind turbulence. Block-averaging time was found to be an important parameter for determining the degree of determinism in the data as measured by the correlation dimension, and by the performance of an artificial neural network in retrieving wind and stress from the radar returns, and in radar detection of an ocean internal wave. The correlation dimensions are lowered and the performance of the deterministic retrieval and detection algorithms are improved by averaging out the higher dimensional surface wave variability in the radar returns.

  1. Diurnal variability of surface fluxes at an oceanic station in the Bay of Bengal

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Sarma, Y.V.B.; Rao, D.P.

    Diurnal variability of the surface fluxes and ocean heat content was studied using the time-series data on marine surface meteorological parameters and upper ocean temperature collected at an oceanic station in the Bay of Bengal during 1st to 8th...

  2. The Abundance of Atmospheric CO{sub 2} in Ocean Exoplanets: a Novel CO{sub 2} Deposition Mechanism

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Levi, A.; Sasselov, D. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Podolak, M., E-mail: amitlevi.planetphys@gmail.com [Dept. of Geosciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978 (Israel)

    2017-03-20

    We consider super-Earth sized planets which have a water mass fraction large enough to form an external mantle composed of high-pressure water-ice polymorphs and also lack a substantial H/He atmosphere. We consider such planets in their habitable zone, so that their outermost condensed mantle is a global, deep, liquid ocean. For these ocean planets, we investigate potential internal reservoirs of CO{sub 2}, the amount of CO{sub 2} dissolved in the ocean for the various saturation conditions encountered, and the ocean-atmosphere exchange flux of CO{sub 2}. We find that, in a steady state, the abundance of CO{sub 2} in the atmosphere has two possible states. When wind-driven circulation is the dominant CO{sub 2} exchange mechanism, an atmosphere of tens of bars of CO{sub 2} results, where the exact value depends on the subtropical ocean surface temperature and the deep ocean temperature. When sea-ice formation, acting on these planets as a CO{sub 2} deposition mechanism, is the dominant exchange mechanism, an atmosphere of a few bars of CO{sub 2} is established. The exact value depends on the subpolar surface temperature. Our results suggest the possibility of a negative feedback mechanism, unique to water planets, where a reduction in the subpolar temperature drives more CO{sub 2} into the atmosphere to increase the greenhouse effect.

  3. Ocean acidification responses in paralarval squid swimming behavior using a novel 3D tracking system

    KAUST Repository

    Zakroff, Casey J.

    2017-08-22

    Chronic embryonic exposure to ocean acidification (OA) has been shown to degrade the aragonitic statolith of paralarval squid, Doryteuthis pealeii, a key structure for their swimming behavior. This study examined if day-of-hatching paralarval D. pealeii from eggs reared under chronic OA demonstrated measurable impairments to swimming activity and control. This required the development of a novel, cost-effective, and robust method for 3D motion tracking and analysis. Squid eggs were reared in pCO2 levels in a dose-dependent manner ranging from 400 to 2200 ppm. Initial 2D experiments showed paralarvae in higher acidification environments spent more time at depth. In 3D experiments, velocity, particularly positive and negative vertical velocities, significantly decreased from 400 to 1000 ppm pCO2, but showed non-significant decreases at higher concentrations. Activity and horizontal velocity decreased linearly with increasing pCO2, indicating a subtle impact to paralarval energetics. Patterns may have been obscured by notable individual variability in the paralarvae. Responses were also seen to vary between trials on cohort or potentially annual scales. Overall, paralarval swimming appeared resilient to OA, with effects being slight. The newly developed 3D tracking system provides a powerful and accessible method for future studies to explore similar questions in the larvae of aquatic taxa.

  4. The Impacts of Daily Surface Forcing in the Upper Ocean over Tropical Pacific: A Numerical Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sui, C.-H.; Rienecker, Michele M.; Li, Xiaofan; Lau, William K.-M.; Laszlo, Istvan; Pinker, Rachel T.

    2001-01-01

    Tropical Pacific Ocean is an important region that affects global climate. How the ocean responds to the atmospheric surface forcing (surface radiative, heat and momentum fluxes) is a major topic in oceanographic research community. The ocean becomes warm when more heat flux puts into the ocean. The monthly mean forcing has been used in the past years since daily forcing was unavailable due to the lack of observations. The daily forcing is now available from the satellite measurements. This study investigates the response of the upper ocean over tropical Pacific to the daily atmospheric surface forcing. The ocean surface heat budgets are calculated to determine the important processes for the oceanic response. The differences of oceanic responses between the eastern and western Pacific are intensively discussed.

  5. Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM) /Jason-2 Data Collection, 2008-present (NODC Accession 0118277)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — OSTM/JASON-2 is a follow-on mission continuing the TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1, and is designed to ensure continuity of high quality measurements for ocean science...

  6. Future ocean hypercapnia driven by anthropogenic amplification of the natural CO2 cycle

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNeil, Ben I.; Sasse, Tristan P.

    2016-01-01

    High carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations in sea-water (ocean hypercapnia) can induce neurological, physiological and behavioural deficiencies in marine animals. Prediction of the onset and evolution of hypercapnia in the ocean requires a good understanding of annual variations in oceanic CO2 concentration, but there is a lack of relevant global observational data. Here we identify global ocean patterns of monthly variability in carbon concentration using observations that allow us to examine the evolution of surface-ocean CO2 levels over the entire annual cycle under increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations. We predict that the present-day amplitude of the natural oscillations in oceanic CO2 concentration will be amplified by up to tenfold in some regions by 2100, if atmospheric CO2 concentrations continue to rise throughout this century (according to the RCP8.5 scenario of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). The findings from our data are broadly consistent with projections from Earth system climate models. Our predicted amplification of the annual CO2 cycle displays distinct global patterns that may expose major fisheries in the Southern, Pacific and North Atlantic oceans to hypercapnia many decades earlier than is expected from average atmospheric CO2 concentrations. We suggest that these ocean ‘CO2 hotspots’ evolve as a combination of the strong seasonal dynamics of CO2 concentration and the long-term effective storage of anthropogenic CO2 in the oceans that lowers the buffer capacity in these regions, causing a nonlinear amplification of CO2 concentration over the annual cycle. The onset of ocean hypercapnia (when the partial pressure of CO2 in sea-water exceeds 1,000 micro-atmospheres) is forecast for atmospheric CO2 concentrations that exceed 650 parts per million, with hypercapnia expected in up to half the surface ocean by 2100, assuming a high-emissions scenario (RCP8.5). Such extensive ocean hypercapnia has detrimental implications for

  7. Sea surface microlayer in a changing ocean – A perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oliver Wurl

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The sea surface microlayer (SML is the boundary interface between the atmosphere and ocean, covering about 70% of the Earth’s surface. With an operationally defined thickness between 1 and 1000 μm, the SML has physicochemical and biological properties that are measurably distinct from underlying waters. Recent studies now indicate that the SML covers the ocean to a significant extent, and evidence shows that it is an aggregate-enriched biofilm environment with distinct microbial communities. Because of its unique position at the air-sea interface, the SML is central to a range of global biogeochemical and climate-related processes. The redeveloped SML paradigm pushes the SML into a new and wider context that is relevant to many ocean and climate sciences.

  8. The pH and pCO2 dependence of sulfate reduction in shallow-sea hydrothermal CO2 – venting sediments (Milos Island, Greece)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bayraktarov, Elisa; Price, Roy E.; Ferdelman, Timothy G.; Finster, Kai

    2013-01-01

    Microbial sulfate reduction (SR) is a dominant process of organic matter mineralization in sulfate-rich anoxic environments at neutral pH. Recent studies have demonstrated SR in low pH environments, but investigations on the microbial activity at variable pH and CO2 partial pressure are still lacking. In this study, the effect of pH and pCO2 on microbial activity was investigated by incubation experiments with radioactive 35S targeting SR in sediments from the shallow-sea hydrothermal vent system of Milos, Greece, where pH is naturally decreased by CO2 release. Sediments differed in their physicochemical characteristics with distance from the main site of fluid discharge. Adjacent to the vent site (T ~40–75°C, pH ~5), maximal sulfate reduction rates (SRR) were observed between pH 5 and 6. SR in hydrothermally influenced sediments decreased at neutral pH. Sediments unaffected by hydrothermal venting (T ~26°C, pH ~8) expressed the highest SRR between pH 6 and 7. Further experiments investigating the effect of pCO2 on SR revealed a steep decrease in activity when the partial pressure increased from 2 to 3 bar. Findings suggest that sulfate reducing microbial communities associated with hydrothermal vent system are adapted to low pH and high CO2, while communities at control sites required a higher pH for optimal activity. PMID:23658555

  9. Marine Microphytobenthic Assemblage Shift along a Natural Shallow-Water CO2 Gradient Subjected to Multiple Environmental Stressors

    OpenAIRE

    Johnson, V; Brownlee, C; Milazzo, M; Hall-Spencer, J

    2015-01-01

    Predicting the effects of anthropogenic CO2 emissions on coastal ecosystems requires an understanding of the responses of algae, since these are a vital functional component of shallow-water habitats. We investigated microphytobenthic assemblages on rock and sandy habitats along a shallow subtidal pCO2 gradient near volcanic seeps in the Mediterranean Sea. Field studies of natural pCO2 gradients help us understand the likely effects of ocean acidification because entire communities are subjec...

  10. The role of Southern Ocean mixing and upwelling in glacial-interglacial atmospheric CO2 change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watson, Andrew J.; Naveira Garabato, Alberto C.

    2006-01-01

    Decreased ventilation of the Southern Ocean in glacial time is implicated in most explanations of lower glacial atmospheric CO 2 . Today, the deep (>2000 m) ocean south of the Polar Front is rapidly ventilated from below, with the interaction of deep currents with topography driving high mixing rates well up into the water column. We show from a buoyancy budget that mixing rates are high in all the deep waters of the Southern Ocean. Between the surface and 2000 m depth, water is upwelled by a residual meridional overturning that is directly linked to buoyancy fluxes through the ocean surface. Combined with the rapid deep mixing, this upwelling serves to return deep water to the surface on a short time scale. We propose two new mechanisms by which, in glacial time, the deep Southern Ocean may have been more isolated from the surface. Firstly, the deep ocean appears to have been more stratified because of denser bottom water resulting from intense sea ice formation near Antarctica. The greater stratification would have slowed the deep mixing. Secondly, subzero atmospheric temperatures may have meant that the present-day buoyancy flux from the atmosphere to the ocean surface was reduced or reversed. This in turn would have reduced or eliminated the upwelling (contrary to a common assumption, upwelling is not solely a function of the wind stress but is coupled to the air/sea buoyancy flux too). The observed very close link between Antarctic temperatures and atmospheric CO 2 could then be explained as a natural consequence of the connection between the air/sea buoyancy flux and upwelling in the Southern Ocean, if slower ventilation of the Southern Ocean led to lower atmospheric CO 2 . Here we use a box model, similar to those of previous authors, to show that weaker mixing and reduced upwelling in the Southern Ocean can explain the low glacial atmospheric CO 2 in such a formulation

  11. Reef-scale modeling of coral calcification responses to ocean acidification and sea-level rise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamura, Takashi; Nadaoka, Kazuo; Watanabe, Atsushi; Yamamoto, Takahiro; Miyajima, Toshihiro; Blanco, Ariel C.

    2018-03-01

    To predict coral responses to future environmental changes at the reef scale, the coral polyp model (Nakamura et al. in Coral Reefs 32:779-794, 2013), which reconstructs coral responses to ocean acidification, flow conditions and other factors, was incorporated into a reef-scale three-dimensional hydrodynamic-biogeochemical model. This coupled reef-scale model was compared to observations from the Shiraho fringing reef, Ishigaki Island, Japan, where the model accurately reconstructed spatiotemporal variation in reef hydrodynamic and geochemical parameters. The simulated coral calcification rate exhibited high spatial variation, with lower calcification rates in the nearshore and stagnant water areas due to isolation of the inner reef at low tide, and higher rates on the offshore side of the inner reef flat. When water is stagnant, bottom shear stress is low at night and thus oxygen diffusion rate from ambient water to the inside of the coral polyp limits respiration rate. Thus, calcification decreases because of the link between respiration and calcification. A scenario analysis was conducted using the reef-scale model with several pCO2 and sea-level conditions based on IPCC (Climate change 2013: the physical science basis. Contribution of working group I to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2013) scenarios. The simulation indicated that the coral calcification rate decreases with increasing pCO2. On the other hand, sea-level rise increases the calcification rate, particularly in the nearshore and the areas where water is stagnant at low tide under present conditions, as mass exchange, especially oxygen exchange at night, is enhanced between the corals and their ambient seawater due to the reduced stagnant period. When both pCO2 increase and sea-level rise occur concurrently, the calcification rate generally decreases due to the effects of ocean acidification. However, the

  12. Monitoring of ocean surface algal blooms in coastal and oceanic waters around India.

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Tholkapiyan, M.; Shanmugam, P.; Suresh, T.

    of the MODIS-Aqua-derived OSABI (ocean surface algal bloom index) and its seasonal composite images report new information and comprehensive pictures of these blooms and their evolution stages in a wide variety of events occurred at different times of the years...

  13. Terrestrial cooling in Northern Europe during the Eocene–Oligocene transition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hren, Michael T.; Sheldon, Nathan D.; Grimes, Stephen T.; Collinson, Margaret E.; Hooker, Jerry J.; Bugler, Melanie; Lohmann, Kyger C.

    2013-01-01

    Geochemical and modeling studies suggest that the transition from the “greenhouse” state of the Late Eocene to the “icehouse” conditions of the Oligocene 34–33.5 Ma was triggered by a reduction of atmospheric pCO2 that enabled the rapid buildup of a permanent ice sheet on the Antarctic continent. Marine records show that the drop in pCO2 during this interval was accompanied by a significant decline in high-latitude sea surface and deep ocean temperature and enhanced seasonality in middle and high latitudes. However, terrestrial records of this climate transition show heterogeneous responses to changing pCO2 and ocean temperatures, with some records showing a significant time lag in the temperature response to declining pCO2. We measured the Δ47 of aragonite shells of the freshwater gastropod Viviparus lentus from the Solent Group, Hampshire Basin, United Kingdom, to reconstruct terrestrial temperature and hydrologic change in the North Atlantic region during the Eocene–Oligocene transition. Our data show a decrease in growing-season surface water temperatures (∼10 °C) during the Eocene–Oligocene transition, corresponding to an average decrease in mean annual air temperature of ∼4–6 °C from the Late Eocene to Early Oligocene. The magnitude of cooling is similar to observed decreases in North Atlantic sea surface temperature over this interval and occurs during major glacial expansion. This suggests a close linkage between atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, Northern Hemisphere temperature, and expansion of the Antarctic ice sheets. PMID:23610424

  14. Degradation modes of austenitic and ferritic–martensitic stainless steels in He–CO–CO2 and liquid sodium environments of equivalent oxygen and carbon chemical potentials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gulsoy, G.; Was, G.S.; Pawel, S.J.; Busby, J.T.

    2013-01-01

    The objective of this work is to explore possible thermodynamic correlations between the degradation modes of austenitic and ferritic–martensitic alloys observed in high temperature He–CO–CO 2 environments with oxygen and carbon chemical potentials equivalent to that in a liquid sodium environment containing 2–5 molppm oxygen and 0.02–0.2 molppm carbon at temperatures 500–700 °C. Two He–CO–CO 2 environments (Pco/Pco 2 = 1320, Pco = 1980 molppm, and Pco/Pco 2 = 9, Pco = 13.5 molppm) were selected to test alloys NF616 and 316L at 700 and 850 °C. Upon exposure to He environments at 850 °C, 316L samples exhibited thick surface Cr 2 O 3 scales and substantial internal oxidation; however at 700 °C no significant internal oxidation was observed. NF616 samples exhibited relatively thinner surface Cr 2 O 3 scales compared to 316L samples at both temperatures. NF616 samples exposed to liquid sodium at 700 °C and He–Pco/Pco 2 = 9 at 850 °C showed decarburization. No surface oxide formation was observed on the sample exposed to the Na environment. Results obtained from He exposure experiments provide insight into what may occur during long exposure times in a sodium environment

  15. Ocean current surface measurement using dynamic elevations obtained by the GEOS-3 radar altimeter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leitao, C. D.; Huang, N. E.; Parra, C. G.

    1977-01-01

    Remote Sensing of the ocean surface from the GEOS-3 satellite using radar altimeter data has confirmed that the altimeter can detect the dynamic ocean topographic elevations relative to an equipotential surface, thus resulting in a reliable direct measurement of the ocean surface. Maps of the ocean dynamic topography calculated over a one month period and with 20 cm contour interval are prepared for the last half of 1975. The Gulf Stream is observed by the rapid slope change shown by the crowding of contours. Cold eddies associated with the current are seen as roughly circular depressions.

  16. Theoretical studies of arsenite adsorption and its oxidation mechanism on a perfect TiO 2 anatase (1 0 1) surface

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Zhigang; Zhang, Shaowen; Pan, Zhanchang; Liu, Yue

    2011-11-01

    There are many areas in the world where the ground water has been contaminated by arsenic. TiO2 is one of the most promising materials that can remove arsenic from groundwater supplies by the adsorption-based processes. The TiO2 surface is capable of photo-catalytic oxidation (PCO) changing the arsenite [As(III)] to arsenate [As(V)] which is more easily absorbed by the surface, increasing the efficiency of the process. In this paper, a density functional theory calculation has been performed to investigate the adsorption of As(III) on a perfect TiO2 anatase (1 0 1) surface. All the As(III) solution species such as H3AsO3, H2AsO3-, HAsO32- and AsO33- are put onto the surface with many different possible attitudes to obtain the adsorption energy. Based on the adsorption energy and the concentration of H3AsO3, H2AsO3-, HAsO32- and AsO33- in an aqueous solution, the bidentate binuclear (BB) adsorption configurations of H2AsO3- on the surface are more favorable at low As(III) concentrations, whereas BB form and monodentate mononuclear (MM) form may coexist at higher concentrations. By calculating H2AsO3- co-adsorption with water and oxygen, we can confirm the deep acceptor character of an adsorbed O2 molecule which implies that surface superoxide (or hydroperoxyl radical) plays an important role during the PCO process of As(III) on TiO2 surface.

  17. Seasonal dynamics of surface chlorophyll concentration and sea surface temperature, as indicator of hydrological structure of the ocean (by satellite data)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shevyrnogov, Anatoly; Vysotskaya, Galina

    Continuous monitoring of phytopigment concentrations and sea surface temperature in the ocean by space-borne methods makes possible to estimate ecological condition of biocenoses in critical areas. Unlike land vegetation, hydrological processes largely determine phytoplank-ton dynamics, which may be either recurrent or random. The types of chlorophyll concentration dynamics and sea surface temperature can manifest as zones quasistationary by seasonal dynamics, quasistationary areas (QSA). In the papers of the authors (A. Shevyrnogov, G. Vysotskaya, E. Shevyrnogov, A study of the stationary and the anomalous in the ocean surface chlorophyll distribution by satellite data. International Journal of Remote Sensing, Vol. 25, No.7-8, pp. 1383-1387, April 2004 & A. P. Shevyrnogov, G. S. Vysotskaya, J. I. Gitelson, Quasistationary areas of chlorophyll concentra-tion in the world ocean as observed satellite data Advances in Space Research, Volume 18, Issue 7, Pages 129-132, 1996) existence of zones, which are quasi-stationary with similar seasonal dynamics of chlorophyll concentration at surface layer of ocean, was shown. Results were obtained on the base of processing of time series of satellite images SeaWiFS. It was shown that fronts and frontal zones coincide with dividing lines between quasi-stationary are-as, especially in areas of large oceanic streams. To study the dynamics of the ocean for the period from 1985 through 2012 we used data on the temperature of the surface layer of the ocean and chlorophyll concentration (AVHRR, SeaWiFS and MODIS). Biota of surface oceanic layer is more stable in comparison with quickly changing surface tem-perature. It gives a possibility to circumvent influence of high-frequency component (for exam-ple, a diurnal cycle) in investigation of dynamics of spatial distribution of surface streams. In addition, an analyses of nonstable ocean productivity phenomena, stood out time series of satellite images, showed existence of areas with

  18. A geochemical record of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during the late Paleozoic Ice Age: The relationship between atmospheric pCO2, climate and fire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hren, M. T.; Harris, G.; Montanez, I. P.; DiMichele, W.; Eley, Y.; White, J. D.; Wilson, J. P.; McElwain, J.; Poulsen, C. J.

    2017-12-01

    The late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA) represents a dynamic period of widespread glacial/interglacial cycling as the earth underwent a major transition from an icehouse to greenhouse climate. During this transition period, pCO2 is shown to have varied by several hundred ppm and within the predicted range for anthropogenic change. Glacial/interglacial changes in atmospheric pCO2 during this time are associated with restructuring of tropical forests and carbon cycle dynamics. At present however, there is considerable debate over the potential hydrologic and fire-frequency feedbacks associated with this climatic variability. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are produced from the incomplete combustion of organic matter and are shown to be preserved over hundreds of millions of years. Thus, these organic compounds provide a potential record of the feedbacks between global biogeochemical systems and fire. We analyzed sedimentary organic matter from the Illinois Basin spanning the late Carboniferous glacial-interglacial cycles to assess the evolution of fire during this period. Our data show a decrease in the overall abundance of high molecular weight PAHs (HMW) from 312 to 304 Myr with significant variability that is coincident with the general timing of pCO2 cycling. Decreasing PAH abundance is also coincident with a proposed long-term change in pO2 and may reflect the influence of atmospheric oxygen in regulating fire occurrence and hydrologic cycling in tropical ecosystems in the late Carboniferous.

  19. A sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide in the northeast Indian Ocean

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    DileepKumar, M.; Naqvi, S.W.A.; George, M.D.; Jayakumar, D.A.

    ) variation can be accounted for by the effect of salinity, and biological production supported by external nutrient input in conjunction with strong thermohaline stratification may be more important in lowering surface water pCo sub(2) by greater than100 mu...

  20. Mesoscale modelling of atmospheric CO2 across Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lansø, Anne Sofie

    2016-01-01

    of the simulated atmospheric CO2 across Denmark was, in particular, affected by the Danish terrestrial surface exchanges and its temporal variability. This study urges all future modelling studies of air–sea CO2 to include short-term variability in pCO2. To capture the full heterogeneity of the surface exchanges......It is scientifically well-established that the increase of atmospheric CO2 affects the entire globe and will lead to higher surface temperatures. Although anthropogenic CO2is emitted straight into the atmosphere, it does not all contribute to the existing atmospheric CO2 reservoir. Approximately 29......% is taken up by the global oceans, due to under-saturation of CO2 in the surface waters, while another 33 % is taken up by the terrestrial biosphere, via photosynthesis. In order to estimate the effects of increasing anthropogenic emissions of CO2 more accurately in the future, it is essential to understand...

  1. Growth attenuation with developmental schedule progression in embryos and early larvae of Sterechinus neumayeri raised under elevated CO2.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pauline C Yu

    Full Text Available The Southern Ocean, a region that will be an ocean acidification hotspot in the near future, is home to a uniquely adapted fauna that includes a diversity of lightly-calcified invertebrates. We exposed the larvae of the echinoid Sterechinus neumayeri to environmental levels of CO(2 in McMurdo Sound (control: 410 µatm, Ω = 1.35 and mildly elevated pCO(2 levels, both near the level of the aragonite saturation horizon (510 µatm pCO(2, Ω = 1.12, and to under-saturating conditions (730 µatm, Ω = 0.82. Early embryological development was normal under these conditions with the exception of the hatching process, which was slightly delayed. Appearance of the initial calcium carbonate (CaCO(3 spicule nuclei among the primary mesenchyme cells of the gastrulae was synchronous between control and elevated pCO(2 treatments. However, by prism (7 days after the initial appearance of the spicule nucleus, elongating arm rod spicules were already significantly shorter in the highest CO(2 treatment. Unfed larvae in the 730 µatm pCO(2 treatment remained significantly smaller than unfed control larvae at days 15-30, and larvae in the 510 µatm treatment were significantly smaller at day 20. At day 30, the arm lengths were more differentiated between 730 µatm and control CO(2 treatments than were body lengths as components of total length. Arm length is the most plastic morphological aspect of the echinopluteus, and appears to exhibit the greatest response to high pCO(2/low pH/low carbonate, even in the absence of food. Thus, while the effects of elevated pCO(2 representative of near future climate scenarios are proportionally minor on these early developmental stages, the longer term effects on these long-lived invertebrates is still unknown.

  2. Ocean Surface Current Vectors from MODIS Terra/Aqua Sea Surface Temperature Image Pairs, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Satellites that record imagery of the same sea surface area, at times separated by a few hours, can be used to estimate ocean surface velocity fields based on the...

  3. Ocean acidification and marine microorganisms: responses and consequences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Surajit Das

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Ocean acidification (OA is one of the global issues caused by rising atmospheric CO2. The rising pCO2 and resulting pH decrease has altered ocean carbonate chemistry. Microbes are key components of marine environments involved in nutrient cycles and carbon flow in marine ecosystems. However, these marine microbes and the microbial processes are sensitive to ocean pH shift. Thus, OA affects the microbial diversity, primary productivity and trace gases emission in oceans. Apart from that, it can also manipulate the microbial activities such as quorum sensing, extracellular enzyme activity and nitrogen cycling. Short-term laboratory experiments, mesocosm studies and changing marine diversity scenarios have illustrated undesirable effects of OA on marine microorganisms and ecosystems. However, from the microbial perspective, the current understanding on effect of OA is based mainly on limited experimental studies. It is challenging to predict response of marine microbes based on such experiments for this complex process. To study the response of marine microbes towards OA, multiple approaches should be implemented by using functional genomics, new generation microscopy, small-scale interaction among organisms and/or between organic matter and organisms. This review focuses on the response of marine microorganisms to OA and the experimental approaches to investigate the effect of changing ocean carbonate chemistry on microbial mediated processes.

  4. The Effects of Temperature and CO2-induced Acidification on Skeletal Morphology of the Tropical Reef-building Coral Siderastrea siderea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cobleigh, K.

    2016-02-01

    Coral reefs are threatened by increasing sea surface temperatures and decreasing surface seawater pH. Although numerous experimental studies have examined the effects of these global scale stressors on corals, few have quantified the effects of temperature and acidification on coral skeletal morphology. We conducted controlled laboratory experiments to investigate the effects of temperature (25, 28, 32°C) and CO2-induced ocean acidification (pCO2 = 324, 477, 604, 2553 µatm) on skeletal morphology of the highly resilient Caribbean reef-building coral Siderastrea siderea over a 95-day interval. Post-treatment S. siderea corallites from nearshore, backreef, and forereef colonies were imaged via stereo microscopy to evaluate impact of warming and acidification on corallite height and infilling. Both an increase and decrease in temperature relative to the control (i.e., near-present-day temperatures) resulted in increased corallite height but decreased skeletal infilling. In contrast, corals reared under the lowest (i.e., pre-industrial) and highest pCO2 treatments (i.e., extreme pCO2) exhibited both decreased corallite height and skeletal infilling relative to the control. We observed no difference in corallite height or infilling across reef zones, either within or across treatments. Interestingly, the warming projected for the end of the 21st century (32°C) resulted in increased corallite height and reduced corallite infilling. Acidification projected for the same interval (pCO2 = 604 µatm) also resulted in increased corallite height and decreased infilling. Collectively, our results suggest that these two global stressors will result in S. siderea corallites that are taller yet less infilled by the end of the 21st century. Changes in S. siderea arising from warming and acificiation may exacerbate observed declines in coral health across Caribbean reef systems.

  5. Simulated effect of calcification feedback on atmospheric CO2 and ocean acidification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Han; Cao, Long

    2016-01-01

    Ocean uptake of anthropogenic CO2 reduces pH and saturation state of calcium carbonate materials of seawater, which could reduce the calcification rate of some marine organisms, triggering a negative feedback on the growth of atmospheric CO2. We quantify the effect of this CO2-calcification feedback by conducting a series of Earth system model simulations that incorporate different parameterization schemes describing the dependence of calcification rate on saturation state of CaCO3. In a scenario with SRES A2 CO2 emission until 2100 and zero emission afterwards, by year 3500, in the simulation without CO2-calcification feedback, model projects an accumulated ocean CO2 uptake of 1462 PgC, atmospheric CO2 of 612 ppm, and surface pH of 7.9. Inclusion of CO2-calcification feedback increases ocean CO2 uptake by 9 to 285 PgC, reduces atmospheric CO2 by 4 to 70 ppm, and mitigates the reduction in surface pH by 0.003 to 0.06, depending on the form of parameterization scheme used. It is also found that the effect of CO2-calcification feedback on ocean carbon uptake is comparable and could be much larger than the effect from CO2-induced warming. Our results highlight the potentially important role CO2-calcification feedback plays in ocean carbon cycle and projections of future atmospheric CO2 concentrations. PMID:26838480

  6. Literature review of CO sub 2 behavior in the ocean and its fixation methods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sakaguchi, I [and others; CRIEPI, Abiko-shi (Japan). Abiko Research Lab.

    1991-01-01

    CO{sub 2} behaviour in the ocean and its fixation methods are reviewed. Intermediate and deep water is an important carbon reservoir in the ocean. It is estimated that plenty of carbon, 37,700 GtC, is stored in the intermediate and deep water as compared with the storage in the atmosphere and surface water, 725 GtC each. Main carbon transportation routes in the ocean are (1) downward flux by sinking of carbonate particles, organic particles and water from surface, and (2) upward flux by upwelling of dissolved carbon rich deep water. Because 10{sup 3} years are estimated to be required for deep water upwelling to surface, organic and carbonate particles sinking into the intermediate and deep water are considered to be stored for a long term. Biomass of marine algae and its primary production are estimated to be 2-5 GtC and 10-40 GtC/year respectively. Two to five per cent of the primary production is estimated to be transported from surface to more than 1000 m deep as marine snow or fecal pellets. Following three methods are considered to be possible candidates to reduce atmospheric CO{sub 2} using marine organisms: (1) increasing macroalgae biomass to be used as biomass energy; (2) fixing CO{sub 2} as CaCO{sub 3} like coral reefs; (3) adding micronutrients such as iron to ocean surface water for increasing the primary production and the amount of carbon particles sinking to a deep layer. Following subjects should be studied before utilizing these methods in the ocean: (1) cost reduction for biomass production for increasing macroalgae biomass; (2) CO{sub 2} balance during classification for fixing CO{sub 2} as CaCO{sub 3}; (3) cleaning limiting factors for algae production, how to spread micronutrients to vast sea area and assessing possible environmental effects of adding micronutrients.

  7. How well-connected is the surface of the global ocean?

    OpenAIRE

    Froyland, G; Stuart, RM; van Sebille, E

    2014-01-01

    The Ekman dynamics of the ocean surface circulation is known to contain attracting regions such as the great oceanic gyres and the associated garbage patches. Less well-known are the extents of the basins of attractions of these regions and how strongly attracting they are. Understanding the shape and extent of the basins of attraction sheds light on the question of the strength of connectivity of different regions of the ocean, which helps in understanding the flow of buoyant material like p...

  8. Sequestering CO2 in the Ocean: Options and Consequences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rau, G. H.; Caldeira, K.

    2002-12-01

    The likelihood of negative climate and environmental impacts associated with increasing atmospheric CO2 has prompted serious consideration of various CO2 mitigation strategies. Among these are methods of capturing and storing of CO2 in the ocean. Two approaches that have received the most attention in this regard have been i) ocean fertilization to enhanced biological uptake and fixation of CO2, and ii) the chemical/mechanical capture and injection of CO2 into the deep ocean. Both methods seek to enhance or speed up natural mechanisms of CO2 uptake and storage by the ocean, namely i) the biological CO2 "pump" or ii) the passive diffusion of CO2 into the surface ocean and subsequent mixing into the deep sea. However, as will be reviewed, concerns about the capacity and effectiveness of either strategy in long-term CO2 sequestration have been raised. Both methods are not without potentially significant environmental impacts, and the costs of CO2 capture and injection (option ii) are currently prohibitive. An alternate method of ocean CO2 sequestration would be to react and hydrate CO2 rich waste gases (e.g., power plant flue gas) with seawater and to subsequently neutralize the resulting carbonic acid with limestone to produce calcium and bicarbonate ions in solution. This approach would simply speed up the CO2 uptake and sequestration that naturally (but very slowly) occurs via global carbonate weathering. This would avoid much of the increased acidity associated with direct CO2 injection while obviating the need for costly CO2 separation and capture. The addition of the resulting bicarbonate- and carbonate-rich solution to the ocean would help to counter the decrease in pH and carbonate ion concentration, and hence loss of biological calcification that is presently occurring as anthropogenic CO2 invades the ocean from the atmosphere. However, as with any approach to CO2 mitigation, the costs, impacts, risks, and benefits of this method need to be better understood

  9. Estimating the Ocean Flow Field from Combined Sea Surface Temperature and Sea Surface Height Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stammer, Detlef; Lindstrom, Eric (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    This project was part of a previous grant at MIT that was moved over to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) together with the principal investigator. The final report provided here is concerned only with the work performed at SIO since January 2000. The primary focus of this project was the study of the three-dimensional, absolute and time-evolving general circulation of the global ocean from a combined analysis of remotely sensed fields of sea surface temperature (SST) and sea surface height (SSH). The synthesis of those two fields was performed with other relevant physical data, and appropriate dynamical ocean models with emphasis on constraining ocean general circulation models by a combination of both SST and SSH data. The central goal of the project was to improve our understanding and modeling of the relationship between the SST and its variability to internal ocean dynamics, and the overlying atmosphere, and to explore the relative roles of air-sea fluxes and internal ocean dynamics in establishing anomalies in SST on annual and longer time scales. An understanding of those problems will feed into the general discussion on how SST anomalies vary with time and the extend to which they interact with the atmosphere.

  10. Gradient flux measurements of sea-air DMS transfer during the Surface Ocean Aerosol Production (SOAP) experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Murray J.; Walker, Carolyn F.; Bell, Thomas G.; Harvey, Mike J.; Saltzman, Eric S.; Law, Cliff S.

    2018-04-01

    Direct measurements of marine dimethylsulfide (DMS) fluxes are sparse, particularly in the Southern Ocean. The Surface Ocean Aerosol Production (SOAP) voyage in February-March 2012 examined the distribution and flux of DMS in a biologically active frontal system in the southwest Pacific Ocean. Three distinct phytoplankton blooms were studied with oceanic DMS concentrations as high as 25 nmol L-1. Measurements of DMS fluxes were made using two independent methods: the eddy covariance (EC) technique using atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry (API-CIMS) and the gradient flux (GF) technique from an autonomous catamaran platform. Catamaran flux measurements are relatively unaffected by airflow distortion and are made close to the water surface, where gas gradients are largest. Flux measurements were complemented by near-surface hydrographic measurements to elucidate physical factors influencing DMS emission. Individual DMS fluxes derived by EC showed significant scatter and, at times, consistent departures from the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment gas transfer algorithm (COAREG). A direct comparison between the two flux methods was carried out to separate instrumental effects from environmental effects and showed good agreement with a regression slope of 0.96 (r2 = 0.89). A period of abnormal downward atmospheric heat flux enhanced near-surface ocean stratification and reduced turbulent exchange, during which GF and EC transfer velocities showed good agreement but modelled COAREG values were significantly higher. The transfer velocity derived from near-surface ocean turbulence measurements on a spar buoy compared well with the COAREG model in general but showed less variation. This first direct comparison between EC and GF fluxes of DMS provides confidence in compilation of flux estimates from both techniques, as well as in the stable periods when the observations are not well predicted by the COAREG model.

  11. Indian Ocean surface winds from NCMRWF analysis as compared

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    The quality of the surface wind analysis at the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (NCMRWF), New Delhi over the tropical Indian Ocean and its improvement in 2001 are examined by comparing it with in situ buoy measurements and satellite derived surface winds from NASA QuikSCAT satellite (QSCT) ...

  12. A strong CO2 sink enhanced by eutrophication in a tropical coastal embayment (Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotovicz, L. C., Jr.; Knoppers, B. A.; Brandini, N.; Costa Santos, S. J.; Abril, G.

    2015-10-01

    In contrast to its small surface area, the coastal zone plays a disproportionate role in the global carbon cycle. Carbon production, transformation, emission and burial rates at the land-ocean interface are significant at the global scale but still poorly known, especially in tropical regions. Surface water pCO2 and ancillary parameters were monitored during nine field campaigns between April 2013 and April 2014 in Guanabara Bay, a tropical eutrophic to hypertrophic semi-enclosed estuarine embayment surrounded by the city of Rio de Janeiro, southeast Brazil. Water pCO2 varied between 22 and 3715 ppmv in the bay, showing spatial, diurnal and seasonal trends that mirrored those of dissolved oxygen (DO) and chlorophyll a (Chl a). Marked pCO2 undersaturation was prevalent in the shallow, confined and thermally stratified waters of the upper bay, whereas pCO2 oversaturation was restricted to sites close to the small river mouths and small sewage channels, which covered only 10 % of the bay's area. Substantial daily variations in pCO2 (up to 395 ppmv between dawn and dusk) were also registered and could be integrated temporally and spatially for the establishment of net diurnal, seasonal and annual CO2 fluxes. In contrast to other estuaries worldwide, Guanabara Bay behaved as a net sink of atmospheric CO2, a property enhanced by the concomitant effects of strong radiation intensity, thermal stratification, and high availability of nutrients, which promotes phytoplankton development and net autotrophy. The calculated CO2 fluxes for Guanabara Bay ranged between -9.6 and -18.3 mol C m-2 yr-1, of the same order of magnitude as the organic carbon burial and organic carbon inputs from the watershed. The positive and high net community production (52.1 mol C m-2 yr-1) confirms the high carbon production in the bay. This autotrophic metabolism is apparently enhanced by eutrophication. Our results show that global CO2 budgetary assertions still lack information on tropical

  13. A large CO2 sink enhanced by eutrophication in a tropical coastal embayment (Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotovicz, L. C., Jr.; Knoppers, B. A.; Brandini, N.; Costa Santos, S. J.; Abril, G.

    2015-03-01

    In contrast to its small surface area, the coastal zone plays a disproportionate role in the global carbon cycle. Carbon production, transformation, emission and burial rates at the land-ocean interface are still poorly known, especially in tropical regions. Surface water pCO2 and ancillary parameters were monitored during nine field campaigns between April 2013 and April 2014 in Guanabara Bay, a tropical eutrophic to hypertrophic semi-enclosed estuarine embayment surrounded by the city of Rio de Janeiro, SE-Brazil. Water pCO2 varied between 22 and 3715 ppmv in the Bay showing spatial, diurnal and seasonal trends that mirrored those of dissolved oxygen (DO) and Chlorophyll a (Chl a). Marked pCO2 undersaturation was prevalent in the shallow, confined and thermally stratified waters of the upper bay, whereas pCO2 oversaturation was restricted to sites close to the small river mouths and small sewage channels, which covered only 10% of the bay's area. Substantial daily variations in pCO2 (up to 395 ppmv between dawn and dusk) were also registered and could be integrated temporally and spatially for the establishment of net diurnal, seasonal and annual CO2 fluxes. In contrast to other estuaries worldwide, Guanabara Bay behaved as a net sink of atmospheric CO2, a property enhanced by the concomitant effects of strong radiation intensity, thermal stratification, and high availability of nutrients, which promotes phytoplankton development and net autotrophy. In the inner part of the bay, the calculated annual CO2 sink (-19.6 mol C m2 yr-1) matched the organic carbon burial in the sediments reported in the literature. The carbon sink and autotrophy of Guanabara Bay was driven by planktonic primary production promoted by eutrophication, and by its typology of marine embayment lacking the classical extended estuarine mixing zone, in contrast to river-dominated estuarine systems, which are generally net heterotrophic and CO2 emitters. Our results show that global CO2

  14. Ocean Heat Uptake Slows 21st Century Surface Warming Driven by Extratropical Cloud Feedbacks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frey, W.; Maroon, E.; Pendergrass, A. G.; Kay, J. E.

    2017-12-01

    Equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS), the warming in response to instantaneously doubled CO2, has long been used to compare climate models. In many models, ECS is well correlated with warming produced by transient forcing experiments. Modifications to cloud phase at high latitudes in a state-of-the-art climate model, the Community Earth System Model (CESM), produce a large increase in ECS (1.5 K) via extratropical cloud feedbacks. However, only a small surface warming increase occurs in a realistic 21st century simulation including a full-depth dynamic ocean and the "business as usual" RCP8.5 emissions scenario. In fact, the increase in surface warming is only barely above the internal variability-generated range in the CESM Large Ensemble. The small change in 21st century warming is attributed to subpolar ocean heat uptake in both hemispheres. In the Southern Ocean, the mean-state circulation takes up heat while in the North Atlantic a slowdown in circulation acts as a feedback to slow surface warming. These results show the importance of subpolar ocean heat uptake in controlling the pace of warming and demonstrate that ECS cannot be used to reliably infer transient warming when it is driven by extratropical feedbacks.

  15. Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM) /Jason-2: Orbital Information (NODC Accession 0044985)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This accession contains the descriptions for the OSTM/Jason-2 orbital information, which is served through the NOAA/NESDIS Comprehensive Large Array-data Stewardship...

  16. Review of Global Ocean Intermediate Water Masses: 1.Part A,the Neutral Density Surface (the 'McDougall Surface') as a Study Frame for Water-Mass Analysis

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Yuzhu You

    2006-01-01

    This review article commences with a comprehensive historical review of the evolution and application of various density surfaces in atmospheric and oceanic studies.The background provides a basis for the birth of the neutral density idea.Attention is paid to the development of the neutral density surface concept from the nonlinearity of the equation of state of seawater.The definition and properties of neutral density surface are described in detail as developed from the equations of state of seawater and the buoyancy frequency when the squared buoyancy frequency N2 is zero, a neutral state of stability.In order to apply the neutral density surface to intermediate water-mass analysis, this review also describes in detail its practical oceanographic application.The mapping technique is focused for the first time on applying regularly gridded data in this review.It is reviewed how a backbone and ribs framework was designed to flesh out from a reference cast and first mapped the global neutral surfaces in the world's oceans.Several mapped neutral density surfaces are presented as examples for each world ocean.The water-mass property is analyzed in each ocean at mid-depth.The characteristics of neutral density surfaces are compared with those of potential density surfaces.

  17. The Ocean's Vital Skin: Toward an Integrated Understanding of the Sea Surface Microlayer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anja Engel

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Despite the huge extent of the ocean's surface, until now relatively little attention has been paid to the sea surface microlayer (SML as the ultimate interface where heat, momentum and mass exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere takes place. Via the SML, large-scale environmental changes in the ocean such as warming, acidification, deoxygenation, and eutrophication potentially influence cloud formation, precipitation, and the global radiation balance. Due to the deep connectivity between biological, chemical, and physical processes, studies of the SML may reveal multiple sensitivities to global and regional changes. Understanding the processes at the ocean's surface, in particular involving the SML as an important and determinant interface, could therefore provide an essential contribution to the reduction of uncertainties regarding ocean-climate feedbacks. This review identifies gaps in our current knowledge of the SML and highlights a need to develop a holistic and mechanistic understanding of the diverse biological, chemical, and physical processes occurring at the ocean-atmosphere interface. We advocate the development of strong interdisciplinary expertise and collaboration in order to bridge between ocean and atmospheric sciences. Although this will pose significant methodological challenges, such an initiative would represent a new role model for interdisciplinary research in Earth System sciences.

  18. Sea anemones may thrive in a high CO2 world.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suggett, David J; Hall-Spencer, Jason M; Rodolfo-Metalpa, Riccardo; Boatman, Toby G; Payton, Ross; Tye Pettay, D; Johnson, Vivienne R; Warner, Mark E; Lawson, Tracy

    2012-10-01

    Increased seawater pCO 2 , and in turn 'ocean acidification' (OA), is predicted to profoundly impact marine ecosystem diversity and function this century. Much research has already focussed on calcifying reef-forming corals (Class: Anthozoa) that appear particularly susceptible to OA via reduced net calcification. However, here we show that OA-like conditions can simultaneously enhance the ecological success of non-calcifying anthozoans, which not only play key ecological and biogeochemical roles in present day benthic ecosystems but also represent a model organism should calcifying anthozoans exist as less calcified (soft-bodied) forms in future oceans. Increased growth (abundance and size) of the sea anemone (Anemonia viridis) population was observed along a natural CO 2 gradient at Vulcano, Italy. Both gross photosynthesis (P G ) and respiration (R) increased with pCO 2 indicating that the increased growth was, at least in part, fuelled by bottom up (CO 2 stimulation) of metabolism. The increase of P G outweighed that of R and the genetic identity of the symbiotic microalgae (Symbiodinium spp.) remained unchanged (type A19) suggesting proximity to the vent site relieved CO 2 limitation of the anemones' symbiotic microalgal population. Our observations of enhanced productivity with pCO 2 , which are consistent with previous reports for some calcifying corals, convey an increase in fitness that may enable non-calcifying anthozoans to thrive in future environments, i.e. higher seawater pCO 2 . Understanding how CO 2 -enhanced productivity of non- (and less-) calcifying anthozoans applies more widely to tropical ecosystems is a priority where such organisms can dominate benthic ecosystems, in particular following localized anthropogenic stress. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  19. Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM) /Jason-2: Auxiliary Files (NODC Accession 0044983)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This accession contains the data descriptions for the OSTM/Jason-2 Auxiliary data files, which is served through the NOAA/NESDIS Comprehensive Large Array-data...

  20. Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM) /Jason-2: Ancillary Files (NODC Accession 0044982)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This accession contains the data descriptions for the OSTM/Jason-2 Ancillary data files, which is served through the NOAA/NESDIS Comprehensive Large Array-data...

  1. Global Ocean Surface Water Partial Pressure of CO2 Database: Measurements Performed During 1968-2007 (Version 2007)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kozyr, Alex [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center

    2008-09-30

    More than 4.1 million measurements of surface water partial pressure of CO2 obtained over the global oceans during 1968-2007 are listed in the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) database, which includes open ocean and coastal water measurements. The data assembled include only those measured by equilibrator-CO2 analyzer systems and have been quality-controlled based on the stability of the system performance, the reliability of calibrations for CO2 analysis, and the internal consistency of data. To allow re-examination of the data in the future, a number of measured parameters relevant to pCO2 measurements are listed. The overall uncertainty for the pCO2 values listed is estimated to be ± 2.5 µatm on the average. For simplicity and for ease of reference, this version is referred to as 2007, meaning that data collected through 31 December 2007 has been included. It is our intention to update this database annually. There are 37 new cruise/ship files in this update. In addition, some editing has been performed on existing files so this should be considered a V2007 file. Also we have added a column reporting the partial pressure of CO2 in seawater in units of Pascals. The data presented in this database include the analyses of partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2), sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface salinity (SSS), pressure of the equilibration, and barometric pressure in the outside air from the ship’s observation system. The global pCO2 data set is available free of charge as a numeric data package (NDP) from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC). The NDP consists of the oceanographic data files and this printed documentation, which describes the procedures and methods used to obtain the data.

  2. NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of Ocean Heat Fluxes, Version 2

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The NOAA Ocean Surface Bundle (OSB) Climate Data Record (CDR) consist of three parts: sea surface temperature; near-surface wind speed, air temperature, and specific...

  3. Influence of post-Tehuano oceanographic processes in the dynamics of the CO2 system in the Gulf of Tehuantepec, Mexico

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapa-Balcorta, Cecilia; Hernandez-Ayon, J. Martin; Durazo, Reginaldo; Beier, Emilio; Alin, Simone R.; López-Pérez, Andrés.

    2015-12-01

    This investigation reports, for the first time, results of CO2 system variables in the Gulf of Tehuantepec, located in the Mexican tropical Pacific. We quantified the post-Tehuano concentration of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and pH (April 2013). These values were used to calculate pCO2, aragonite saturation (ΩAr), and air-sea CO2 fluxes (FCO2). The intense vertical stratification was found to contribute to the biogeochemical processes in surface waters (<70 m). However, in post-Tehuano conditions, high pCO2 (˜1000 µatm) and DIC concentrations (2200 µmol kg-1), as well as low ΩAr (˜1.1) and pH (˜7.5), remain in surface waters for a few days after Tehuano winds have weakened. We identified four oceanographic areas: (a) a highly mixed region due to previous Tehuano events; (b) coastal upwelling in the western region; (c) mesoscale eddies; (d) a poleward surface coastal current. The first three promoted the influence of Subtropical Subsurface Water in the chemistry of surface waters, whereas the coastal current contributed to the horizontal advection of DIC. The calculated CO2 fluxes ranged from -2.3 mmol m-2 d-1 in areas with stratified waters to over 25 mmol m-2 d-1 for mixed areas. Positive values indicate an ocean-to-atmosphere flux. Our findings suggest that the Gulf of Tehuantepec is a major source of CO2 into the atmosphere.

  4. Limacina retroversa's response to combined effects of ocean acidification and sea water freshening

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manno, C.; Morata, N.; Primicerio, R.

    2012-11-01

    Anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions induce ocean acidification, thereby reducing carbonate ion concentration, which may affect the ability of calcifying organisms to build shells. Pteropods, the main planktonic producers of aragonite in the worlds' oceans, may be particularly vulnerable to changes in sea water chemistry. The negative effects are expected to be most severe at high-latitudes, where natural carbonate ion concentrations are low. In this study we investigated the combined effects of ocean acidification and freshening on Limacina retroversa, the dominant pteropod in sub polar areas. Living L. retroversa, collected in Northern Norwegian Sea, were exposed to four different pH values ranging from the pre-industrial level to the forecasted end of century ocean acidification scenario. Since over the past half-century the Norwegian Sea has experienced a progressive freshening with time, each pH level was combined with a salinity gradient in two factorial, randomized experiments investigating shell degradation, swimming behavior and survival. In addition, to investigate shell degradation without any physiologic influence, one perturbation experiments using only shells of dead pteropods was performed. Lower pH reduced shell mass whereas shell dissolution increased with pCO2. Interestingly, shells of dead organisms had a higher degree of dissolution than shells of living individuals. Mortality of Limacina retroversa was strongly affected only when both pH and salinity reduced simultaneously. The combined effects of lower salinity and lower pH also affected negatively the ability of pteropods to swim upwards. Results suggest that the energy cost of maintaining ion balance and avoiding sinking (in low salinity scenario) combined with the extra energy cost necessary to counteract shell dissolution (in high pCO2 scenario), exceed the available energy budget of this organism causing the pteropods to change swimming behavior and begin to collapse. Since L

  5. Reconciling surface ocean productivity, export fluxes and sediment composition in a global biogeochemical ocean model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Gehlen

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available This study focuses on an improved representation of the biological soft tissue pump in the global three-dimensional biogeochemical ocean model PISCES. We compare three parameterizations of particle dynamics: (1 the model standard version including two particle size classes, aggregation-disaggregation and prescribed sinking speed; (2 an aggregation-disaggregation model with a particle size spectrum and prognostic sinking speed; (3 a mineral ballast parameterization with no size classes, but prognostic sinking speed. In addition, the model includes a description of surface sediments and organic carbon early diagenesis. Model output is compared to data or data based estimates of ocean productivity, pe-ratios, particle fluxes, surface sediment bulk composition and benthic O2 fluxes. Model results suggest that different processes control POC fluxes at different depths. In the wind mixed layer turbulent particle coagulation appears as key process in controlling pe-ratios. Parameterization (2 yields simulated pe-ratios that compare well to observations. Below the wind mixed layer, POC fluxes are most sensitive to the intensity of zooplankton flux feeding, indicating the importance of zooplankton community composition. All model parameters being kept constant, the capability of the model to reproduce yearly mean POC fluxes below 2000 m and benthic oxygen demand does at first order not dependent on the resolution of the particle size spectrum. Aggregate formation appears essential to initiate an intense biological pump. At great depth the reported close to constant particle fluxes are most likely the result of the combined effect of aggregate formation and mineral ballasting.

  6. Degradation modes of austenitic and ferritic–martensitic stainless steels in He–CO–CO{sub 2} and liquid sodium environments of equivalent oxygen and carbon chemical potentials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gulsoy, G., E-mail: gulsoy@umich.edu [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, 2355 Bonisteel Boulevard, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Was, G.S. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan, 2355 Bonisteel Boulevard, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States); Pawel, S.J.; Busby, J.T. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831 (United States)

    2013-10-15

    The objective of this work is to explore possible thermodynamic correlations between the degradation modes of austenitic and ferritic–martensitic alloys observed in high temperature He–CO–CO{sub 2} environments with oxygen and carbon chemical potentials equivalent to that in a liquid sodium environment containing 2–5 molppm oxygen and 0.02–0.2 molppm carbon at temperatures 500–700 °C. Two He–CO–CO{sub 2} environments (Pco/Pco{sub 2} = 1320, Pco = 1980 molppm, and Pco/Pco{sub 2} = 9, Pco = 13.5 molppm) were selected to test alloys NF616 and 316L at 700 and 850 °C. Upon exposure to He environments at 850 °C, 316L samples exhibited thick surface Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3} scales and substantial internal oxidation; however at 700 °C no significant internal oxidation was observed. NF616 samples exhibited relatively thinner surface Cr{sub 2}O{sub 3} scales compared to 316L samples at both temperatures. NF616 samples exposed to liquid sodium at 700 °C and He–Pco/Pco{sub 2} = 9 at 850 °C showed decarburization. No surface oxide formation was observed on the sample exposed to the Na environment. Results obtained from He exposure experiments provide insight into what may occur during long exposure times in a sodium environment.

  7. Auto-correlation analysis of ocean surface wind vectors

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    M. Senthilkumar (Newgen Imaging) 1461 1996 Oct 15 13:05:22

    time series data of surface winds measured in situ by a deep water buoy in the Indian Ocean has been carried out. ... A case study using the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) and ... parameter is essential when the values of the parameter ...

  8. Pathways of upwelling deep waters to the surface of the Southern Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamsitt, Veronica; Drake, Henri; Morrison, Adele; Talley, Lynne; Dufour, Carolina; Gray, Alison; Griffies, Stephen; Mazloff, Matthew; Sarmiento, Jorge; Wang, Jinbo; Weijer, Wilbert

    2017-04-01

    Upwelling of Atlantic, Indian and Pacific deep waters to the sea surface in the Southern Ocean closes the global overturning circulation and is fundamentally important for oceanic uptake of anthropogenic carbon and heat, nutrient resupply for sustaining oceanic biological production, and the melt rate of ice shelves. Here we go beyond the two-dimensional view of Southern Ocean upwelling, to show detailed Southern Ocean upwelling pathways in three dimensions, using hydrographic observations and particle tracking in high-resolution ocean and climate models. The northern deep waters enter the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) via narrow southward currents along the boundaries of the three ocean basins, before spiraling southeastward and upward through the ACC. Upwelling is greatly enhanced at five major topographic features, associated with vigorous mesoscale eddy activity. Deep water reaches the upper ocean predominantly south of the southern ACC boundary, with a spatially nonuniform distribution, regionalizing warm water supply to Antarctic ice shelves and the delivery of nutrient and carbon-rich water to the sea surface. The timescale for half of the deep water to upwell from 30°S to the mixed layer is on the order of 60-90 years, which has important implications for the timescale for signals to propagate through the deep ocean. In addition, we quantify the diabatic transformation along particle trajectories, to identify where diabatic processes are important along the upwelling pathways.

  9. The role of ocean transport in the uptake of anthropogenic CO2

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. Totterdell

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available We compare modeled oceanic carbon uptake in response to pulse CO2 emissions using a suite of global ocean models and Earth system models. In response to a CO2 pulse emission of 590 Pg C (corresponding to an instantaneous doubling of atmospheric CO2 from 278 to 556 ppm, the fraction of CO2 emitted that is absorbed by the ocean is: 37±8%, 56±10%, and 81±4% (model mean ±2σ in year 30, 100, and 1000 after the emission pulse, respectively. Modeled oceanic uptake of pulse CO2 on timescales from decades to about a century is strongly correlated with simulated present-day uptake of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs and CO2 across all models, while the amount of pulse CO2 absorbed by the ocean from a century to a millennium is strongly correlated with modeled radiocarbon in the deep Southern and Pacific Ocean. However, restricting the analysis to models that are capable of reproducing observations within uncertainty, the correlation is generally much weaker. The rates of surface-to-deep ocean transport are determined for individual models from the instantaneous doubling CO2 simulations, and they are used to calculate oceanic CO2 uptake in response to pulse CO2 emissions of different sizes pulses of 1000 and 5000 Pg C. These results are compared with simulated oceanic uptake of CO2 by a number of models simulations with the coupling of climate-ocean carbon cycle and without it. This comparison demonstrates that the impact of different ocean transport rates across models on oceanic uptake of anthropogenic CO2 is of similar magnitude as that of climate-carbon cycle feedbacks in a single model, emphasizing the important role of ocean transport in the uptake of anthropogenic CO2.

  10. Near-surface eddy dynamics in the Southern Ocean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marilisa Trani

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC is a crucial component of the global ocean conveyor belt, acting as a zonal link among the major ocean basins but, to some extent, limiting meridional exchange and tending to isolate the ocean south of it from momentum and heat income. In this work we investigate one of the most important mechanisms contributing to the poleward transfer of properties in the Southern Ocean, that is the eddy component of the dynamics. For this particular purpose, observations obtained from near-surface drifters have been used: they represent a very useful data set to analyse the eddy field because of their ability to catch a large number of scales of motion while providing a quasi-synoptic coverage of the investigated area. Estimates of the eddy heat and momentum fluxes are carried out using data taken from the Global Drifter Program databank; they refer to Surface Velocity Program drifter trajectories collected in the area south of 35°S between 1995 and 2006. Eddy kinetic energies, variance ellipses, momentum and heat fluxes have been calculated using the pseudo-Eulerian method, showing patterns in good agreement with those present in the literature based on observational and model data, although there are some quantitative differences. The eddy fluxes have been separated into their rotational and divergent portions, the latter being responsible for the meridional transports. The associated zonal and depth-exponentially integrated meridional heat transport exhibits values spanning over a range between -0.4 PW and –1.1 PW in the ACC region, consistent with previous estimates.

  11. Processes of multibathyal aragonite undersaturation in the Arctic Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wynn, J. G.; Robbins, L. L.; Anderson, L. G.

    2016-11-01

    During 3 years of study (2010-2012), the western Arctic Ocean was found to have unique aragonite saturation profiles with up to three distinct aragonite undersaturation zones. This complexity is produced as inflow of Atlantic-derived and Pacific-derived water masses mix with Arctic-derived waters, which are further modified by physiochemical and biological processes. The shallowest aragonite undersaturation zone, from the surface to ˜30 m depth is characterized by relatively low alkalinity and other dissolved ions. Besides local influence of biological processes on aragonite undersaturation of shallow coastal waters, the nature of this zone is consistent with dilution by sea-ice melt and invasion of anthropogenic CO2 from the atmosphere. A second undersaturated zone at ˜90-220 m depth (salinity ˜31.8-35.4) occurs within the Arctic Halocline and is characterized by elevated pCO2 and nutrients. The nature of this horizon is consistent with remineralization of organic matter on shallow continental shelves bordering the Canada Basin and the input of the nutrients and CO2 entrained by currents from the Pacific Inlet. Finally, the deepest aragonite undersaturation zone is at greater than 2000 m depth and is controlled by similar processes as deep aragonite saturation horizons in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The comparatively shallow depth of this deepest aragonite saturation horizon in the Arctic is maintained by relatively low temperatures, and stable chemical composition. Understanding the mechanisms controlling the distribution of these aragonite undersaturation zones, and the time scales over which they operate will be crucial to refine predictive models.

  12. Processes of multibathyal aragonite undersaturation in the Arctic Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wynn, J.G.; Robbins, L.L.; Anderson, L.G.

    2016-01-01

    During 3 years of study (2010–2012), the western Arctic Ocean was found to have unique aragonite saturation profiles with up to three distinct aragonite undersaturation zones. This complexity is produced as inflow of Atlantic-derived and Pacific-derived water masses mix with Arctic-derived waters, which are further modified by physiochemical and biological processes. The shallowest aragonite undersaturation zone, from the surface to ∼30 m depth is characterized by relatively low alkalinity and other dissolved ions. Besides local influence of biological processes on aragonite undersaturation of shallow coastal waters, the nature of this zone is consistent with dilution by sea-ice melt and invasion of anthropogenic CO2 from the atmosphere. A second undersaturated zone at ∼90–220 m depth (salinity ∼31.8–35.4) occurs within the Arctic Halocline and is characterized by elevated pCO2 and nutrients. The nature of this horizon is consistent with remineralization of organic matter on shallow continental shelves bordering the Canada Basin and the input of the nutrients and CO2 entrained by currents from the Pacific Inlet. Finally, the deepest aragonite undersaturation zone is at greater than 2000 m depth and is controlled by similar processes as deep aragonite saturation horizons in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The comparatively shallow depth of this deepest aragonite saturation horizon in the Arctic is maintained by relatively low temperatures, and stable chemical composition. Understanding the mechanisms controlling the distribution of these aragonite undersaturation zones, and the time scales over which they operate will be crucial to refine predictive models.

  13. Retrieval of sea surface air temperature from satellite data over Indian Ocean: An empirical approach

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Sathe, P.V.; Muraleedharan, P.M.

    the sea surface air temperature from satellite derived sea surface humidity in the Indian Ocean. Using the insitu data on surface met parameters collected on board O.R.V. Sagar Kanya in the Indian Ocean over a period of 15 years, the relationship between...

  14. Perfluoroalkylated substances in the global tropical and subtropical surface oceans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Gaya, Belén; Dachs, Jordi; Roscales, Jose L; Caballero, Gemma; Jiménez, Begoña

    2014-11-18

    In this study, perfluoroalkylated substances (PFASs) were analyzed in 92 surface seawater samples taken during the Malaspina 2010 expedition which covered all the tropical and subtropical Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. Nine ionic PFASs including C6-C10 perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs), C4 and C6-C8 perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFSAs) and two neutral precursors perfluoroalkyl sulfonamides (PFASAs), were identified and quantified. The Atlantic Ocean presented the broader range in concentrations of total PFASs (131-10900 pg/L, median 645 pg/L, n = 45) compared to the other oceanic basins, probably due to a better spatial coverage. Total concentrations in the Pacific ranged from 344 to 2500 pg/L (median = 527 pg/L, n = 27) and in the Indian Ocean from 176 to 1976 pg/L (median = 329, n = 18). Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) was the most abundant compound, accounting for 33% of the total PFASs globally, followed by perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA, 22%) and perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA, 12%), being the rest of the individual congeners under 10% of total PFASs, even for perfluorooctane carboxylic acid (PFOA, 6%). PFASAs accounted for less than 1% of the total PFASs concentration. This study reports the ubiquitous occurrence of PFCAs, PFSAs, and PFASAs in the global ocean, being the first attempt, to our knowledge, to show a comprehensive assessment in surface water samples collected in a single oceanic expedition covering tropical and subtropical oceans. The potential factors affecting their distribution patterns were assessed including the distance to coastal regions, oceanic subtropical gyres, currents and biogeochemical processes. Field evidence of biogeochemical controls on the occurrence of PFASs was tentatively assessed considering environmental variables (solar radiation, temperature, chlorophyll a concentrations among others), and these showed significant correlations with some PFASs, but explaining small to moderate percentages of variability

  15. Latitudinal and seasonal capacity of the surface oceans as a reservoir of polychlorinated biphenyls

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jurado, Elena; Lohmann, Rainer; Meijer, Sandra; Jones, Kevin C.; Dachs, Jordi

    2004-01-01

    The oceans play an important role as a global reservoir and ultimate sink of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls congeners (PCBs). However, the physical and biogeochemical variables that affect the oceanic capacity to retain PCBs show an important spatial and temporal variability which have not been studied in detail, so far. The objective of this paper is to assess the seasonal and spatial variability of the ocean's maximum capacity to act as a reservoir of atmospherically transported and deposited PCBs. A level I fugacity model is used which incorporates the environmental variables of temperature, phytoplankton biomass, and mixed layer depth, as determined from remote sensing and from climatological datasets. It is shown that temperature, phytoplankton biomass and mixed layer depth influence the potential PCB reservoir of the oceans, being phytoplankton biomass specially important in the oceanic productive regions. The ocean's maximum capacities to hold PCBs are estimated. They are compared to a budget of PCBs in the surface oceans derived using a level III model that assumes steady state and which incorporates water column settling fluxes as a loss process. Results suggest that settling fluxes will keep the surface oceanic reservoir of PCBs well below its maximum capacity, especially for the more hydrophobic compounds. The strong seasonal and latitudinal variability of the surface ocean's storage capacity needs further research, because it plays an important role in the global biogeochemical cycles controlling the ultimate sink of PCBs. Because this modeling exercise incorporates variations in downward fluxes driven by phytoplankton and the extent of the water column mixing, it predicts more complex latitudinal variations in PCBs concentrations than those previously suggested. - Model calculations estimate the latitudinal and seasonal storage capacity of the surface oceans for PCBs

  16. Gradient flux measurements of sea–air DMS transfer during the Surface Ocean Aerosol Production (SOAP experiment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. J. Smith

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Direct measurements of marine dimethylsulfide (DMS fluxes are sparse, particularly in the Southern Ocean. The Surface Ocean Aerosol Production (SOAP voyage in February–March 2012 examined the distribution and flux of DMS in a biologically active frontal system in the southwest Pacific Ocean. Three distinct phytoplankton blooms were studied with oceanic DMS concentrations as high as 25 nmol L−1. Measurements of DMS fluxes were made using two independent methods: the eddy covariance (EC technique using atmospheric pressure chemical ionization–mass spectrometry (API-CIMS and the gradient flux (GF technique from an autonomous catamaran platform. Catamaran flux measurements are relatively unaffected by airflow distortion and are made close to the water surface, where gas gradients are largest. Flux measurements were complemented by near-surface hydrographic measurements to elucidate physical factors influencing DMS emission. Individual DMS fluxes derived by EC showed significant scatter and, at times, consistent departures from the Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment gas transfer algorithm (COAREG. A direct comparison between the two flux methods was carried out to separate instrumental effects from environmental effects and showed good agreement with a regression slope of 0.96 (r2 = 0.89. A period of abnormal downward atmospheric heat flux enhanced near-surface ocean stratification and reduced turbulent exchange, during which GF and EC transfer velocities showed good agreement but modelled COAREG values were significantly higher. The transfer velocity derived from near-surface ocean turbulence measurements on a spar buoy compared well with the COAREG model in general but showed less variation. This first direct comparison between EC and GF fluxes of DMS provides confidence in compilation of flux estimates from both techniques, as well as in the stable periods when the observations are not well predicted by the COAREG

  17. Response of the Miliolid Archaias angulatus to simulated ocean acidification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knorr, Paul O.; Robbins, Lisa L.; Harries, Peter J.; Hallock, Pamela; Wynn, Jonathan

    2015-01-01

    A common, but not universal, effect of ocean acidification on benthic foraminifera is a reduction in the growth rate. The miliolid Archaias angulatus is a high-Mg (>4 mole% MgCO3), symbiont-bearing, soritid benthic foraminifer that contributes to Caribbean reef carbonate sediments. A laboratory culture study assessed the effects of reduced pH on the growth of A. angulatus. We observed a statistically significant 50% reduction in the growth rate (p < 0.01), calculated from changes in maximum diameter, from 160 μm/28 days in the pH 8.0/pCO2air 480 ppm control group to 80 μm/28 days at a treatment level of pH 7.6/pCO2air 1328 ppm. Additionally, pseudopore area, δ18O values, and Mg/Ca ratio all increased, albeit slightly in the latter two variables. The reduction in growth rate indicates that under a high-CO2 setting, future A. angulatus populations will consist of smaller adults. A model using the results of this study estimates that at pH 7.6 A. angulatus carbonate production in the South Florida reef tract and Florida Bay decreases by 85%, from 0.27 Mt/yr to 0.04 Mt/yr, over an area of 9,000 km2.

  18. Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM) /Jason-3: Telemetry, 2015- (NODC Accession 0122599)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Jason-3 is the fourth mission in U.S.-European series of satellite missions that measure the height of the ocean surface. Scheduled to launch in 2015, the mission...

  19. Anthropogenic CO2 in the ocean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tsung-Hung Peng

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available The focus of this review article is on the anthropogenic CO2 taken up by the ocean. There are several methods of identifying the anthropogenic CO2 signal and quantifying its inventory in the ocean. The ?C* method is most frequently used to estimate the global distribution of anthropogenic CO2 in the ocean. Results based on analysis of the dataset obtained from the comprehensive surveys of inorganic carbon distribution in the world oceans in the 1990s are given. These surveys were jointly conducted during the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE and the Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS. This data set consists of 9618 hydrographic stations from a total of 95 cruises, which represents the most accurate and comprehensive view of the distribution of inorganic carbon in the global ocean available today. The increase of anthropogenic CO2 in the ocean during the past few decades is also evaluated using direct comparison of results from repeat surveys and using statistical method of Multi-parameter Linear Regression (MLR. The impact of increasing oceanic anthropogenic CO2 on the calcium carbonate system in the ocean is reviewed briefly as well. Extensive studies of CaCO3 dissolution as a result of increasing anthropogenic CO2 in the ocean have revealed several distinct oceanic regions where the CaCO3 undersaturation zone has expanded.

  20. Ocean acidification increases the sensitivity of and variability in physiological responses of an intertidal limpet to thermal stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jie; Russell, Bayden D.; Ding, Meng-Wen; Dong, Yun-Wei

    2018-05-01

    Understanding physiological responses of organisms to warming and ocean acidification is the first step towards predicting the potential population- and community-level ecological impacts of these stressors. Increasingly, physiological plasticity is being recognized as important for organisms to adapt to the changing microclimates. Here, we evaluate the importance of physiological plasticity for coping with ocean acidification and elevated temperature, and its variability among individuals, of the intertidal limpet Cellana toreuma from the same population in Xiamen. Limpets were collected from shaded mid-intertidal rock surfaces. They were acclimated under combinations of different pCO2 concentrations (400 and 1000 ppm, corresponding to a pH of 8.1 and 7.8) and temperatures (20 and 24 °C) in a short-term period (7 days), with the control conditions (20 °C and 400 ppm) representing the average annual temperature and present-day pCO2 level at the collection site. Heart rates (as a proxy for metabolic performance) and expression of genes encoding inducible and constitutive heat-shock proteins (hsp70 and hsc70) at different heat-shock temperatures (26, 30, 34, and 38 °C) were measured. Hsp70 and Hsc70 play important roles in protecting cells from heat stresses, but have different expression patterns, with Hsp70 significantly increased in expression during stress and Hsc70 constitutively expressed and only mildly induced during stress. Analysis of heart rate showed significantly higher temperature coefficients (Q10 rates) for limpets at 20 °C than at 24 °C and post-acclimation thermal sensitivity of limpets at 400 ppm was lower than at 1000 ppm. Expression of hsp70 linearly increased with the increasing heat-shock temperatures, with the largest slope occurring in limpets acclimated under a future scenario (24 °C and 1000 ppm pCO2). These results suggested that limpets showed increased sensitivity and stress response under future conditions. Furthermore, the

  1. Estimating Latest Cretaceous and Tertiary Atmospheric PCO2 from Stomatal Indices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Royer, D. L.; Wing, S. L.; Beerling, D. J.

    2001-05-01

    Most modern C3 seed plants show an inverse relationship between PCO2 and stomatal index (SI), where SI is the proportion of epidermal cells that are stomatal packages. This plant-atmosphere response therefore provides a reliable approach for estimating paleo-CO2 levels. Since stomatal responses to CO2 are generally species-specific, one is limited in paleo-reconstructions to species that exist both in the fossil record and living today. Fossils morphologically similar to living Ginkgo biloba and Metasequoia glyptostroboides extend back to the early and late Cretaceous, respectively, indicating that the fossil and living forms are very closely related. Measurements of SI made on fossil Ginkgo and Metasequoia were calibrated with historical collections of G. biloba and M. glyptostroboides leaves from sites that developed during the anthropogenically-driven CO2 increases of the past 145 years (288-369 ppmv) and with saplings of G. biloba and M. glyptostroboides grown in CO2 controlled growth chambers (350-800 ppmv). Both nonlinear regressions are highly significant (Ginkgo: n = 40, r2 = 0.91; Metasequoia: n = 18; r2 = 0.85). Results from a sequence of 23 latest Cretaceous to early Eocene-aged Ginkgo-bearing sites indicate that CO2 remained between 300 and 450 ppmv with the exception of one high estimate ( ~800 ppmv) near the Paleocene/Eocene boundary, and results from 4 middle Miocene-aged Ginkgo- and Metasequoia-bearing sites indicate that CO2 was between 320 and 400 ppmv. If correct, the CO2 values estimated here are too low to explain via the CO2 greenhouse effect alone the higher global mean temperatures (e.g., 3-4 ° C for the early Eocene) inferred from models and geological data for these two intervals.

  2. Air-sea flux of CO2 in arctic coastal waters influenced by glacial melt water and sea ice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sejr, Mikael Kristian; Krause-Jensen, Dorte; Rysgaard, Søren

    2011-01-01

    Annual air–sea exchange ofCO2 inYoung Sound,NEGreenlandwas estimated using pCO2 surface-water measurements during summer (2006–2009) and during an ice-covered winter 2008. All surface pCO2 values were below atmospheric levels indicating an uptake of atmospheric CO2. During sea ice formation...... and thereby efficiently blocked air–sea CO2 exchange. During sea ice melt, dissolution of CaCO3 combined with primary production and strong stratification of the water column acted to lower surface-water pCO2 levels in the fjord. Also, a large input of glacial melt water containing geochemically reactive...... year-to-year variation in annual gas exchange....

  3. Evaluation of OSCAR ocean surface current product in the tropical ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Next, the evaluation has been carried out by comparing the OSCAR currents with currents measured by moored buoys ... measurements, to derive the surface current prod- uct, known ... ogy of surface currents based on drifter data. The ... and prediction (RAMA). ..... of satellite derived forcings on numerical ocean model sim-.

  4. Carbon dioxide from surface underway survey in global oceans from 1968 to 2006 (Version 1.0) (NODC Accession 0040205)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — More than 3 million measurements of surface water partial pressure of CO2 obtained over the global oceans during 1968 to 2006 are listed in the Lamont-Doherty Earth...

  5. Physiological responses to ocean acidification and warming synergistically reduce condition of the common cockle Cerastoderma edule.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ong, E Z; Briffa, M; Moens, T; Van Colen, C

    2017-09-01

    The combined effect of ocean acidification and warming on the common cockle Cerastoderma edule was investigated in a fully crossed laboratory experiment. Survival of the examined adult organisms remained high and was not affected by elevated temperature (+3 °C) or lowered pH (-0.3 units). However, the morphometric condition index of the cockles incubated under high pCO 2 conditions (i.e. combined warming and acidification) was significantly reduced after six weeks of incubation. Respiration rates increased significantly under low pH, with highest rates measured under combined warm and low pH conditions. Calcification decreased significantly under low pH while clearance rates increased significantly under warm conditions and were generally lower in low pH treatments. The observed physiological responses suggest that the reduced food intake under hypercapnia is insufficient to support the higher energy requirements to compensate for the higher costs for basal maintenance and growth in future high pCO 2 waters. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. CO2 Sink/Source Characteristics in the Tropical Indonesian Seas

    KAUST Repository

    Kartadikaria, Aditya R.; Watanabe, A.; Nadaoka, K.; Adi, N. S.; Prayitno, H. B.; Suharsono, S.; Muchtar, M.; Triyulianti, I.; Setiawan, A.; Suratno, S.; Khasanah, E. N.

    2015-01-01

    Two distinct CO2 sink/source characteristics are found in the tropical Indonesian seas from the compilation of observed data for the period 1984-2013. The western region persistently emits CO2 to the atmosphere, whereas the eastern region is dynamic and acts either as a small source or sink of CO2 to the atmosphere, depending on sites. The segregation is proximal to the Makassar Strait, which is located over the continental shelf and is one of the main routes of the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF). Lower salinity and higher silicate were found in the western region, suggesting a terrestrial influence in this area. Temperature has a limited influence in controlling different CO2 sink/source characteristics in the west and east. However, an SST change of -2.0°C during La Niña events effectively reduces the pCO2 difference between the atmosphere and surface seawater by 50% compared to normal year conditions. During La Niña events, higher wind speeds double the CO2 flux from the ocean to the atmosphere compared to that of a normal year. In the continental shelf area where the CO2 sink area was found, data of over 29 years show that the seawater pCO2 increased by 0.6-3.8 μatm yr−1. Overall, the seawater pCO2 of the Indonesian Seas is supersaturated relative to the atmosphere by 15.9 ± 8.6 μatm and thus acts as a source of CO2 to the atmosphere. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  7. CO2 Sink/Source Characteristics in the Tropical Indonesian Seas

    KAUST Repository

    Kartadikaria, Aditya R.

    2015-11-05

    Two distinct CO2 sink/source characteristics are found in the tropical Indonesian seas from the compilation of observed data for the period 1984-2013. The western region persistently emits CO2 to the atmosphere, whereas the eastern region is dynamic and acts either as a small source or sink of CO2 to the atmosphere, depending on sites. The segregation is proximal to the Makassar Strait, which is located over the continental shelf and is one of the main routes of the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF). Lower salinity and higher silicate were found in the western region, suggesting a terrestrial influence in this area. Temperature has a limited influence in controlling different CO2 sink/source characteristics in the west and east. However, an SST change of -2.0°C during La Niña events effectively reduces the pCO2 difference between the atmosphere and surface seawater by 50% compared to normal year conditions. During La Niña events, higher wind speeds double the CO2 flux from the ocean to the atmosphere compared to that of a normal year. In the continental shelf area where the CO2 sink area was found, data of over 29 years show that the seawater pCO2 increased by 0.6-3.8 μatm yr−1. Overall, the seawater pCO2 of the Indonesian Seas is supersaturated relative to the atmosphere by 15.9 ± 8.6 μatm and thus acts as a source of CO2 to the atmosphere. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  8. Arctic Sea Ice Basal Melt Onset Variability and Associated Ocean Surface Heating

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merrick, R. A.; Hutchings, J. K.

    2015-12-01

    The interannual and regional variability in Arctic sea ice melt has previously been characterized only in terms of surface melting. A focus on the variability in the onset of basal melt is additionally required to understand Arctic melt patterns. Monitoring basal melt provides a glimpse into the importance of ocean heating to sea ice melt. This warming is predominantly through seawater exposure due to lead opening and the associated solar warming at the ocean's surface. We present the temporal variability in basal melt onset observed by ice mass balance buoys throughout the Arctic Ocean since 2003, providing a different perspective than the satellite microwave data used to measure the onset of surface melt. We found that melt onset varies greatly, even for buoys deployed within 100km of each other. Therefore large volumes of data are necessary to accurately estimate the variability of basal melt onset. Once the variability of basal melt onset has been identified, we can investigate how this range has been changing as a response to atmospheric and oceanic warming, changes in ice morphology as well as the intensification of the ice albedo feedback.

  9. NEOTEC: Negative-CO2-Emissions Marine Energy With Direct Mitigation of Global Warming, Sea-Level Rise and Ocean Acidification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rau, G. H.; Baird, J.; Noland, G.

    2016-12-01

    The vertical thermal energy potential in the ocean is a massive renewable energy resource that is growing due to anthropogenic warming of the surface and near-surface ocean. The conversion of this thermal energy to useful forms via Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) has been demonstrated over the past century, albeit at small scales. Because OTEC removes heat from the surface ocean, this could help directly counter ongoing, deleterious ocean/atmosphere warming. The only other climate intervention that could do this is solar radiation "geoengineering". Conventional OTEC requires energy intensive, vertical movement of seawater resulting in ocean and atmospheric chemistry alteration, but this can be avoided via more energy efficient, vertical closed-cycle heating and cooling of working fluid like CO2 or NH3. An energy carrier such as H2 is required to transport energy optimally extracted far offshore, and methods of electrochemically generating H2 while also consuming CO2 and converting it to ocean alkalinity have been demonstrated. The addition of such alkalinity to the ocean would provide vast, stable, carbon storage, while also helping chemically counter the effects of ocean acidification. The process might currently be profitable given the >$100/tonne CO2 credit offered by California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard for transportation fuels like H2. Negative-Emissions OTEC, NEOTEC, thus can potentially provide constant, cost effective, high capacity, negative-emissions energy while: a) reducing surface ocean heat load, b) reducing thermal ocean expansion and sea-level rise, c) utilizing a very large, natural marine carbon storage reservoir, and d) helping mitigate ocean acidification. The technology also avoids the biophysical and land use limitations posed by negative emissions methods that rely on terrestrial biology, such as afforestation and BECCS. NEOTEC and other marine-based, renewable energy and CO2 removal approaches could therefore greatly increase the

  10. Impacts of ocean acidification on sediment processes in shallow waters of the Arctic Ocean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gazeau, Frédéric; van Rijswijk, Pieter; Pozzato, Lara; Middelburg, Jack J

    2014-01-01

    Despite the important roles of shallow-water sediments in global biogeochemical cycling, the effects of ocean acidification on sedimentary processes have received relatively little attention. As high-latitude cold waters can absorb more CO2 and usually have a lower buffering capacity than warmer waters, acidification rates in these areas are faster than those in sub-tropical regions. The present study investigates the effects of ocean acidification on sediment composition, processes and sediment-water fluxes in an Arctic coastal system. Undisturbed sediment cores, exempt of large dwelling organisms, were collected, incubated for a period of 14 days, and subject to a gradient of pCO2 covering the range of values projected for the end of the century. On five occasions during the experimental period, the sediment cores were isolated for flux measurements (oxygen, alkalinity, dissolved inorganic carbon, ammonium, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate and silicate). At the end of the experimental period, denitrification rates were measured and sediment samples were taken at several depth intervals for solid-phase analyses. Most of the parameters and processes (i.e. mineralization, denitrification) investigated showed no relationship with the overlying seawater pH, suggesting that ocean acidification will have limited impacts on the microbial activity and associated sediment-water fluxes on Arctic shelves, in the absence of active bio-irrigating organisms. Only following a pH decrease of 1 pH unit, not foreseen in the coming 300 years, significant enhancements of calcium carbonate dissolution and anammox rates were observed. Longer-term experiments on different sediment types are still required to confirm the limited impact of ocean acidification on shallow Arctic sediment processes as observed in this study.

  11. Effects of Precipitation on Ocean Mixed-Layer Temperature and Salinity as Simulated in a 2-D Coupled Ocean-Cloud Resolving Atmosphere Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xiaofan; Sui, C.-H.; Lau, K-M.; Adamec, D.

    1999-01-01

    A two-dimensional coupled ocean-cloud resolving atmosphere model is used to investigate possible roles of convective scale ocean disturbances induced by atmospheric precipitation on ocean mixed-layer heat and salt budgets. The model couples a cloud resolving model with an embedded mixed layer-ocean circulation model. Five experiment are performed under imposed large-scale atmospheric forcing in terms of vertical velocity derived from the TOGA COARE observations during a selected seven-day period. The dominant variability of mixed-layer temperature and salinity are simulated by the coupled model with imposed large-scale forcing. The mixed-layer temperatures in the coupled experiments with 1-D and 2-D ocean models show similar variations when salinity effects are not included. When salinity effects are included, however, differences in the domain-mean mixed-layer salinity and temperature between coupled experiments with 1-D and 2-D ocean models could be as large as 0.3 PSU and 0.4 C respectively. Without fresh water effects, the nocturnal heat loss over ocean surface causes deep mixed layers and weak cooling rates so that the nocturnal mixed-layer temperatures tend to be horizontally-uniform. The fresh water flux, however, causes shallow mixed layers over convective areas while the nocturnal heat loss causes deep mixed layer over convection-free areas so that the mixed-layer temperatures have large horizontal fluctuations. Furthermore, fresh water flux exhibits larger spatial fluctuations than surface heat flux because heavy rainfall occurs over convective areas embedded in broad non-convective or clear areas, whereas diurnal signals over whole model areas yield high spatial correlation of surface heat flux. As a result, mixed-layer salinities contribute more to the density differences than do mixed-layer temperatures.

  12. Climate change feedbacks on future oceanic acidification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McNeil, Ben I.; Matear, Richard J.

    2007-01-01

    Oceanic anthropogenic CO 2 uptake will decrease both the pH and the aragonite saturation state (Oarag) of seawater leading to an oceanic acidification. However, the factors controlling future changes in pH and Oarag are independent and will respond differently to oceanic climate change feedbacks such as ocean warming, circulation and biological changes. We examine the sensitivity of these two CO 2 -related parameters to climate change feedbacks within a coupled atmosphere-ocean model. The ocean warming feedback was found to dominate the climate change responses in the surface ocean. Although surface pH is projected to decrease relatively uniformly by about 0.3 by the year 2100, we find pH to be insensitive to climate change feedbacks, whereas Oarag is buffered by ∼15%. Ocean carbonate chemistry creates a situation whereby the direct pH changes due to ocean warming are almost cancelled by the pH changes associated with dissolved inorganic carbon concentrations changes via a reduction in CO 2 solubility from ocean warming. We show that the small climate change feedback on future surface ocean pH is independent to the amount of ocean warming. Our analysis therefore implies that future projections of surface ocean acidification only need to consider future atmospheric CO 2 levels, not climate change induced modifications in the ocean

  13. Vertical eddy diffusion as a key mechanism for removing perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) from the global surface oceans

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lohmann, Rainer; Jurado, Elena; Dijkstra, Henk A.; Dachs, Jordi

    2013-01-01

    Here we estimate the importance of vertical eddy diffusion in removing perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) from the surface Ocean and assess its importance as a global sink. Measured water column profiles of PFOA were reproduced by assuming that vertical eddy diffusion in a 3-layer ocean model is the sole cause for the transport of PFOA to depth. The global oceanic sink due to eddy diffusion for PFOA is high, with accumulated removal fluxes over the last 40 years of 660 t, with the Atlantic Ocean accounting for 70% of the global oceanic sink. The global oceans have removed 13% of all PFOA produced to a depth greater than 100 m via vertical eddy diffusion; an additional 4% has been removed via deep water formation. The top 100 m of the surface oceans store another 21% of all PFOA produced (∼1100 t). Highlights: •Eddy diffusion has removed ∼660 t of PFOA from surface oceans over the last 40 years. •Atlantic Ocean accounts for 70% of the global oceanic sink of PFOA. •Vertical eddy diffusion has moved ∼13% of PFOA to oceans deeper than 100 m. •Around 4% of PFOA has been removed via deep water formation. •The top 100 m of global oceans contain ∼21% of historical PFOA production. -- Vertical eddy diffusion is an important removal process for hydrophilic organic pollutants such as PFOA from the surface ocean

  14. Sea surface temperature and salinity from the Global Ocean Surface Underway Data (GOSUD) from 1980-01-03 to present

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This collection contains the Global Ocean Surface Underway Data (GOSUD) from 1980-01-03 to present as submitted to NOAA/NCEI. The data includes information about sea...

  15. Arctic Ocean surface geostrophic circulation 2003–2014

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. W. K. Armitage

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Monitoring the surface circulation of the ice-covered Arctic Ocean is generally limited in space, time or both. We present a new 12-year record of geostrophic currents at monthly resolution in the ice-covered and ice-free Arctic Ocean derived from satellite radar altimetry and characterise their seasonal to decadal variability from 2003 to 2014, a period of rapid environmental change in the Arctic. Geostrophic currents around the Arctic basin increased in the late 2000s, with the largest increases observed in summer. Currents in the southeastern Beaufort Gyre accelerated in late 2007 with higher current speeds sustained until 2011, after which they decreased to speeds representative of the period 2003–2006. The strength of the northwestward current in the southwest Beaufort Gyre more than doubled between 2003 and 2014. This pattern of changing currents is linked to shifting of the gyre circulation to the northwest during the time period. The Beaufort Gyre circulation and Fram Strait current are strongest in winter, modulated by the seasonal strength of the atmospheric circulation. We find high eddy kinetic energy (EKE congruent with features of the seafloor bathymetry that are greater in winter than summer, and estimates of EKE and eddy diffusivity in the Beaufort Sea are consistent with those predicted from theoretical considerations. The variability of Arctic Ocean geostrophic circulation highlights the interplay between seasonally variable atmospheric forcing and ice conditions, on a backdrop of long-term changes to the Arctic sea ice–ocean system. Studies point to various mechanisms influencing the observed increase in Arctic Ocean surface stress, and hence geostrophic currents, in the 2000s – e.g. decreased ice concentration/thickness, changing atmospheric forcing, changing ice pack morphology; however, more work is needed to refine the representation of atmosphere–ice–ocean coupling in models before we can fully

  16. The validation of ocean surface heat fluxes in AMIP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gleckler, P.J.; Randall, D.A.

    1993-09-01

    Recent intercomparisons of Atmospheric General Circulation Models (AGCMS) constrained with sea-surface temperatures have shown that while there are substantial differences among various models (with each other and available observations), overall the differences between them have been decreasing. The primary goal of AMIP is to enable a systematic intercomparison and validation of state-of-the- art AGCMs by supporting in-depth diagnosis of and interpretation of the model results. Official AMIP simulations are 10 years long, using monthly mean Sea-Surface Temperatures (SSTs) and sea ice conditions which are representative of the 1979--1988 decade. Some model properties are also dictated by the design of AMIP such as the solar constant, the atmospheric CO 2 concentration, and the approximate horizontal resolution. In this paper, some of the preliminary results of AMIP Subproject No. 5 will be summarized. The focus will be on the intercomparison and validation of ocean surface heat fluxes of the AMIP simulations available thus far

  17. Tests of Parameterized Langmuir Circulation Mixing in the Oceans Surface Mixed Layer II

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-08-11

    inertial oscillations in the ocean are governed by three-dimensional processes that are not accounted for in a one-dimensional simulation , and it was...Unlimited 52 Paul Martin (228) 688-5447 Recent large-eddy simulations (LES) of Langmuir circulation (LC) within the surface mixed layer (SML) of...used in the Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM) and tested for (a) a simple wind-mixing case, (b) simulations of the upper ocean thermal structure at Ocean

  18. Spiraling pathways of global deep waters to the surface of the Southern Ocean

    OpenAIRE

    Tamsitt, Veronica; Drake, Henri F.; Morrison, Adele K.; Talley, Lynne D.; Dufour, Carolina O.; Gray, Alison R.; Griffies, Stephen M.; Mazloff, Matthew R.; Sarmiento, Jorge L.; Wang, Jinbo; Weijer, Wilbert

    2017-01-01

    Upwelling of global deep waters to the sea surface in the Southern Ocean closes the global overturning circulation and is fundamentally important for oceanic uptake of carbon and heat, nutrient resupply for sustaining oceanic biological production, and the melt rate of ice shelves. However, the exact pathways and role of topography in Southern Ocean upwelling remain largely unknown. Here we show detailed upwelling pathways in three dimensions, using hydrographic observations and particle trac...

  19. A hypothesis linking sub-optimal seawater pCO2 conditions for cnidarian-Symbiodinium symbioses with the exceedence of the interglacial threshold (>260 ppmv

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. A. Wooldridge

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Most scleractinian corals and many other cnidarians host intracellular photosynthetic dinoflagellate symbionts ("zooxanthellae". The zooxanthellae contribute to host metabolism and skeletogenesis to such an extent that this symbiosis is well recognised for its contribution in creating the coral reef ecosystem. The stable functioning of cnidarian symbioses is however dependent upon the host's ability to maintain demographic control of its algal partner. In this review, I explain how the modern envelope of seawater conditions found within many coral reef ecosystems (characterised by elevated temperatures, rising pCO2, and enriched nutrient levels are antagonistic toward the dominant host processes that restrict excessive symbiont proliferation. Moreover, I outline a new hypothesis and initial evidence base, which support the suggestion that the additional "excess" zooxanthellae fraction permitted by seawater pCO2 levels beyond 260 ppmv significantly increases the propensity for symbiosis breakdown ("bleaching" in response to temperature and irradiance extremes. The relevance of this biological threshold is discussed in terms of historical reef extinction events, glacial-interglacial climate cycles and the modern decline of coral reef ecosystems.

  20. A hypothesis linking sub-optimal seawater pCO2 conditions for cnidarian-Symbiodinium symbioses with the exceedence of the interglacial threshold (>260 ppmv)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wooldridge, S. A.

    2012-05-01

    Most scleractinian corals and many other cnidarians host intracellular photosynthetic dinoflagellate symbionts ("zooxanthellae"). The zooxanthellae contribute to host metabolism and skeletogenesis to such an extent that this symbiosis is well recognised for its contribution in creating the coral reef ecosystem. The stable functioning of cnidarian symbioses is however dependent upon the host's ability to maintain demographic control of its algal partner. In this review, I explain how the modern envelope of seawater conditions found within many coral reef ecosystems (characterised by elevated temperatures, rising pCO2, and enriched nutrient levels) are antagonistic toward the dominant host processes that restrict excessive symbiont proliferation. Moreover, I outline a new hypothesis and initial evidence base, which support the suggestion that the additional "excess" zooxanthellae fraction permitted by seawater pCO2 levels beyond 260 ppmv significantly increases the propensity for symbiosis breakdown ("bleaching") in response to temperature and irradiance extremes. The relevance of this biological threshold is discussed in terms of historical reef extinction events, glacial-interglacial climate cycles and the modern decline of coral reef ecosystems.