Flocculation and phytoplankton cell size can alter Th-based estimates of the vertical flux of particulate organic carbon in the sea

The deficit of ²³⁴Th relative to its radioactive parent ²³⁸U in the surface ocean can yield reliable estimates of vertical Particulate Organic Carbon (POC) fluxes to deeper waters, but only when coupled with an accurate ratio of POC concentration to activity of ²³⁴Th on sinking matter. Assuming a simple partitioning of suspended phytoplankton mass between single cells and flocs, we calculate the ratio of the POC flux estimated from ²³⁴Th deficit to the actual POC flux (p ratio, Smith, J.N., Moran, S.B., Speicher, E.A., in press. The p-ratio: a new diagnostic for evaluating the accuracy of upper ocean particulate organic carbon export fluxes estimated from ²³⁴Th/²³⁸U disequilibrium. Deep-Sea Research I.). The p ratios are calculated under the assumption that particle surface area is correlated with ²³⁴Th activity and particle volume is correlated with POC concentration. The value of the p ratio depends on the relative contributions of single cells and flocs to the vertical flux. When large single cells make up a significant fraction of the vertical flux, p ratios are less than one, meaning POC fluxes estimated from ²³⁴Th deficits underestimate actual POC fluxes. When large single cells are abundant but do not sink fast enough to contribute to vertical POC flux, p ratios are greater than one (up to 3 × overestimate). Factor analysis of the model indicates that altering the extent of flocculation in suspension and changing the density and maximum size of phytoplankton cells have the greatest effects on the p ratio. Failure to measure the properties of flocs when characterizing the ratio of POC to thorium on sinking matter potentially leads to large overestimation of the POC flux (over 20 ×). Failure to characterize the POC to thorium ratio of large particles, by, for example, destruction of phytoplankton cells in pumps, can lead to underestimation of POC flux. Estimates of POC flux should be most reliable in highly flocculated suspensions populated by small cells and rapidly sinking flocs. These conditions are often associated with intense phytoplankton blooms.     

Simulation of upper-ocean biogeochemistry with a flexible-composition phytoplankton model: C, N and Si cycling in the western Sargasso Sea

We report the first application of a biogeochemical model in which the major elemental composition of the phytoplankton is flexible, and responds to changing light and nutrient conditions. The model includes two phytoplankton groups: diatoms and non-siliceous picoplankton. Both fix C in accordance with photosynthesis-irradiance relationships used in other models and take up NO₃⁻ and NH₄⁺ (and Si(OH)₄ for diatoms) following Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The model allows for light dependence of photosynthesis and NO₃⁻ uptake, and for the observed near-total light independence of NH₄⁺ uptake and Si(OH)₄ uptake. It tracks the resulting C/N ratios of both phytoplankton groups and Si/N ratio of diatoms, and permits uptake of C, N and Si to proceed independently of one another when those ratios are close to those of nutrient-replete phytoplankton. When the C/N or Si/N ratio of either phytoplankton group indicates that its growth is limited by N, Si or light, uptake of non-limiting elements is controlled by the content of the limiting element in accordance with the cell-quota formulation of Droop (J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K 54 (1974) 825).We applied this model to the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site in the western Sargasso Sea. The model was tuned to produce vertical profiles and time courses of [NO₃⁻], [NH₄⁺] and [Si(OH)₄] that are consistent with the data, by adjusting the kinetic parameters for N and Si uptake and the rate of nitrification. The model then reproduces the observed time courses of chlorophyll-a, particulate organic carbon and nitrogen, biogenic silica, primary productivity, biogenic silica production and POC export with no further tuning. Simulated C/N and Si/N ratios of the phytoplankton indicate that N is the main growth-limiting nutrient throughout the thermally stratified period and that [Si(OH)₄], although always limiting to the rate of Si uptake by diatoms, seldom limits their growth rate. The model requires significant nitrification in the upper 200 m to yield realistic time courses and vertical profiles of [NH₄⁺] and [NO₃⁻], suggesting that NO₃⁻ is not supplied to the upper water column entirely by physical processes. A nitrification-corrected f-ratio (f_NC), calculated for the upper 200 m as: (NO₃⁻ uptake—nitrification)/(NO₃⁻ uptake+NH₄⁺ uptake) has annual values ranging from only 0.05–0.09, implying that 90–95% of the N taken up annually by phytoplankton is supplied by biological regeneration (including nitrification) in the upper 200 m. Reported discrepancies between estimates of organic C export based on seasonal chemical changes and POC export measured at the BATS site can be almost completely resolved if there is significant regeneration of NO₃⁻ via organic-matter decomposition in the upper 200 m.     

Reference and current Trophic Level Index of New Zealand lakes: benchmarks to inform lake management and assessment

ABSTRACT

Knowledge of trophic status is fundamental to understanding the condition and function of lake ecosystems. We developed regression models to predict chlorophyll a concentrations (chl a) in New Zealand lakes for reference and current states, based on an existing dataset of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations for 1031 lakes. Models were then developed to predict Secchi depth based on chl a and a sediment resuspension term applicable to shallow lakes. Estimates of all four Trophic Level Index (TLI) variables (chl a, TN, TP and Secchi depth) were analysed to estimate reference and current state TLI for the nationally representative sample of 1031 lakes. There was a trend of eutrophication between reference and current states, with systematic differences among lake geomorphic types. Mean chl a increased 3.5-fold (2.42?mg?m^?3 vs. 8.32?mg?m^?3) and mean Secchi depth decreased (indicating lower clarity) by approximately one-third (9.62?m vs. 6.48?m) between reference and current states. On average, TLI increased by 0.67, with the TLI increase >1 in approximately one-third (31%) of lakes. This study informs the status of lake ecosystems in NZ and provides benchmarks to guide management and assessment.     

Testing use of mitochondrial COI sequences for the identification and phylogenetic analysis of New Zealand caddisflies (Trichoptera)

We tested the hypothesis that cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) sequences would successfully discriminate recognised species of New Zealand caddisflies. We further examined whether phylogenetic analyses, based on the COI locus, could recover currently recognised superfamilies and suborders. COI sequences were obtained from 105 individuals representing 61 species and all 16 families of Trichoptera known from New Zealand. No sequence sharing was observed between members of different species, and congeneric species showed from 2.3 to 19.5% divergence. Sequence divergence among members of a species was typically low (mean = 0.7%; range 0.0–8.5%), but two species showed intraspecific divergences in excess of 2%. Phylogenetic reconstructions based on COI were largely congruent with previous conclusions based on morphology, although the sequence data did not support placement of the purse‐cased caddisflies (Hydroptilidae) within the uncased caddisflies, and, in particular, the Rhyacophiloidea. We conclude that sequence variation in the COI gene locus is an effective tool for the identification of New Zealand caddisfly species, and can provide preliminary phylogenetic inferences. Further research is needed to ascertain the significance of the few instances of high intra‐specific divergence and to determine if any instances of sequence sharing will be detected with larger sample sizes.     

The Paleogene to Neogene climate evolution and driving factors on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Science China Earth Sciences - The growth of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) during the Cenozoic drove dramatic climate and environmental change in this region. However, there has been limited...     

High Arctic sea ice conditions influence marine birds wintering in Low Arctic regions

Ocean climate change is having profound biological effects in polar regions. Such change can also have far-reaching downstream effects in sub-polar regions. This study documents an environmental relationship between High Arctic sea ice changes and mortality events of marine birds in Low Arctic coastal regions. During April 2007 and March 2009, hundreds of beached seabird carcasses and moribund seabirds were found along the east and northeast coasts of Newfoundland, Canada. These seabird “wrecks” (i.e. dead birds on beaches) coincided with a period of strong, persistent onshore winds and heavily-accumulated sea ice that blocked bays and trapped seabirds near beaches. Ninety-two percent of wreck seabirds were Thick-billed Murres (Uria lomvia). Body condition and demographic patterns of wreck murres were compared to Thick-billed Murres shot in the Newfoundland murre hunt. Average body and pectoral masses of wreck carcasses were 34% and 40% lighter (respectively) than shot murres, indicating that wreck birds had starved. The acute nature of each wreck suggested that starvation and associated hypothermia occurred within 2–3 days. In 2007, first-winter murres (77%) dominated the wreck. In 2009, there were more adults (78%), mostly females (66%). These results suggest that spatial and temporal segregation in ages and sexes can play a role in differential survival when stochastic weather conditions affect discrete areas where these groups aggregate. In wreck years, southward movement of Arctic sea ice to Low Arctic latitudes was later and blocked bays longer than in most other years. These inshore conditions corresponded with recent climate-driven changes in High Arctic ice break-up and ice extent; coupled with local weather conditions, these ice conditions appeared to be the key environmental features that precipitated the ice-associated seabird wrecks in the Low Arctic region.     

On the role of bottom roughness in overflows

Overflows play an important role in the downwelling limb of the oceanic thermohaline circulation. In light of the recognition that some overflows are not homogenous but exhibit a vertical density structure, and details of topography influence the pathways of some overflows, the impact of topographic roughness on the product property distribution is explored using the 3D non-hydrostatic spectral element model Nek5000. Numerical experiments are carried out by varying bottom roughness amplitude and ambient stratification parameters, in a regime where equilibrated product water masses are formed in a non-rotating environment.Our main finding is that bottom roughness can influence the overflow product distribution such that the highest salinity classes are removed and neutral buoyancy level is attained higher up in the stratified ambient water column. It is also shown that the form drag coefficients in overflows over rough bottom can be much larger than the skin drag coefficient over smooth bottom. To our knowledge, form drag has never been measured in oceanic overflows. As such, these numerical experiments imply that such measurements would be useful for a better understanding of overflow dynamics. It is also found that the ratio of source and product overflow mass transports is robust to changes in bottom roughness. This appears to happen because the distribution of entrainment is totally different in the case of rough bottom. Entrainment tends to initiate earlier (due to vertical motion induced by topography) and terminate earlier (due to development of form drag) than that over smooth topography.     

Cellular energy allocation in the Arctic sea ice amphipod Gammarus wilkitzkii exposed to the water soluble fractions of oil

Increasing offshore oil and gas activities in the European Arctic has raised concerns of the potential anthropogenic impact of oil-related compounds on the polar marine ecosystem. We measured cellular energy allocation (CEA) in the sea ice amphipod Gammarus wilkitzkii after exposure for one month to the water soluble fraction (WSF) of oil. The CEA biomarker measures the energy budget of organisms by biochemically assessing changes in carbohydrates, protein and lipid content as well as the electron transport system activity. A significantly higher protein content was observed in the medium dose compared to controls, while the total energy budget was not affected in G. wilkitzkii. This indicates that parts of the energy budget of G. wilkitzkii, which is a key species in the Arctic ecosystem, is affected by a WSF of oil.