scholarly journals Ocean phosphorus inventory: large uncertainties in future projections on millennial timescales and their consequences for ocean deoxygenation

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 539-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tronje P. Kemena ◽  
Angela Landolfi ◽  
Andreas Oschlies ◽  
Klaus Wallmann ◽  
Andrew W. Dale
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Model Simulation ◽  
Nitrogen Loss ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Lower Latitude ◽  
Nitrogen Fixers ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2 ◽  
P Fluxes ◽  
Ocean Deoxygenation

Abstract. Previous studies have suggested that enhanced weathering and benthic phosphorus (P) fluxes, triggered by climate warming, can increase the oceanic P inventory on millennial timescales, promoting ocean productivity and deoxygenation. In this study, we assessed the major uncertainties in projected P inventories and their imprint on ocean deoxygenation using an Earth system model of intermediate complexity for the same business-as-usual carbon dioxide (CO2) emission scenario until the year 2300 and subsequent linear decline to zero emissions until the year 3000. Our set of model experiments under the same climate scenarios but differing in their biogeochemical P parameterizations suggest a large spread in the simulated oceanic P inventory due to uncertainties in (1) assumptions for weathering parameters, (2) the representation of bathymetry on slopes and shelves in the model bathymetry, (3) the parametrization of benthic P fluxes and (4) the representation of sediment P inventories. Considering the weathering parameters closest to the present day, a limited P reservoir and prescribed anthropogenic P fluxes, we find a +30 % increase in the total global ocean P inventory by the year 5000 relative to pre-industrial levels, caused by global warming. Weathering, benthic and anthropogenic fluxes of P contributed +25 %, +3 % and +2 %, respectively. The total range of oceanic P inventory changes across all model simulations varied between +2 % and +60 %. Suboxic volumes were up to 5 times larger than in a model simulation with a constant oceanic P inventory. Considerably large amounts of the additional P left the ocean surface unused by phytoplankton via physical transport processes as preformed P. In the model, nitrogen fixation was not able to adjust the oceanic nitrogen inventory to the increasing P levels or to compensate for the nitrogen loss due to increased denitrification. This is because low temperatures and iron limitation inhibited the uptake of the extra P and growth by nitrogen fixers in polar and lower-latitude regions. We suggest that uncertainties in P weathering, nitrogen fixation and benthic P feedbacks need to be reduced to achieve more reliable projections of oceanic deoxygenation on millennial timescales.

scholarly journals Ocean Phosphorus Inventory and Ocean Deoxygenation: Large Uncertainties in Future Projections on Millennial Timescales

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tronje P. Kemena ◽  
Andreas Oschlies ◽  
Wolfgang Koeve ◽  
Klaus Wallmann ◽  
Angela Landolfi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Model Simulation ◽  
Nitrogen Loss ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Co2 ◽  
Business As Usual ◽  
P Fluxes ◽  
Ocean Deoxygenation

Abstract. Previous studies have suggested that weathering and benthic phosphorus (P) fluxes, triggered by climate warming, can increase the oceanic P inventory on millennial time scales, promoting ocean productivity and deoxygenation. In this study, we assessed the major uncertainties in projected P inventories and their imprint on ocean deoxygenation using an Earth system model of intermediate complexity for a business-as-usual carbon dioxide (CO2) emission scenario until year 2300 and subsequent linear decline to zero emissions until year 3000. Model results suggest a large spread in the simulated oceanic P inventory due to uncertainties in (1) assumptions for weathering parameters, (2) the representation of bathymetry on slopes and shelves in the model bathymetry, (3) the parametrization of benthic P fluxes and (4) the representation of sediment P inventories. Our best estimate for changes in the global ocean P inventory by the year 5000 caused by global warming amounts to +30 % compared to pre-industrial levels. Weathering, benthic and anthropogenic fluxes of P contributed +25 %, +3 % and +2 % respectively. The total range of oceanic P inventory changes across all model simulations varied between +2 % and +60 %. Suboxic volumes were up to 5 times larger than in a model simulation with a constant oceanic P inventory. Considerably large amounts of the additional P left the ocean surface unused by phytoplankton via physical transport processes as preformed P. Nitrogen fixation was not able to adjust the oceanic nitrogen inventory to the increasing P levels or to compensate for the nitrogen loss due to increased denitrification. This is in contrast to palaeo reconstructions of large-scale deoxygenation events. We suggest that uncertainties in P weathering, nitrogen fixation and benthic P feedbacks need to be reduced to achieve more reliable projections of oceanic deoxygenation on millennial timescales.

Effects of light and phosphorus on summer DMS dynamics in subtropical waters using a global ocean biogeochemical model

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Italo Masotti ◽  
Sauveur Belviso ◽  
Laurent Bopp ◽  
Alessandro Tagliabue ◽  
Eva Bucciarelli
Keyword(s):  
General Circulation ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Model Simulation ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Longitudinal Distribution ◽  
Biogeochemical Model ◽  
Relative Role ◽  
Sargasso Sea ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Climatological Data

Environmental context Models are needed to predict the importance of the changes in marine emissions of dimethylsulfide (DMS) in response to ocean warming, increased stratification and acidification, and to evaluate the potential effects on the Earth’s climate. We use complementary simulations to further our understanding of the marine cycle of DMS in subtropical waters, and show that a lack of phosphorus may exert a more important control on surface DMS concentrations than an excess of light. Abstract The occurrence of a summer DMS paradox in the vast subtropical gyres is a strong matter of debate because approaches using discrete measurements, climatological data and model simulations yielded contradictory results. The major conclusion of the first appraisal of prognostic ocean DMS models was that such models need to give more weight to the direct effect of environmental forcings (e.g. irradiance) on DMS dynamics to decouple them from ecological processes. Here, the relative role of light and phosphorus on summer DMS dynamics in subtropical waters is assessed using the ocean general circulation and biogeochemistry model NEMO-PISCES in which macronutrient concentrations were restored to monthly climatological data values to improve the representation of phosphate concentrations. Results show that the vertical and temporal decoupling between chlorophyll and DMS concentrations observed in the Sargasso Sea during the summer months is captured by the model. Additional sensitivity tests show that the simulated control of phosphorus on surface DMS concentrations in the Sargasso Sea is much more important than that of light. By extending the analysis to the whole North Atlantic Ocean, we show that the longitudinal distribution of DMS during summer is asymmetrical and that a correlation between the solar radiation dose and DMS concentrations only occurs in the Sargasso Sea. The lack of a widespread summer DMS paradox in our model simulation as well as in the comparison of discrete and climatological data could be due to the limited occurrence of phosphorus limitation in the global ocean.

scholarly journals Watermasses as a unifying framework for understanding the Southern Ocean carbon cycle

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 3393-3451 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Iudicone ◽  
I. Stendardo ◽  
O. Aumont ◽  
K. B. Rodgers ◽  
G. Madec ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Thermohaline Circulation ◽  
Model Simulation ◽  
Polar Front ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Inversion Method ◽  
Co2 Fluxes ◽  
Meridional Transport ◽  
Regional Patterns

Abstract. A watermass-based framework is presented for a quantitative understanding of the processes controlling the cycling of carbon in the Southern Ocean. The approach is developed using a model simulation of the global carbon transports within the ocean and with the atmosphere. It is shown how the watermass framework sheds light on the interplay between biology, air-sea gas exchange, and internal ocean transport including diapycnal processes, and the way in which this interplay controls the large-scale ocean-atmosphere carbon exchange. The simulated pre-industrial regional patterns of DIC distribution and the global distribution of the pre-industrial air-sea CO2 fluxes compare well with other model results and with results from an ocean inversion method. The main differences are found in the Southern Ocean where the model presents a stronger CO2 outgassing south of the polar front, a result of the upwelling of DIC-rich deep waters into the surface layer. North of the subantarctic front the typical temperature-driven solubility effect produces a net ingassing of CO2. The biological controls on surface CO2 fluxes through primary production is generally smaller than the temperature effect on solubility. Novel to this study is also a Lagrangian trajectory analysis of the meridional transport of DIC. The analysis allows to evaluate the contribution of separate branches of the global thermohaline circulation (identified by watermasses) to the vertical distribution of DIC throughout the Southern Ocean and towards the global ocean. The most important new result is that the overturning associated with Subantarctic Mode Waters sustains a northward net transport of DIC (15.7×107 mol/s across 30° S). This new finding, which has also relevant implications on the prediction of anthropogenic carbon redistribution, results from the specific mechanism of SAMW formation and its source waters whose consequences on tracer transports are analyzed for the first time in this study.

Intercomparison of Phytoplankton functional types dynamics from satellite observations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marine Bretagnon ◽  
Séverine Alvain ◽  
Astrid Bracher ◽  
Philippe Garnesson ◽  
Svetlana losa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Model Simulation ◽  
Chlorophyll Concentration ◽  
Satellite Observations ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Ocean Colour ◽  
Marginal Seas ◽  
Functional Types ◽  
Wide Range

<p>Copernicus marine environment monitoring service (CMEMS) gives users access to a wide range of ocean descriptors. Both physics and biogeochemistry of the marine environment can be studied with complementary source of data, such as in situ data, modelling output and satellite observations at global scale and/or for European marginal seas. Among the ocean descriptors supplied as part of CMEMS, phytoplankton functional types (PFTs) describe the phytoplanktonic composition at global level or over European marginal seas. Studied phytoplankton assemblage is particularly important as it is the basis of the marine food-web. Composition of the first trophic level is a valuable indicator to infer the structure of the ecosystem and its health. Over the last decades, ocean colour remote sensing has been used to estimate the phytoplanktonic composition. The algorithms developed to estimate PFTs composition based on ocean colour observation can be classified in three categories: the spectral approaches, the abundance-based approaches (derived from the chlorophyll concentration) and the ecological approaches. The three approaches can lead to differences or, conversely, to similar patterns. Difference and similarity in PFTs estimation from remote sensing is a useful information for data assimilation or model simulation, as it provides indications on the uncertainties/variability associated to the PFT estimates. Indeed, PFT estimates from satellite observations are increasingly assimilated into ecological models to improve biogeochemical simulations, what highlights the importance to get an index or at least information describing the validity range of such PFTs estimates.</p><p>In this study, four algorithms (two abundance-based, and two spectral approaches) are compared. The aim of this study is to compare the related PFT products spatially and temporally, and to study the agreement of their derived PFT phenology. This study proposes also to compare PFT algorithms developed for the global ocean with those developed for specific regions in order to assess the potential strength and weakness of the different approaches. Once similarities and discrepancies between the different approaches are assessed, this information could be used by model to give an interval of confidence in model simulation.</p>

scholarly journals Metagenomic analysis of nitrogen and methane cycling in the Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e1924 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Lüke ◽  
Daan R. Speth ◽  
Martine A.R. Kox ◽  
Laura Villanueva ◽  
Mike S.M. Jetten
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Cycle ◽  
Arabian Sea ◽  
Nitrogen Loss ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Ammonium Oxidation ◽  
Active Nitrogen ◽  
Core Zone ◽  
Methane Cycling ◽  
Oxygen Minimum ◽  
Oxygen Concentrations

Oxygen minimum zones (OMZ) are areas in the global ocean where oxygen concentrations drop to below one percent. Low oxygen concentrations allow alternative respiration with nitrate and nitrite as electron acceptor to become prevalent in these areas, making them main contributors to oceanic nitrogen loss. The contribution of anammox and denitrification to nitrogen loss seems to vary in different OMZs. In the Arabian Sea, both processes were reported. Here, we performed a metagenomics study of the upper and core zone of the Arabian Sea OMZ, to provide a comprehensive overview of the genetic potential for nitrogen and methane cycling. We propose that aerobic ammonium oxidation is carried out by a diverse community ofThaumarchaeotain the upper zone of the OMZ, whereas a low diversity ofScalindua-like anammox bacteria contribute significantly to nitrogen loss in the core zone. Aerobic nitrite oxidation in the OMZ seems to be performed byNitrospina spp. and a novel lineage of nitrite oxidizing organisms that is present in roughly equal abundance asNitrospina. Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonia (DNRA) can be carried out by yet unknown microorganisms harbouring a divergentnrfAgene. The metagenomes do not provide conclusive evidence for active methane cycling; however, a low abundance of novel alkane monooxygenase diversity was detected. Taken together, our approach confirmed the genomic potential for an active nitrogen cycle in the Arabian Sea and allowed detection of hitherto overlooked lineages of carbon and nitrogen cycle bacteria.

14C Ventilation ages suggest a brief reversal of ocean Meridional Overturning Circulation during deglacial ‘Heinrich Stadial 1’

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Sarnthein ◽  
Pieter M. Grootes
Keyword(s):  
North Pacific ◽  
Model Simulation ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Meridional Overturning Circulation ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Age Difference ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Deep Waters ◽  
Global Correlation ◽  
Meridional Overturning

<p>Changes in the geometry of ocean Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) are crucial in controlling changes of climate and the carbon inventory of the atmosphere. However, the accurate timing and global correlation of short-term glacial-to-deglacial changes in the MOC of different ocean basins still present a major challenge. The suite of jumps and plateaus in the record of past atmospheric radiocarbon (<sup>14</sup>C) concentrations offers a unique opportunity of age control and global correlation. The upper and lower boundaries of atmospheric <sup>14</sup>C plateaus in the <sup>14</sup>C records of both tree rings and Lake Suigetsu (age calibrated on the basis of Hulu U/Th model ages)­ provide a detailed stratigraphic ’rung ladder’ of ~30 age tie points from 29 to 10 ka that can be used for dating of planktic <sup>14</sup>C records and an age correlation, by now employed to ~20 sediment cores obtained from key locations of MOC all over the global ocean. The age difference between paired planktic and benthic <sup>14</sup>C ages provides an estimate of the ventilation age of deep waters since their last contact with the atmosphere. <sup>14</sup>C ventilation ages of Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) deep waters reveal coeval opposed geometries of Atlantic and Pacific MOC. Similar to today, LGM Atlantic deep-water formation went along with an estuarine inflow of old abyssal waters from the Southern Ocean up to the northern North Pacific and an outflow of upper deep waters. Vice versa, low <sup>14</sup>C ventilation ages of N.E. Pacific deep waters suggest a reversed, anti-estuarine MOC during early Heinrich Stadial 1 with a ~1500 year-long flushing of the deep North Pacific up to the South China Sea, when the North Atlantic was marked by an estuarine circulation geometry, gradually starting near 19 ka. Elevated <sup>14</sup>C ventilation ages of LGM deep waters reflect a major drawdown of atmospheric carbon. Subsequent massive age drops accompanying changes in MOC reflect major events of carbon release to the atmosphere as recorded in Antarctic ice cores. These contemporaneous features of the MOC and the carbon cycle offer a great test case for comparison with model simulation.</p>

scholarly journals The Nodule Microbiome: N2-Fixing Rhizobia Do Not Live Alone

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 70-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pilar Martínez-Hidalgo ◽  
Ann M. Hirsch
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Environmental Stress ◽  
Host Plant ◽  
Diverse Population ◽  
Nitrogen Fixing ◽  
Chemical Fertilizers ◽  
Associated Bacteria ◽  
Culture Techniques ◽  
Nitrogen Fixers

For decades, rhizobia were thought to be the only nitrogen-fixing inhabitants of legume nodules, and biases in culture techniques prolonged this belief. However, other bacteria, which are not typical rhizobia, are often detected within nodules obtained from soil, thus revealing the existence of a phytomicrobiome where the interaction among the individuals is not only complex, but also likely to affect the behavior and fitness of the host plant. Many of these nonrhizobial bacteria are nitrogen fixers, and some also induce nitrogen-fixing nodules on legume roots. Even more striking is the incredibly diverse population of bacteria residing within nodules that elicit neither nodulation nor nitrogen fixation. Yet, this community exists within the nodule, albeit clearly out-numbered by nitrogen-fixing rhizobia. Few studies of the function of these nodule-associated bacteria in nodules have been performed, and to date, it is not known whether their presence in nodules is biologically important or not. Do they confer any benefits to the Rhizobium-legume nitrogen-fixing symbiosis, or are they parasites/saprophytes, contaminants, or commensals? In this review, we highlight the lesser-known bacteria that dwell within nitrogen-fixing nodules and discuss their possible role in this enclosed community as well as any likely benefits to the host plant or to the rhizobial inhabitants of the nodule. Although many of these nodule inhabitants are not capable of nitrogen fixation, they have the potential to enhance legume survival especially under conditions of environmental stress. This knowledge will be useful in defining strategies to employ these bacteria as bioinoculants by themselves or combined with rhizobia. Such an approach will enhance rhizobial performance or persistence as well as decrease the usage of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

NON-SYMBIOTIC NITROGEN FIXATION IN SOME QUEBEC SOILS

1965 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
P-C. Chang ◽  
R. Knowles
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
Anaerobic Incubation ◽  
Nitrogen Fixing ◽  
Free Living ◽  
Aerobic Conditions ◽  
Bacterial Counts ◽  
Facultatively Anaerobic ◽  
Nitrogen Fixers

The occurrence of free-living nitrogen fixers, the potential for nitrogen fixation, and the correlation between the nitrogen-fixing capacities of the soils and bacterial counts were studied using representative Quebec soils.Clostridium occurred more frequently than did Azotobacter. Studies with N15showed that nitrogen fixation was more frequent under anaerobic than under aerobic conditions in all the soil types studied in their unamended state. The addition of glucose stimulated nitrogen fixation. During anaerobic incubation, nitrogen fixation was found to be correlated significantly with the increase in numbers of both total aerobes and Clostridia. The results suggested that facultatively anaerobic nitrogen fixers, and aerobic nitrogen fixers other than Azotobacter, were present.

scholarly journals A combined observational and modeling approach to study modern dust transport from the Patagonia desert to East Antarctica

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 13287-13335 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Gassó ◽  
A. Stein ◽  
F. Marino ◽  
E. Castellano ◽  
R. Udisti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Model Simulation ◽  
Dust Cloud ◽  
Dust Emission ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Tierra Del Fuego ◽  
Dust Transport ◽  
Model Simulations

Abstract. The understanding of present atmospheric transport processes from Southern Hemisphere (SH) landmasses to Antarctica can improve the interpretation of stratigraphic data in Antarctic ice cores. In addition, long range transport can deliver key nutrients normally not available to marine ecosystems in the Southern Ocean and may trigger or enhance primary productivity. However, there is a dearth of observational based studies of dust transport in the SH. This work aims to improve current understanding of dust transport in the SH by showing a characterization of two dust events originating in the Patagonia desert (south end of South America). The approach is based on a combined and complementary use of satellite retrievals (detectors MISR, MODIS, GLAS, POLDER, OMI), transport model simulation (HYSPLIT) and surface observations near the sources and aerosol measurements in Antarctica (Neumayer and Concordia sites). Satellite imagery and visibility observations confirm dust emission in a stretch of dry lakes along the coast of the Tierra del Fuego (TdF) island (~54° S) and from the shores of the Colihue Huapi lake in Central Patagonia (~46° S) in February 2005. Model simulations initialized by these observations reproduce the timing of an observed increase in dust concentration at the Concordia Station and some of the observed increases in atmospheric aerosol absorption (here used as a dust proxy) in the Neumayer station. The TdF sources were the largest contributors of dust at both sites. The transit times from TdF to the Neumayer and Concordia sites are 6–7 and 9–10 days respectively. Lidar observations and model outputs coincide in placing most of the dust cloud in the boundary layer and suggest significant deposition over the ocean immediately downwind. Boundary layer dust was detected as far as 1800 km from the source and $\\sim $800 km north of the South Georgia Island over the central sub-Antarctic Atlantic Ocean. Although the analysis suggests the presence of dust at ~1500 km SW of South Africa five days after, the limited capabilities of existing satellite platforms to differentiate between aerosol types do not permit a definitive conclusion. In addition, the model simulations show dust lifting to the free troposphere as it travels south but it could not be confirmed by the satellite observations due to cloudiness. This work demonstrates that complementary information from existing transport models, satellite and surface data can yield a consistent picture of the dust transport from the Patagonia desert to Antarctica. It also illustrates the limitation of using any of these approaches individually to characterize the transport of dust in a heavily cloudy area.

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