An evaluation of new particle formation events in Helsinki during a Baltic Sea cyanobacterial summer bloom

Several studies have investigated New Particle Formation (NPF) events from various sites ranging from pristine locations, including (boreal) forest sites to urban areas. However, there is still a dearth of studies investigating NPF processes and subsequent aerosol growth in coastal yet semi-urban sites, where the tropospheric layer is a concoction of biogenic and anthropogenic gases and particles. The investigation of factors leading to NPF becomes extremely complex due to the highly dynamic meteorological conditions at the coastline especially when combined with both continental and oceanic weather conditions. Herein, we engage a comprehensive study of particle number size distributions and aerosol-forming precursor vapors at the coastal semi-urban site in Helsinki, Finland. The measurement period, 25 June 2019–18 August 2019, was timed with the recurring cyanobacterial summer bloom in the Baltic Sea region and coastal regions of Finland. Our study recorded several regional/local NPF and aerosol burst events during this period. Although the overall anthropogenic influence on Sulfuric Acid (SA) concentrations was low during the measurement period, we observed that the regional or local NPF events, characterized by SA concentrations in the order of 107 molecules per cm−3 occurred mostly when the air mass travelled over the land areas. Interestingly, when the air mass travelled over the Baltic Sea, an area enriched with Algae and cyanobacterial blooms, high Iodic Acid (IA) concentration coincided with an aerosol burst or a spike event at the measurement site. Further, SA-rich bursts were seen when the air mass travelled over the Gulf of Bothnia, enriched with cyanobacterial blooms. The two most important factors affecting aerosol precursor vapor concentrations, and thus the aerosol formation, were (1) the type of phytoplankton species and intensity of bloom present in the coastal regions of Finland/ Baltic Sea and (2) the wind direction. During the events, most of the growth of sub-3 nm particles was probably due to SA, rather than IA or MSA, however much of the particle growth remained unexplained indicative of the strong role of organics in the growth of particles, especially in the 3–7 nm particle size range. Further studies are needed to explore the role of organics in NPF events and the potential influence of cyanobacterial blooms in coastal locations.

Different Roles of Top-Down and Bottom-Up Processes in the Distribution of Size-Fractionated Phytoplankton in Gwangyang Bay

The interactive roles of zooplankton grazing (top-down) and nutrient (bottom-up) processes on phytoplankton distribution in a temperate estuary were investigated via dilution and nutrient addition experiments. The responses of size-fractionated phytoplankton and major phytoplankton groups, as determined by flow cytometry, were examined in association with zooplankton grazing and nutrient availability. The summer bloom was attributed to nanoplankton, and microplankton was largely responsible for the winter bloom, whereas the picoplankton biomass was relatively consistent throughout the sampling periods, except for the fall. The nutrient addition experiments illustrated that nanoplankton responded more quickly to phosphate than the other groups in the summer, whereas microplankton had a faster response to most nutrients in the winter. The dilution experiments ascribed that the grazing mortality rates of eukaryotes were low compared to those of the other groups, whereas autotrophic cyanobacteria were more palatable to zooplankton than cryptophytes and eukaryotes. Our experimental results indicate that efficient escape from zooplankton grazing and fast response to nutrient availability synergistically caused the microplankton to bloom in the winter, whereas the bottom-up process (i.e., the phosphate effect) largely governed the nanoplankton bloom in the summer.

Observed variability of monsoon blooms in the north-central Arabian Sea and its implication on oxygen concentration: A Bio-Argo study

<p><span>The central Arabian Sea (CAS) is productive during both the summer and winter monsoons owing to different physical processes. We analysed four years (2013-2016) record of chlorophyll and dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration from a Bio-Argo float deployed in this region. Though the surface blooms were observed during both the monsoons and sub-surface chlorophyll was also persistently observed, the intensity and duration of the bloom have been decreasing over the past few years. Also, the winter blooms were more prominent compared to the summer bloom in the study region. Our analysis shows that the observed inter-annual variability in the summer bloom can be attributed to the variability in wind speed, oceanic stratification and advection of nutrient rich water from the western Arabian Sea. During both the monsoons, stratification played an important role in reducing the productivity in recent years. We also found that during the winter monsoon, the upwelling Rossby wave propagating from the west coast of India influenced productivity as north as 15ºN. The chlorophyll data from Bio-Argo float shows that the total surface chlorophyll concentration has been decreasing during the study period. Consequently the DO concentration has also been </span><span>decreased</span><span>. </span><span>An increase in the deeper water is speculated to be due to the </span><span> decrease in surface productivity. This is in contradiction to the previous studies on intensification of Arabian Sea OMZ. Also, in the event of recent reports on decreasing trend in productivity in the Arabian Sea, the present study provides new insights on the possible effect of declining productivity on the DO concentration under the climate change regime.</span></p>

An assessment of marine biogeochemical processes in the tropical Atlantic in NorESMs

<p>Most state-of-the-art earth system model still exhibit large biases in the tropical Atlantic. This study aims to investigate how the physical bias influences the marine biogeochemical processes in the tropical Atlantic using Norwegian Earth System Model (NorESM). We assess four different configurations of NorESM: NorESM version 1is taken as benchmark (NorESM-CTL), a version of this model with a physical bias correction using anomaly coupling (NorESM-AC), and NorESM version 2 with low and medium atmospheric resolution (NorESM-LM/NorESM-MM) is also utilized.</p><p> </p><p>With respect to NorESM-CTL, the annual-mean sea surface temperature (SST) bias is improved largely in NorESM-AC and NorESM-MM in the equatorial Atlantic and southeast Atlantic. On the other hand, the improvement of seasonal cycle of SST can be seen in NorESM-AC and the two versions of NorESM2; development of Atlantic Cold Tongue (ACT) is realistic in terms of location and timing. Corresponding to the ACT seasonal cycle, the primary production in the equatorial Atlantic is also improved and in particular, the Atlantic summer bloom is well represented in NorESM-AC and NorESM-MM even though the amount of production is still much smaller than satellite observations. This realistic summer bloom can be related to the well-represented shallow thermocline and associated nitrate supply from the subsurface ocean at the equator.</p>

Resource Partitioning Between Phytoplankton and Bacteria in the Coastal Baltic Sea

Eutrophication coupled to climate change disturbs the balance between competition and coexistence in microbial communities including the partitioning of organic and inorganic nutrients between phytoplankton and bacteria. Competition for inorganic nutrients has been regarded as one of the drivers affecting the productivity of the eutrophied coastal Baltic Sea. Yet, it is unknown at the molecular expression level how resources are competed for, by phytoplankton and bacteria, and what impact this competition has on the community composition. Here we use metatranscriptomics and amplicon sequencing and compare known metabolic pathways of both phytoplankton and bacteria co-occurring during a summer bloom in the archipelago of Åland in the Baltic Sea to examine phytoplankton bacteria resource partitioning. The expression of selected pathways of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) metabolism varied over time, independently, for both phytoplankton and bacteria, indicating partitioning of the available organic and inorganic resources. This occurs regardless of eukaryotic plankton growth phase (exponential or stationary), based on expression data, and microbial community composition. Further, the availability of different nutrient resources affected the functional response by the bacteria, observed as minor compositional changes, at class level, in an otherwise taxonomically stable bacterial community. Resource partitioning and functional flexibility seem necessary in order to maintain phytoplankton-bacteria interactions at stable environmental conditions. More detailed knowledge of which organisms utilize certain nutrient species are important for more accurate projections of the fate of coastal waters.