News
Deglacial volcanism and reoxygenation in the aftermath of the Sturtian Snowball Earth
Abstract.
"The Cryogenian Sturtian and Marinoan Snowball Earth glaciations bracket a nonglacial interval during which Demosponge and green-algal biomarkers first appear. To understand the relationships between environmental perturbations and early animal evolution, we measured sulfur and mercury isotopes from the Datangpo Formation from South China. Hg enrichment with positive Δ199Hg excursion suggests enhanced volcanism, potentially due to depressurization of terrestrial magma chambers during deglaciation. [...]".
Source: Science Advances
Authors: Menghan Li et al.
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh9502
Metabolic prioritization of fish in hypoxic waters: an integrative modeling approach
Abstract.
"Marine hypoxia has had major consequences for both economically and ecologically critical fish species around the world. As hypoxic regions continue to grow in severity and extent, we must deepen our understanding of mechanisms driving population and community responses to major stressors. It has been shown that food availability and habitat use are the most critical components of impacts on individual fish leading to observed outcomes at higher levels of organization. However, differences within and among species in partitioning available energy for metabolic demands – or metabolic prioritization – in response to stressors are often ignored. [...]".
Source: Frontiers in Marine Science
Authors: Elizabeth Duskey
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2023.1206506
Ocean Oxygen: the role of the Ocean in the oxygen we breathe and the threat of deoxygenation
Abstract.
"EMB Future Science Brief No. 10 highlights the most recent science on Ocean oxygen, including causes, impacts and mitigation strategies of Ocean oxygen loss, and discusses whether “every second breath we take comes from the Ocean”. It closes with key policy, management and research recommendations to address Ocean deoxygenation and communicate more accurately about the role of the Ocean in Earth’s oxygen.
The sentence “every second breath you take comes from the Ocean” is commonly used in Ocean Literacy and science communication to highlight the importance of Ocean oxygen. [...]".
Source: European Marine Board
Authors: Marilaure Grégoire et al.
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7941157
Extensive Accumulation of Nitrous Oxide in the Oxygen Minimum Zone in the Bay of Bengal
Abstract.
"The production by microorganisms of nitrous oxide (N2O), a trace gas contributing to global warming and stratospheric ozone depletion, is enhanced around the oceanic oxygen minimum zones (OMZs). The production constitutes an important source of atmospheric N2O. Although an OMZ is found in the northern part of the eastern Indian Ocean, the Bay of Bengal (BoB), two earlier studies conducted during the later phase of winter monsoon (February) and spring intermonsoon (March–April) found quite different magnitudes of N2O accumulation. [...]".
Source: Wiley Online Library
Authors: Sakae Toyoda et al.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GB007689
Decreasing O2 availability reduces cellular protein contents in a marine diatom
Abstract.
"Anthropogenic activities and climate change are exacerbating marine deoxygenation. Apart from aerobic organisms, reduced O2 also affects photoautotrophic organisms in the ocean. This is because without available O2, these O2 producers cannot maintain their mitochondrial respiration, especially under dim-light or dark conditions, which may disrupt the metabolism of macromolecules including proteins. We used growth rate, particle organic nitrogen and protein analyses, proteomics, and transcriptomics to determine cellular nitrogen metabolism of the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana grown under three O2 levels in a range of light intensities [...]".
Source: Science Direct
Authors: Bokun Chen et al.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164032
Ideas and perspectives: The fluctuating nature of oxygen shapes the ecology of aquatic habitats and their biogeochemical cycles – the aquatic oxyscape
Abstract.
"Oxygen availability is a pivotal factor for ecosystem functioning and the resistance of organisms to the effect of climate change in aquatic habitats. Although extensive work has been done to assess the effect of oxygen on marine and freshwater biota, many studies have not captured the ecological importance of oxygen variations. Overlooking the fluctuating nature of oxygen may cause potential biases in the design and implementation of management policies for aquatic habitats. Conceptual perspectives on the dynamic nature of oxygen fluctuations have been raised in the scientific community in order to enhance [...]".
Source: Biogeosciences
Authors: Marco Fusi et al.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3509-2023
The response of nitrogen and sulfur cycles to ocean deoxygenation across the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary
Abstract.
"The Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (OAE2) is a greenhouse episode of severe marine anoxia at the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary. This time interval is characterized by rising sea surface temperature, enhanced marine biological productivity, and widespread occurrence of organic-rich black shales. With an export of biological production to the deep ocean, organisms consume vast amounts of oxygen and subsequently utilize nitrate and sulfate as electron acceptors in organic matter degradation, thereby affecting biogeochemical cycles of nitrogen and sulfur. [...]".
Source: Science Direct
Authors: Ruixiang Zhai et al.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2023.104182
Benthic foraminifera and gromiids from oxygen-depleted environments – survival strategies, biogeochemistry and trophic interactions
Abstract.
"The oceans are losing oxygen (O2), and oxygen minimum zones are expanding due to climate warming (lower O2 solubility) and eutrophication related to agriculture. This trend is challenging for most marine taxa that are not well adapted to O2 depletion. For other taxa this trend might be advantageous because they can withstand low O2 concentrations or thrive under O2-depleted or even anoxic conditions. Benthic foraminifera are a group of protists that include taxa with adaptations to partly extreme environmental conditions. [...]".
Source: Biogeosciences
Authors: Nicolaas Glock
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-3423-2023
Indian Ocean glacial deoxygenation and respired carbon accumulation during mid-late Quaternary ice ages
Abstract.
"Reconstructions of ocean oxygenation are critical for understanding the role of respired carbon storage in regulating atmospheric CO2. Independent sediment redox proxies are essential to assess such reconstructions. Here, we present a long magnetofossil record from the eastern Indian Ocean in which we observe coeval magnetic hardening and enrichment of larger, more elongated, and less oxidized magnetofossils during glacials compared to interglacials over the last ~900 ka. Our multi-proxy records of redox-sensitive magnetofossils, trace element concentrations, and benthic foraminiferal Δδ13C consistently suggest a recurrence of lower O2 [...]".
Source: Nature
Authors: Liao Chang et al.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40452-1
Partitioning of the denitrification pathway and other nitrite metabolisms within global oxygen deficient zones
Abstract.
"Oxygen deficient zones (ODZs) account for about 30% of total oceanic fixed nitrogen loss via processes including denitrification, a microbially mediated pathway proceeding stepwise from NO3– to N2. This process may be performed entirely by complete denitrifiers capable of all four enzymatic steps, but many organisms possess only partial denitrification pathways, either producing or consuming key intermediates such as the greenhouse gas N2O. Metagenomics and marker gene surveys have revealed a diversity of denitrification genes within ODZs, but whether these genes co-occur within [...]".
Source: Nature
Authors: Irene H. Zhang et al.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43705-023-00284-y
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