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Trace elements V, Ni, Mo and U: A geochemical tool to quantify dissolved oxygen concentration in the oxygen minimum zone of the north-eastern Pacific

Abstract.

"Deoxygenation of the water column in the oceans and in the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) has become relevant due to its connection with global climate change. The variability of the OMZ has been inferred by in situ measurements for the last 70 years and qualitatively assessed through the monitoring of trace elements and the nitrogen stable isotope ratio (δ15N) of organic matter on several time scales. The V, Ni, Mo and U concentrations in surface sediments and the dissolved oxygen concentration in the water column of La Paz Bay and the Mazatlán margin were used to propose an exponential regression model. This model will allow the inference of the dissolved oxygen concentration in the sedimentary records from the Alfonso Basin in La Paz Bay and in the Mazatlán margin over the last 250 years. [...]".

 

Source: Science Direct
Authors: Alberto Sánchez et al. 
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmarsys.2022.103732

Read the full article here.


Evidence of hypoxia in the eastern coast of the Gulf of California as induced by stable nitrogen isotopes in surface sediments

Abstract. 

"The Gulf of California is a highly biodiverse marine basin located in the northeast Mexican Pacific Ocean. In the past three decades, this basin has experienced increased hypoxia in shallow waters, which threatens its coastal ecosystems. The aim of this study is to analyze δ15N and δ13C isotopes of organic matter in coastal sediments to characterize sources of primary production and shifts in biogeochemical processes that reflect increasing oxygen deficiency in the shallow coast of the eastern Gulf of California. Surface sediments samples were collected from 8 to 47 m deep along the coastal margin of Sinaloa and Sonora. This region is characterized by the development of anthropogenic activities, which could be the main source of organic matter evidenced in the marine environment. [...]". 

 

Source: Science Direct

Authors: Alberto Sánchez et al. 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2022.104716

Read the full article here.


Bioaccumulation of Trace Elements in Myctophids in the Oxygen Minimum Zone Ecosystem of the Gulf of California

Abstract.

"Myctophids are key members of mesopelagic communities with a world biomass estimated at 600 million tons. They play a central role in oceanic food webs and are known to perform diel vertical migrations, crossing the thermocline and reaching the oxygen minimum zone, however, very scarce information exists on trace element content in these organisms. Therefore, the trace elemental composition (Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Cd and Pb) of Triphoturus mexicanus and Benthosema panamense specimens was determined. Zinc (Zn) was the most common trace element for both species, T. mexicanus presented 39.8 µg.g−1 dw and B. panamense 30.6 µg.g−1 dw. [...]"

Source: Oceans
Authors: Cátia Figueiredo et al.
DOI: 10.3390/oceans1010004

Read the full article here.


The regulation of oxygen to low concentrations in marineoxygen-minimum zones

Abstract.

"The Bay of Bengal hosts persistent, measurable, but sub-micromolar, concentrations of oxygenin its oxygen-minimum zone (OMZ). Such low-oxygen conditions are not necessarily rare in theglobal ocean and seem also to characterize the OMZ of the Pescadero Basin in the Gulf of California,as well as the outer edges of otherwise anoxic OMZs, such as can be found, for example, in theEastern Tropical North Pacific. We show here that biological controls on oxygen consumption arerequired to allow the semistable persistence of low-oxygen conditions in OMZ settings; otherwise,only small changes in physical mixing or rates of primary production would drive the OMZ betweenanoxic and oxic states with potentially large swings in oxygen concentration. [...]"

Source: Journal of Marine Research
Authors: Donald E. Canfield et al.
 

Read the full article here.


Home sweet suboxic home: remarkable hypoxia tolerance in two demersal fish species in the Gulf of California

"Extremophiles – organisms that live in extreme environments – invite us to question our assumptions about the requirements for life. Fish, as a group, are thought to be relatively hypoxia intolerant due to their high metabolic requirements (Vaquer‐Sunyer and Duarte 2008); however, the cusk‐eel, Cherublemma emmelas, and the catshark, Cephalurus cephalus, appear to thrive in one of the most extreme low oxygen marine habitats in the world – the Gulf of California. Here, we describe the behavior and habitat of these extraordinary species that live under conditions commonly thought to be uninhabitable by fish. [...]"

Source: Ecology
Authors: Natalya D. Gallo et al.
DOI: 10.1002/ecy.2539

Read the full article here.


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