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Variability of the oxygen minimum zone associated with primary productivity and hydrographic conditions in the Eastern North Pacific

Abstract. 

"The expansion of the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) associated with global warming has generated interest in its variability during the last two millennia. Several oceanographic mechanisms, as advection of dissolved oxygen and depletion of dissolved oxygen by oxidation of exported marine productivity, could explain the variability of δ15N in organic matter as a denitrification indicator of the water column in the Pacific Ocean. Our objective was to infer local or remote forcing mechanisms that lead to the strengthening or weakening of the OMZ in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific. [...]". 

 

Source: Science Direct 
Authors: Alberto Sánchez et al.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2022.103810

Read the full article here.


Temperature and oxygen supply shape the demersal community in a tropical Oxygen Minimum Zone

Abstract. 

"The organisms that inhabit Oxygen Minimum Zones (OMZ) have specialized adaptations that allow them to survive within a very narrow range of environmental conditions. Consequently, even small environmental perturbations can result in local species distribution shifts that alter ecosystem trophodynamics. Here, we examined the effect of changing sea water temperatures and oxygen levels on the physiological performance and metabolic traits of the species forming marine demersal communities along the OMZ margins in the Costa Rican Pacific. The strong temperature and oxygen gradients along this OMZ margin provide a “natural experiment” to explore the effects of warming and hypoxia on marine demersal communities. [...]".

 

Source: Environmental Biology of Fishes

Authors: Tayler M. Clarke et al. 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-022-01256-2

Read the full article here.


Abundant nitrite-oxidizing metalloenzymes in the mesopelagic zone of the tropical Pacific Ocean

Abstract.

"Numerous biogeochemical reactions occur within the oceans’ major oxygen minimum zones, but less attention has been paid to the open ocean extremities of these zones. Here we report measurements on oxygen minimum zone waters from the Eastern to the Central Tropical North Pacific, which we analysed using metaproteomic techniques to discern the microbial functions present and their influence on biogeochemical cycling. [...]"

Source: Nature Geoscience
Authors: Mak A. Saito et al.
DOI: 10.1038/s41561-020-0565-6

Read the full article here.


Intermediate water masses, a major supplier of oxygen for the eastern tropical Pacific ocean

Abstract.

"It is well known that Intermediate Water Masses (IWM) are sinking in high latitudes and ventilate the lower thermocline (500–1500 m depth). We here highlight how the IWM oxygen content and the IWM pathway along the Equatorial Intermediate Current System (EICS) towards the eastern tropical Pacific ocean are essential for the supply of oxygen to the lower thermocline and the Oxygen Minimum Zones (OMZs). [...]"

Source: Ocean Science
Authors: Olaf Duteil et al.
DOI: 10.5194/os-2020-17

Read the full article here.


The role of water masses in shaping the distribution of redox active compounds in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific oxygen deficient zone

and influencing low oxygen concentrations in the eastern Pacific Ocean

Abstract.

"Oceanic oxygen deficient zones (ODZs) influence global biogeochemical cycles in a variety of ways, most notably by acting as a sink for fixed nitrogen (Codispoti et al. 2001). Optimum multiparameter analysis of data from two cruises in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific (ETNP) was implemented to develop a water mass analysis for the large ODZ in this region. This analysis reveals that the most pronounced oxygen deficient conditions are within the 13°C water (13CW) mass, which is distributed via subsurface mesoscale features such as eddies branching from the California Undercurrent. [...]"

Source: Limnology and Oceanography
Authors: Zachary C. Evans et al.
DOI: 10.1002/lno.11412

Read the full article here.


Ocean Deoxygenation and Copepods: Coping with Oxygen Minimum Zone Variability

Abstract.

"Increasing deoxygenation (loss of oxygen) of the ocean, including expansion of oxygen minimum zones (OMZs), is a potentially important consequence of global warming. We examined present day variability of vertical distributions of copepod species in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific (ETNP) living in locations with different water column oxygen profiles and OMZ intensity (lowest oxygen concentration and its vertical extent in a profile). [...]"

Source: Biogeosciences
Authors: Karen F. Wishner, Brad Seibel, and Dawn Outram
DOI: 10.5194/bg-2019-394

Read the full article here.


Scenarios of Deoxygenation of the Eastern Tropical North Pacific During the Past Millennium as a Window Into the Future of Oxygen Minimum Zones

Abstract.

"Diverse studies predict global expansion of Oxygen Minimum Zones (OMZs) as a consequence of anthropogenic global warming. While the observed dissolved oxygen concentrations in many coastal regions are slowly decreasing, sediment core paleorecords often show contradictory trends. This is the case for numerous high-resolution reconstructions of oxygenation in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific (ETNP). [...]"

Source: Frontiers in Marine Science
Authors: Konstantin Choumiline et al.
DOI: 10.3389/feart.2019.00237

Read the full article here.


Dinitrogen fixation across physico‐chemical gradients of the Eastern Tropical North Pacific oxygen deficient zone

Abstract.

"The Eastern Tropical North Pacific (ETNP) Ocean hosts one of the world's largest oceanic oxygen deficient zones (ODZs). Hotspots for reactive nitrogen (Nr) removal processes, ODZs generate conditions proposed to promote Nr inputs via dinitrogen (N2) fixation. In this study, we quantified N2 fixation rates by 15N‐tracer bioassay across oxygen, nutrient and light gradients within and adjacent to the ODZ. [...]"

Source: Global Biogeochemical Cycles
Authors: C.R. Selden et al.
DOI: 10.1029/2019GB006242

Read the full article here.


Glacial expansion of oxygen-depleted seawater in the eastern tropical Pacific

Abstract.

"Increased storage of carbon in the oceans has been proposed as a mechanism to explain lower concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide during ice ages; however, unequivocal signatures of this storage have not been found. In seawater, the dissolved gases oxygen and carbon dioxide are linked via the production and decay of organic material, with reconstructions of low oxygen concentrations in the past indicating an increase in biologically mediated carbon storage. [...]"

Source: Nature
Authors: Babette A. A. Hoogakker et al.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-018-0589-x

Read the full article here.


Rapid nitrous oxide cycling in the suboxic ocean

Abstract.

"Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a powerful greenhouse gas and a major cause of stratospheric ozone depletion, yet its sources and sinks remain poorly quantified in the oceans. We used isotope tracers to directly measure N2O reduction rates in the eastern tropical North Pacific. Because of incomplete denitrification, N2O cycling rates are an order of magnitude higher than predicted by current models in suboxic regions, and the spatial distribution suggests strong dependence on both organic carbon and dissolved oxygen concentrations. Furthermore, N2O turnover is 20 times higher than the net atmospheric efflux. The rapid rate of this cycling coupled to an expected expansion of suboxic ocean waters implies future increases in N2O emissions. [...]"

Source: Science (2015)
Authors: Andrew R. Babbin, Daniele Bianchi, Amal Jayakumar, Bess B. Ward
DOI:10.1126/science.aaa8380

Read the full article here.


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