News

Metagenomics and metatranscriptomics reveal broadly distributed, active, novel methanotrophs in the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone

Abstract. 

"The northern Gulf of Mexico (nGOM) hypoxic zone is a shallow water environment where methane, a potent greenhouse gas, fluxes from sediments to bottom water and remains trapped due to summertime stratification. When the water column is destratified, an active planktonic methanotrophic community could mitigate the efflux of methane, which accumulates to high concentrations, to the atmosphere. To investigate the possibility of such a biofilter in the nGOM hypoxic zone we performed metagenome assembly, and metagenomic and metatranscriptomic read mapping. Methane monooxygenase (pmoA) was an abundant [...]".

 

Source: Oxford Academic
Authors: Kathryn L. Howe et al.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiac153

Read the full article here.


Calcium isotope ratios of malformed foraminifera reveal biocalcification stress preceded Oceanic Anoxic Event 2

Abstract. 

"Ocean acidification causes biocalcification stress. The calcium isotope composition of carbonate producers can archive such stress because calcium isotope fractionation is sensitive to precipitation rate. Here, we synthesize morphometric observations of planktic foraminifera with multi-archive calcium isotope records from Gubbio, Italy and the Western Interior Seaway spanning Cretaceous Ocean Anoxic Event 2 (~94 million years ago). Calcium isotope ratios increase ~60 thousand years prior to the event. [...]". 

 

Source: Nature
Authors: Gabriella D. Kitch et al.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00641-0

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Carbon pump dynamics and limited organic carbon burial during OAE1a

Abstract. 

"Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAEs) are conspicuous intervals in the geologic record that are associated with the deposition of organic carbon (OC)-rich marine sediment, linked to extreme biogeochemical perturbations, and characterized by widespread ocean deoxygenation. Mechanistic links between the marine biological carbon pump (BCP), redox conditions, and organic carbon burial during OAEs, however, remain poorly constrained. In this work we reconstructed the BCP in the western Tethys Ocean across OAE1a (~120 Mya) using sediment geochemistry and OC mass accumulation rates (OCAcc). [...]".

 

Source: Wiley Online Library
Authors: Kohen W. Bauer et al.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/gbi.12538

Read the full article here.


Nitrous Oxide Distributions in the Oxygenated Water Column of the Sargasso Sea

Abstract. 

"This study presents dissolved nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations in the water column at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) station and uses a subset of these measurements to estimate air-to-sea flux for four specific time points between September 2018 and June 2019. N2O concentrations at BATS were in the range of 4.0 nmol L−1–16.9 nmol L−1, with vertical profiles which were the mirror inverse of dissolved oxygen. Regardless of season, N2O concentration maxima were found within the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). The highest maximum N2O values were observed in November and lowest in October. [...]".

 

Source: Taylor & Francis Online
Authors: Annaliese C.S. Meyer et al. 
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07055900.2022.2153325

Read the full article here.


Recovery from microplastic-induced marine deoxygenation may take centuries

Abstract.

"Climate change and plastics pollution are dual threats to marine environments. Here we use biogeochemical and microplastic modelling to show that even if there is complete removal of microplastics and cessation of deposition in the oceans in 2022, regional recovery from microplastic-induced remineralization and water column deoxygenation could take hundreds of years for coastal upwelling zones, the North Pacific and Southern Ocean. [...]".

 

Source: Nature
Authors: Karin Kvale & Andreas Oschlies
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-01096-w 

Read the full article here.


The Peruvian oxygen minimum zone was similar in extent but weaker during the Last Glacial Maximum than Late Holocene

Abstract. 

"Quantifying past oxygen concentrations in oceans is crucial to improving understanding of current global ocean deoxygenation. Here, we use a record of pore density of the epibenthic foraminifer Planulina limbata from the Peruvian Oxygen Minimum Zone to reconstruct oxygen concentrations in bottom waters from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Late Holocene at 17.5°S about 500 meters below the sea surface. We found that oxygen levels were 40% lower during the Last Glacial Maximum than during the Late Holocene (about 6.7 versus 11.1 µmol/kg, respectively). [...]".

 

Source: Nature
Authors: Nicolaas Glock et al. 
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-022-00635-y 

Read the full article here.


Geochemical and paleontological evidence of early Cambrian dynamic ocean oxygenation and its implications for organic matter accumulation in mudrocks

Abstract. 

"The evolution of global ocean oxygenation during the early Cambrian remains highly controversial, making it difficult to evaluate how environmental triggers play a role in controlling the organic matter (OM) accumulation in black shales. In this study, an integrated approach, including total organic carbon (TOC) content, major and trace element geochemistry, and microscope images, was systematically conducted in a continuous core well that penetrated through the Lower Cambrian Yanjiahe (YJH)–Shuijingtuo (SJT, subdivided into SM Ⅰ, SM Ⅱ, SM Ⅲ, and SM Ⅳ members) successions (∼541-514Ma) at the Three Gorges area [...]".

 

Source: Science Direct 
Authors: Yu Zhang et al.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2022.105958

Read the full article here.


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