News

Oxygen Optode Sensors: Principle, Characterization, Calibration, and Application in the Ocean

Abtract.

"Recently, measurements of oxygen concentration in the ocean—one of the most classical parameters in chemical oceanography—are experiencing a revival. This is not surprising, given the key role of oxygen for assessing the status of the marine carbon cycle and feeling the pulse of the biological pump. The revival, however, has to a large extent been driven by the availability of robust optical oxygen sensors and their painstakingly thorough characterization. For autonomous observations, oxygen optodes are the sensors of choice: They are used abundantly on Biogeochemical-Argo floats, gliders and other autonomous oceanographic observation platforms.  [...]"

Source: Frontiers in Marine Science
Authors: Henry C. Bittig et al.
DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2017.00429

Read the full article here.


Biogeochemical Role of Subsurface Coherent Eddies in the Ocean: Tracer Cannonballs, Hypoxic Storms, and Microbial Stewpots?

Abstract.

"Subsurface eddies are known features of ocean circulation, but the sparsity of observations prevents an assessment of their importance for biogeochemistry. Here we use a global eddying (0.1°) ocean-biogeochemical model to carry out a census of subsurface coherent eddies originating from eastern boundary upwelling systems (EBUS) and quantify their biogeochemical effects as they propagate westward into the subtropical gyres.  [...]"

Source: Global Biogeochemical Cycles
Authors: Ivy Frenger et al.
DOI: 10.1002/2017GB005743

Read the full article here.


Influence of an oxygen minimum zone and macroalgal enrichment on benthic megafaunal community composition in a NE Pacific submarine canyon

Abstract.

"Megafaunal diversity in the deep sea shows a parabolic pattern with depth. It can be affected by factors such as low oxygen concentration, which suppresses diversity, or the presence of submarine canyons, which enhances it. Barkley Canyon, located off the west coast of British Columbia, Canada, is a submarine canyon that extends from the continental margin (200 m) into the deep ocean (2,000 m).  [...]"

Source: marine ecology
Authors: Lia Domke et al.
DOI: 10.1111/maec.12481

Read the full article here.


Dealing with Dead Zones: Hypoxia in the Ocean

When water runs off of farmland and urban centers and flows into our streams and rivers, it is often chock-full of fertilizers and other nutrients. These massive loads of nutrients eventually end up in our coastal ocean, fueling a chain of events that can lead to hypoxic "dead zones" — areas along the sea floor where oxygen is so low it can no longer sustain marine life. In this episode, we're joined by NOAA scientist Alan Lewitus to explore why dead zones form, how the problem of hypoxia is growing worse, and what we're doing about it.

Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Author: Troy Kitch

Read the full article here.


Dimethylsulfide (DMS) production in polar oceans may be resilient to ocean acidification

Abstract.

"Emissions of dimethylsulfide (DMS) from the polar oceans play a key role in atmospheric processes and climate. Therefore, it is important we increase our understanding of how DMS production in these regions may respond to environmental change. The polar oceans are particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification (OA). However, our understanding of the polar DMS response is limited to two studies conducted in Arctic waters, where in both cases DMS concentrations decreased with increasing acidity. [...]"

Source: Biogeosciences (under Review)
Authors: Frances E. Hopkins et al.
DOI: 10.5194/bg-2018-55

Read the full article here.


Oceanic crustal carbon cycle drives 26-million-year atmospheric carbon dioxide periodicities

Abstract.

"Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) data for the last 420 million years (My) show long-term fluctuations related to supercontinent cycles as well as shorter cycles at 26 to 32 My whose origin is unknown. Periodicities of 26 to 30 My occur in diverse geological phenomena including mass extinctions, flood basalt volcanism, ocean anoxic events, deposition of massive evaporites, sequence boundaries, and orogenic events and have previously been linked to an extraterrestrial mechanism. [...]

Source: Science Advances
Authors: R. Dietmar Müller and Adriana Dutkiewicz
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaq0500

Read the full article here.


Ocean science research is key for a sustainable future

"Human activity has already affected all parts of the ocean, with pollution increasing and fish-stocks plummeting. The UN’s recent announcement of a Decade of Ocean Science provides a glimmer of hope, but scientists will need to work closely with decision-makers and society at large to get the ocean back on track. [...]"

Source: Martin Visbeck
Author: Nature Communications
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03158-3

Read the full article here.


High total organic carbon in surface waters of the northern Arabian Gulf: Implications for the oxygen minimum zone of the Arabian Sea

Abstract.

"Measurements of total organic carbon (TOC) for two years in Kuwaiti waters showed high TOC levels (101.0–318.4, mean 161.2 μM) with maximal concentrations occurring within the polluted Kuwait Bay and decreasing offshore, indicating substantial anthropogenic component. Analysis of winter-time data revealed a large increase in density over the past four decades due to decrease in Shatt Al-Arab runoff, implying that the dissolved/suspended organic matter in surface waters of the northern Gulf could be quickly injected into the Gulf Deep Water (GDW). [...]"

Source: Marine Pollution Bulletin
Authors: Turki Al-Said et al.
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2018.02.013

Read the full article here.


Meridional overturning circulation conveys fast acidification to the deep Atlantic Ocean

Abstract.

"Since the Industrial Revolution, the North Atlantic Ocean has been accumulating anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) and experiencing ocean acidification1, that is, an increase in the concentration of hydrogen ions (a reduction in pH) and a reduction in the concentration of carbonate ions. The latter causes the ‘aragonite saturation horizon’—below which waters are undersaturated with respect to a particular calcium carbonate, aragonite—to move to shallower depths (to shoal), exposing corals to corrosive waters. [...]"

Source: Nature
Authors: Fiz F. Perez et al.
DOI: 10.1038/nature25493

Read the full article here.


Carbonate chemistry of an in-situ free-ocean CO2 enrichment experiment (antFOCE) in comparison to short term variation in Antarctic coastal waters

Abstract.

"Free-ocean CO2 enrichment (FOCE) experiments have been deployed in marine ecosystems to manipulate carbonate system conditions to those predicted in future oceans. We investigated whether the pH/carbonate chemistry of extremely cold polar waters can be manipulated in an ecologically relevant way, to represent conditions under future atmospheric CO2 levels, in an in-situ FOCE experiment in Antarctica. [...]"

Source: Scientific Reports
Authors: J. S. Stark et al.
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-21029-1

Read the full article here.


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