scholarly journals Changes in coccolith calcification under stable atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub>

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 9415-9450 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Bauke ◽  
K. J. S. Meier ◽  
H. Kinkel ◽  
K.-H. Baumann

Abstract. Coccolith calcification is known to respond to ocean acidification in culture experiments as well as in present and past oceans. Previous studies basically focus on changes in coccolith weight due to increasing CO2 and the resulting changes in the carbonate system but pay little attention to the influence of other environmental factors. In order to untangle changes in coccolithophore calcification due to environmental factors such as temperature and/or productivity from changes caused by increasing pCO2 and carbonate ion concentration we here present a study on coccolith calcification from the Holocene North Atlantic Ocean. The pre-industrial Holocene with its predominantly stable carbonate system provides the conditions for such a comprehensive analysis. For a realistic analysis on changes in major components of Holocene coccolithophores, the family Noelaerhabdaceae was selected, which constitutes the main part of the assemblage in the North Atlantic. Records of average coccolith weights from three Holocene sediment cores along a North–South transect in the North Atlantic were analysed. During the Holocene mean weight (and therefore calcification) of Noelaerhabdaceae (E. huxleyi and Gephyrocapsa) coccoliths decreases at the Azores (Geofar KF 16) from around 7 to 5.5 pg, but increases at the Rockall Plateau (ODP Site 980) from around 6 to 8 pg and at the Vøring Plateau (MD08-3192) from 7 to 10.5 pg. This amplitude of average weight variability is within the range of glacial/interglacial changes that were interpreted to be an effect of decreasing carbonate ion concentration. By comparison with SEM assemblage counts, we show that weight changes are partly due to variations in the coccolithophore assemblage, but also an effect of a change in calcification and/or morphotype variability within single species. Our results indicate that there is no single key factor responsible for the observed changes in coccolith weight. A major increase in coccolith weight occurs during a slight decrease in carbonate ion concentration in the Late Holocene at the Rockall Plateau and Vøring Plateau. Here, more favourable productivity conditions apparently lead to an increase in coccolith weight, either due to the capability of coccolithophore species, especially E. huxleyi, to adapt to decreasing carbonate ion concentration, or due to a shift towards heavier calcifying morphotypes.

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 929-944 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Berger ◽  
K. J. S. Meier ◽  
H. Kinkel ◽  
K.-H. Baumann

Abstract. The response of coccolithophore calcification to ocean acidification has been studied in culture experiments as well as in present and past oceans. The response, however, is different between species and strains, and for the relatively small carbonate chemistry changes observed in natural environments, a uniform response of the entire coccolithophore community has not been documented so far. Moreover, previous palaeo-studies basically focus on changes in coccolith weight due to increasing CO2 and the resulting changes in the carbonate system, and only few studies focus on the influence of other environmental factors. In order to untangle changes in coccolithophore calcification due to environmental factors such as temperature and/or productivity from changes caused by increasing pCO2 and decreasing carbonate ion concentration, we here present a study on coccolith calcification from the Holocene North Atlantic Ocean. The pre-industrial Holocene, with its predominantly stable atmospheric CO2, provides the conditions for such a comprehensive analysis. For an analysis on changes in major components of Holocene coccolithophores under natural conditions, the family Noelaerhabdaceae was selected, which constitutes the main part of the assemblage in the North Atlantic. Records of average coccolith weights from three Holocene sediment cores along a north–south transect in the North Atlantic were analysed. During the Holocene, mean weight (and therefore calcification) of Noelaerhabdaceae (Emiliania huxleyi and Gephyrocapsa) coccoliths decreased at the Azores (Geofar KF 16) from around 7 to 6 pg, but increased at the Rockall Plateau (ODP site 980) from around 6 to 8 pg, and at the Vøring Plateau (MD08-3192) from 7 to 10 pg. The amplitude of average weight variability is within the range of glacial–interglacial changes that were interpreted to be an effect of decreasing carbonate ion concentration. By comparison with SEM assemblage counts, we show that weight changes are not only partly due to variations in the coccolithophore assemblage but also an effect of a change in calcification and/or morphotype variability within single species. Our results indicate that there is no single key factor responsible for the observed changes in coccolith weight. A major increase in coccolith weight occurs during a slight decrease in carbonate ion concentration in the late Holocene at the Rockall Plateau and Vøring Plateau. Here, more favourable productivity conditions apparently lead to an increase in coccolith weight, either due to the capability of coccolithophore species, especially E. huxleyi, to adapt to decreasing carbonate ion concentration or due to a shift towards heavier calcifying morphotypes.


2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (12) ◽  
pp. 4300-4307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paige E. Newby ◽  
Bryan N. Shuman ◽  
Jeffrey P. Donnelly ◽  
Kristopher B. Karnauskas ◽  
Jeremiah Marsicek

Nature ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 421 (6921) ◽  
pp. 354-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anil K. Gupta ◽  
David M. Anderson ◽  
Jonathan T. Overpeck

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 4277-4363 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Albani ◽  
N. M. Mahowald ◽  
G. Winckler ◽  
R. F. Anderson ◽  
L. I. Bradtmiller ◽  
...  

Abstract. Mineral dust plays an important role in the climate system by interacting with radiation, clouds, and biogeochemical cycles. In addition, natural archives show that the dust cycle experienced variability in the past in response to global and local climate change. The compilation of the DIRTMAP paleodust datasets in the last two decades provided a target for paleoclimate models that include the dust cycle, following a time slice approach. We propose an innovative framework to organize a paleodust dataset that moves on from the positive experience of DIRTMAP and takes into account new scientific challenges, by providing a concise and accessible dataset of temporally resolved records of dust mass accumulation rates and particle grain-size distributions. We consider data from ice cores, marine sediments, loess/paleosol sequences, lake sediments, and peat bogs for this compilation, with a temporal focus on the Holocene period. This global compilation allows investigation of the potential, uncertainties and confidence level of dust mass accumulation rates reconstructions, and highlights the importance of dust particle size information for accurate and quantitative reconstructions of the dust cycle. After applying criteria that help to establish that the data considered represent changes in dust deposition, 43 paleodust records have been identified, with the highest density of dust deposition data occurring in the North Atlantic region. Although the temporal evolution of dust in the North Atlantic appears consistent across several cores and suggest that minimum dust fluxes are likely observed during the Early to mid-Holocene period (6000–8000 years ago), the magnitude of dust fluxes in these observations is not fully consistent, suggesting that more work needs to be done to synthesize datasets for the Holocene. Based on the data compilation, we used the Community Earth System Model to estimate the mass balance and variability of the global dust cycle during the Holocene, with dust load ranging from 17.1 to 20.5 Tg between 2000 and 10 000 years ago, and a minimum in the Early to Mid-Holocene (6000–8000 years ago).


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniela Constantin ◽  
Stefana-Madalina Sacaciu ◽  
Viorica Tecsa ◽  
Anca Avram ◽  
Robert Begy ◽  
...  

&lt;p&gt;Here we investigate the timing of the last glacial loess - Holocene soil transition recorded in loess-paleosol sequences across the Chinese Loess Plateau, the SE European loess belt and the Central Great Plains, Nebraska, USA by applying comparative luminescence dating techniques on quartz and feldspars. Equivalent dose measurements were carried out using the single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol on silt (4&amp;#8211;11 &amp;#956;m) and sand-sized (63&amp;#8211;90 &amp;#956;m and coarser fraction when available) quartz. Feldspar infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) emitted by 4&amp;#8211;11 &amp;#956;m polymineral grains was measured using the post IR-IRSL&lt;sub&gt;290&lt;/sub&gt; technique.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The paleoenvironmental transition from the last glacial loess to the current interglacial soil was characterized using magnetic susceptibility and its frequency dependence. Based on the OSL ages and the threshold of the magnetic signal enhancement the onset of soil formation started around Termination 1 (~17 ka in the North Atlantic) as observed in radiocarbon-dated regional benthic &amp;#948;&lt;sup&gt;18&lt;/sup&gt;O stacks (Stern and Lisiecki, 2014) but before the stratigraphic Pleistocene/Holocene transition dated at 11.7 ka in ice core records (Svensson et al., 2008).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;No major hiatuses in ages are identified in the investigated sites. A change in the sedimentation rate is generally observed at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition and no significant sedimentation change during the Holocene. Sedimentation rates of around 6 cm/ka are determined for the Holocene soil in most of the sites investigated.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The magnetic susceptibility indicates a gradual increase in pedogenesis after Termination 1 (&amp;#8764;17 ka in the North Atlantic). Based on this, we infer that the upbuilding soil formation prevailed over topdown soil formation during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition in the investigated sites (Roberts, 2008).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;References&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Roberts, H.M., 2008. The development and application of luminescence dating to loess deposits: a perspective on the past, present and future. Boreas 37, 483-507.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Svensson, A., Andersen, K.K., Bigler, M., Clausen, H.B., Dahl-Jensen, D., Davies, S.M., Johnsen, S.J., Muscheler, R., Parrenin, F., Rasmussen, S.O., R&amp;#246;thlisberger, R., Seierstad, I., Steffensen, J.P., Vinther, B.M., 2008.A 60 000 year Greenland stratigraphic ice core chronology. Climate of the Past 4, 47-57.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Stern, J.V., Lisiecki, L.E., 2014. Termination 1 timing in radiocarbon-dated regional benthic &amp;#948;18O stacks. Paleoceanography 29, 1127-1142.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union&amp;#8217;s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme ERC-2015-STG (grant agreement No [678106]).&lt;/p&gt;


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 2019-2030 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Pablo Corella ◽  
Niccolo Maffezzoli ◽  
Carlos Alberto Cuevas ◽  
Paul Vallelonga ◽  
Andrea Spolaor ◽  
...  

Abstract. Atmospheric iodine chemistry has a large influence on the oxidizing capacity and associated radiative impacts in the troposphere. However, information on the evolution of past atmospheric iodine levels is restricted to the industrial period while its long-term natural variability remains unknown. The current levels of iodine in the atmosphere are controlled by anthropogenic ozone deposition to the ocean surface. Here, using high-resolution geochemical measurements from coastal eastern Greenland ReCAP (REnland ice CAP project) ice core, we report the first record of atmospheric iodine variability in the North Atlantic during the Holocene (i.e., the last 11 700 years). Surprisingly, our results reveal that the highest iodine concentrations in the record were found during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM; ∼ 11 500–5500 years before-present). These high iodine levels could be driven by marine primary productivity resulting in an Early Holocene “biological iodine explosion”. The high and stable iodine levels during this past warm period are a useful observational constraint on projections of future changes in Arctic atmospheric composition and climate resulting from global warming.


2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. n/a-n/a ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse R. Farmer ◽  
Thomas M. Cronin ◽  
Gary S. Dwyer

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 6321-6335 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. S. Lovenduski ◽  
M. C. Long ◽  
K. Lindsay

Abstract. We investigate variability in the surface ocean carbonate ion concentration ([CO32−]) on the basis of a~long control simulation with an Earth System Model. The simulation is run with a prescribed, pre-industrial atmospheric CO2 concentration for 1000 years, permitting investigation of natural [CO32−] variability on interannual to multi-decadal timescales. We find high interannual variability in surface [CO32−] in the tropical Pacific and at the boundaries between the subtropical and subpolar gyres in the Northern Hemisphere, and relatively low interannual variability in the centers of the subtropical gyres and in the Southern Ocean. Statistical analysis of modeled [CO32−] variance and autocorrelation suggests that significant anthropogenic trends in the saturation state of aragonite (Ωaragonite) are already or nearly detectable at the sustained, open-ocean time series sites, whereas several decades of observations are required to detect anthropogenic trends in Ωaragonite in the tropical Pacific, North Pacific, and North Atlantic. The detection timescale for anthropogenic trends in pH is shorter than that for Ωaragonite, due to smaller noise-to-signal ratios and lower autocorrelation in pH. In the tropical Pacific, the leading mode of surface [CO32−] variability is primarily driven by variations in the vertical advection of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in association with El Niño–Southern Oscillation. In the North Pacific, surface [CO32−] variability is caused by circulation-driven variations in surface DIC and strongly correlated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, with peak spectral power at 20–30-year periods. North Atlantic [CO32−] variability is also driven by variations in surface DIC, and exhibits weak correlations with both the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. As the scientific community seeks to detect the anthropogenic influence on ocean carbonate chemistry, these results will aid the interpretation of trends calculated from spatially and temporally sparse observations.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 13123-13157
Author(s):  
N. S. Lovenduski ◽  
M. C. Long ◽  
K. Lindsay

Abstract. We investigate variability in the surface ocean carbonate ion concentration ([CO32−]) on the basis of a long control simulation with a fully-coupled Earth System Model. The simulation is run with a prescribed, pre-industrial atmospheric CO2 concentration for 1000 years, permitting investigation of natural [CO32−] variability on interannual to multi-decadal timescales. We find high interannual variability in surface [CO32−] in the tropical Pacific and at the boundaries between the subtropical and subpolar gyres in the Northern Hemisphere, and relatively low interannual variability in the centers of the subtropical gyres and in the Southern Ocean. Statistical analysis of modeled [CO32−] variance and autocorrelation suggests that significant anthropogenic trends in the saturation state of aragonite (Ωaragonite) are already or nearly detectable at the sustained, open-ocean timeseries sites, whereas several decades of observations are required to detect anthropogenic trends in Ωaragonite in the tropical Pacific, North Pacific, and North Atlantic. The detection timescale for anthropogenic trends in pH is shorter than that for Ωaragonite, due to smaller noise-to-signal ratios and lower autocorrelation in pH. In the tropical Pacific, the leading mode of surface [CO32−] variability is primarily driven by variations in the vertical advection of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in association with El Niño–Southern Oscillation. In the North Pacific, surface [CO32−] variability is caused by circulation-driven variations in surface DIC and strongly correlated with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, with peak spectral power at 20–30 year periods. North Atlantic [CO32−] variability is also driven by variations in surface DIC, and exhibits weak correlations with both the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation. As the scientific community seeks to detect the anthropogenic influence on ocean carbonate chemistry, these results will aid the interpretation of trends calculated from spatially- and temporally-sparse observations.


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