• Energy Research

The current downturn of the arctic cryosphere, such as the strong loss of sea ice, melting of ice sheets and glaciers, and permafrost thaw, affects the marine and terrestrial carbon cycles in numerous interconnected ways. Nonetheless, processes in the ocean and on land have been too often considered in isolation while it has become increasingly clear that the two environments are strongly connected: Sea ice decline is one of the main causes of the rapid warming of the Arctic, and the flow of carbon from rivers into the Arctic Ocean affects marine processes and the air-sea exchange of CO2. This review, therefore, provides an overview of the current state of knowledge of the arctic terrestrial and marine carbon cycle, connections in between, and how this complex system is affected by climate change and a declining cryosphere. Ultimately, better knowledge of biogeochemical processes combined with improved model representations of ocean-land interactions are essential to accurately predict the development of arctic ecosystems and associated climate feedbacks.

Sea-ice diatoms are known to accumulate in large aggregates in and under sea ice and in melt ponds. There is recent evidence from the Arctic that such aggregates can contribute substantially to particle export when sinking from the ice. The role and regulation of microbial aggregation in the highly seasonal, nutrient- and light-limited Arctic sea-ice ecosystem is not well understood. To elucidate the mechanisms controlling the formation and export of algal aggregates from sea ice, we investigated samples taken in late summer 2011 and 2012, during two cruises to the Eurasian Basin of the Central Arctic Ocean. Spherical aggregates densely packed with pennate diatoms, as well as filamentous aggregates formed by Melosira arctica showed sign of different stages of degradation and physiological stoichiometries, with carbon to chlorophyll a ratios ranging from 110 to 66700, and carbon to nitrogen molar ratios of 8-35 and 9-40, respectively. Sub-ice algal aggregate densities ranged between 1 and 17 aggregates m(-2), maintaining an estimated net primary production of 0.4-40 mg C m(-2) d(-1), and accounted for 3-80% of total phototrophic biomass and up to 94% of local net primary production. A potential factor controlling the buoyancy of the aggregates was light intensity, regulating photosynthetic oxygen production and the amount of gas bubbles trapped within the mucous matrix, even at low ambient nutrient concentrations. Our data-set was used to evaluate the distribution and importance of Arctic algal aggregates as carbon source for pelagic and benthic communities.

Sea-ice diatoms are known to accumulate in large aggregates in and under the sea ice including melt ponds. In the Arctic, they can contribute substantially to particle export when sinking from the ice. The role and regulation of microbial aggregation in the highly seasonal, nutrient- and light-limited Arctic sea-ice ecosystem is not yet well understood, and may vary in relation to the fate of the Arctic sea-ice cover. To elucidate the mechanism controlling the formation and export of algal aggregates from sea ice, we investigated samples taken in late summer 2011 and 2012, during two cruises to the Eurasian Basin of the Central Arctic Ocean. Dense, spherical aggregates composed mainly of pennate diatoms, and filamentous aggregates formed by Melosira arctica were found in different degradation stages, with carbon to Chlorophyll a ratios ranging from 110 to 66700, and carbon to nitrogen molar ratios of 8-35 and 9-40, respectively. Fresh sub-ice algal aggregate densities ranged between 1 and 17 aggregates/m**2, corresponding to a net primary production of 0.4-40 mg C/m**2/d, contributing 3-80% of total biomass and up to 94% of total production at a local scale. A key factor controlling buoyancy of the aggregates was light intensity, regulating photosynthetic oxygen production and flotation by gas bubbles trapped within the mucous matrix, even at low ambient nutrient concentrations. Our data was used to evaluate the factors regulating the distribution and importance of the Arctic algal aggregates as carbon source for pelagic and benthic communities. Supplement to: Fernández-Méndez, Mar; Wenzhöfer, Frank; Peeken, Ilka; Sørensen, Heidi L; Glud, Ronnie N; Boetius, Antje; Vopel, Kay (2014): Composition, Buoyancy Regulation and Fate of Ice Algal Aggregates in the Central Arctic Ocean. PLoS ONE, 9(9), e107452

A central goal of benthic ecology is to describe the pathways and quantities of energy and material flow in seafloor communities over different spatial and temporal scales. We examined the relative macrobenthic contribution to the seafloor metabolism by estimating respiration and secondary production based on seasonal measurements of macrofauna biomass across key coastal habitats of the Baltic Sea archipelago. Then, we compared the macrofauna estimates with estimates of overall seafloor gross primary production and respiration obtained from the same habitats using the aquatic eddy covariance technique. Estimates of macrobenthic respiration rates suggest habitat-specific macrofauna contribution (%) to the overall seafloor respiration ranked as follows: blue mussel reef (44.5) > seagrass meadow (25.6) > mixed meadow (24.1) > bare sand (17.8) > Fucus-bed (11.1). In terms of secondary production (g C m−2 y−1), our estimates suggest ranking of habitat value as follows: blue mussel reef (493.4) > seagrass meadow (278.5) > Fucus-bed (102.2) > mixed meadow (94.2) > bare sand (52.1). Our results suggest that approximately 12 and 10% of the overall soft-sediment metabolism translated into macrofauna respiration and secondary production, respectively. The hard-bottoms exemplified two end-points of the coastal metabolism, with the Fucus-bed as a high producer and active exporter of organic C (that is, net autotrophy), and the mussel reef as a high consumer and active recycler of organic C (that is, net heterotrophy). Using a combination of metrics of ecosystem functioning, such as respiration rates and secondary production, in combination with direct habitat-scale measurements of O2 fluxes, our study provides a quantitative assessment of the role of macrofauna for ecosystem functioning across heterogeneous coastal seascapes.

AbstractHadal trenches are depocenters for organic material, and host intensified benthic microbial activity. The enhanced deposition is presumed to be reflected in elevated meiofaunal standing-stock, but available studies are ambiguous. Here, we investigate the distribution of meiofauna along the Atacama Trench axis and adjacent abyssal and bathyal settings in order to relate the meiofauna densities to proxies for food availability. Meiofauna densities peaked at the sediment surface and attenuated steeply with increasing sediment depth. The distribution mirrored the vertical profile of the microbial-driven oxygen consumption rate demonstrating a close linkage between microbial activity and meiofauna density. Meiofaunal standing-stock along the trench axis varied by a factor of two, but were markedly higher than values from the abyssal site at the oceanic plate. Overall, meiofaunal densities poorly correlated with common proxies for food availability such as total organic carbon and phytopigments, but strongly correlated with the microbial benthic O2consumption rate. We argue that microbial biomass likely represents an important meiofaunal food source for hadal meiofauna. Observations from three trench systems underlying surface water of highly different productivity confirmed elevated meiofaunal densities at the trench axis as compared to abyssal sites on oceanic plates. Food availability appear to drive elevated abundance and variations in meiofauna densities in hadal sediments.