Description: The interaction between current flow and topography (e.g., surface ripples) in shallow, permeable coral reef carbonate sediments establishes pressure gradients that increase the rate of sediment-water solute exchange relative to fluid shear along a flat bottom. It is currently unknown how this effect from surface ripples will modify the rate at which the sediment porewater is exposed to future chemical changes in the overlying water column, such as elevated pCO2 that is causing ocean acidification (OA). To address this question, this study used a series of 22-hour incubations in flume aquaria with permeable calcium carbonate sediment communities and examined the interactive effect of pCO2 (400 and 1000 µatm) and surface topography (flat and rippled sediments) on carbonate sediment metabolism and dissolution. According to dissolved oxygen optode image analysis, the presence of surface ripples increased the oxygenated area below the sediment surface by 295% relative to flat sediments. This was reflected in the sediment-to-water column fluxes of dissolved oxygen, where rippled sediments exhibited rates of respiration (R) and gross primary production (GPP) that were ~ 45% and ~ 50% higher, respectively, than flat sediments. An increase in pCO2 shifted the sediments in the flat flumes from net calcifying (Gnet 〉 0) to net dissolving (Gnet 〈 0), an effect that was amplified an additional ~ 60% in rippled sediments. These results suggest that current estimates of coral reef carbonate sediment Gnet may be underestimating the dissolution response to OA where the carbonate sediment environment exhibits ripples in the topography.

Description: This data is part of the BMBF project CUSCO (Coastal Upwelling Systems in a Changing Ocean). Here we report the dissolved inorganic carbon concentration and total alkalinity during a 35-day experiment, where we enclosed natural plankton communities in in-situ mesocosms off Peru. The experiment investigated the interactive effects of light and upwelling on the Humboldt upwelling ecosystem by mimicking a gradient of upwelling intensities (0%, 15%, 30%, 45% and 60%) under summer-time high light and winter-time low light. Integrated seawater samples from a depth between 0 and 10m were collected using a 5L Integrating Water sampler (IWS; Hydro-Bios, Kiel). Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and total alkalinity (TA) samples were obtained by 0.2µm gentle pressure filtration, poisoned with saturated 7.5 % mercury chloride (HgCl2) solution and frozen at -20°C until measurement. Samples for Total Alkalinity (TA) were measured by means of potentiometric titration with 0.05 M HCl using an automated titration device (862 Metrohm Compact Titrosampler). All DIC samples taken until day 17 were measured using an Automated Infra-Red Inorganic Carbon Analyzer (AIRICA) with a LICOR detector (LI-7000 CO2/H20 Analyzer, MARIANDA, Kiel). Certified reference material (Dickson standard for oceanic CO2 Measurements - CRM Batch 142 with salinity = 33.389 and DIC = 2038,07 µmol/kg) was measured and used to correct measured sample values. Additional DIC samples were measured using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to determine the 13C signal. The data of the GC-MS was adjusted to the AIRICA data using a linear transformation. Missing days were filled using an average of the day before and after.

Description: Dissolved organic/inorganic carbon and oxygen fluxes from whole sediment core incubations subject to temperature and ocean acidification manipulations. Estuaries make a disproportionately large contribution of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to the global carbon cycle, but it is unknown how this will change under a future climate. As such, the response of DOC fluxes from microbially dominated unvegetated sediments to individual and combined future climate stressors of warming (from Δ-3 °C to Δ+5 °C on ambient mean temperatures) and ocean acidification (OA, ~2 times the current partial pressure of CO2, pCO2) was investigated ex situ. Warming alone increased sediment heterotrophy, resulting in a proportional increase in sediment DOC uptake, with sediments becoming net sinks of DOC (3.5 to 8.8 mmol-C m-2 d-1) at warmer temperatures (Δ+3 °C and Δ+5 °C, respectively). This temperature response changed under OA conditions, with sediments becoming more autotrophic and a greater sink of DOC (1 to 4 times greater than under current-pCO2). This response was attributed to the stimulation of heterotrophic bacteria with the autochthonous production of labile organic matter by microphytobenthos. Extrapolating these results to the global area of unvegetated subtidal estuarine sediments, the future climate of warming (Δ+3 °C) and OA may decrease the estuarine export of DOC by ~80 % (~150 Tg-C yr-1) and have a disproportionately large impact on the global DOC budget.

Description: High-latitude oceans have been identified as particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification if anthropogenic CO2 emissions continue. Marine microbes are an essential part of the marine food web and are a critical link in biogeochemical processes in the ocean, such as the cycling of nutrients and carbon. Despite this, the response of Antarctic marine microbial communities to ocean acidification is poorly understood. We investigated the effect of increasing fCO2 on the growth of heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNFs), nano- and picophytoplankton, and prokaryotes (heterotrophic Bacteria and Archaea) in a natural coastal Antarctic marine microbial community from Prydz Bay, East Antarctica. At CO2 levels ≥634 µatm, HNF abundance was reduced, coinciding with increased abundance of picophytoplankton and prokaryotes. This increase in picophytoplankton and prokaryote abundance was likely due to a reduction in top-down control of grazing HNFs. Nanophytoplankton abundance was elevated in the 634 µatm treatment, suggesting that moderate increases in CO2 may stimulate growth. The taxonomic and morphological differences in CO2 tolerance we observed are likely to favour dominance of microbial communities by prokaryotes, nanophytoplankton, and picophytoplankton. Such changes in predator–prey interactions with ocean acidification could have a significant effect on the food web and biogeochemistry in the Southern Ocean, intensifying organic-matter recycling in surface waters; reducing vertical carbon flux; and reducing the quality, quantity, and availability of food for higher trophic levels.

Description: Primary production in the Southern Ocean is dominated by diatom-rich phytoplankton assemblages, whose individual physiological characteristics and community composition are strongly shaped by the environment, yet knowledge on how diatoms allocate cellular energy in response to ocean acidification (OA) is limited. Understanding such changes in allocation is integral to determining the nutritional quality of diatoms and the subsequent impacts on the trophic transfer of energy and nutrients. Using synchrotron-based Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy, we analysed the macromolecular content of selected individual diatom taxa from a natural Antarctic phytoplankton community exposed to a gradient of fCO2 levels (288–1263 µatm). Strong species-specific differences in macromolecular partitioning were observed under OA. Large taxa showed preferential energy allocation towards proteins, while smaller taxa increased both lipid and protein stores at high fCO2. If these changes are representative of future Antarctic diatom physiology, we may expect a shift away from lipid-rich large diatoms towards a community dominated by smaller taxa, but with higher lipid and protein stores than their present-day contemporaries, a response that could have cascading effects on food web dynamics in the Antarctic marine ecosystem.

Description: An indoor mesocosm experiment was carried out to investigate the combined effects of ocean acidification and warming on the species composition and biogeochemical element cycling during a winter/spring bloom with a natural phytoplankton assemblage from the Kiel fjord, Germany. The experimental setup consisted of a “Control” (ambient temperature of ~4.8 °C and ~535 ± 25 μatm pCO2), a “High-CO2” treatment (ambient temperature and initially 1020 ± 45 μatm pCO2) and a “Greenhouse” treatment (~8.5 °C and initially 990 ± 60 μatm pCO2). Nutrient replete conditions prevailed at the beginning of the experiment and light was provided at in situ levels upon reaching pCO2 target levels. A diatom-dominated bloom developed in all treatments with Skeletonema costatum as the dominant species but with an increased abundance and biomass contribution of larger diatom species in the Greenhouse treatment. Conditions in the Greenhouse treatment accelerated bloom development with faster utilization of inorganic nutrients and an earlier peak in phytoplankton biomass compared to the Control and High CO2 but no difference in maximum concentration of particulate organic matter (POM) between treatments. Loss of POM in the Greenhouse treatment, however, was twice as high as in the Control and High CO2 treatment at the end of the experiment, most likely due to an increased proportion of larger diatom species in that treatment. We hypothesize that the combination of warming and acidification can induce shifts in diatom species composition with potential feedbacks on biogeochemical element cycling.

Description: Relative to their surface area, estuaries make a disproportionately large contribution of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to the global carbon cycle, but it is unknown how this will change under a future climate. As such, the response of DOC fluxes from microbially dominated unvegetated sediments to individual and combined future climate stressors of temperature change (from delta −3 to delta +5 °C compared to ambient mean temperatures) and ocean acidification (OA, 2*current CO2 partial pressure, pCO2) was investigated ex situ. Warming alone increased sediment heterotrophy, resulting in a proportional increase in sediment DOC uptake; sediments became net sinks of DOC (3.5 to 8.8 mmol C/m**2/d) at warmer temperatures (delta +3 and delta +5 °C, respectively). This temperature response changed under OA conditions, with sediments becoming more autotrophic and a greater sink of DOC (up to 4* greater than under current pCO2 conditions). This response was attributed to the stimulation of heterotrophic bacteria with the autochthonous production of labile organic matter by microphytobenthos. Extrapolating these results to the global area of unvegetated subtidal estuarine sediments, we find that the future climate of warming (delta +3 °C) and OA may decrease estuarine export of DOC by ∼ 80 % (150 Tg C/yr) and have a disproportionately large impact on the global DOC budget.

Description: Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) in the ocean are characterized by enhanced carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and are being further acidified by increasing anthropogenic atmospheric CO2. To investigate how on-going ocean deoxygenation will impact biogeochemical processes, a large-scale mesocosm experiment was conducted offshore Peru in austral summer (Feb-Apr) 2017, coinciding with a rare coastal El Niño event. We deployed eight mesocosms, each with a volume of 55 m3 and a length of 19 m, at the surface water in the coastal area of Callao (12.06° S, 77.23° W). The mesocosm bags were filled by surrounding surface water with daily or every-2nd-day nutrient and CO2 measurements for 10 days to monitor the initial conditions. Deep water masses from two different locations in the nearby OMZs were collected (at a depth of 30 and 70 m, respectively) and added to the mesocosms to simulate upwelling events on day 13 (see Bach et al., 2020 for details). Here we report every-2nd-day measurements of carbonate chemistry parameters in the individual mesocosms and the surrounding Pacific waters over 50 days. Depth-integrated seawater samples were taken from the surface (0-10 m for day 3-28; 0-12.5 m for day 29-50) and bottom layer (10-17 m for day 3-28; 12.5-17 m for day 29-50) of the mesocosms and the surrounding coastal water (named “Pacific”) using a 5-L integrating water sampler. Total alkalinity (TA) was measured by a two-stage open-cell potentiometric titration using a Metrohm 862 Compact Titrosampler, Aquatrode Plus (Pt1000) and a 907 Titrando unit, and pH (total scale) was measured spectrophotometrically by measuring the absorbance ratios after adding the indicator dye m-cresol purple (mCP) on a Varian-Cary 100 double-beam spectrophotometer (Varian). With inputs of the measured TA and pH, other CO2 parameters, such as dissolved inorganic carbon, pCO2, calcite and aragonite saturation state, and CO2 fluxes (FCO2), were calculated using the Excel version of CO2SYS. The performance of pH and TA measurements were also evaluated by examining the standard deviations and range controls of triplicate measurements of samples or reference materials. Our observations showed an acidification of surface water in the mesocosms by the OMZ water addition, followed by a rapid drop in pCO2 to near or below the atmospheric level due to enhance phytoplankton production. The positive CO2 fluxes in the surrounding Pacific waters indicated our study site was a local CO2 source during our study. Nevertheless, our mesocosm experiment suggests this CO2 export to the atmosphere can be largely dampened by biological processes. As a unique dataset that characterized near-shore carbonate chemistry with a high temporal resolution during a rare coastal El Niño event, our study gives important insights into the carbonate chemistry responses to extreme climate events in the Peruvian upwelling system.