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: 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: Although coccolithophore physiological responses to CO2-induced changes in seawater carbonate chemistry have been widely studied in the past, there is limited knowledge on the variability of physiological responses between populations from different areas. In the present study, we investigated the specific responses of growth, particulate organic (POC) and inorganic carbon (PIC) production rates of three populations of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi from three regions in the North Atlantic Ocean (Azores: six strains, Canary Islands: five strains, and Norwegian coast near Bergen: six strains) to a CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) range from 120 to 2630 µatm. Physiological rates of each population and individual strain increased with rising pCO2 levels, reached a maximum and declined thereafter. Optimal pCO2 for growth, POC production rates, and tolerance to low pH (i.e., high proton concentration) was significantly higher in an E. huxleyi population isolated from the Norwegian coast than in those isolated near the Azores and Canary Islands. This may be due to the large environmental variability including large pCO2 and pH fluctuations in coastal waters off Bergen compared to the rather stable oceanic conditions at the other two sites. Maximum growth and POC production rates of the Azores and Bergen populations were similar and significantly higher than that of the Canary Islands population. This pattern could be driven by temperature–CO2 interactions where the chosen incubation temperature (16 °C) was slightly below what strains isolated near the Canary Islands normally experience. Our results indicate adaptation of E. huxleyi to their local environmental conditions and the existence of distinct E. huxleyi populations. Within each population, different growth, POC, and PIC production rates at different pCO2 levels indicated strain-specific phenotypic plasticity. Accounting for this variability is important to understand how or whether E. huxleyi might adapt to rising CO2 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: Eastern boundary upwelling systems (EBUS) are among the most productive marine ecosystems on Earth. The production of organic material is fueled by upwelling of nutrient-rich deep waters and high incident light at the sea surface. However, biotic and abiotic factors can mod- ify surface production and related biogeochemical processes. Determining these factors is important because EBUS are considered hotspots of climate change, and reliable predic- tions of their future functioning requires understanding of the mechanisms driving the biogeochemical cycles therein. In this field experiment, we used in situ mesocosms as tools to improve our mechanistic understanding of processes con- trolling organic matter cycling in the coastal Peruvian up- welling system. Eight mesocosms, each with a volume of ∼ 55 m3, were deployed for 50 d ∼ 6 km off Callao (12◦ S) during austral summer 2017, coinciding with a coastal El Niño phase. After mesocosm deployment, we collected sub- surface waters at two different locations in the regional oxy- gen minimum zone (OMZ) and injected these into four meso- cosms (mixing ratio ≈ 1.5 : 1 mesocosm: OMZ water). The focus of this paper is on temporal developments of organic matter production, export, and stoichiometry in the indi- vidual mesocosms. The mesocosm phytoplankton commu- nities were initially dominated by diatoms but shifted to- wards a pronounced dominance of the mixotrophic dinoflag- ellate (Akashiwo sanguinea) when inorganic nitrogen was exhausted in surface layers. The community shift coincided with a short-term increase in production during the A. san- guinea bloom, which left a pronounced imprint on organic matter C : N : P stoichiometry. However, C, N, and P export fluxes did not increase because A. sanguinea persisted in the water column and did not sink out during the experiment. Accordingly, export fluxes during the study were decou- pled from surface production and sustained by the remain- ing plankton community. Overall, biogeochemical pools and fluxes were surprisingly constant for most of the experiment. We explain this constancy by light limitation through self- shading by phytoplankton and by inorganic nitrogen limita- tion which constrained phytoplankton growth. Thus, gain and loss processes remained balanced and there were few oppor- tunities for blooms, which represents an event where the sys- tem becomes unbalanced. Overall, our mesocosm study re- vealed some key links between ecological and biogeochem- ical processes for one of the most economically important regions in the oceans.

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.