Atmospheric CO2 drawdown, community dynamics and selection of surface microbiomes in marine cold-water ecosystems

The European Arctic is characterized by large surface areas of coastal seas and long coastlines where important ecosystem processes are regulated by marine microbiomes that contribute to global carbon cycling via primary productivity and atmospheric CO2 drawdown. In addition to biogeochemical cycling, these complex microbial ecosystems also support major marine food webs and lend themselves to marine bioprospecting for novel biotechnologies. However, they are not well understood and remain unpredictable. For example, northern coastal Norway is periodically affected by unwanted ecosystem functions such as sporadic harmful algae blooms that are detrimental to local aquaculture industry. These cold adapted marine microbiomes perform ecological processes that are often driven by phytoplankton and their associated heterotrophic communities which undergo strong seasonal variation within complex and variable oceanographical and biogeochemical conditions. Climate change driven temperature increases with resulting direct and undirect changes on environmental conditions have been reported to alter microbial community structures of surface microbiomes. Hence, these important microbial ecosystems are in transition, and it is difficult to predict the trajectory of how specific ecosystem functions may be changing. This thesis is centered around cold-water communities of phytoplankton and bacterioplankton with the aim to enhance our contemporary understanding on surface microbial ecosystems and their function with respect to carbon cycling, community dynamics and community selection. Paper I and Paper II took place in northern Norwegian fjords and costal systems where spatial variation and magnitude of atmospheric CO2 uptake were investigated and the main physical and biological factors driving surface partial pressure of CO2 with respect to atmospheric CO2 were assessed in four fjords and a coastal bay through seasonal changes. The results indicate that northern Norwegian fjords free of sea-ice act as a sink for atmospheric CO2, although the magnitude of air-to-sea CO2 flux showed fjord-specific variation, and the biological fixation of CO2 is a strong driver of CO2 undersaturation. In addition, the temporal and spatial dynamics of early summer microeukaryotes with co-blooming bacteria were examined during a destructive haptophyte Chrysochromulina leadbeateri-associated harmful algae bloom. The coastal habitats harbor highly localized phytoplankton microbial communities which succession dynamics of blooming populations (including C. leadbeateri) undergo strong temporal variability. Paper III took place across a long transect from Atlantic water influenced Barents Sea to less influenced Nansen Basin in the high Arctic with the aim to understand more about the influence of ecological community processes on the distribution of phytoplankton and microbial taxa. Inferences based on phylogenetic turnover, generated through null modeling randomization of phylogenetic relatedness, indicates that the dominant selective force is homogeneous across the studied transect despite differences regarding temperature, sea-ice conditions, and origin of a water mass. Our findings highlight that both large scale and local studies are important to form the needed comprehensive understanding of these microbial ecosystems as the regional taxonomic pool is determined by fundamental ecological processes but community structure influencing ecosystem function is instead subjected to more localized variation of abiotic and biotic factors

Oppfølging av miljøundersøkelsen i vannforekomsten Finnfjord Indre

I 2014 påla Miljødirektorat Finnfjord AS først å utarbeide et program for vannovervåking, og deretter gjennomføre dette, i vannforekomsten Finnfjord Indre. Endelig rapport ble sendt inn 29 februar 2016, og i en foreløpig tilbakemelding fra Miljødirektoratet i brev datert 4 april 2016 konkluderer de med at det er behov for en ny undersøkelse som kartlegger omfang og spredning av PAH-forurensingen i sedimentene utenfor kaiområdet. Denne rapporten er følgelig en fortsettelse av undersøkelsen i 2015. Formålet var å fokusere på PAH-forbindelser og tungmetaller i nærheten av kaiområdet til Finnfjord AS, samt å få bedre oversikt over de potensielt forurensede sjøbunnområdene

Biota miljøprøvetaking i 2018 i vannforekomsten Finnfjord Indre

I henhold til brev fra Miljødirektoratet datert 10.10.2017; Vedtak om fastsettelse av intervall for vannovervåking, (av Finnfjord Indre) ble det tatt nye prøver i 2018. Hovedfokuset var på biota (blåskjell), men det ble også tatt sedimentprøver. Det ble benyttet en ROVundervannsdrone for å finne blåskjell, men det ble ikke funnet noen på bunnen ved de planlagte prøvetakingsstasjonene eller nær strandområdene. Årsaken er at Finnfjord Indre har bløtbunn, mens blåskjellene vokser på harde bunner hvor de kan feste seg. På grunn av dette ble det i stedet tatt blåskjell som vokste på kaistokkene til kaien på Finnfjord AS. Som referanseprøver ble to blåskjellprøver plukket fra flytebrygger i Olderhamna småbåthavn. Sedimentprøver samt hydrografiske målinger ble tatt ved sju stasjoner som lå i to transekt, N og NW retninger fra Finnfjord AS

Drivers of Atmosphere-Ocean CO2 Flux in Northern Norwegian Fjords

High-latitude fjords and continental shelves are shown to be sinks for atmospheric CO2, yet large spatial-temporal variability and poor regional coverage of sea-air CO2 flux data, especially from fjord systems, makes it difficult to scale our knowledge on how they contribute to atmospheric carbon regulation. The magnitude and seasonal variability of atmosphere-sea CO2 flux was investigated in high-latitude northern Norwegian coastal areas over 2018 and 2019, including four fjords and one coastal bay. The aim was to assess the physical and biogeochemical factors controlling CO2 flux and partial pressure of CO2 in surface water via correlation to physical oceanographic and biological measurements. The results show that the study region acts as an overall atmospheric CO2 sink throughout the year, largely due to the strong undersaturation of CO2 relative to atmospheric concentrations. Wind speed exerted the strongest influence on the instantaneous rate of sea-air CO2 exchange, while exhibiting high variability. We concluded that the northernmost fjords (Altafjord and Porsangerfjord) showed stronger potential for instantaneous CO2 uptake due to higher wind speeds. We also found that fixation of CO2 was likely a significant factor controlling ΔpCO2 from April to June, which followed phenology of spring phytoplankton blooms at each location. Decreased ΔpCO2 and the resulting sea-air CO2 flux was observed in autumn due to a combined reduction of the mixed layer with entrain of high CO2 subsurface water, damped biological activity and higher surface water temperatures. This study provides the first measurements of atmospheric CO2 flux in these fjord systems and therefore an important new baseline for gaining a better understanding on how the northern Norwegian coast and characteristic fjord systems participate in atmosphere carbon regulation

Microbial Community Dynamics during a Harmful Chrysochromulina leadbeateri Bloom in Northern Norway

A harmful algal bloom occurred in late spring 2019 across multiple, interconnected fjords and bays in northern Norway. The event was caused by the haptophyte Chrysochromulina leadbeateri and led to severe fish mortality at several salmon aquaculture facilities. This study reports on the spatial and temporal succession dynamics of the holistic marine microbiome associated with this bloom by relating all detectable 18S and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequence variants to the relative abundance of the C. leadbeateri focal taxon. A k-medoid clustering enabled inferences on how the causative focal taxon cobloomed with diverse groups of bacteria and microeukaryotes. These coblooming patterns showed high temporal variability and were distinct between two geographically separated time series stations during the regional harmful algal bloom. The distinct blooming patterns observed with respect to each station were poorly connected to environmental conditions, suggesting that other factors, such as biological interactions, may be at least as important in shaping the dynamics of this type of harmful algal bloom. A deeper understanding of microbiome succession patterns during these rare but destructive events will help guide future efforts to forecast deviations from the natural bloom cycles of the northern Norwegian coastal marine ecosystems that are home to intensive aquaculture activities

Innovating carbon-capture biotechnologies through ecosystem-inspired solutions

Rising atmospheric carbon concentrations affect global health, the economy, and overall quality of life. We are fast approaching climate tipping points that must be addressed, not only by reducing emissions but also through new innovation and action toward carbon capture for sequestration and utilization (CCSU). In this perspective, we delineate next-generation biotechnologies for CCSU supported by engineering design principles derived from ecological processes inspired by three major biomes (plant-soil, deep biosphere, and marine). These are to interface with existing industrial infrastructure and, in some cases, tap into the carbon sink potential of nature. To develop ecosystem-inspired biotechnology, it is important to identify accessible control points of CO2 and CH4 within a given system as well as value-chain opportunities that drive innovation. In essence, we must supplement natural biogeochemical carbon sinks with new bioengineering solutions

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Biota miljøprøvetaking i 2018 i vannforekomsten Finnfjord Indre

I henhold til brev fra Miljødirektoratet datert 10.10.2017; Vedtak om fastsettelse av intervall for vannovervåking, (av Finnfjord Indre) ble det tatt nye prøver i 2018. Hovedfokuset var på biota (blåskjell), men det ble også tatt sedimentprøver. Det ble benyttet en ROVundervannsdrone for å finne blåskjell, men det ble ikke funnet noen på bunnen ved de planlagte prøvetakingsstasjonene eller nær strandområdene. Årsaken er at Finnfjord Indre har bløtbunn, mens blåskjellene vokser på harde bunner hvor de kan feste seg. På grunn av dette ble det i stedet tatt blåskjell som vokste på kaistokkene til kaien på Finnfjord AS. Som referanseprøver ble to blåskjellprøver plukket fra flytebrygger i Olderhamna småbåthavn. Sedimentprøver samt hydrografiske målinger ble tatt ved sju stasjoner som lå i to transekt, N og NW retninger fra Finnfjord AS

FINNFJORD INDRE, 3`dje PRØVETAKING AV SEDIMENT VÅR og HØST 2017

Denne miljøundersøkelsen er den tredje etter at Miljødirektoratet i 2014 påla Finnfjord as å utarbeide et program for vannovervåking, og gjennomføre dette i vannforekomsten Finnfjord Indre. Første rapport ble sendt inn 29 februar 2016, og i en tilbakemelding fra Miljødirektoratet i brev datert 4 april 2016 ble det varslet om behov for en ny undersøkelse for å kartlegge omfang og spredning av PAH-forurensning i sedimentene utenfor kaiområdet. Analyserte PAH-konsentrasjoner i denne og forrige undersøkelse viser lavere forurensninger i nærheten av kaia enn i den som ble gjennomført i 2016. Regulære undersøkelser vil fortsette minst en gang i året for å følge endringer i konsentrasjoner av miljøgift, men også i fysisk, kjemisk og biologisk miljøparametere bli inkludert

Oppfølging av miljøundersøkelsen i vannforekomsten Finnfjord Indre

I 2014 påla Miljødirektorat Finnfjord AS først å utarbeide et program for vannovervåking, og deretter gjennomføre dette, i vannforekomsten Finnfjord Indre. Endelig rapport ble sendt inn 29 februar 2016, og i en foreløpig tilbakemelding fra Miljødirektoratet i brev datert 4 april 2016 konkluderer de med at det er behov for en ny undersøkelse som kartlegger omfang og spredning av PAH-forurensingen i sedimentene utenfor kaiområdet. Denne rapporten er følgelig en fortsettelse av undersøkelsen i 2015. Formålet var å fokusere på PAH-forbindelser og tungmetaller i nærheten av kaiområdet til Finnfjord AS, samt å få bedre oversikt over de potensielt forurensede sjøbunnområdene