A global compilation of coccolithophore calcification rates

The biological production of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), a process termed calcification, is a key term in the marine carbon cycle. A major planktonic group responsible for such pelagic CaCO3 production (CP) is the coccolithophores, single-celled haptophytes that inhabit the euphotic zone of the ocean. Satellite-based estimates of areal CP are limited to surface waters and open-ocean areas, with current algorithms utilising the unique optical properties of the cosmopolitan bloom-forming species Emiliania huxleyi, whereas little understanding of deep-water ecology, optical properties or environmental responses by species other than E. huxleyi is currently available to parameterise algorithms or models. To aid future areal estimations and validate future modelling efforts we have constructed a database of 2765 CP measurements, the majority of which were measured using 12 to 24 h incorporation of radioactive carbon (14C) into acid-labile inorganic carbon (CaCO3). We present data collated from over 30 studies covering the period from 1991 to 2015, sampling the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Southern oceans. Globally, CP in surface waters ( < 20 m) ranged from 0.01 to 8398 µmol C m−3 d−1 (with a geometric mean of 16.1 µmol C m−3 d−1). An integral value for the upper euphotic zone (herein surface to the depth of 1 % surface irradiance) ranged from  < 0.1 to 6 mmol C m−2 d−1 (geometric mean 1.19 mmol C m−2 d−1). The full database is available for download from PANGAEA at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.888182

Seawater carbonate chemistry and calcification of an estuarine coccolithophore

Ocean acidification has the capacity to impact future coccolithophore growth, photosynthesis, and calcification, but experimental culture work with coccolithophores has produced seemingly contradictory results and has focused on open-ocean species. We investigated the influence of pCO2 (between 250 and 750 µatm) on the growth, photosynthetic, and calcification rates of the estuarine coccolithophore Pleurochrysis carterae using a CO2 manipulation system that allowed for natural carbonate chemistry variability, representing the highly variable carbonate chemistry of coastal and estuarine waters. We further considered the influence of pCO2 on dark calcification. Increased pCO2 conditions had no significant impact on P. carterae growth rate or photosynthetic rate. However, P. carterae calcification rates significantly increased at elevated mean pCO2 concentrations of 750 µatm. P. carterae calcification was somewhat, but not completely, light-dependent, with increased calcification rates at elevated mean pCO2 conditions in both light and dark incubations. This trend of increased calcification at higher pCO2 conditions fits into a recently developed substrate-inhibitor concept, which demonstrates a calcification optima concept that broadly fits the experimental results of many studies on the impact of increased pCO2 on coccolithophore calcification

Novel methods for optically measuring whitecaps under natural wave-breaking conditions in the Southern Ocean

Traditional methods for measuring whitecap coverage using digital video systems mounted to measure a large footprint can miss features that do not produce a high enough contrast to the background. Here, a method for accurately measuring the fractional coverage, intensity, and decay time of whitecaps using above-water radiometry is presented. The methodology was developed using data collected in the Southern Ocean under a wide range of wind and wave conditions. Whitecap quantities were obtained by employing a magnitude threshold based on the interquartile range of the radiance or reflectance signal from a single channel. Breaking intensity and decay time were produced from the integration of and the exponential fit to radiance or reflectance over the lifetime of the whitecap. When using the lowest magnitude threshold possible, radiometric fractional whitecap coverage retrievals were consistently higher than fractional coverage from high-resolution digital images, perhaps because the radiometer captures more of the decaying bubble plume area that is difficult to detect with photography. Radiometrically obtained whitecap measurements are presented in the context of concurrently measured meteorological (e.g., wind speed) and oceanographic (e.g., wave) data. The optimal fit of the radiometrically estimated whitecap coverage to the instantaneous wind speed, determined using robust linear least squares, showed a near-cubic dependence. Increasing the magnitude threshold for whitecap detection from 2 to 4 times the interquartile range produced a wind speed–whitecap relationship most comparable to the concurrently collected fractional coverage from digital imagery and previously published wind speed–whitecap parameterizations

The CPA Presidential Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice of Psychological Treatments

The Board of Directors of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA) launched a Task Force on Evidence-Based Practice of Psychological Treatments to support and guide practice as well as to inform stakeholders. This article describes the work of this Task Force, outlining its raison d’etre, providing a comprehensive definition of evidence-based practice (EBP), and advancing a hierarchy of evidence that is respectful of diverse research methodologies, palatable to different groups, and yet comprehensive and compelling. The primary objective was to present an overarching methodology or approach to thinking about EBP so that psychologists can provide and implement the best possible psychological treatments. To this end, our intention for this document was to provide a set of guidelines and standards that will foster interest, encourage development, and promote effectiveness in EBP.Arts, Faculty ofPsychology, Department ofNon UBCReviewedFacult

The 2008 Emiliania huxleyi bloom along the Patagonian Shelf: Ecology, biogeochemistry and cellular calcification

Coccolithophore blooms are significant contributors to the global production and export of calcium carbonate (calcite). The Patagonian Shelf is a site of intense annual coccolithophore blooms during austral summer. During December 2008, we made intensive measurements of the ecology, biogeochemistry, and physiology of a coccolithophore bloom. High numbers of Emiliania huxleyi cells and detached coccoliths (>1 × 103 mL−1 and >10 × 103 mL−1, respectively), high particulate inorganic carbon concentrations (>10 mmol C m−2), and high calcite production (up to 7.3 mmol C m−2 d−1) all characterized bloom waters. The bloom was dominated by the low-calcite-containing B/C morphotype of Emiliania huxleyi, although a small (30%, similar to estimates for E. huxleyi and indicative of a significant role for this diatom in bloom biogeochemistry. Cell-normalized calcification rates, when corrected for a high number of nonactive cells, were relatively high and when normalized to estimates of coccolith calcite indicate excessive coccolith production in the declining phase of the bloom. We find that low measures of calcite and calcite production relative to other blooms in the global ocean indicate that the dominance of the B/C morphotype may lead to overall lower calcite production. Globally, this suggests that morphotype composition influences regional bloom inventories of carbonate production and export and that climate-induced changes in morphotype biogeography could affect the carbon cycle