Towards a comprehensive C-budgeting approach of a coccolithophorid bloom in the Northern Bay of Biscay (June 2006)

A biogeochemical multidisciplinary survey was carried out in the northern Bay of Biscay, in early June 2006, during which 14C-based primary production and calcification were determined as well as O2-based community respiration. Contemporary remote sensing images showed several patches of high reflectance (HR) in the investigated area. Based on remote sensing and in situ measured biogeochemical parameters, the area exhibited varying coccolithophorid bloom stages from its early development to the post-bloom stages. The major HR patch, characterizing a post-stationary stage of the bloom, was located between 48°N and 49°N over the shelf along the continental margin. It was associated with moderate chlorophyll-a levels, never exceeding 1.0 µg L-1, dissolved phosphorus and silica depletion, and undersaturation of CO2 with respect to atmospheric equilibrium. Considered as the main drivers of the C cycle in this area, the CO2 fluxes associated with primary production, calcification and respiration were integrated in order to provide a comprehensive C budget in the area

Coccolithophorid calcium carbonate dissolution in surface waters

The role of calcifying organisms in the ocean biogeochemistry has been receiving increasing attention since CO2-related global change issues such as ocean acidification were pointed out by the scientific community. The implications of changing oceanic pH in modifying ecosystems dominated by planktonic calcifiers have been shown by mesocosm and laboratory experiments based on CO2 manipulations. The major concern of such experiments focussed on variations in the rates of ecosystem primary production and calcification due to changes in algal physiology or specific composition. Our results, from an interdisciplinary survey of coccolithophore-dominated blooms in the northern Bay of Biscay (NE Atlantic), suggest that biogenic calcite dissolution is occurring in the photic zone where surface waters are oversaturated with respect to calcite. The dissolution of CaCO3 in surface waters, evidenced by scanning electron microscopy observations, has an impact on the preservation and export of carbon in coccolithophore-dominated ecosystems and on the exchange of CO2 across the ocean-atmosphere interface. Both aspects of suspended calcite concentration reduction in natural environments (lower rates of production or dissolution) could be considered as a perturbation of the oceanic carbon cycle. We aim at presenting here a biogeochemical description of processes, including integrated primary production, calcification, and parameters such as transparent exopolymer particles concentration and particulate inorganic carbon profiles, during field studies. A mechanism for calcite dissolution, based on biological activity in microenvironments (including grazing, bacterial respiration and DMS production) is presented as a conceptual model in coccolithophore blooms

Kinetic study of manganese behavior in the Scheldt estuary

Combination of radiochemistry with simultaneous determination of corresponding stable isotope concentration allows the study of the biogeochemical behavior of manganese in an estuarine system which is not at equilibrium. A bacterial uptake in the dark of 0.40 μM in 50 hours at 6 °C, corresponding to an uptake rate of 8 nM · h-1, was measured for the sample collected in winter. However, this biological uptake represents only 60% of the decrease in stable dissolved manganese concentration after 50 hours. Other abiotic processes inducing the precipitation of dissolved manganese are thus occurring in this low salinity region of the Scheldt estuary (Belgium).SCOPUS: cp.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Cell lysis during coccolithophorid blooms in the Northern Bay of Biscay

Phytoplankton cell lysis occurs in natural populations and is often associated with viral activity and zooplankton grazing. Cell lysis rates are expected to increase towards the decaying phase of the bloom and may be associated with enhanced microbial activity and export of particulate matter to the seafloor. Their estimation was based on the measurement of esterase (a cytoplasmic enzyme) activity expected to appear in the water only after cell breakage. Field investigations, supported by remote sensing data, were conducted in recent years during late spring in the Northern Bay of Biscay, where frequent and recurrent coccolithophorid blooms are observed. Results on cell lysis rates determined in surface waters will be presented with relevant biogeochemical parameters (temperature, particulate organic and inorganic carbon, transparent exopolymer particles, nutrients, chlorophyll a) in order to investigate phytoplankton dynamics in relation to coccolithophorid development. The use of this parameter to characterize bloom termination, especially during coccolithophorid blooms will be discussed

Geochemistry of Particulate Matter in the Northeast Atlantic Margin

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Trace Element Composition of Suspended Matter along the Biscay Margin in the Northeast Atlantic

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Hypoxie benthique et diagénèse précoce dans les sédiments de la Mer Noire

Marine waters of semi-enclosed seas are affected by a major environmental issue which is oxygen depletion in bottom waters. Deoxygenation is one of the most widespread man-induced consequences which can be catastrophic for living species. Between 1970 and 1990, the benthic compartment of the Black Sea underwent modifications due to the occurrence and increase of hypoxia. Indeed, these changes might cause a deterioration of the structure and functioning of the ecosystems. Nowadays, some regions, such as the north-western shelf, are still affected seasonally by this phenomenon.Within the framework of the BENTHOX project, a biogeochemical study focusing on the early diagenesis is conducted in the Black Sea. It aims (1) to obtain a better understanding of the impact of benthic hypoxia on the diagenetic pathways, (2) to contribute to a new dataset of biogeochemical measurements in the sediments including porewaters. During a cruise (Emblas II – May 2016), on board the RV Mare Nigrum, sediment cores were taken at 4 stations on the Ukrainian shelf. Porewaters were extracted on board the ship using Rhizon technique under N2 atmosphere and will be analyzed for dissolved nutrients and major ions. In addition, sediments were sliced and will be determined for major solid phases and trace element contents. A multi-proxies (biological, sedimentological, mineralogical and geochemical) approach will be used to identify the hypoxic events and to reconstruct the history of bottom hypoxia. The results obtained will be presented and discussed with emphasis on the first outcomes and the major biogeochemical processes involved in the early diagenesis

Biological responses of the marine diatom <i>Chaetoceros socialis</i> to changing environmental conditions: a laboratory experiment

Diatoms constitute a major group of phytoplankton, accounting for ~20% of the world’s primary production. It has been shown that iron (Fe) can be the limiting factor for phytoplankton growth, in particular, in the HNLC (High Nutrient Low Chlorophyll) regions. Iron plays thus an essential role in governing the marine primary productivity and the efficiency of biological carbon pump. Oceanic systems are undergoing continuous modifications at varying rates and magnitudes as a result of changing climate. The objective of our research is to evaluate how changing environmental conditions (dust deposition, ocean warming and acidification) can affect marine Fe biogeochemistry and diatom growth. Laboratory culture experiments using a marine diatom Chaetoceros socialis were conducted at two temperatures (13C and 18C) and under two pCO2 (carbon dioxide partial pressure) (400 μatm and 800 μatm) conditions. The present study clearly highlights the effect of ocean acidification on enhancing the release of Fe upon dust deposition. Our results also confirm that being a potential source of Fe, dust provides in addition a readily utilizable source of macronutrients such as dissolved phosphate (PO4) and silicate (DSi). However, elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations may also have an adverse impact on diatom growth, causing a decrease in cell size and possible further changes in phytoplankton composition. Meanwhile, ocean warming may lead to the reduction of diatom production and cell size, inducing poleward shifts in the biogeographic distribution of diatoms. The changing climate has thus a significant implication for ocean phytoplankton growth, cell size and primary productivity, phytoplankton distribution and community composition, and carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), silicon (Si) and Fe biogeochemical cycles in various ways.SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/inPres

Phosphorus and nitrogen speciation, transformation and retention in the Scheldt estuary (Belgium/The Netherlands) from the freshwater tidal limits to the North Sea

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The use of acidimetric titration as a novel approach to study particulate trace metal speciation and mobility: Application to sediments of the Scheldt estuary

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