Distribution des faunes vivantes, mortes et fossiles de foraminifères benthiques sur la marge portugaise : impact des apports fluviatiles et de la qualité de la matière organique

The Iberian Margin is a highly productive system driven by coastal upwelling and river inputs. Benthic foraminifera are marine protists particularly sensitive to environmental conditions. Hence they appear well suited bio-indicators for such environment. In the framework of this thesis, living, dead and fossil benthic foraminifera were analized on 23 surface sediment cores and two piston cores essentially from locations off the major rivers of the Portuguese Coast (Douro, Mondego, Tagus and Sado). This faunal analysis, combined with sedimentary and geochemical measurements allow thhe identification of the impact of fluvial exports and organic matter quality during the late winter period. The comparison of dead and living communities, on the first few centimeters of the sediment, shows the seasonal variation of faunas controlled by upwelling activity and riverine discharges intensity. The impact of taphonomical processes on the preservation of these bio-indicators is also investigated in the perspective of a better understanding ofthe fossil signal of these faunas. The paleoenvironmental application of these bio-indicators was then conducted on a 10 m long core from the Tagus shelf that allows paleoreconstruction for the last 5,700 cal. yr BP. The fossil benthic foraminifera record shows that some periods were characterized by intense river runoff and others by variable intensity of the seasonal upwelling.La marge ibérique est un milieu biologiquement productif régit par l'influence d'un upwelling saisonnier et des apports continentaux. Les foraminifères benthiques sont des protistes matins qui présentent une grande sensibilité aux conditions environnementales. Ils apparaissent ainsi comme des bio-indicateurs particulièrement efficaces dans ce type de contexte. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, les faunes de foraminifères benthiques, vivants, morts et fossiles prélevées sur un total de 23 carottes interfaces et deux carottes et deux carottes piston, essentiellement situées au débouché de quatre feluves ouest-ibériques majeurs (Douro, Mondego, Tage et Sado) ont été étudiés.Cette analyse faunistique, conjointe à des mesures sédimentaires et géochimiques a permis d'identifier l'impact de la qualité de la matière organique, et donc des apports fluviatiles sur la distribution des faunes vivantes en période hivernale. La comparaison des faunes mortes et vivantes sur les premiers centimètres de sédiments illustre la variation saisonnière de la réponse faunistique à l'upwelling et aux apports continentaux. Elle met également en évidence l'impact des processus taphonomiques sur la conservation de ces bio-indicateurs en vue de permettre une meilleure compréhension du signal fossile de ces faunes. L'application paléoenvironnementale de ces bio-indicateurs a été menée sur une carotte longue prélevée au large du Tage qui permet une reconstruction des derniers 5700 ans cal. BP. Elle a permis de mettre en évidence des périodes caractérisées par des apports importants de matière organique issus du fleuve ainsi que des variations de l'intensité de l'upwelling

Ice-sheet melt drove methane emissions in the Arctic during the last two interglacials

Circum-Arctic glacial ice is melting in an unprecedented mode, and release of currently trapped geological methane may act as a positive feedback on ice-sheet retreat during global warming. Evidence for methane release during the penultimate (Eemian, ca. 125 ka) interglacial, a period with less glacial sea ice and higher temperatures than today, is currently absent. Here, we argue that based on foraminiferal isotope studies on drill holes from offshore Svalbard, Norway, methane leakage occurred upon the abrupt Eurasian ice-sheet wastage during terminations of the last (Weichselian) and penultimate (Saalian) glaciations. Progressive increase of methane emissions seems to be first recorded by depleted benthic foraminiferal δ13C. This is quickly followed by the precipitation of methane-derived authigenic carbonate as overgrowth inside and outside foraminiferal shells, characterized by heavy δ18O and depleted δ13C of both benthic and planktonic foraminifera. The similarities between the events observed over both terminations advocate for a common driver for the episodic release of geological methane stocks. Our favored model is recurrent leakage of shallow gas reservoirs below the gas hydrate stability zone along the margin of western Svalbard that can be reactivated upon initial instability of the grounded, marine-based ice sheets. Analogous to this model, with the current acceleration of the Greenland ice melt, instabilities of existing methane reservoirs below and nearby the ice sheet are likely

The Impact of Methane on Microbial Communities at Marine Arctic Gas Hydrate Bearing Sediment

Cold seeps are characterized by high biomass, which is supported by the microbial oxidation of the available methane by capable microorganisms. The carbon is subsequently transferred to higher trophic levels. South of Svalbard, five geological mounds shaped by the formation of methane gas hydrates, have been recently located. Methane gas seeping activity has been observed on four of them, and flares were primarily concentrated at their summits. At three of these mounds, and along a distance gradient from their summit to their outskirt, we investigated the eukaryotic and prokaryotic biodiversity linked to 16S and 18S rDNA. Here we show that local methane seepage and other environmental conditions did affect the microbial community structure and composition. We could not demonstrate a community gradient from the summit to the edge of the mounds. Instead, a similar community structure in any methane-rich sediments could be retrieved at any location on these mounds. The oxidation of methane was largely driven by anaerobic methanotrophic Archaea-1 (ANME-1) and the communities also hosted high relative abundances of sulfate reducing bacterial groups although none demonstrated a clear co-occurrence with the predominance of ANME-1. Additional common taxa were observed and their abundances were likely benefiting from the end products of methane oxidation. Among these were sulfide-oxidizing Campilobacterota, organic matter degraders, such as Bathyarchaeota, Woesearchaeota, or thermoplasmatales marine benthic group D, and heterotrophic ciliates and Cercozoa

Distribution of living benthic foraminifera in the northern Chukchi Sea

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Arktos. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41063-018-0062-y.Living (Rose Bengal stained) benthic foraminifera were studied in the topmost sediments of five multi- and box cores collected on the continental shelf, upper and lower slopes, of the Chukchi Sea to provide background information on modern benthic foraminiferal distribution, useful for future studies. Sediment cores were collected during August–September 2015, when the area is seasonally ice-free. Benthic foraminiferal contents in the 63–125 µm and > 125 µm size fractions are discussed in terms of water masses distribution, and sedimentological (grain size) and organic geochemical (total organic carbon, total nitrogen, C/N ratio and δ13Corg) characteristics of the surface sediments. Marine organic carbon-rich clay sediments characterize the faunal microhabitats. Despite relatively high organic carbon contents, standing stocks of living benthic foraminifera are generally low, especially for the 63–125 µm size fraction. This low living stock seems to reflect post-bloom conditions in August and September in the area. The reduced supply of fresh organic carbon also affects faunal microhabitats in the sediment with a concentration of living fauna in the upper 2 cm of the sediment. Over the Chukchi Sea shelf, a relatively mixed upper sediment layer likely due to bioturbation or bio-structures induces a disturbed vertical distribution in the sediment. Corrosive Pacific-derived bottom water over the shelf likely explains the relative importance of agglutinated vs. calcareous fauna in this shallow setting. Our results suggest that, in a post-bloom context, the main environmental control on benthic foraminiferal assemblages in the Chukchi Sea is the nature of the bottom water masses

RV Kronprins Håkon (cruise no. 2019708) Longyearbyen – Longyearbyen 19.09. – 16.10.2019

The HACON cruise is a major component of the FRINATEK HACON project, which aims at investigating the role of the Gakkel Ridge and Arctic Ocean in biological connectivity amongst ocean basins and global biogeography of chemosynthetic ecosystems. The HACON study area is centered in the Aurora seamount and Aurora vent field

Hot Vents Beneath an Icy Ocean: The Aurora Vent Field, Gakkel Ridge, Revealed

Evidence of hydrothermal venting on the ultra-slow spreading Gakkel Ridge in the Central Arctic Ocean has been available since 2001, with first visual evidence of black smokers on the Aurora Vent Field obtained in 2014. But it was not until 2021 that the first ever remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dives to hydrothermal vents under permanent ice cover in the Arctic were conducted, enabling the collection of vent fluids, rocks, microbes, and fauna. In this paper, we present the methods employed for deep-sea ROV operations under drifting ice. We also provide the first description of the Aurora Vent Field, which includes three actively venting black smokers and diffuse flow on the Aurora mound at ~3,888 m depth on the southern part of the Gakkel Ridge (82.5°N). The biological communities are dominated by a new species of cocculinid limpet, two small gastropods, and a melitid amphipod. The ongoing analyses of Aurora Vent Field samples will contribute to positioning the Gakkel Ridge hydrothermal vents in the global biogeographic puzzle of hydrothermal vents

Living, dead and fossil benthic foraminiferal distribution from the Portuguese margin : impact of fluvial exports and organic matter quality

La marge ibérique est un milieu biologiquement productif régit par l'influence d'un upwelling saisonnier et des apports continentaux. Les foraminifères benthiques sont des protistes matins qui présentent une grande sensibilité aux conditions environnementales. Ils apparaissent ainsi comme des bio-indicateurs particulièrement efficaces dans ce type de contexte. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, les faunes de foraminifères benthiques, vivants, morts et fossiles prélevées sur un total de 23 carottes interfaces et deux carottes et deux carottes piston, essentiellement situées au débouché de quatre feluves ouest-ibériques majeurs (Douro, Mondego, Tage et Sado) ont été étudiés.Cette analyse faunistique, conjointe à des mesures sédimentaires et géochimiques a permis d'identifier l'impact de la qualité de la matière organique, et donc des apports fluviatiles sur la distribution des faunes vivantes en période hivernale. La comparaison des faunes mortes et vivantes sur les premiers centimètres de sédiments illustre la variation saisonnière de la réponse faunistique à l'upwelling et aux apports continentaux. Elle met également en évidence l'impact des processus taphonomiques sur la conservation de ces bio-indicateurs en vue de permettre une meilleure compréhension du signal fossile de ces faunes. L'application paléoenvironnementale de ces bio-indicateurs a été menée sur une carotte longue prélevée au large du Tage qui permet une reconstruction des derniers 5700 ans cal. BP. Elle a permis de mettre en évidence des périodes caractérisées par des apports importants de matière organique issus du fleuve ainsi que des variations de l'intensité de l'upwelling.The Iberian Margin is a highly productive system driven by coastal upwelling and river inputs. Benthic foraminifera are marine protists particularly sensitive to environmental conditions. Hence they appear well suited bio-indicators for such environment. In the framework of this thesis, living, dead and fossil benthic foraminifera were analized on 23 surface sediment cores and two piston cores essentially from locations off the major rivers of the Portuguese Coast (Douro, Mondego, Tagus and Sado). This faunal analysis, combined with sedimentary and geochemical measurements allow thhe identification of the impact of fluvial exports and organic matter quality during the late winter period. The comparison of dead and living communities, on the first few centimeters of the sediment, shows the seasonal variation of faunas controlled by upwelling activity and riverine discharges intensity. The impact of taphonomical processes on the preservation of these bio-indicators is also investigated in the perspective of a better understanding ofthe fossil signal of these faunas. The paleoenvironmental application of these bio-indicators was then conducted on a 10 m long core from the Tagus shelf that allows paleoreconstruction for the last 5,700 cal. yr BP. The fossil benthic foraminifera record shows that some periods were characterized by intense river runoff and others by variable intensity of the seasonal upwelling

Distribution of Living Benthic Foraminifera in the Baffin Bay and Nares Strait in the Summer and Fall Periods: Relation with Environmental Parameters

Arctic climate warming leads to drastic changes in sea ice dynamics, hence impacting primary productivity but also the benthic communities. Therefore, to assess the response of living benthic foraminifera to contrasting Arctic environments, surface sediments from nine stations were collected during the summer of 2014 and fall of 2015 in the Baffin Bay and Nares Strait. Living standing stock are systematically low in the eastern and western Baffin Bay and much higher in the North Water Polynya and the Kane Basin located at the entrance and in the center of Nares Strait, respectively. High living benthic foraminiferal densities in the NOW reflect higher TOC while the highest density in the Kane Basin coincides with lower TOC but higher C/N and higher δ13Corg. The contribution of agglutinated species is on average very high for the whole study area and dominated by the species Adercotryma glomeratum, Lagenammina arenulata, and Reophax scorpiurus. Calcareous species, dominated by Nonionellina labradorica and Melonis barleeanus, are more abundant in the North Water Polynya and the Kane Basin. The very high living standing stock observed in the Kane Basin might be related to the northern position of the ice arch that summer during 2014 and therefore a particularly scarce sea ice cover might have allowed massive phytoplankton production during that season. In this study, the distribution of living benthic foraminifera is discussed according to several environmental parameters such as water masses, phytoplankton productivity, and organic matter fluxes

Comparison of living and dead benthic foraminifera on the Portuguese margin: Understanding the taphonomical processes

Dead benthic foraminifera (> 150 μm) were studied in 23 sediment cores from the Portuguese Margin at water depths between 20 and 2000 m and located on 4 transects off the Douro, Mondego, Tagus and Sado river mouths and 1 transect in the Estremadura. For 10 stations, the dead faunal vertical distribution (0–8 cm) was first investigated in 4 different sediment horizons per core to evaluate the sampling effort necessary to have a representation of the dead fauna deposited under different environmental areas. As a result, it appears that the faunal vertical distribution is constant, except for the deepest environments where fragile taxa were identified in the top layers only. Dead foraminiferal assemblages in the 4–5 cm layer for all stations were then compared to previously published living foraminiferal assemblages (of March 2011) from the same cores to evaluate the taphonomical processes affecting major species. This improves the knowledge of the faunal distribution for a better benthic foraminiferal proxy for paleostudies. There was a considerable loss of some species in the dead fauna. Firstly, this concerns the fragile organic-cemented agglutinated taxa such as Reophax spp., Glomospira charoides, or Bathysiphon spp. Secondly, some calcitic species such as Nonion scaphum, Cancris auriculus, Ammonia beccarii or Bulimina aculeata that were particularly abundant in the living fauna on the inner shelf under the late winter high river discharge conditions, were also far less dominant in the dead fauna. Lastly, other species like Cassidulina carinata, Valvulineria bradyana, and Bulimina marginata systematically showed higher abundance in the dead fauna at the mid shelf. These species, related to eutrophic conditions occurring in summer during the upwelling activity, were therefore not well represented in the living fauna, collected in March. Transport of allochthonous specimens may also account for higher contribution in the dead community of some species like Cibicides lobatulus, Asterigerinata mamilla or Haynesina depressula, especially in coastal environments where hydrodynamic processes (river flood, winter storm, coastal drift) are more vigorous. Several species (U. mediterranea, U. bifurcata, T. agglutinans, H. balthica or B. costata), however, show little or no difference in both abundance and spatial occurrence between the living and dead faunas and provide a stable signal for paleoclimatic investigations

Benthic Foraminifera in Arctic Methane Hydrate Bearing Sediments

Benthic foraminifera have been widely used as proxy for paleo-methane emissions, mainly based on their stable isotopic signature. In cold seeps, the ecology of these organisms remains uncertain, in particular their ability to thrive during active phases of seepage. In this study, we evaluate the benthic foraminiferal response to methane seepage in Arctic sediments. We do so by examining living and dead benthic foraminiferal assemblages (>63 µm) of 11 push cores collected in two of the most active pockmarks (Lunde and Lomvi) along Vestnesa Ridge, offshore western Svalbard. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages are interpreted in the context of sediment geochemistry, seafloor images, and pore water analyses, which are used to characterize the different microhabitats. At the sampling locations, methane is currently being released making these the ideal sites to investigate the connection between the benthic foraminiferal distribution and methane seepage in the Arctic Ocean. Our results show that benthic calcareous foraminifera live in methane charged sediments, even if the faunal density and diversity is low. We note that the eutrophic-tolerant species Melonis barleeanus withstand the methane-induced hostile geochemical conditions and that it seems to prosper on the additional food availability represented by microbial mats growing at methane seeps. We also observe that the methane transport mechanisms affect different species differently. For example, sediments characterized by advectivelike conditions are distinguished by a high density of living individuals, dominated by Cassidulina neoteretis, whereas sediments characterized by methane diffusion exhibit a very low faunal density. Agglutinated foraminifera are less abundant in sediments influenced by methane seepage, suggesting that this group of foraminifera does not tolerate the geochemical conditions at seeps. A comparison between the size fractions >63 and >125 µm highlights the importance of studying the finer size fraction for ecological studies in the Arctic Ocean. In the light of our results, we conclude that benthic foraminiferal can thrive at active methane seeps, where assemblages are clearly affected by methane flux