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Much of our understanding of Earth's past climate states comes from the measurement of oxygen and carbon isotope variations in deep-sea benthic foraminifera. Yet, major intervals in those records that lack the temporal resolution and/or age control required to identify climate forcing and feedback mechanisms. Here we document 66 million years of global climate by a new high-fidelity Cenozoic global reference benthic carbon and oxygen isotope dataset (CENOGRID). Using recurrence analysis, we find that on timescales of millions of years Earth's climate can be grouped into Hothouse, Warmhouse, Coolhouse and Icehouse states separated by transitions related to changing greenhouse gas levels and the growth of polar ice sheets. Each Cenozoic climate state is paced by orbital cycles, but the response to radiative forcing is state dependent.

In an enclosure experiment, we employed two levels of inorganic NP ratios (10 and 5) for three distinct plankton communities collected along the coast of central Chile (33ºS). Each combination of community and NP level was replicated three times. The experiment lasted 12 days, and the data set include inorganic nutrients (NO3, PO4, DSi), particular organic carbon (POC), nitrogen (PON) and phosphorus (POP), Chlorophyll a, a range of fluorescence based measurements such as photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) and community data. The primary effect of the NP treatment was related to different concentrations of NO3, which directly influenced the biomass of phytoplankton. Additionally, low inorganic NP ratio reduced the seston NP and Chl a-C ratios, and there were some effects on the plankton community composition, e.g. benefitting Synechococcus spp in some communities.

The presence-absence data for macrobenthic fauna that has been collected in Mingulay Reef Complex (Scotland, UK) across 79 stations over the years 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010 and 2011. The collection of the benthic samples has been carried out using a Van-Veen grab, mainly from hard habitats (e.g. live and dead coral framework). About 60% of the macrofaunal specimens have been identified at species level using high quality taxonomic keys and advice from taxonomy experts. Most common taxonomic groups analysed here are molluscs, polychaetes, arthropods, bryozoans, anthozoans, tunicates and brachiopods. The collection of the specimens is now deposited at the National Museums of Scotland (see the attached excel file for details). The enviromental data contains information about coordinates and environmental settings at stations where macrobenthic samples mentioned above, were collected. The environmental settings that are included in the file refer to the years 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011. For more information on the environmental variables have a look in Henry et al. 2010 (doi:10.1007/s00338-009-0577-6) and Henry et al. 2013 (doi:10.5194/bg-10-2737-2013). The environmental variables included in the excel file are: type of macrohabitat (i.e. muddy sand, rubble, rock, live coral, dead framework, live & dead framework), depth (m), slope, ruggedness, broad-scale bathymetric position index, fine-scale bathymetric position index, average current speed (m/s), maximum current speed (m/s), northness, eastness, winter North Atlantic Oscillation Index (same year), winter North Atlantic Oscillation Index (previous year), annual average bottom temperature (same year), annual average bottom salinity (same year). Extraction of bathymetric (depth) and topographic data [slope, aspect, northness, eastness, ruggedness, standardised broad-scale bathymetric position index (BPI; with an inner radius of 1 cell and an outer radius of 5 cells), fine-scale BPI (with an inner radius of 1 cell and an outer radius of 3 cells)] was based on multibeam echosounder data, using the Spatial Analyst and Benthic Terrain Modeler toolboxes in ArcGIS v.10.6.1 Average and maximum current speed values (m/s) were extracted by the ArcGIS v. 10.6.1 Spatial Analyst toolbox using data generated by a high-resolution 3D ocean model created for the MRC by Moreno-Navas et al. (2014). Data for the winter NAOI (DJFM) (Hurrell et al., 2003) were downloaded from the National Center for Atmospheric Research/University Corporation for Atmospheric Research website (climatedataguide.ucar.edu; data accessed on 28/02/2019).

The Global Terrestrial Network for Permafrost (GTN-P) provides the first dynamic database associated with the Thermal State of Permafrost (TSP) and the Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring (CALM) programs, which extensively collect permafrost temperature and active layer thickness (ALT) data from Arctic, Antarctic and mountain permafrost regions. The purpose of GTN-P is to establish an early warning system for the consequences of climate change in permafrost regions and to provide standardized thermal permafrost data to global models. In this paper we introduce the GTN-P database and perform statistical analysis of the GTN-P metadata to identify and quantify the spatial gaps in the site distribution in relation to climate-effective environmental parameters. We describe the concept and structure of the data management system in regard to user operability, data transfer and data policy. We outline data sources and data processing including quality control strategies based on national correspondents. Assessment of the metadata and data quality reveals 63 % metadata completeness at active layer sites and 50 % metadata completeness for boreholes. Voronoi tessellation analysis on the spatial sample distribution of boreholes and active layer measurement sites quantifies the distribution inhomogeneity and provides a potential method to locate additional permafrost research sites by improving the representativeness of thermal monitoring across areas underlain by permafrost. The depth distribution of the boreholes reveals that 73 % are shallower than 25 m and 27 % are deeper, reaching a maximum of 1 km depth. Comparison of the GTN-P site distribution with permafrost zones, soil organic carbon contents and vegetation types exhibits different local to regional monitoring situations, which are illustrated with maps. Preferential slope orientation at the sites most likely causes a bias in the temperature monitoring and should be taken into account when using the data for global models. The distribution of GTN-P sites within zones of projected temperature change show a high representation of areas with smaller expected temperature rise but a lower number of sites within Arctic areas where climate models project extreme temperature increase.

Understanding the role of atmospheric CO2 during past climate changes requires clear knowledge of how it varies in time relative to temperature. Antarctic ice cores preserve highly resolved records of atmospheric CO2 and Antarctic temperature for the past 800,000 years. Here we propose a revised relative age scale for the concentration of atmospheric CO2 and Antarctic temperature for the last deglacial warming, using data from five Antarctic ice cores. We infer the phasing between CO2 concentration and Antarctic temperature at four times when their trends change abruptly. We find no significant asynchrony between them, indicating that Antarctic temperature did not begin to rise hundreds of years before the concentration of atmospheric CO2, as has been suggested by earlier studies.

Predicting the impact of ongoing anthropogenic CO2 emissions on calcifying marine organisms is complex, owing to the synergy between direct changes (acidification) and indirect changes through climate change (e.g., warming, changes in ocean circulation, and deoxygenation). Laboratory experiments, particularly on longer-lived organisms, tend to be too short to reveal the potential of organisms to acclimatize, adapt, or evolve and usually do not incorporate multiple stressors. We studied two examples of rapid carbon release in the geological record, Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (~53.2 Ma) and the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ~55.5 Ma), the best analogs over the last 65 Ma for future ocean acidification related to high atmospheric CO2 levels. We use benthic foraminifers, which suffered severe extinction during the PETM, as a model group. Using synchrotron radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy, we reconstruct the calcification response of survivor species and find, contrary to expectations, that calcification significantly increased during the PETM. In contrast, there was no significant response to the smaller Eocene Thermal Maximum 2, which was associated with a minor change in diversity only. These observations suggest that there is a response threshold for extinction and calcification response, while highlighting the utility of the geological record in helping constrain the sensitivity of biotic response to environmental change.

The Gollum Channels and Whittard Canyon (NE Atlantic) are two areas that receive high input of organic matter and phytodetritus from euphotic layers, but they are typified by different trophic and hydrodynamic conditions. Sediment biogeochemistry was analysed in conjunction with structure and diversity of the nematode community and differences were tested between study areas, water depths (700 m vs 1000 m), stations, and sediment layers. The Gollum Channels and Whittard Canyon harboured high meiofauna abundances (1054-1426 ind. 10 cm**-2) and high nematode diversity (total of 181 genera). Next to enhanced meiofauna abundance and nematode biomass, there were signs of high levels of organic matter deposition leading to reduced sedimentary conditions, which in turn structured the nematode community. Striking in this respect was the presence of large numbers of 'chemosynthetic' Astomonema nematodes (Astomonema southwardorum, Order Monhysterida, Family Siphonolaimidae). This genus lacks a mouth, buccal cavity and pharynx and possesses a rudimentary gut containing internal, symbiotic prokaryotes which have been recognised as sulphur-oxidising bacteria. Dominance of Astomonema may indicate the presence of reduced environments in the study areas, which is partially confirmed by the local biogeochemical environment. The nematode communities were mostly affected by sediment layer differences and concomitant trophic conditions rather than other spatial gradients related to study area, water depth or station differences, pointing to small-scale heterogeneity as the main source of variation in nematode structure and function. Furthermore, the positive relation between nematode standing stocks, and quantity and quality of the organic matter was stronger when hydrodynamic disturbance was greater. Analogically, this study also suggests that structural diversity can be positively correlated with trophic conditions and that this relation is tighter when hydrodynamic disturbance is greater.

Quantitative camera surveys of benthic megafauna were carried out during the expedition ARK-XXVII/3 to the Eastern Central Arctic basins with the research icebreaker Polarstern in summer 2012 (2 August-29 September). Nine transects were performed for the first time in deep-sea areas previously fully covered by ice, four of them in the Nansen Basin (3571-4066m) and five in the Amundsen Basin (4041-4384m). At seven of these stations benthic Agassiz trawls were taken near the camera tracks for species identification.

The dataset contains carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stable isotope compositions analysed in the muscle tissue and energy density values and concentrations of 19 elements analysed in whole bodies of 15 meso- to bathypelagic species sampled in the twilight zone (deep pelagic area) of the Bay of Biscay, North-East Atlantic. The species included 4 crustacean species (Pasiphaea sivado, Sergia robusta, Systellaspis debilis, Ephyrina figueirai) and 11 fish species (Xenodermichthys copei, Searsia koefoedi, Myctophum punctatum, Notoscopelus kroeyeri, Lampanyctus crocodilus, Argyropelecus olfersii, Arctozenus risso, Stomias boa, Serrivomer beanii, Chauliodus sloani, Aphanopus carbo). The elements included 6 major constitutive elements (macro-minerals) and 13 trace elements among which 9 essential (micro-nutrients) and 4 non-essential elements (undesirables, with no know biological function). Specimens were collected during a single fishery in a canyon of the slope of the Bay of Biscay in October 2017, during the EVHOE fishery survey (“Evaluation Halieutique de l'Ouest de l'Europe”; https://doi.org/10.17600/17002300) conducted each autumn by the “Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer” (Ifremer) on R/V Thalassa. A total of 266 individuals belonging to the 15 species were collected at night using a 25 m vertical opening pelagic trawl in the deep scattering layer (ca. 800 m depth in the water column; 1330 m bottom depth). All organisms were collected during one haul of 60 min, at a speed of approximately 4 knots (geographical coordinates at the beginning of the turn/end of the fishing: 45.103°N, -3.543° W).

During the RV Polarstern expedition PS94, we gathered sediment samples in the Barents Sea and the central Arctic Ocean by deploying both a multiple corer (MUC) and a giant boxcorer (GKG). After retrieval of the MUC or GKG, replicate sediment cores with a visibly intact sediment surface were chosen for further laboratory analysis. The selected cores were brought to the laboratory on board RV Polarstern for further analysis. While data on chlorophyll pigments, total organic carbon, microbial cell numbers and diffusive oxygen uptake rates were taken from the same cores, total oxygen uptake rates were measured in three additional cores.