• European Marine Science
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Abstract. Large-scale green tides have been invading the coastal zones of the western Yellow Sea annually since 2008. Meanwhile, oceans are becoming more acidic due to continuous absorption of anthropogenic carbon dioxide, and intensive seaweed cultivation in Chinese coastal areas is leading to severe regional nutrient limitation. However, little is known about the combined effects of global and local stressors on the eco-physiology of bloom-forming algae. We cultured Ulva linza for 9–16 days under two levels of pCO2 (400 and 1000 µatm) and four treatments of nutrients (nutrient repletion, N limitation, P limitation, and N–P limitation) to investigate the physiological responses of this green tide alga to the combination of ocean acidification and nutrient limitation. For both sporelings and adult plants, elevated pCO2 did not affect the growth rate when cultured under nutrient-replete conditions but reduced it under P limitation; N or P limitations by themselves reduced growth rate. P limitation resulted in a larger inhibition in growth for sporelings compared to adult plants. Sporelings under P limitation did not reach the mature stage after 16 days of culture while those under P repletion became mature by day 11. Elevated pCO2 reduced net photosynthetic rate for all nutrient treatments but increased nitrate reductase activity and soluble protein content under P-replete conditions. N or P limitation reduced nitrate reductase activity and soluble protein content. These findings indicate that ocean acidification and nutrient limitation would synergistically reduce the growth of Ulva species and may thus hinder the occurrence of green tides in a future ocean environment.

In numerical models for marine biogeochemistry, bio-optical data, such as measurements of the light field, may be important descriptors of the dynamics of primary producers and ultimately of oceanic carbon fluxes. However, the paucity of field observations has limited the integration of bio-optical data in such models so far. New autonomous robotic platforms for observing the ocean, i.e., Biogeochemical-Argo floats, have drastically increased the number of vertical profiles of irradiance, photosynthetically available radiation (PAR) and algal chlorophyll concentrations around the globe independently of the season. Such data may be therefore a fruitful resource to improve performances of numerical models for marine biogeochemistry. Here we present a work that integrates into a 1-dimensional model 1314 vertical profiles of PAR acquired by 31 BGC-Argo floats operated in the Mediterranean Sea between 2012 and 2016 to simulate the vertical and temporal variability of algal chlorophyll concentrations. In addition to PAR as input, alternative light and vertical mixing models were considered. We evaluated the models’ skill to reproduce the spatial and temporal variability of deep chlorophyll maxima as observed by BGC-Argo floats. The assumptions used to set up the 1-D model are validated by the high number of co-located in-situ measurements. Our results illustrate the key role of PAR and vertical mixing in shaping the vertical dynamics of primary produces in the Mediterranean Sea. Moreover, we demonstrate the importance of modeling the diel cycle to simulate chlorophyll concentrations in stratified waters at the surface.

The rewetting of drained peatlands alters peat geochemistry and often leads to sustained elevated methane emission. Although this methane is produced entirely by microbial activity, the distribution and abundance of methane-cycling microbes in rewetted peatlands, especially in fens, is rarely described. In this study, we compare the community composition and abundance of methane-cycling microbes in relation to peat porewater geochemistry in two rewetted fens in northeastern Germany, a coastal brackish fen and a freshwater riparian fen, with known high methane fluxes. We utilized 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) on 16S rRNA, mcrA, and pmoA genes to determine microbial community composition and the abundance of total bacteria, methanogens, and methanotrophs. Electrical conductivity (EC) was more than 3 times higher in the coastal fen than in the riparian fen, averaging 5.3 and 1.5 mS cm−1, respectively. Porewater concentrations of terminal electron acceptors (TEAs) varied within and among the fens. This was also reflected in similarly high intra- and inter-site variations of microbial community composition. Despite these differences in environmental conditions and electron acceptor availability, we found a low abundance of methanotrophs and a high abundance of methanogens, represented in particular by Methanosaetaceae, in both fens. This suggests that rapid (re)establishment of methanogens and slow (re)establishment of methanotrophs contributes to prolonged increased methane emissions following rewetting.

Crewmembers are exposed to high work pressure. Pressure on freight tariffs motivates cost reduction in manning and maintenance, whilst societal developments show decreasing tolerances towards incidents. In conjunction with the developments towards autonomous shipping, the need for continuous and unmanned inspection increases. Considerable progress had been made with respect to monitoring machinery condition, however, the hull structure is as relevant for inspection and maintenance. This will require enhanced inspection, i.e., E-inspection. For hull structure corrosion and fatigue are of main interest. The application of E-inspection, directs the work effort from the crew to the location of interest, at the right time. It gives also the option to monitor the health status of a ship from shore. This paper summarizes the Einspection methods, as identified in the SAFEPEC European project, and how they will help the crew reducing inspection workload.

Particulate optical backscattering (bbp) is a crucial parameter for the study of ocean biology and oceanic carbon estimations. In this work, bbp retrieval, by the quasi-analytical algorithm (QAA), is assessed using a large in situ database of matched bbp and remote-sensing reflectance (Rrs). The QAA is also applied to satellite Rrs (ESA OC-CCI project) as well, after their validation against in situ Rrs. Additionally, the effect of Raman Scattering on QAA retrievals is studied. Results show negligible biases above random noise when QAA-derived bbp is compared to in situ bbp. In addition, Rrs from the CCI archive shows good agreement with in situ data. The QAA’s functional form of spectral backscattering slope, as derived from in situ radiometry, is validated. Finally, we show the importance of correcting for Raman Scattering over clear waters prior to semi-analytical retrieval. Overall, this work demonstrates the high efficiency of QAA in the bbp detection in case of both in situ and ocean color data, but it also highlights the necessity to increase the number of observations that are severely under-sampled in respect to others environmental parameters.

Abstract. Southeast Asian rivers convey large amounts of organic carbon, but little is known about the fate of this terrestrial material in estuaries. Although Southeast Asia is, by area, considered a hotspot of estuarine carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, studies in this region are very scarce. We measured dissolved and particulate organic carbon, as well as CO2 partial pressures and carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations in two tropical estuaries in Sarawak, Malaysia, whose coastal area is covered by carbon-rich peatlands. We surveyed the estuaries of the rivers Lupar and Saribas during the wet and dry season, respectively. Carbon-to-nitrogen ratios suggest that dissolved organic matter (DOM) is largely of terrestrial origin. We found evidence that a large fraction of this carbon is respired. The median pCO2 in the estuaries ranged between 640 and 5065 µatm with little seasonal variation. CO2 fluxes were determined with a floating chamber and estimated to amount to 14–268 mol m−2 yr−1, which is high compared to other studies from tropical and subtropical sites. Estimates derived from a merely wind-driven turbulent diffusivity model were considerably lower, indicating that these models might be inappropriate in estuaries, where tidal currents and river discharge make an important contribution to the turbulence driving water–air gas exchange. Although an observed diurnal variability of CO concentrations suggested that CO was photochemically produced, the overall concentrations and fluxes were relatively moderate (0.4–1.3 nmol L−1 and 0.7–1.8 mmol m−2 yr−1) if compared to published data for oceanic or upwelling systems. We attributed this to the large amounts of suspended matter (4–5004 mg L−1), limiting the light penetration depth and thereby inhibiting CO photoproduction. We concluded that estuaries in this region function as an efficient filter for terrestrial organic carbon and release large amounts of CO2 to the atmosphere. The Lupar and Saribas rivers deliver 0.3 ± 0.2 Tg C yr−1 to the South China Sea as organic carbon and their mid-estuaries release approximately 0.4 ± 0.2 Tg C yr−1 into the atmosphere as CO2.

Abstract. An increasing number of studies are now reporting the effects of ocean acidification on a broad range of marine species, processes and systems. Many of these are investigating the sensitive early life-history stages that several major reviews have highlighted as being potentially most susceptible to ocean acidification. Nonetheless there remain few investigations of the effects of ocean acidification on the very earliest, and critical, process of fertilization, and still fewer that have investigated levels of ocean acidification relevant for the coming century. Here we report the effects of near-future levels of ocean acidification (≈−0.35 pH unit change) on sperm swimming speed, sperm motility, and fertilization kinetics in a population of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas from western Sweden. We found no significant effect of ocean acidification – a result that was well-supported by power analysis. Similar findings from Japan suggest that this may be a globally robust result, and we emphasise the need for experiments on multiple populations from throughout a species' range. We also discuss the importance of sound experimental design and power analysis in meaningful interpretation of non-significant results.