Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Factors Determining Seagrass Blue Carbon Across Bioregions And Geomorphologies, Ines Mazarrasa, Paul Lavery, Carlos M. Duarte, Anna Lafratta, Catherine E. Lovelock, Peter I. Macreadie, Jimena Samper-Villarreal, Cristian Salinas, Christian J. Sanders, Stacey Trevathan-Tackett, Mary Young, Andy Steven, Oscar Serrano

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Seagrass meadows rank among the most significant organic carbon (C_org) sinks on earth. We examined the variability in seagrass soil C_org stocks and composition across Australia and identified the main drivers of variability, applying a spatially hierarchical approach that incorporates bioregions and geomorphic settings. Top 30 cm soil C_org stocks were similar across bioregions and geomorphic settings (min-max: 20–26 Mg C_org ha⁻¹), but meadows formed by large species (i.e., Amphibolis spp. and Posidonia spp.) showed higher stocks (24–29 Mg C_org ha⁻¹) than those formed by smaller species (e.g., Halodule, Halophila, …

Introduction To The French Geotraces North Atlantic Transect (Ga01): Geovide Cruise, Geraldine Sarthou, Pascale Lherminier, Eric P. Achterberg, Fernando Alonso-Pérez, Eva Bucciarelli, Julia Boutorh, Vincent Bouvier, Edward A. Boyle, Pierre Branellec, Lidia I. Carracedo, Nuria Casacuberta, Maxi Castrillejo, Marie Cheize, Leonardo Contreira Pereira, Daniel Cossa, Nathalie Daniault, Emmanuel De Saint-Léger, Frank Dehairs, Feifei Deng, Floriane Desprez De Gésincourt, Jérémy Devesa, Lorna Foliot, Debany Fonseca-Batista, Morgane Gallinari, Maribel I. García-Ibáñez, Arthur Gourain, Emilie Grossteffan, Michel Hamon, Lars Eric Heimbürger, Gideon M. Henderson, Catherine Jeandel, Catherine Kermabon, François Lacan, Phillippe Le Bot, Manon Le Goff, Emilie Le Roy, Alison Lefèbvre, Stéphane Leizour, Nolwenn Lemaitre, Pere Masqué, Olivier Ménage, Jan-Lukas Menzel Barraqueta, Herlé Mercier, Fabien Perault, Fiz F. Pérez, Hélène F. Planquette, Frédéric Planchon, Arnout Roukaerts, Virginie Sanial, Raphaëlle Sauzède, Catherine Schmechtig, Rachel U. Shelley, Gillian Stewart, Jill N. Sutton, Yi Tang, Nadine Tisnérat-Laborde, Manon Tonnard, Paul Tréguer, Pieter Van Beek, Cheryl M. Zurbrick, Patricia Zunino

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The GEOVIDE cruise, a collaborative project within the framework of the international GEOTRACES programme, was conducted along the French-led section in the North Atlantic Ocean (Section GA01), between 15 May and 30 June 2014. In this special issue (https://www.biogeosciences.net/special_issue900.html), results from GEOVIDE, including physical oceanography and trace element and isotope cyclings, are presented among 18 articles. Here, the scientific context, project objectives, and scientific strategy of GEOVIDE are provided, along with an overview of the main results from the articles published in the special issue.

Habitat Characteristics Provide Insights Of Carbon Storage In Seagrass Meadows, Inés Mazarrasa, Jimena Samper-Villarreal, Oscar Serrano, Paul S. Lavery, Catherine E. Lovelock, Núrià N. Marbà, Carlos M. Duarte, Jorge A. Cortés

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Seagrass meadows provide multiple ecosystem services, yet they are among the most threatened ecosystems on earth. Because of their role as carbon sinks, protection and restoration of seagrass meadows contribute to climate change mitigation. Blue Carbon strategies aim to enhance CO2 sequestration and avoid greenhouse gasses emissions through the management of coastal vegetated ecosystems, including seagrass meadows. The implementation of Blue Carbon strategies requires a good understanding of the habitat characteristics that influence Corg sequestration. Here, we review the existing knowledge on Blue Carbon research in seagrass meadows to identify the key habitat characteristics that influence Corg sequestration in seagrass …

A Six Thousand-Year Record Of Climate And Land-Use Change From Mediterranean Seagrass Mats, Lourdes Lopez-Merino, Nieves Colas-Ruiz, Maria Adame, Oscar Serrano, Antonio Cortizas, Miguel-Angel Mateo

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica maintains a biodiverse ecosystem and it is a world-wide important carbon sink. It grows for millennia, accumulating organic-rich soils (mats) beneath the meadows. This marine habitat is protected by the European Union; however, it is declining rapidly due to coastal development. Understanding its response to disturbances could inform habitat restoration, but many environmental impacts predate monitoring programs (years).
This research explores the palaeoecological potential of Posidonia mats to reconstruct six thousand years of environmental change that could have affected Posidonia meadows and, in turn, left an imprint on the mats.
Palynological, microcharcoal, magnetic susceptibility and …

Historical Reconstructions Of Water Quality In The Kimberley Using Sediment Records. Report Of 2.2.9 Prepared For The Kimberley Marine Research Program, John Keesing, Dongyan Liu, Zineng Yuan, Yajun Peng, Yujue Wang, Pierre Richard, Pere Masque´, Yingjun Chen, Yin Fang

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This project made use of a suite of palaeoecological approaches to reconstruct a chronology of change in coastal water quality over the last approximately 100 years. The biogeochemical proxies addressed phytoplankton composition and biomass, temperature and terrestrial influences. Where possible these were matched to historical land/water use, meteorological or hydrological observational records.

The project examined sediment cores from three coastal locations in the Kimberley region, Koolama Bay (King George River), Cygnet Bay and Roebuck Bay. Each sampling location provided a contrast with which to evaluate changes over either a spatial or temporal gradient of human or natural influences.

Aims

• Reconstruct …

Addressing Calcium Carbonate Cycling In Blue Carbon Accounting, Peter I. Macreadie, Oscar Serrano, Damien T. Maher, Carlos M. Duarte, John Beardall

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Scientific Significance Statement

There is considerable interest in measuring the capacity of the world's ecosystems to trap and store excess atmospheric carbon dioxide to mitigate human‐induced climate change. Blue carbon describes the carbon storage potential of vegetated coastal ecosystems including tidal marshes, mangroves, and seagrasses. Efforts are now underway to include blue carbon in global carbon offset schemes by managing these ecosystems to enhance carbon sequestration by focusing on their effect on organic carbon processing. However, it is unclear what role inorganic carbon processing in blue carbon ecosystems plays in their overall carbon sequestration. Here, we argue that there are …

Ecological Connectivity Of Kimberley Marine Communities. Synthesis Report Of Project 1.1.3 Prepared For The Kimberley Marine Research Program, Zoe Richards, Oliver Berry, Jim Underwood, Kathryn Mcmahon, Mike Travers, Glenn Moore, Udhi Hernawan, Joseph Dibattista, Richard Evans, James Gilmour

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The overarching objective of KMRP Project 1.1.3 (Ecological Connectivity of Kimberley Marine Communities) was to provide the first estimates of ecological connectivity across multiple spatial scales for a suite of model/priority marine organisms in the Kimberley. More specifically, this project aimed to provide species-specific estimates of realised connectivity at a reef-scale ( < 1 > km), inter-reef scale (1-100 km) and inter-region scale (100 + km) through genetic analyses of seven key animals and plants with contrasting dispersive life histories that are representative of common taxa.

Fukushima Daiichi-Derived Radionuclides In The Ocean: Transport, Fate, And Impacts, Ken O. Buesseler, Minhan Dai, Michio Aoyama, Claudia R. Benítez-Nelson,, Sabine S. Charmasson, Kathryn A. Higley, Vladimir S. Maderich, Pere Masqué, Paul J. Morris, Deborah H. Oughton, John N. Smith

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The events that followed the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, included the loss of power and overheating at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants, which led to extensive releases of radioactive gases, volatiles, and liquids, particularly to the coastal ocean. The fate of these radionuclides depends in large part on their oceanic geochemistry, physical processes, and biological uptake. Whereas radioactivity on land can be resampled and its distribution mapped, releases to the marine environment are harder to characterize owing to variability in ocean currents and the general challenges of sampling at sea. Five years later, it is …

Responses Of Marine Organisms To Climate Change Across Oceans, Elvira S. Poloczanska, Michael T. Burrows, Christipher J. Brown, Jorge G. Molinos, Benjamin S. Halpern, Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Carrie V. Kappel, Philippa J. Moore, Anthony Richardson, David S. Schoeman, William J. Sydeman

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Climate change is driving changes in the physical and chemical properties of the ocean that have consequences for marine ecosystems. Here, we review evidence for the responses of marine life to recent climate change across ocean regions, from tropical seas to polar oceans. We consider observed changes in calcification rates, demography, abundance, distribution, and phenology of marine species. We draw on a database of observed climate change impacts on marine species, supplemented with evidence in the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. We discuss factors that limit or facilitate species' responses, such as fishing pressure, the …

Sea Surface Temperature Variability In The Central-Western Mediterranean Sea During The Last 2700 Years: A Multi-Proxy And Multi-Record Approach, Merce Cisneros, Isabel Cacho, Jaime Frigola, Miquel Canals, Pere Masque, Belen Martrat, Marta Casado, Joan Grimalt, Leopoldo Pena, Giulia Margaritelli, Fabrizio Lirer

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This study presents the reconstructed evolution of sea surface conditions in the central-western Mediterranean Sea during the late Holocene (2700 years) from a set of multi-proxy records as measured on five short sediment cores from two sites north of Minorca (cores MINMC06 and HER-MC-MR3). Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) from alkenones and Globigerina bulloides Mg / Ca ratios are combined with δ¹⁸O measurements in order to reconstruct changes in the regional evaporation–precipitation (E–P) balance. We also revisit the G. bulloides Mg / Ca–SST calibration and re-adjusted it based on a set of core-top measurements from the western Mediterranean Sea. …

Individual And Population-Level Responses To Ocean Acidification, Ben P. Harvey, Niall J. Mckeown, Samuel P. Rastrick, Camilla Bertolini, Andy Foggo, Helen Graham, Jason M. Hall-Spencer, Marco Milazzo, Paul W. Shaw, Daniel P. Small, Philippa J. Moore

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Ocean acidification is predicted to have detrimental effects on many marine organisms and ecological processes. Despite growing evidence for direct impacts on specific species, few studies have simultaneously considered the effects of ocean acidification on individuals (e.g. consequences for energy budgets and resource partitioning) and population level demographic processes. Here we show that ocean acidification increases energetic demands on gastropods resulting in altered energy allocation, i.e. reduced shell size but increased body mass. When scaled up to the population level, long-term exposure to ocean acidification altered population demography, with evidence of a reduction in the proportion of females in the …

Increasing Sediment Accumulation Rates In La Fonera (Palamós) Submarine Canyon Axis And Their Relationship With Bottom Trawling Activities, P. Puig, J. Martin, P. Masque, A. Palanques

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Previous studies conducted in La Fonera (Palamós) submarine canyon (NW Mediterranean) found that trawling activities along the canyon flanks cause resuspension and transport of sediments toward the canyon axis. 210Pb chronology supported by 137Cs dating applied to a sediment core collected at 1750m in 2002 suggested a doubling of the sediment accumulation rate since the 1970s, coincident with the rapid industrialization of the local trawling fleet. The same canyon area has been revisited a decade later, and new data are consistent with a sedimentary regime shift during the 1970s and also suggest that the accumulation rate during the last decade …