We investigated the short-term effects of variable solar irradiance and spectrum on the gross biological production of dimethylsulfide (DMS), a trace gas with potential climatic effects, in eight experiments performed at different times of the year in a northwest Mediterranean coastal site. Experimentally determined net community DMS production, DMS photolysis, and dark microbial DMS consumption rates were used to calculate gross community DMS production by budgeting. In addition, the composition of the bacterioplankton and phytoplankton communities in the initial samples, and the photoinhibition of bulk bacterial heterotrophic activity and phytoplankton photosynthetic efficiency were monitored. Our results show that: (1) gross DMS production is irradiance dependent, with a maximum short-term stimulation factor of 2-to 6-fold compared to dark incubations; (2) its spectral shape is variable but generally similar to that of phytoplankton photoinhibition or photodamage, with more effective stimulation at shorter ultraviolet wavelengths; and (3) stronger stimulation occurs when samples are overexposed with respect to their prior exposure. Remarkably, the photoresponse of gross DMS production was in most cases strong enough to (at least) compensate the photochemical DMS loss at the water subsurface. Such response would prevent DMS depletion in stratified and highly irradiated waters. Since the initial microbial communities were representative of meso-to oligotrophic conditions, our observations should apply to a wide variety of oceanic regimes.
<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> Motivated by the need to predict how the Arctic atmosphere will change in a warming world, this article summarizes recent advances made by the research consortium NETCARE (Network on Climate and Aerosols: Addressing Key Uncertainties in Remote Canadian Environments) that contribute to our fundamental understanding of Arctic aerosol particles as they relate to climate forcing. The overall goal of NETCARE research has been to use an interdisciplinary approach encompassing extensive field observations and a range of chemical transport, earth system, and biogeochemical models. Several major findings and advances have emerged from NETCARE since its formation in 2013 . (1) Unexpectedly high summertime dimethyl sulfide (DMS) levels were identified in ocean water and the overlying atmosphere in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA). Furthermore, melt ponds, which are widely prevalent, were identified as an important DMS source. (2) Evidence was found of widespread particle nucleation and growth in the marine boundary layer in the CAA in the summertime. DMS-oxidation-driven nucleation is facilitated by the presence of atmospheric ammonia arising from sea bird colony emissions, and potentially also from coastal regions, tundra, and biomass burning. Via accumulation of secondary organic material (SOA), a significant fraction of the new particles grow to sizes that are active in cloud droplet formation. Although the gaseous precursors to Arctic marine SOA remain poorly defined, the measured levels of common continental SOA precursors (isoprene and monoterpenes) were low, whereas elevated mixing ratios of oxygenated volatile organic compounds were inferred to arise via processes involving the sea surface microlayer. (3) The variability in the vertical distribution of black carbon (BC) under both springtime Arctic haze and more pristine summertime aerosol conditions was observed. Measured particle size distributions and mixing states were used to constrain, for the first time, calculations of aerosol&#8211;climate interactions under Arctic conditions. Aircraft- and ground-based measurements were used to better establish the BC source regions that supply the Arctic via long-range transport mechanisms. (4) Measurements of ice nucleating particles (INPs) in the Arctic indicate that a major source of these particles is mineral dust, likely derived from local sources in the summer and long-range transport in the spring. In addition, INPs are abundant in the sea surface microlayer in the Arctic, and possibly play a role in ice nucleation in the atmosphere when mineral dust concentrations are low. (5) Amongst multiple aerosol components, BC was observed to have the smallest effective deposition velocities to high Arctic snow.</p>
Microbial plankton experience fluctuations in total solar irradiance and in its spectral composition as they are vertically moved by turbulence in the oceanic upper mixed layer (UML). The fact that the light exposure is not static but dynamic may have important consequences for biogeochemical processes and ocean-atmosphere fluxes. However, most biogeochemical processes other than primary production, like bacterial production or dimethylsulfide (DMS) production, are seldom measured in sunlight and even less often in dynamic light fields. We conducted four experiments in oligotrophic summer stratified Mediterranean waters, where a sample from the UML was incubated in ultraviolet (UV)-transparent bottles at three fixed depths within the UML and on a vertically-moving basket across the same depth range. We assessed the response of the phyto- and bacterioplankton community with physiological indicators based on flow cytometry singe-cell measurements, Fast Repetition Rate fluorometry (FRRf), phytoplankton pigment concentrations and particulate light absorption. Dynamic light exposure caused a disruption of the photoinhibition and photoacclimation processes associated to ultraviolet radiation (UVR), which slightly alleviated bacterial photoinhibition but did not favor primary production. Gross DMS production (GPDMS) decreased sharply with depth in parallel to shortwave UVR, and displayed a dose-dependent response that mixing did not significantly disrupt. To our knowledge, we provide the first measurements of GPDMS under in situ UV-inclusive optical conditions
The twilight zone of the Earth’s carbon cycle The oceans’ mesopelagic layer or ‘Twilight Zone’ (200–1,000 m) acts as the gateway for long-term storage of atmospheric carbon in the deep ocean, mitigating global warming due to human carbon emissions. In the OPERA project, we will perform comprehensive model simulations, constrained by observations, to better understand and quantify mesopelagic carbon budgets (and their uncertainty) in the North Atlantic Ocean.
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