Temperature and Salinity Anomalies in the Sea Surface Microlayer of the South Pacific During Precipitation Events

Gassen, L.; Badewien, Thomas H.; Ewald, J. Rich; Ribas-Ribas, Mariana; Wurl, Oliver

doi:10.1029/2023jc019638

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 51 publications

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“…1b), this could explain for the many SMLassociated (compared to SSW) prophages detected in this study. The SML's salinity is prone to fluctuations [116], immediately responds to freshwater fluxes as known from influences of rainwater [117], while at other times, the SML is more saline than the underlying water due to evaporation effects [118]. Like in any other ocean [119], the SML in polar regions is usually colder than the SSW, which is known as the cool skin layer effect [120].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Viral challenges and adaptations between Central Arctic Ocean and atmosphere

Rahlff,

Westmeijer,

Weissenbach

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Aquatic viruses act as key players in shaping microbial communities. In polar environments, they face significant challenges like limited host availability and harsh conditions. However, due to restricted ecosystem accessibility, our understanding of viral diversity, abundance, adaptations, and host interactions remains limited. To fill this knowledge gap, we studied viruses from atmosphere-close aquatic ecosystems in the Central Arctic and Northern Greenland. Aquatic samples for virus-host analysis were collected from ~60 cm depth and the submillimeter surface microlayer (SML) during the Synoptic Arctic Survey 2021 on icebreaker Oden in Arctic summer. Water was sampled from a melt pond and open water before undergoing size-fractioned filtration and followed by genome-resolved metagenomic and cultivation investigations. The prokaryotic diversity in the melt pond was considerably lower compared to open water. The melt pond was dominated by aFlavobacteriumsp. andAquilunasp., the latter having a relatively small genome size of 1.2 Mb and the metabolic potential to generate ATP using the phosphate acetyltransferase-acetate kinase pathway. Viral diversity on the host fraction (0.2 — 5 µm) of the melt pond was strikingly limited compared to open water. From 1154 dereplicated viral operational taxonomic units (vOTUs), of which two-thirds were predicted bacteriophages, 17.2% encoded for auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) with metabolic functions. Some AMGs like glycerol-3-phosphate cytidylyltransferase and ice-binding like proteins might serve cryoprotection of the host. Prophages were often associated with SML genomes, and two active prophages of a new viral genera from the Arctic SML strainLeeuwenhoekiella aequoreaArc30 were induced. We found evidence that vOTU abundance in the SML compared to ~60 cm depth was more positively correlated to the distribution of a vOTU across five different Arctic stations. The results indicate that viruses employ elaborated strategies to endure in extreme and host-limited environments. Moreover, our observations suggest that the immediate air-sea interface serves as a platform for viral distribution in the Central Arctic.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Viral challenges and adaptations between Central Arctic Ocean and atmosphere

Rahlff,

Westmeijer,

Weissenbach

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Distribution of surface-active substances in the sea surface microlayers off the Malaysian peninsula

Mustaffa,

Khairul Anuar,

Zaini

et al. 2024

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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The impact of rainfall on the sea surface salinity: a mesocosm study

Gassen,

Esters,

Ribas-Ribas

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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Sea surface salinity may serve as a tracer for freshwater fluxes because it is linked to evaporation and precipitation that force the freshwater balance of the ocean’s surface. The relationship between freshwater fluxes and salinity anomalies in the upper few centimeters remains widely unknown. In a mechanistic approach, we investigated how these anomalies develop by conducting experiments with artificial rain over a large basin. We measured conductivity and temperature at different depths and rain characteristics (intensity, rain temperature, droplet sizes, and velocities). In the absence of turbulence, the rain causes a strong salinity change of up to 6.02 g kg$$^{-1}$$ - 1 in 0–4 cm depth. At the highest rain intensity of 56 mm h$$^{-1}$$ - 1 , salinity changed thrice as fast as at an intensity of 18 mm h$$^{-1}$$ - 1 . At the sea surface microlayer (first millimeter of the surface) the anomalies are always highest and reached a maximum of 14.18 g kg$$^{-1}$$ - 1 . With mechanical mixing, salinity changes were less pronounced (maximum SML salinity anomaly: 6.17 g kg$$^{-1}$$ - 1 ), and freshwater was mixed fast with the existing seawater body. In general, our study shows that freshwater remains in the upper few centimeters, and even with induced turbulence, are not mixed below 16 cm.

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Temperature and Salinity Anomalies in the Sea Surface Microlayer of the South Pacific During Precipitation Events

Cited by 3 publications

References 51 publications

Viral challenges and adaptations between Central Arctic Ocean and atmosphere

Viral challenges and adaptations between Central Arctic Ocean and atmosphere

Distribution of surface-active substances in the sea surface microlayers off the Malaysian peninsula

The impact of rainfall on the sea surface salinity: a mesocosm study

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