1.
Roth, Florian, et al.
(author)
High spatiotemporal variability of methane concentrations challenges estimates of emissions across vegetated coastal ecosystems.
2022
In: Global change biology. - : Wiley. - 1365-2486 .- 1354-1013. ; 28:14, s. 4308-4322
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Coastal methane (CH4 ) emissions dominate the global ocean CH4 budget and can offset the "blue carbon" storage capacity of vegetated coastal ecosystems. However, current estimates lack systematic, high-resolution, and long-term data from these intrinsically heterogeneous environments, making coastal budgets sensitive to statistical assumptions and uncertainties. Using continuous CH4 concentrations, δ13 C-CH4 values, and CH4 sea-air fluxes across four seasons in three globally pervasive coastal habitats, we show that the CH4 distribution is spatially patchy over meter-scales and highly variable in time. Areas with mixed vegetation, macroalgae, and their surrounding sediments exhibited a spatiotemporal variability of surface water CH4 concentrations ranging two orders of magnitude (i.e., 6-460nM CH4 ) with habitat-specific seasonal and diurnal patterns. We observed (1) δ13 C-CH4 signatures that revealed habitat-specific CH4 production and consumption pathways, (2) daily peak concentration events that could change >100% within hours across all habitats, and (3) a high thermal sensitivity of the CH4 distribution signified by apparent activation energies of ~1eV that drove seasonal changes. Bootstrapping simulations show that scaling the CH4 distribution from few samples involves large errors, and that ~50 concentration samples per day are needed to resolve the scale and drivers of the natural variability and improve the certainty of flux calculations by up to 70%. Finally, we identify northern temperate coastal habitats with mixed vegetation and macroalgae as understudied but seasonally relevant atmospheric CH4 sources (i.e., releasing≥100μmol CH4 m-2 day-1 in summer). Due to the large spatial and temporal heterogeneity of coastal environments, high-resolution measurements will improve the reliability of CH4 estimates and confine the habitat-specific contribution to regional and global CH4 budgets.
2.
Cheung, Henry Lok Shan, et al.
(author)
Denitrification, anammox, and DNRA in oligotrophic continental shelf sediments
2024
In: Limnology and Oceanography. - 1939-5590 .- 0024-3590.
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Continental shelf sediments are considered hotspots for nitrogen (N) removal. While most investigations have quantified denitrification in shelves receiving large amounts of anthropogenic nutrient supply, we lack insight into the key drivers of N removal on oligotrophic shelves. Here, we measured rates of N removal through denitrification and anammox by the revised-isotope pairing technique (r-IPT) along the Northeastern New Zealand shelf. Denitrification dominated total N2 production at depths between 30 and 128 m with average rates (± SE) ranging from 65 ± 28 to 284 ± 72 μmol N m−2 d−1. N2 production by anammox ranged from 3 ± 1 to 28 ± 11 μmol N m−2 d−1 and accounted for 2–19% of total N2 production. DNRA was negligible in these oligotrophic settings. Parallel microbial community analysis showed that both Proteobacteria and Planctomycetota were key taxa driving denitrification. Denitrification displayed a negative correlation with oxygen penetration depth, and a positive correlation with macrofauna abundance. Our denitrification rates were comparable to oligotrophic shelves from the Arctic, but were lower than those from nutrient-rich Pacific and Atlantic shelves. Based on our results and existing IPT measurements, the global shelf denitrification rate was reassessed to be 53.5 ± 8.1 Tg N yr−1, equivalent to 20 ± 2% of marine N removal. We suggest that previous estimates of global shelf N loss might have been overestimated due to sampling bias toward areas with high N loads in the Northern Hemisphere.
3.
Björk, Mats, 1960-, et al.
(author)
Methane emissions from macrophyte beach wrack on Baltic seashores
2023
In: Ambio. - : Springer Nature. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209. ; 52:1, s. 171-181
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Beach wrack of marine macrophytes is a natural component of many beaches. To test if such wrack emits the potent greenhouse gas methane, field measurements were made at different seasons on beach wrack depositions of different ages, exposure, and distance from the water. Methane emissions varied greatly, from 0 to 176 mg CH4-C m−2 day−1, with a clear positive correlation between emission and temperature. Dry wrack had lower emissions than wet. Using temperature data from 2016 to 2020, seasonal changes in fluxes were calculated for a natural wrack accumulation area. Such calculated average emissions were close to zero during winter, but peaked in summer, with very high emissions when daily temperatures exceeded 20 °C. We conclude that waterlogged beach wrack significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and that emissions might drastically increase with increasing global temperatures. When beach wrack is collected into heaps away from the water, the emissions are however close to zero.
4.
Weyhenmeyer, Gesa A., et al.
(author)
Towards critical white ice conditions in lakes under global warming.
2022
In: Nature communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 13:1
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
The quality of lake ice is of uppermost importance for ice safety and under-ice ecology, but its temporal and spatial variability is largely unknown. Here we conducted a coordinated lake ice quality sampling campaign across the Northern Hemisphere during one of the warmest winters since 1880 and show that lake ice during 2020/2021 commonly consisted of unstable white ice, at times contributing up to 100% to the total ice thickness. We observed that white ice increased over the winter season, becoming thickest and constituting the largest proportion of the ice layer towards the end of the ice cover season when fatal winter drownings occur most often and light limits the growth and reproduction of primary producers. We attribute the dominance of white ice before ice-off to air temperatures varying around the freezing point, a condition which occurs more frequently during warmer winters. Thus, under continued global warming, the prevalence of white ice is likely to substantially increase during the critical period before ice-off, for which we adjusted commonly used equations for human ice safety and light transmittance through ice.
5.
Broman, Elias, 1985-, et al.
(author)
Biotic interactions between benthic infauna and aerobic methanotrophs mediate methane fluxes from coastal sediments
2024
In: The ISME journal. - 1751-7370 .- 1751-7362. ; 18:1
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Coastal ecosystems dominate oceanic methane (CH4) emissions. However, there is limited knowledge about how biotic interactions between infauna and aerobic methanotrophs (i.e. CH4 oxidizing bacteria) drive the spatial-temporal dynamics of these emissions. Here, we investigated the role of meio- and macrofauna in mediating CH4 sediment-water fluxes and aerobic methanotrophic activity that can oxidize significant portions of CH4. We show that macrofauna increases CH4 fluxes by enhancing vertical solute transport through bioturbation, but this effect is somewhat offset by high meiofauna abundance. The increase in CH4 flux reduces CH4 pore-water availability, resulting in lower abundance and activity of aerobic methanotrophs, an effect that counterbalances the potential stimulation of these bacteria by higher oxygen flux to the sediment via bioturbation. These findings indicate that a larger than previously thought portion of CH4 emissions from coastal ecosystems is due to faunal activity and multiple complex interactions with methanotrophs.
6.
Zilius, Mindaugas, et al.
(author)
Spatiotemporal patterns of N2 fixation in coastal waters derived from rate measurements and remote sensing
2021
In: Biogeosciences. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1726-4170 .- 1726-4189. ; 18, s. 1857-1871
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Coastal lagoons are important sites for nitrogen (N) removal via sediment burial and denitrification. Blooms of heterocystous cyanobacteria may diminish N retention as dinitrogen (N2) fixation offsets atmospheric losses via denitrification. We measured N2 fixation in the Curonian Lagoon, Europe's largest coastal lagoon, to better understand the factors controlling N2 fixation in the context of seasonal changes in phytoplankton community composition and external N inputs. Temporal patterns in N2 fixation were primarily determined by the abundance of heterocystous cyanobacteria, mainly Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, which became abundant after the decline in riverine nitrate inputs associated with snowmelt. Heterocystous cyanobacteria dominated the summer phytoplankton community resulting in strong correlations between chlorophyll a (Chl a) and N2 fixation. We used regression models relating N2 fixation to Chl a, along with remote-sensing-based estimates of Chl a to derive lagoon-scale estimates of N2 fixation. N2 fixation by pelagic cyanobacteria was found to be a significant component of the lagoon's N budget based on comparisons to previously derived fluxes associated with riverine inputs, sediment-water exchange, and losses via denitrification. To our knowledge, this is the first study to derive ecosystem-scale estimates of N2 fixation by combining remote sensing of Chl a with empirical models relating N2 fixation rates to Chl a.
7.
Poyatos, R., et al.
(author)
Global transpiration data from sap flow measurements: the SAPFLUXNET database
2021
In: Earth System Science Data. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1866-3508 .- 1866-3516. ; 13:6, s. 2607-2649
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Plant transpiration links physiological responses of vegetation to water supply and demand with hydrological, energy, and carbon budgets at the land-atmosphere interface. However, despite being the main land evaporative flux at the global scale, transpiration and its response to environmental drivers are currently not well constrained by observations. Here we introduce the first global compilation of whole-plant transpiration data from sap flow measurements (SAPFLUXNET, https://sapfluxnet.creaf.cat/, last access: 8 June 2021). We harmonized and quality-controlled individual datasets supplied by contributors worldwide in a semi-automatic data workflow implemented in the R programming language. Datasets include sub-daily time series of sap flow and hydrometeorological drivers for one or more growing seasons, as well as metadata on the stand characteristics, plant attributes, and technical details of the measurements. SAPFLUXNET contains 202 globally distributed datasets with sap flow time series for 2714 plants, mostly trees, of 174 species. SAPFLUXNET has a broad bioclimatic coverage, with woodland/shrubland and temperate forest biomes especially well represented (80 % of the datasets). The measurements cover a wide variety of stand structural characteristics and plant sizes. The datasets encompass the period between 1995 and 2018, with 50 % of the datasets being at least 3 years long. Accompanying radiation and vapour pressure deficit data are available for most of the datasets, while on-site soil water content is available for 56 % of the datasets. Many datasets contain data for species that make up 90 % or more of the total stand basal area, allowing the estimation of stand transpiration in diverse ecological settings. SAPFLUXNET adds to existing plant trait datasets, ecosystem flux networks, and remote sensing products to help increase our understanding of plant water use, plant responses to drought, and ecohydrological processes. SAPFLUXNET version 0.1.5 is freely available from the Zenodo repository (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3971689; Poyatos et al., 2020a). The "sapfluxnetr" R package - designed to access, visualize, and process SAPFLUXNET data - is available from CRAN.
8.
Barthel, Roland, 1967, et al.
(author)
Similarity-based approaches in hydrogeology: proposal of a new concept for data-scarce groundwater resource characterization and prediction
2021
In: Hydrogeology Journal. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1435-0157 .- 1431-2174. ; 29:5, s. 1693-1709
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
A new concept is proposed for describing, analysing and predicting the dynamic behaviour of groundwater resources based on classification and similarity. The concept makes use of the ideas put forward by the “PUB” (predictions in ungauged basins) initiative in surface-water hydrology. One of the approaches developed in PUB uses the principle that similar catchments, exposed to similar weather conditions, will generate a similar discharge response at the catchment outlet. This way, models developed for well-observed catchments can be used to make predictions for ungauged catchments with similar properties (topography, land use, etc.). The concept proposed here applies the same idea to groundwater systems, with the goal to make predictions of the dynamic behaviour of groundwater in poorly observed systems using similarities to well-observed and understood systems. This paper gives an overview of the main ideas, the methodological background, the progress so far, and the challenges that the authors regard as most crucial for further development. One of the main goals of this article is thus to raise interest for this new concept within the groundwater community. There are a multitude of highly interesting aspects to investigate, and a community effort, as with PUB, is required. A second goal is to foster and exchange ideas between the groundwater and surface water research communities who, while often working on similar problems, have often missed the opportunity to learn from each other.
9.
Nygren, Michelle, et al.
(author)
Exploring groundwater drought responsiveness in lowland post‑glacial environments
2022
In: Hydrogeology Journal. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1431-2174 .- 1435-0157. ; 30, s. 1937-1961
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Groundwater drought response to meteorological forcing depends on initial hydrological conditions. This makes it difficult to characterise groundwater droughts and identify the drought vulnerability of aquifers. The objective is to increase the understanding of groundwater memory and response to meteorological forcing in lowland post-glacial environments. Eighty-one groundwater hydrographs are analysed, using the standardised groundwater level index (SGI) and the precipitation index. Memory and response times are assessed using auto- and cross-correlation functions. Response time is estimated by comparing two approaches: (1) the traditional use of the maximum cross-correlation, and (2) the alternative use of the cross-correlation slope. Results are interpreted for different hydrogeological settings. The analysis showed that sand aquifers have the longest memory and response times, particularly in confined settings where the memory could be over 4 years. Silts and tills have relatively short memories and response times, at less than 1 year, though median values for silt are higher than for unconfined sand aquifers. In this study, estimating response time using the correlation slope is superior at capturing the initial response time of groundwater to precipitation. However, the results showed that groundwater anomalies in lowland post-glacial environments are sometimes more influenced by climate teleconnections than concurrent forcing. This emphasises the need for a holistic approach for the characterisation and projection of groundwater drought, as it develops in simultaneous response to meteorological forcing at different timescales.
10.
Gomez-Gener, L., et al.
(author)
Global carbon dioxide efflux from rivers enhanced by high nocturnal emissions
2021
In: Nature Geoscience. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1752-0894 .- 1752-0908. ; 14, s. 289-294
Journal article (peer-reviewed) abstract
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to the atmosphere from running waters are estimated to be four times greater than the total carbon (C) flux to the oceans. However, these fluxes remain poorly constrained because of substantial spatial and temporal variability in dissolved CO2 concentrations. Using a global compilation of high-frequency CO2 measurements, we demonstrate that nocturnal CO2 emissions are on average 27% (0.9 gC m(-2) d(-1)) greater than those estimated from diurnal concentrations alone. Constraints on light availability due to canopy shading or water colour are the principal controls on observed diel (24 hour) variation, suggesting this nocturnal increase arises from daytime fixation of CO2 by photosynthesis. Because current global estimates of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere from running waters (0.65-1.8 PgC yr(-1)) rely primarily on discrete measurements of dissolved CO2 obtained during the day, they substantially underestimate the magnitude of this flux. Accounting for night-time CO2 emissions may elevate global estimates from running waters to the atmosphere by 0.20-0.55 PgC yr(-1). Failing to account for emission differences between day and night will lead to an underestimate of global CO2 emissions from rivers by up to 0.55 PgC yr(-1), according to analyses of high-frequency CO2 measurements.
