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Expansion of oil palm and other cash crops causes an increase of the land surface temperature in the Jambi province in Indonesia

From the analysis of MODIS and Landsat satellite data of the Jambi province in Indonesia, this first study on the effects of oil palm expansion on the surface temperature in Indonesia shows shows a local and regional warming effect caused by the expansion of oil palm plantations and other cash or tree crops between 2000 and 2015. The observed warming effects may affect ecosystem services, reduce water availabilty in the dry period and increase the vulnerability to fires in the province.

Reviews and syntheses: Systematic Earth observations for use in terrestrial carbon cycle data assimilation systems

This paper briefly reviews data assimilation techniques in carbon cycle data assimilation and the requirements of data assimilation systems on observations. We provide a non-exhaustive overview of current observations and their uncertainties for use in terrestrial carbon cycle data assimilation, focussing on relevant space-based observations.

On the long-range offshore transport of organic carbon from the Canary Upwelling System to the open North Atlantic

We find that a big portion of the phytoplankton, zooplankton, and detrital organic matter produced near the northern African coast is laterally transported towards the open North Atlantic. This offshore flux sustains a relevant part of the biological activity in the open sea and reaches as far as the middle of the North Atlantic. Our results, obtained with a state-of-the-art model, highlight the fundamental role of the narrow but productive coastal ocean in sustaining global marine life.

Divergence of seafloor elevation and sea level rise in coral reef ecosystems

We report regional-scale erosion of coral reef ecosystems in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Pacific oceans determined by measuring changes in seafloor elevation. The magnitude of seafloor elevation loss has increased local sea level rise, causing water depths not predicted until near 2100, placing coastal communities at elevated and accelerating risk from hazards such as waves, storms, and tsunamis. Our results have broad implications for coastal resource and safety management.

Manganese in the west Atlantic Ocean in the context of the first global ocean circulation model of manganese

We ran a global ocean model to understand manganese (Mn), a biologically essential element. Our model shows that (i) in the deep ocean, dissolved [Mn] is mostly homogeneous ca. 0.10–0.15 nM. The model reproduces this with a threshold on MnO₂ of 25 pM, suggesting a minimal particle concentration is needed before aggregation and removal become efficient. (ii) The observed distinct hydrothermal signals are produced by assuming both a strong source and a strong removal of Mn near hydrothermal vents.

Use of remote-sensing reflectance to constrain a data assimilating marine biogeochemical model of the Great Barrier Reef

Marine biogeochemical models are often used to understand water quality, nutrient and blue-carbon dynamics at scales that range from estuaries and bays, through to the global ocean. We introduce a new methodology allowing for the assimilation of observed remote sensing reflectances, avoiding the need to use empirically derived chlorophyll-a concentrations. This method opens up the possibility to assimilate of reflectances from a variety of missions and potentially non-satellite platforms.

Effects of ocean acidification on pelagic carbon fluxes in a mesocosm experiment

We performed an experiment in the Baltic Sea in order to investigate the consequences of the increasing CO₂levels on biological processes in the free water mass. There was more accumulation of organic carbon at high CO₂levels. Surprisingly, this was caused by reduced loss processes (respiration and bacterial production) in a high-CO₂environment, and not by increased photosynthetic fixation of CO₂. Our carbon budget can be used to better disentangle the effects of ocean acidification.

Using present-day observations to detect when anthropogenic change forces surface ocean carbonate chemistry outside preindustrial bounds

Biogeosciences
DOI 10.5194/bg-13-5065-2016
13 September 2016

Ocean carbonate observations from surface buoys reveal that marine life is currently exposed to conditions outside preindustrial bounds at 12 study locations around the world. Seasonal conditions in the California Current Ecosystem and Gulf of Maine also exceed thresholds that may impact shellfish larvae. High-resolution observations place long-term change in the context of large natural variability: a necessary step to understand ocean acidification impacts under real-world conditions.

Spring bloom onset in the Nordic Seas

We investigated the bloom onset in the Nordic Seas using 6 bio-optical floats. We found that the float data are consistent with two possible scenarios for the onset of blooms in the Nordic Seas. The Nordic Seas blooms could have started either when the light became sufficiently abundant that the division rates exceeded the loss rates, or when the photoperiod, the number of daily light hours experienced by phytoplankton, exceeded a critical value.

Estimate of changes in agricultural terrestrial nitrogen pathways and ammonia emissions from 1850 to present in the Community Earth System Model

Future increases are predicted in the amount of nitrogen produced as manure or used as synthetic fertilizer in agriculture. However, the impact of climate on the subsequent fate of this nitrogen has not been evaluated. Here we describe, analyze and evaluate the FAN (flows of agricultural nitrogen) process model that simulates the the climate-dependent flows of nitrogen from agriculture. The FAN model is suitable for use within a global terrestrial climate model.

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