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Internal respiration of Amazon tree stems greatly exceeds external CO₂ efflux

Here, we studied gas exchange from stems of tropical forest trees using a new approach to better understand respiration in an ecosystem that plays a key role in the global carbon cycle.

The link between great earthquakes and the subduction of oceanic fracture zones

Solid Earth
DOI 10.5194/se-3-447-2012
5 December 2012

We construct a model for the geometry of subduction coupling zones and combine it with global geophysical data sets to demonstrate that the occurrence of great (magnitude ≥ 8) subduction earthquakes is strongly biased towards regions associated with intersections of oceanic fracture zones and subduction zones.

Ocean acidification limits temperature-induced poleward expansion of coral habitats around Japan

Using results from four coupled global carbon cycle-climate models combined with in situ observations, we estimate the effects of future global warming and ocean acidification on potential habitats for tropical/subtropical and temperate coral communities in the seas around Japan.

Activity and abundance of denitrifying bacteria in the subsurface biosphere of diffuse hydrothermal vents of the Juan de Fuca Ridge

Biogeosciences
DOI 10.5194/bg-9-4661-2012
22 November 2012

Based on our rate measurements, and on published data on hydrothermal fluid fluxes and residence times, we estimated that up to ~10 Tg N yr⁻¹could globally be removed in the subsurface biosphere of hydrothermal vents systems, thus, representing a small fraction of the total marine N loss (~275 to > 400 Tg N yr⁻¹).

Bioerosion by microbial euendoliths in benthic foraminifera from heavy metal-polluted coastal environments of Portovesme (south-western Sardinia, Italy)

Biogeosciences
DOI 10.5194/bg-9-4607-2012
20 November 2012

We found that carbonate dissolution induced by euendoliths is selective, depending on the Mg content and morpho-structural types of foraminiferal taxa. This study provides evidences for a connection between heavy metal dispersion, decrease in pH of the sea-water and bioerosional processes on foraminifera.

High-resolution interpolar difference of atmospheric methane around the Last Glacial Maximum

Here we present new high-resolution methane records from the North Greenland Ice Core Project and the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica Dronning Maud Land ice cores covering Termination 1, the Last Glacial Maximum, and parts of the last glacial back to 32 000 years before present.

Marine bacteria in deep Arctic and Antarctic ice cores: a proxy for evolution in oceans over 300 million generations

Ice cores offer the opportunity to study evolution of marine microbes over ~ 300 million generations by analysing their genomes vs. depth in glacial ice over the last 700 000 yr as frozen proxies for changes in their genomes in oceans.

The carbon budget of terrestrial ecosystems in East Asia over the last two decades

Biogeosciences
DOI 10.5194/bg-9-3571-2012
7 September 2012

We estimate the current terrestrial carbon balance of East Asia and its driving mechanisms during 1990–2009 using three different approaches: inventories combined with satellite greenness measurements, terrestrial ecosystem carbon cycle models and atmospheric inversion models.

Tree height integrated into pantropical forest biomass estimates

Aboveground tropical tree biomass and carbon storage estimates commonly ignore tree height (H). We estimate the effect of incorporating H on tropics-wide forest biomass estimates in 327 plots across four continents using 42 656 H and diameter measurements and harvested trees from 20 sites to answer various questions.

A synthesis of carbon in international trade

In a globalised world, the transfer of carbon between regions, either physically or embodied in production, represents a substantial fraction of global carbon emissions. The resulting emission transfers are important for balancing regional carbon budgets and for understanding the drivers of emissions.

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