Nutrient composition (Si:N) as driver of plankton communities during artificial upwelling
Artificial upwelling brings nutrient-rich deep water to the sun-lit surface to boost fisheries or carbon sequestration. Deep water sources under consideration range widely in inorganic silicon (Si) relative to nitrogen (N). Yet, little is known about how such differences in nutrient composition may...
Published in: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1015188 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.1015188/full |
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crfrontiers:10.3389/fmars.2022.1015188 2024-10-13T14:09:28+00:00 Nutrient composition (Si:N) as driver of plankton communities during artificial upwelling Goldenberg, Silvan Urs Taucher, Jan Fernández-Méndez, Mar Ludwig, Andrea Arístegui, Javier Baumann, Moritz Ortiz, Joaquin Stuhr, Annegret Riebesell, Ulf 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1015188 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.1015188/full unknown Frontiers Media SA https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Frontiers in Marine Science volume 9 ISSN 2296-7745 journal-article 2022 crfrontiers https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1015188 2024-09-17T04:11:42Z Artificial upwelling brings nutrient-rich deep water to the sun-lit surface to boost fisheries or carbon sequestration. Deep water sources under consideration range widely in inorganic silicon (Si) relative to nitrogen (N). Yet, little is known about how such differences in nutrient composition may influence the effectiveness of the fertilization. Si is essential primarily for diatoms that may increase food web and export efficiency via their large size and ballasting mineral shells, respectively. With a month-long mesocosm study in the subtropical North Atlantic, we tested the biological response to artificial upwelling with varying Si:N ratios (0.07-1.33). Community biomass increased 10-fold across all mesocosms, indicating that basic bloom dynamics were upheld despite the wide range in nutrient composition. Key properties of these blooms, however, were influenced by Si. Photosynthetic capacity and nutrient-use efficiency doubled from Si-poor to Si-rich upwelling, leading to C:N ratios as high as 17, well beyond Redfield. Si-rich upwelling also resulted in 6-fold higher diatom abundance and mineralized Si and a corresponding shift from smaller towards larger phytoplankton. The pronounced change in both plankton quantity (biomass) and quality (C:N ratio, size and mineral ballast) for trophic transfer and export underlines the pivotal role of Si in shaping the response of oligotrophic regions to upwelled nutrients. Our findings indicate a benefit of active Si management during artificial upwelling with the potential to optimize fisheries production and CO 2 removal. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Frontiers (Publisher) Frontiers in Marine Science 9 |
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Artificial upwelling brings nutrient-rich deep water to the sun-lit surface to boost fisheries or carbon sequestration. Deep water sources under consideration range widely in inorganic silicon (Si) relative to nitrogen (N). Yet, little is known about how such differences in nutrient composition may influence the effectiveness of the fertilization. Si is essential primarily for diatoms that may increase food web and export efficiency via their large size and ballasting mineral shells, respectively. With a month-long mesocosm study in the subtropical North Atlantic, we tested the biological response to artificial upwelling with varying Si:N ratios (0.07-1.33). Community biomass increased 10-fold across all mesocosms, indicating that basic bloom dynamics were upheld despite the wide range in nutrient composition. Key properties of these blooms, however, were influenced by Si. Photosynthetic capacity and nutrient-use efficiency doubled from Si-poor to Si-rich upwelling, leading to C:N ratios as high as 17, well beyond Redfield. Si-rich upwelling also resulted in 6-fold higher diatom abundance and mineralized Si and a corresponding shift from smaller towards larger phytoplankton. The pronounced change in both plankton quantity (biomass) and quality (C:N ratio, size and mineral ballast) for trophic transfer and export underlines the pivotal role of Si in shaping the response of oligotrophic regions to upwelled nutrients. Our findings indicate a benefit of active Si management during artificial upwelling with the potential to optimize fisheries production and CO 2 removal. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Goldenberg, Silvan Urs Taucher, Jan Fernández-Méndez, Mar Ludwig, Andrea Arístegui, Javier Baumann, Moritz Ortiz, Joaquin Stuhr, Annegret Riebesell, Ulf |
spellingShingle |
Goldenberg, Silvan Urs Taucher, Jan Fernández-Méndez, Mar Ludwig, Andrea Arístegui, Javier Baumann, Moritz Ortiz, Joaquin Stuhr, Annegret Riebesell, Ulf Nutrient composition (Si:N) as driver of plankton communities during artificial upwelling |
author_facet |
Goldenberg, Silvan Urs Taucher, Jan Fernández-Méndez, Mar Ludwig, Andrea Arístegui, Javier Baumann, Moritz Ortiz, Joaquin Stuhr, Annegret Riebesell, Ulf |
author_sort |
Goldenberg, Silvan Urs |
title |
Nutrient composition (Si:N) as driver of plankton communities during artificial upwelling |
title_short |
Nutrient composition (Si:N) as driver of plankton communities during artificial upwelling |
title_full |
Nutrient composition (Si:N) as driver of plankton communities during artificial upwelling |
title_fullStr |
Nutrient composition (Si:N) as driver of plankton communities during artificial upwelling |
title_full_unstemmed |
Nutrient composition (Si:N) as driver of plankton communities during artificial upwelling |
title_sort |
nutrient composition (si:n) as driver of plankton communities during artificial upwelling |
publisher |
Frontiers Media SA |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1015188 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.1015188/full |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science volume 9 ISSN 2296-7745 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1015188 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
9 |
_version_ |
1812816468028424192 |