Micro-halocline enabled nutrient recycling may explain extreme Azolla event in the Eocene Arctic Ocean.
In order to understand the physicochemical mechanisms that could explain the massive growth of Azolla arctica in the Eocene Arctic Ocean, we carried out a laboratory experiment in which we studied the interacting effects of rain and wind on the development of salinity stratification, both in the pre...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:279ba090c51641498d28b02315cff662 2023-05-15T14:56:08+02:00 Micro-halocline enabled nutrient recycling may explain extreme Azolla event in the Eocene Arctic Ocean. Monique M L van Kempen Alfons J P Smolders Leon P M Lamers Jan G M Roelofs 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0050159 https://doaj.org/article/279ba090c51641498d28b02315cff662 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3500341?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0050159 https://doaj.org/article/279ba090c51641498d28b02315cff662 PLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 11, p e50159 (2012) Medicine R Science Q article 2012 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0050159 2022-12-31T03:54:34Z In order to understand the physicochemical mechanisms that could explain the massive growth of Azolla arctica in the Eocene Arctic Ocean, we carried out a laboratory experiment in which we studied the interacting effects of rain and wind on the development of salinity stratification, both in the presence and in the absence of a dense Azolla cover. Additionally, we carried out a mesocosm experiment to get a better understanding of the nutrient cycling within and beneath a dense Azolla cover in both freshwater and brackish water environments. Here we show that Azolla is able to create a windproof, small-scale salinity gradient in brackish waters, which allows for efficient recycling of nutrients. We suggest that this mechanism ensures the maintenance of a large standing biomass in which additional input of nutrients ultimately result in a further expansion of an Azolla cover. As such, it may not only explain the extent of the Azolla event during the Eocene, but also the absence of intact vegetative Azolla remains and the relatively low burial efficiency of organic carbon during this interval. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Ocean Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Arctic Ocean PLoS ONE 7 11 e50159 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Monique M L van Kempen Alfons J P Smolders Leon P M Lamers Jan G M Roelofs Micro-halocline enabled nutrient recycling may explain extreme Azolla event in the Eocene Arctic Ocean. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
In order to understand the physicochemical mechanisms that could explain the massive growth of Azolla arctica in the Eocene Arctic Ocean, we carried out a laboratory experiment in which we studied the interacting effects of rain and wind on the development of salinity stratification, both in the presence and in the absence of a dense Azolla cover. Additionally, we carried out a mesocosm experiment to get a better understanding of the nutrient cycling within and beneath a dense Azolla cover in both freshwater and brackish water environments. Here we show that Azolla is able to create a windproof, small-scale salinity gradient in brackish waters, which allows for efficient recycling of nutrients. We suggest that this mechanism ensures the maintenance of a large standing biomass in which additional input of nutrients ultimately result in a further expansion of an Azolla cover. As such, it may not only explain the extent of the Azolla event during the Eocene, but also the absence of intact vegetative Azolla remains and the relatively low burial efficiency of organic carbon during this interval. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Monique M L van Kempen Alfons J P Smolders Leon P M Lamers Jan G M Roelofs |
author_facet |
Monique M L van Kempen Alfons J P Smolders Leon P M Lamers Jan G M Roelofs |
author_sort |
Monique M L van Kempen |
title |
Micro-halocline enabled nutrient recycling may explain extreme Azolla event in the Eocene Arctic Ocean. |
title_short |
Micro-halocline enabled nutrient recycling may explain extreme Azolla event in the Eocene Arctic Ocean. |
title_full |
Micro-halocline enabled nutrient recycling may explain extreme Azolla event in the Eocene Arctic Ocean. |
title_fullStr |
Micro-halocline enabled nutrient recycling may explain extreme Azolla event in the Eocene Arctic Ocean. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Micro-halocline enabled nutrient recycling may explain extreme Azolla event in the Eocene Arctic Ocean. |
title_sort |
micro-halocline enabled nutrient recycling may explain extreme azolla event in the eocene arctic ocean. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2012 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0050159 https://doaj.org/article/279ba090c51641498d28b02315cff662 |
geographic |
Arctic Arctic Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Ocean |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Ocean |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 11, p e50159 (2012) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3500341?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0050159 https://doaj.org/article/279ba090c51641498d28b02315cff662 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0050159 |
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PLoS ONE |
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7 |
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11 |
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e50159 |
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