scholarly journals A unique temperate rocky coastal hydrothermal vent system (Whakaari–White Island, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand): constraints for ocean acidification studies

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (3) ◽  
pp. 321 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Zitoun ◽  
S. D. Connell ◽  
C. E. Cornwall ◽  
K. I. Currie ◽  
K. Fabricius ◽  
...  

In situ effects of ocean acidification are increasingly studied at submarine CO2 vents. Here we present a preliminary investigation into the water chemistry and biology of cool temperate CO2 vents near Whakaari–White Island, New Zealand. Water samples were collected inside three vent shafts, within vents at a distance of 2m from the shaft and at control sites. Vent samples contained both seawater pH on the total scale (pHT) and carbonate saturation states that were severely reduced, creating conditions as predicted for beyond the year 2100. Vent samples showed lower salinities, higher temperatures and greater nutrient concentrations. Sulfide levels were elevated and mercury levels were at concentrations considered toxic at all vent and control sites, but stable organic and inorganic ligands were present, as deduced from Cu speciation data, potentially mediating harmful effects on local organisms. The biological investigations focused on phytoplankton, zooplankton and macroalgae. Interestingly, we found lower abundances but higher diversity of phytoplankton and zooplankton at sites in the direct vicinity of Whakaari. Follow-up studies will need a combination of methods and approaches to attribute observations to specific drivers. The Whakaari vents represent a unique ecosystem with considerable biogeochemical complexity, which, like many other vent systems globally, require care in their use as a model of ‘future oceans’.

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7670
Author(s):  
Vonda J. Cummings ◽  
Abigail M. Smith ◽  
Peter M. Marriott ◽  
Bryce A. Peebles ◽  
N. Jane Halliday

The New Zealand pāua or black footed abalone, Haliotis iris, is one of many mollusc species at potential risk from ocean acidification and warming. To investigate possible impacts, juvenile pāua (~24 mm shell length) were grown for 4 months in seawater pH/pCO2 conditions projected for 2100. End of century seawater projections (pHT 7.66/pCO2 ~1,000 μatm) were contrasted with local ambient conditions (pHT 8.00/pCO2 ~400 μatm) at two typical temperatures (13 and 15 °C). We used a combination of methods (morphometric, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction) to investigate effects on juvenile survival and growth, as well as shell mineralogy and integrity. Lowered pH did not affect survival, growth rate or condition, but animals grew significantly faster at the higher temperature. Juvenile pāua were able to biomineralise their inner nacreous aragonite layer and their outer prismatic calcite layer under end-of-century pH conditions, at both temperatures, and carbonate composition was not affected. There was some thickening of the nacre layer in the newly deposited shell with reduced pH and also at the higher temperature. Most obvious was post-depositional alteration of the shell under lowered pH: the prismatic calcite layer was thinner, and there was greater etching of the external shell surface; this dissolution was greater at the higher temperature. These results demonstrate the importance of even a small (2 °C) difference in temperature on growth and shell characteristics, and on modifying the effects at lowered pH. Projected CO2-related changes may affect shell quality of this iconic New Zealand mollusc through etching (dissolution) and thinning, with potential implications for resilience to physical stresses such as predation and wave action.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia Kapsenberg ◽  
Amanda L. Kelley ◽  
Emily C. Shaw ◽  
Todd R. Martz ◽  
Gretchen E. Hofmann

Abstract Understanding how declining seawater pH caused by anthropogenic carbon emissions, or oceanacidification, impacts Southern Ocean biota is limited by a paucity of pH time-series. Here,we present the first high-frequency in-situ pH time-series in near-shore Antarctica fromspring to winter under annual sea ice. Observations from autonomous pH sensors revealed aseasonal increase of 0.3 pH units. The summer season was marked by an increase in temporalpH variability relative to spring and early winter, matching coastal pH variability observedat lower latitudes. Using our data, simulations of ocean acidification show a future periodof deleterious wintertime pH levels potentially expanding to 7–11 months annually by 2100.Given the presence of (sub)seasonal pH variability, Antarctica marine species have anexisting physiological tolerance of temporal pH change that may influence adaptation tofuture acidification. Yet, pH-induced ecosystem changes remain difficult to characterize inthe absence of sufficient physiological data on present-day tolerances. It is thereforeessential to incorporate natural and projected temporal pH variability in the design ofexperiments intended to study ocean acidification biology.


2015 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 360 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. J. Brinkman ◽  
A. M. Smith

Natural CO2 vents allow study of the effects of climate change on marine organisms on a different scale from laboratory-based studies. This study outlines a preliminary investigation into the suitability of natural CO2 vents near White Island, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand (37°31.19′S, 117°10.85′E) for climate change research by characterising water chemistry from two vent and three control locations on a seasonal basis, as well as examining their effects on skeletons of the local calcifying crustose coralline algae. pH measurements at vent sites, calculated from dissolved inorganic carbon and alkalinity, showed reduced mean pH levels (7.49 and 7.85) relative to background levels of 8.06, whereas mean temperatures were between 0.0 and 0.4°C above control. Increases in sulfur and mercury at sites near White Island were probably a result of volcanic unrest. Crustose coralline algae did not show significant variability in skeletal Mg-calcite geochemistry, but qualitative comparisons of calcite skeletons under scanning electron microscopy saw greater deformation and dissolution in coralline algae calcite crystals from vent sites compared to controls. Although additional monitoring of pH fluctuations and hydrogen sulphides is still needed, the low pH and increased temperatures indicate potential for studying multistressor effects of projected climate changes in a natural environment.


1970 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Couchman

This paper presents a case study of the transformation of office work in the New Zealand public service from the 1880s to the 1920s. It focuses on the intersection of 3 phenomena in this transformation- bureaucratization, mechanisation and feminisation - and how these have contributed to the constitution of the occupational and control structures that have come to predominate in the "modernn office. This paper represents a preliminary investigation of the origins and development of what, by the 1920s, had become a fully-feminised occupation concerned entirely with the transcription of copy.


Author(s):  
Caitlin O Blain ◽  
Sara Kulins ◽  
Craig A Radford ◽  
Mary A Sewell ◽  
Nick T Shears

Abstract Studies that use CO2 vents as natural laboratories to investigate the impacts of ocean acidification (OA) typically employ control-impact designs or local-scale gradients in pH or pCO2, where impacted sites are compared to reference sites. While these strategies can accurately represent well-defined and stable vent systems in relatively homogenous environments, it may not adequately encompass the natural variability of heterogeneous coastal environments where many CO2 vents exist. Here, we assess the influence of spatial heterogeneity on the perceived impacts of OA at a vent system well established in the OA literature. Specifically, we use a multi-scale approach to investigate and map the spatial variability in seawater pH and benthic communities surrounding vents at Whakaari-White Island, New Zealand to better understand the scale and complexity of ecological impacts of an acidified environment. We found a network of vents embedded in complex topography throughout the study area, and spatially variable pH and pCO2 levels. The distribution of habitats (i.e. macroalgal forests and turfing algae) was most strongly related to substratum type and sea urchin densities, rather than pH. Epifaunal communities within turfing algae differed with sampling distance from vents, but this pattern was driven by higher abundances of a number of taxa immediately adjacent to vents, where pH and temperature gradients are steep and white bacterial mats are prevalent. Our results contrast with previous studies at White Island that have used a control-impact design and suggested significant impacts of elevated CO2 on benthic communities. Instead, we demonstrate a highly heterogeneous reef where it is difficult to separate effects of reduced pH from spatial variation in reef communities. We urge that future research carefully considers and quantifies the biological and physical complexity of venting environments, and suggest that in dynamic systems, such as White Island, the use of control-impact designs can oversimplify and potentially overestimate the future impacts of OA.


PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e5236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malindi J. Gammon ◽  
Dianne M. Tracey ◽  
Peter M. Marriott ◽  
Vonda J. Cummings ◽  
Simon K. Davy

Several forms of calcifying scleractinian corals provide important habitat complexity in the deep-sea and are consistently associated with a high biodiversity of fish and other invertebrates. How these corals may respond to the future predicted environmental conditions of ocean acidification is poorly understood, but any detrimental effects on these marine calcifiers will have wider impacts on the ecosystem. Colonies ofSolenosmilia variabilis, a protected deep-sea coral commonly occurring throughout the New Zealand region, were collected during a cruise in March 2014 from the Louisville Seamount Chain. Over a 12-month period, samples were maintained in temperature controlled (∼3.5 °C) continuous flow-through tanks at a seawater pH that reflects the region’s current conditions (7.88) and an end-of-century scenario (7.65). Impacts on coral growth and the intensity of colour saturation (as a proxy for the coenenchyme tissue that covers the coral exoskeleton and links the coral polyps) were measured bimonthly. In addition, respiration rate was measured after a mid-term (six months) and long-term (12 months) exposure period. Growth rates were highly variable, ranging from 0.53 to 3.068 mm year−1and showed no detectable difference between the treatment and control colonies. Respiration rates also varied independently of pH and ranged from 0.065 to 1.756 µmol O2g protein−1h−1. A significant change in colour was observed in the treatment group over time, indicating a loss of coenenchyme. This loss was greatest after 10 months at 5.28% and could indicate a reallocation of energy with physiological processes (e.g.  growth and respiration) being maintained at the expense of coenenchyme production. This research illustrates important first steps to assessing and understanding the sensitivity of deep-sea corals to ocean acidification.


Author(s):  
Nadjejda Espinel-Velasco ◽  
Miles Lamare ◽  
Anna Kluibenschedl ◽  
Graeme Moss ◽  
Vonda Cummings

Abstract Larval settlement is a key process in the lifecycle of benthic marine organisms; however, little is known on how it could change in reduced seawater pH and carbonate saturation states under future ocean acidification (OA). This is important, as settlement ensures species occur in optimal environments and, for commercially important species such as abalone, reduced settlement could decrease future population success. We investigated how OA could affect settlement success in the New Zealand abalone Haliotis iris by examining: (1) direct effects of seawater at ambient (pHT 8.05) and reduced pHT (7.65) at the time of settlement, (2) indirect effects of settlement substrates (crustose coralline algae, CCA) preconditioned at ambient and reduced pHT for 171 days, and (3) carry-over effects, by examining settlement in larvae reared to competency at ambient and reduced pHT (7.80). We found no effects of seawater pH or CCA incubation on larval settlement success. OA-induced carry-over effects were evident, with lower settlement in larvae reared at reduced pH. Understanding the mechanisms behind these responses is key to fully comprehend the extent to which OA will affect marine organisms and the industries that rely on them.


Author(s):  
Kenneth S. Vecchio ◽  
John A. Hunt

In-situ experiments conducted within a transmission electron microscope provide the operator a unique opportunity to directly observe microstructural phenomena, such as phase transformations and dislocation-precipitate interactions, “as they happen”. However, in-situ experiments usually require a tremendous amount of experimental preparation beforehand, as well as, during the actual experiment. In most cases the researcher must operate and control several pieces of equipment simultaneously. For example, in in-situ deformation experiments, the researcher may have to not only operate the TEM, but also control the straining holder and possibly some recording system such as a video tape machine. When it comes to in-situ fatigue deformation, the experiments became even more complicated with having to control numerous loading cycles while following the slow crack growth. In this paper we will describe a new method for conducting in-situ fatigue experiments using a camputer-controlled tensile straining holder.The tensile straining holder used with computer-control system was manufactured by Philips for the Philips 300 series microscopes. It was necessary to modify the specimen stage area of this holder to work in the Philips 400 series microscopes because the distance between the optic axis and holder airlock is different than in the Philips 300 series microscopes. However, the program and interfacing can easily be modified to work with any goniometer type straining holder which uses a penrmanent magnet motor.


2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Gill

In December 1884 Charles Francis Adams (1857–1893) left Illinois, USA, by train for San Francisco and crossed the Pacific by ship to work as taxidermist at Auckland Museum, New Zealand, until February 1887. He then went to Borneo via several New Zealand ports, Melbourne and Batavia (Jakarta). This paper concerns a diary by Adams that gives a daily account of his trip to Auckland and the first six months of his employment (from January to July 1885). In this period Adams set up a workshop and diligently prepared specimens (at least 124 birds, fish, reptiles and marine invertebrates). The diary continues with three reports of trips Adams made from Auckland to Cuvier Island (November 1886), Karewa Island (December 1886) and White Island (date not stated), which are important early descriptive accounts of these small offshore islands. Events after leaving Auckland are covered discontinuously and the diary ends with part of the ship's passage through the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), apparently in April 1887. Adams's diary is important in giving a detailed account of a taxidermist's working life, and in helping to document the early years of Auckland Museum's occupation of the Princes Street building.


Physchem ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-44
Author(s):  
Chiara Ferrara ◽  
Riccardo Ruffo ◽  
Piercarlo Mustarelli

Extended interphases are playing an increasingly important role in electrochemical energy storage devices and, in particular, in lithium-ion and lithium metal batteries. With this in mind we initially address the differences between the concepts of interface and interphase. After that, we discuss in detail the mechanisms of solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) formation in Li-ion batteries. Then, we analyze the methods for interphase characterization, with emphasis put on in-situ and operando approaches. Finally, we look at the near future by addressing the issues underlying the lithium metal/electrolyte interface, and the emerging role played by the cathode electrolyte interphase when high voltage materials are employed.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document