scholarly journals Anthropogenic climate change drives shift and shuffle in North Atlantic phytoplankton communities

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (11) ◽  
pp. 2964-2969 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew D. Barton ◽  
Andrew J. Irwin ◽  
Zoe V. Finkel ◽  
Charles A. Stock
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Anthropogenic Climate Change ◽  
Marine Phytoplankton ◽  
Environmental Drivers ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Phytoplankton Communities ◽  
Median Rate

Anthropogenic climate change has shifted the biogeography and phenology of many terrestrial and marine species. Marine phytoplankton communities appear sensitive to climate change, yet understanding of how individual species may respond to anthropogenic climate change remains limited. Here, using historical environmental and phytoplankton observations, we characterize the realized ecological niches for 87 North Atlantic diatom and dinoflagellate taxa and project changes in species biogeography between mean historical (1951–2000) and future (2051–2100) ocean conditions. We find that the central positions of the core range of 74% of taxa shift poleward at a median rate of 12.9 km per decade (km⋅dec−1), and 90% of taxa shift eastward at a median rate of 42.7 km⋅dec−1. The poleward shift is faster than previously reported for marine taxa, and the predominance of longitudinal shifts is driven by dynamic changes in multiple environmental drivers, rather than a strictly poleward, temperature-driven redistribution of ocean habitats. A century of climate change significantly shuffles community composition by a basin-wide median value of 16%, compared with seasonal variations of 46%. The North Atlantic phytoplankton community appears poised for marked shift and shuffle, which may have broad effects on food webs and biogeochemical cycles.

scholarly journals Environmental control of marine phytoplankton stoichiometry in the North Atlantic Ocean

2021 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. e2114602118
Author(s):  
Boris Sauterey ◽  
Ben A. Ward
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Nitrogen Availability ◽  
Environmental Control ◽  
Marine Phytoplankton ◽  
Global Ocean ◽  
Environmental Drivers ◽  
The North ◽  
Phytoplankton Communities ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
C:N Stoichiometry

The stoichiometric coupling of carbon to limiting nutrients in marine phytoplankton regulates the magnitude of biological carbon sequestration in the ocean. While clear links between plankton C:N ratios and environmental drivers have been identified, the nature and direction of these links, as well as their underlying physiological and ecological controls, remain uncertain. We show, with a well-constrained mechanistic model of plankton ecophysiology, that while nitrogen availability and temperature emerge as the main drivers of phytoplankton C:N stoichiometry in the North Atlantic, the biological mechanisms involved vary depending on the spatiotemporal scale and region considered. We find that phytoplankton C:N stoichiometry is overall controlled by nitrogen availability below 40° N, predominantly driven by ecoevolutionary shifts in the functional composition of the phytoplankton communities, while phytoplankton stoichiometric plasticity in response to dropping temperatures and increased grazing pressure dominates at higher latitudes. Our findings highlight the potential of “organisms-to-ecosystems” modeling approaches based on mechanistic models of plankton biology accounting for physiology, ecology, and trait evolution to explore and explain complex observational data and ultimately improve the predictions of global ocean models.

scholarly journals Spatial and temporal trends in order richness of marine phytoplankton as a tracer for the exchange zone between coastal and open waters

2016 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 477-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.S. Jung ◽  
R. Bijkerk ◽  
H.W. Van Der Veer ◽  
C.J.M. Philippart
Keyword(s):  
Particulate Matter ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
Wadden Sea ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Marine Phytoplankton ◽  
Environmental Drivers ◽  
Suspended Particulate ◽  
Phytoplankton Communities ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Trends

Quantifying exchange of particulate matter between coastal and open waters is an important and often unresolved issue. Here, we apply phytoplankton order richness as an innovative marine tracer to identify the geographic position of a coastal exchange zone in the SE North Sea, including its variability in time and space. Previous observations on dynamics of suspended particulate matter accumulation resulted in a hypothesized boundary between coastal waters (including the Wadden Sea) and open North Sea waters, the so-called ‘line-of-no-return’. Our study along two transects (Terschelling, Noordwijk) in the Dutch coastal zone showed seasonality patterns in phytoplankton order richness, both for diatoms and flagellates. The coastal Wadden Sea was found to be clearly different from the open North Sea, implying that seasonality in Wadden Sea phytoplankton is at least partly driven by local environmental conditions. Seasonality in flagellates was found to be more uniform than seasonality in diatoms. Stations in the coastal North Sea to a distance of 10 km (Terschelling) to 20 km (Noordwijk) from the shore appeared to be at the inside of the ‘line-of-no-return’. Our findings indicate that this approach is a useful aid in exploring mixing of particulate matter between coastal and open waters and to study the responses of phytoplankton communities to environmental drivers.

scholarly journals Idiosyncratic species effects confound size-based predictions of responses to climate change

2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1605) ◽  
pp. 2971-2978 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marion Twomey ◽  
Eva Brodte ◽  
Ute Jacob ◽  
Ulrich Brose ◽  
Tasman P. Crowe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Body Mass ◽  
Marine Species ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Metabolic Demand ◽  
East Atlantic ◽  
Mass Scaling ◽  
Consumption Rates ◽  
Ecosystem Level

Understanding and predicting the consequences of warming for complex ecosystems and indeed individual species remains a major ecological challenge. Here, we investigated the effect of increased seawater temperatures on the metabolic and consumption rates of five distinct marine species. The experimental species reflected different trophic positions within a typical benthic East Atlantic food web, and included a herbivorous gastropod, a scavenging decapod, a predatory echinoderm, a decapod and a benthic-feeding fish. We examined the metabolism–body mass and consumption–body mass scaling for each species, and assessed changes in their consumption efficiencies. Our results indicate that body mass and temperature effects on metabolism were inconsistent across species and that some species were unable to meet metabolic demand at higher temperatures, thus highlighting the vulnerability of individual species to warming. While body size explains a large proportion of the variation in species' physiological responses to warming, it is clear that idiosyncratic species responses, irrespective of body size, complicate predictions of population and ecosystem level response to future scenarios of climate change.

Climate Change and the Evolution of Phytoplankton (Abundance) in Some Lagoons on the São Miguel Island – Azores

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Meirelles
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Meteorological Parameters ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Subtropical Anticyclone ◽  
The North ◽  
Phytoplankton Communities ◽  
Average Annual Temperature ◽  
The North Atlantic

<p>Climate change cause large, long-term impacts on human well-being and adds more pressure to terrestrial and marine ecosystems. The archipelago of the Azores is located in the subtropical region of the North Atlantic and is therefore highly influenced by the North Atlantic Subtropical Anticyclone. As it is an almost stationary high pressure system, whose development and orientation determine the nature and characteristics of the air masses that reach the region. The motivation for this research has two phases; the first was to study the effects of some meteorological parameters (temperature, radiation, wind speed, humidity, precipitation, evaporation, tank temperature and tank level) for the period 2010-2012, on the biodiversity of phytoplankton communities in relation to the abundance of these organisms in the lagoons of Fogo, Furnas, and Sete Cidades of the island of São Miguel - Azores, for the period 2010-2012, using an analysis in Principal  Components, which will allow correlating the meteorological parameters and the abundance of phytoplankton. The phytoplankton and meteorological community data were obtained from the website of the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change of the Azores Government. In a second phase, the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) reanalysis of the ERA5 project (ECMWF Re-Analyzes) was used for the 1979-2019 observation period and for the Azores region. For this region, the deviations of the surface air temperature, average annual precipitation and climatological extremes were calculated, this referring to the maximum number of consecutive days with precipitation <1 mm, and also, the number of tropical nights using the ERA5 reanalysis series in the period 1979-2019 with reference to 1961-1990. Projections were also estimated up to 2100 and according to scenarios RCP 2.6, 4.5 and 8.5 for the referred parameters. Finally, variations for the end of the century (2071-2100) were estimated with reference to the most recent situation of 1991-2020.</p><p>The thermal balance of a lagoon is associated with climatic and meteorological conditions. Much of the biological processes in the lagoons are directly affected by thermal changes in the water, and therefore, indirectly affected by climatic variation. Understanding the interaction between the lagoon-atmosphere system is important to predict the consequences of the effects of climate change on the abundance of phytoplankton. In this study, a positive correlation was verified between precipitation and abundance of Bacillariophyta, Dinophyta and Cryptophyta. From the calculations performed, the average of the models results in an increase in the maximum number of consecutive days with low rainfall (<1mm) from + 0.2 to 4.8 days / year until the year 2100, with a lower abundance of these algae being expected. On the other hand, Cyanophyta, Chlorophyta and Chrisophyta are well correlated with high values ​​of air temperature, lagoon water temperature and solar radiation. Thus, it is estimated an increase in the abundance of these algae, due to the forecasts of several models, that point to an increase in the average annual temperature in this region between 1 and 3 K until the year 2100, with reference to the period from 1961 to 1990.</p>

Simulation of Late-Twenty-First-Century Changes in Wintertime Atmospheric Circulation over Europe Due to Anthropogenic Causes

2004 ◽  
Vol 17 (24) ◽  
pp. 4630-4635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurent Terray ◽  
Marie-Estelle Demory ◽  
Michel Déqué ◽  
Gaelle de Coetlogon ◽  
Eric Maisonnave
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Anthropogenic Climate Change ◽  
Strong Increase ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract Evidence is presented, based on an ensemble of climate change scenarios performed with a global general circulation model of the atmosphere with high horizontal resolution over Europe, to suggest that the end-of-century anthropogenic climate change over the North Atlantic–European region strongly projects onto the positive phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation during wintertime. It is reflected in a doubling of the residence frequency of the climate system in the associated circulation regime, in agreement with the nonlinear climate perspective. The strong increase in the amplitude of the response, compared to coarse-resolution coupled model studies, suggests that improved model representation of regional climate is needed to achieve more reliable projections of anthropogenic climate change on European climate.

scholarly journals The Impact of Natural and Anthropogenic Climate Change on Western North Pacific Tropical Cyclone Tracks*

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 1806-1823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela J. Colbert ◽  
Brian J. Soden ◽  
Ben P. Kirtman
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Anthropogenic Climate Change ◽  
The North ◽  
Steering Flow ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The impact of natural and anthropogenic climate change on tropical cyclone (TC) tracks in the western North Pacific (WNP) is examined using a beta and advection model (BAM) to isolate the influence of changes in the large-scale steering flow from changes in genesis location. The BAM captures many of the observed changes in TC tracks due to El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), while little change is noted for the Pacific decadal oscillation and all-India monsoon rainfall in either observations or BAM simulations. Analysis with the BAM suggests that the observed shifts in the average track between the phases of ENSO are primarily due to changes in the large-scale steering flow, with changes in genesis location playing a secondary role. Potential changes in TC tracks over the WNP due to anthropogenic climate change are also assessed. Ensemble mean projections are downscaled from 17 CMIP3 models and 26 CMIP5 models. Statistically significant decreases [~(4%–6%)] in westward moving TCs and increases [~(5%–7%)] in recurving ocean TCs are found. These correspond to projected decreases of 3–5 TCs per decade over the Philippines and increases of 1–3 TCs per decade over the central WNP. The projected changes are primarily caused by a reduction in the easterlies. This slows the storm movement, allowing more time for the beta drift to carry the storm northward and recurve. A previous study found similar results in the North Atlantic. Taken together, these results suggest that a weakening of the mean atmospheric circulation in response to anthropogenic warming will lead to fewer landfalling storms over the North Atlantic and WNP.

Finding the Fingerprint of Anthropogenic Climate Change in Marine Phytoplankton Abundance

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 37-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geneviève W. Elsworth ◽  
Nicole S. Lovenduski ◽  
Karen A. McKinnon ◽  
Kristen M. Krumhardt ◽  
Riley X. Brady
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Anthropogenic Climate Change ◽  
Marine Phytoplankton ◽  
Phytoplankton Abundance

scholarly journals Phytoplankton adapt to changing ocean environments

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (18) ◽  
pp. 5762-5766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Irwin ◽  
Zoe V. Finkel ◽  
Frank E. Müller-Karger ◽  
Luis Troccoli Ghinaglia
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Phytoplankton Community ◽  
Marine Phytoplankton ◽  
Ecosystem Models ◽  
Environmental Preferences ◽  
Marine Food Webs ◽  
Phytoplankton Communities ◽  
Marine Food ◽  
Carbon Retention

Model projections indicate that climate change may dramatically restructure phytoplankton communities, with cascading consequences for marine food webs. It is currently not known whether evolutionary change is likely to be able to keep pace with the rate of climate change. For simplicity, and in the absence of evidence to the contrary, most model projections assume species have fixed environmental preferences and will not adapt to changing environmental conditions on the century scale. Using 15 y of observations from Station CARIACO (Carbon Retention in a Colored Ocean), we show that most of the dominant species from a marine phytoplankton community were able to adapt their realized niches to track average increases in water temperature and irradiance, but the majority of species exhibited a fixed niche for nitrate. We do not know the extent of this adaptive capacity, so we cannot conclude that phytoplankton will be able to adapt to the changes anticipated over the next century, but community ecosystem models can no longer assume that phytoplankton cannot adapt.

scholarly journals Influence of weather situation on non-CO<sub>2</sub> aviation climate effects: the REACT4C climate change functions

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 9151-9172
Author(s):  
Christine Frömming ◽  
Volker Grewe ◽  
Sabine Brinkop ◽  
Patrick Jöckel ◽  
Amund S. Haslerud ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
Climate Impact ◽  
Individual Species ◽  
Flight Trajectory ◽  
The North ◽  
Weather Situation ◽  
Aviation Emissions ◽  
Aircraft Trajectories ◽  
Local Emissions

Abstract. Emissions of aviation include CO2, H2O, NOx, sulfur oxides, and soot. Many studies have investigated the annual mean climate impact of aviation emissions. While CO2 has a long atmospheric residence time and is almost uniformly distributed in the atmosphere, non-CO2 gases and particles and their products have short atmospheric residence times and are heterogeneously distributed. The climate impact of non-CO2 aviation emissions is known to vary with different meteorological background situations. The aim of this study is to systematically investigate the influence of characteristic weather situations on aviation climate effects over the North Atlantic region, to identify the most sensitive areas, and to potentially detect systematic weather-related similarities. If aircraft were re-routed to avoid climate-sensitive regions, the overall aviation climate impact might be reduced. Hence, the sensitivity of the atmosphere to local emissions provides a basis for the assessment of weather-related, climate-optimized flight trajectory planning. To determine the climate change contribution of an individual emission as a function of location, time, and weather situation, the radiative impact of local emissions of NOx and H2O to changes in O3, CH4, H2O and contrail cirrus was computed by means of the ECHAM5/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry model. From this, 4-dimensional climate change functions (CCFs) were derived. Typical weather situations in the North Atlantic region were considered for winter and summer. Weather-related differences in O3, CH4, H2O, and contrail cirrus CCFs were investigated. The following characteristics were identified: enhanced climate impact of contrail cirrus was detected for emissions in areas with large-scale lifting, whereas low climate impact of contrail cirrus was found in the area of the jet stream. Northwards of 60∘ N, contrails usually cause climate warming in winter, independent of the weather situation. NOx emissions cause a high positive climate impact if released in the area of the jet stream or in high-pressure ridges, which induces a south- and downward transport of the emitted species, whereas NOx emissions at, or transported towards, high latitudes cause low or even negative climate impact. Independent of the weather situation, total NOx effects show a minimum at ∼250 hPa, increasing towards higher and lower altitudes, with generally higher positive impact in summer than in winter. H2O emissions induce a high climate impact when released in regions with lower tropopause height, whereas low climate impact occurs for emissions in areas with higher tropopause height. H2O CCFs generally increase with height and are larger in winter than in summer. The CCFs of all individual species can be combined, facilitating the assessment of total climate impact of aircraft trajectories considering CO2 and spatially and temporally varying non-CO2 effects. Furthermore, they allow for the optimization of aircraft trajectories with reduced overall climate impact. This also facilitates a fair evaluation of trade-offs between individual species. In most regions, NOx and contrail cirrus dominate the sensitivity to local aviation emissions. The findings of this study recommend considering weather-related differences for flight trajectory optimization in favour of reducing total climate impact.

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