scholarly journals Air mass source determines airborne microbial diversity at the ocean-atmosphere interface of the Great Barrier Reef marine ecosystem

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen D.J. Archer ◽  
Kevin C Lee ◽  
Tancredi Caruso ◽  
Katie King-Miaow ◽  
Mike Harvey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Mass Source ◽  
Air Mass ◽  
Transient Nature ◽  
Coral Microbiome ◽  
Ocean Atmosphere ◽  
Atmospheric Inputs

AbstractThe atmosphere is the least understood biome on Earth despite its critical role as a microbial transport medium. The influence of surface cover on composition of airborne microbial communities above marine systems is unclear. Here we report evidence for a dynamic microbial presence at the ocean-atmosphere interface of a major marine ecosystem, the Great Barrier Reef, and identify that recent air mass trajectory over an oceanic or continental surface associated with observed shifts in airborne bacterial and fungal diversity. Relative abundance of shared taxa between air and coral microbiomes varied between 2.2-8.8% and included those identified as part of the core coral microbiome. We propose that this variable source of atmospheric inputs may in part contribute to the diverse and transient nature of the coral microbiome.

scholarly journals Air mass source determines airborne microbial diversity at the ocean–atmosphere interface of the Great Barrier Reef marine ecosystem

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 871-876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen D. J. Archer ◽  
Kevin C. Lee ◽  
Tancredi Caruso ◽  
Katie King-Miaow ◽  
Mike Harvey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Mass Source ◽  
Air Mass ◽  
Transient Nature ◽  
Coral Microbiome ◽  
Ocean Atmosphere ◽  
Atmospheric Inputs

AbstractThe atmosphere is the least understood biome on Earth despite its critical role as a microbial transport medium. The influence of surface cover on composition of airborne microbial communities above marine systems is unclear. Here we report evidence for a dynamic microbial presence at the ocean–atmosphere interface of a major marine ecosystem, the Great Barrier Reef, and identify that recent air mass trajectory over an oceanic or continental surface associated with observed shifts in airborne bacterial and fungal diversity. Relative abundance of shared taxa between air and coral microbiomes varied between 2.2 and 8.8% and included those identified as part of the core coral microbiome. We propose that this variable source of atmospheric inputs may in part contribute to the diverse and transient nature of the coral microbiome.

scholarly journals Atmospheric Trace Metal Deposition near the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michal Strzelec ◽  
Bernadette C. Proemse ◽  
Melanie Gault-Ringold ◽  
Philip W. Boyd ◽  
Morgane M. G. Perron ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trace Metals ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Precipitation Event ◽  
Deposition Flux ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Combustion Emissions ◽  
Leaching Experiments ◽  
Aerosol Sources ◽  
Delivery Mechanism

Aerosols deposited into the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) contain iron (Fe) and other trace metals, which may act as micronutrients or as toxins to this sensitive marine ecosystem. In this paper, we quantified the atmospheric deposition of Fe and investigated aerosol sources in Mission Beach (Queensland) next to the GBR. Leaching experiments were applied to distinguish pools of Fe with regard to its solubility. The labile Fe concentration in aerosols was 2.3–10.6 ng m−3, which is equivalent to 4.9%–11.4% of total Fe and was linked to combustion and biomass burning processes, while total Fe was dominated by crustal sources. A one-day precipitation event provided more soluble iron than the average dry deposition flux, 0.165 and 0.143 μmol m−2 day−1, respectively. Scanning Electron Microscopy indicated that alumina-silicates were the main carriers of total Fe and samples affected by combustion emissions were accompanied by regular round-shaped carbonaceous particulates. Collected aerosols contained significant amounts of Cd, Co, Cu, Mo, Mn, Pb, V, and Zn, which were mostly (47.5%–96.7%) in the labile form. In this study, we provide the first field data on the atmospheric delivery of Fe and other trace metals to the GBR and propose that this is an important delivery mechanism to this region.

SURFACE OCEAN RADIOCARBON FROM A PORITES CORAL RECORD IN THE GREAT BARRIER REEF: 1945–2017

Radiocarbon ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Yang Wu ◽  
Stewart J Fallon ◽  
Neal E Cantin ◽  
Janice M Lough
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Reference Series ◽  
Surface Ocean ◽  
Porites Coral ◽  
Subsurface Ocean ◽  
Ocean Atmosphere

ABSTRACT We present a high-resolution seawater radiocarbon (Δ14C) record from a Porites coral collected from Masthead Island in the southern Great Barrier Reef (GBR) covering the years 1945–2017. The Δ14C values from 1945–1953 (pre-bomb era) averaged –49‰. As a result of bomb-produced 14C in the atmosphere, Δ14C values started to rise rapidly from 1959, levelled off at ∼131‰ in the late 1970s and gradually decreased to ∼40.3‰ by 2017 due to the decrease in the air-sea 14C gradient and the overturning of the 14C ocean reservoir (i.e., surface ocean to subsurface ocean; atmosphere to surface ocean). The Masthead Island record is in agreement with previous 14C coral records from the southern GBR. A comparison between surface ocean and atmospheric Δ14C suggests that, since 2010, the main reservoir of bomb-derived 14C has shifted from the atmosphere to the surface ocean, potentially resulting in reversed 14C flux in regions where the CO2 gradient is favorable. The high-resolution Masthead coral Δ14C sheds light on long-term variability in air-sea exchange and GBR regional ocean dynamics associated with climate change and in conjunction with the previous records provides a robust seawater 14C reference series to date other carbonate samples.

scholarly journals Target setting for pollutant discharge management of rivers in the Great Barrier Reef catchment area

2009 ◽  
Vol 60 (11) ◽  
pp. 1141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Brodie ◽  
Stephen Lewis ◽  
Zoe Bainbridge ◽  
Alan Mitchell ◽  
Jane Waterhouse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Suspended Sediments ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Discharge Management ◽  
Fertiliser Application ◽  
Pollutant Discharge ◽  
High Degree

Water Quality Improvement Plans (WQIPs) are being developed for individual river basins on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) catchment associated with the GBR Water Quality Protection Plan. Within each WQIP, marine ecosystem targets are linked to end-of-river pollutant (suspended sediments, nutrients and pesticides) load targets and to farm level management practice targets. The targets are linked through quantitative models; e.g. one model connects GBR chlorophyll concentrations (marine target) to end-of-river nitrate loads, a second connects the end-of-river nitrate loads to fertiliser management targets in the catchment, whereas a third model links fertiliser application to nitrate loss at the farm scale. The difficulties of applying these linked models to derive credible and practical management targets are great, given the high degree of uncertainty in each model. Our understanding of the generation of suspended sediments, nutrients and pesticides in catchments and the relationship to on-farm management, the transport of these materials to the ocean, their transport in coastal waters and their effects on marine ecosystems is incomplete. The challenge is to produce estimates from the models, with known levels of uncertainty, but robust enough for management purposes. Case studies from the Tully–Murray basin and the Burdekin basin in north Queensland are discussed.

δ13C Values in Marine Organisms from the Great Barrier Reef

1976 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
CC Black ◽  
MM Bender
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Sea Water ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Marine Ecosystem ◽  
Carbon Assimilation ◽  
Marine Organisms ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Terrestrial Plants ◽  
Δ13c Values ◽  
Photosynthetic Organisms

The carbon isotope composition of marine organisms collected on the Great Barrier Reef near Lizard Island, Australia, was determined. Emphasis was placed on photosynthetic organisms including algae, zooxanthellae, angiosperms and symbiotic systems. The photosynthetic organisms had δ13C values ranging from -5.1 to -32.40,. Symbiotic systems and non-photosynthetic organisms had δ13C values within this range. CO2 released by acid treatment from coral, shell and cone carbonates had δ13C values between + 3.9 and - 2.70,. The results with photosynthetic tissue generally are interpreted in comparison to terrestrial plants as showing a major assimilation of CO2 into organic compounds via ribulosebisphosphate carboxylase in the marine ecosystem. However, a few photosynthetic organisms exhibited δ13C values between - 5.10, and - 110, and could be assimilating CO2 via phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase. A unified scheme is presented for the pathway of carbon assimilation in the reef from the sea water through both autotrophic and heterotrophic metabolism, and finally to calcification.

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