Swarr Gretchen J.

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Swarr
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Gretchen J.
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  • Article
    Methods for the sampling and analysis of marine aerosols : results from the 2008 GEOTRACES aerosol intercalibration experiment
    (Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, 2013-02) Morton, Peter L. ; Landing, William M. ; Hsu, Shih-Chieh ; Milne, Angela ; Aguilar-Islas, Ana M. ; Baker, Alexander R. ; Bowie, Andrew R. ; Buck, Clifton S. ; Gao, Yuan ; Gichuki, Susan ; Hastings, Meredith G. ; Hatta, Mariko ; Johansen, Anne M. ; Losno, Remi ; Mead, Chris ; Patey, Matthew D. ; Swarr, Gretchen J. ; Vandermark, Amanda ; Zamora, Lauren M.
    Atmospheric deposition of trace elements and isotopes (TEI) is an important source of trace metals to the open ocean, impacting TEI budgets and distributions, stimulating oceanic primary productivity, and influencing biological community structure and function. Thus, accurate sampling of aerosol TEIs is a vital component of ongoing GEOTRACES cruises, and standardized aerosol TEI sampling and analysis procedures allow the comparison of data from different sites and investigators. Here, we report the results of an aerosol analysis intercalibration study by seventeen laboratories for select GEOTRACES-relevant aerosol species (Al, Fe, Ti, V, Zn, Pb, Hg, NO3 , and SO42 ) for samples collected in September 2008. The collection equipment and filter substrates are appropriate for the GEOTRACES program, as evidenced by low blanks and detection limits relative to analyte concentrations. Analysis of bulk aerosol sample replicates were in better agreement when the processing protocol was constrained (± 9% RSD or better on replicate analyses by a single lab, n = 7) than when it was not (generally 20% RSD or worse among laboratories using different methodologies), suggesting that the observed variability was mainly due to methodological differences rather than sample heterogeneity. Much greater variability was observed for fractional solubility of aerosol trace elements and major anions, due to differing extraction methods. Accuracy is difficult to establish without an SRM representative of aerosols, and we are developing an SRM for this purpose. Based on these findings, we provide recommendations for the GEOTRACES program to establish consistent and reliable procedures for the collection and analysis of aerosol samples.
  • Article
    Dark reduction drives evasion of mercury from the ocean
    (Frontiers Media, 2021-04-27) Lamborg, Carl H. ; Hansel, Colleen M. ; Bowman, Katlin ; Voelker, Bettina M. ; Marsico, Ryan M. ; Oldham, Véronique E. ; Swarr, Gretchen J. ; Zhang, Tong ; Ganguli, Priya M.
    Much of the surface water of the ocean is supersaturated in elemental mercury (Hg0) with respect to the atmosphere, leading to sea-to-air transfer or evasion. This flux is large, and nearly balances inputs from the atmosphere, rivers and hydrothermal vents. While the photochemical production of Hg0 from ionic and methylated mercury is reasonably well-studied and can produce Hg0 at fairly high rates, there is also abundant Hg0 in aphotic waters, indicating that other important formation pathways exist. Here, we present results of gross reduction rate measurements, depth profiles and diel cycling studies to argue that dark reduction of Hg2+ is also capable of sustaining Hg0 concentrations in the open ocean mixed layer. In locations where vertical mixing is deep enough relative to the vertical penetration of UV-B and photosynthetically active radiation (the principal forms of light involved in abiotic and biotic Hg photoreduction), dark reduction will contribute the majority of Hg0 produced in the surface ocean mixed layer. Our measurements and modeling suggest that these conditions are met nearly everywhere except at high latitudes during local summer. Furthermore, the residence time of Hg0 in the mixed layer with respect to evasion is longer than that of redox, a situation that allows dark reduction-oxidation to effectively set the steady-state ratio of Hg0 to Hg2+ in surface waters. The nature of these dark redox reactions in the ocean was not resolved by this study, but our experiments suggest a likely mechanism or mechanisms involving enzymes and/or important redox agents such as reactive oxygen species and manganese (III).
  • Article
    Mercury species concentrations and fluxes in the Central Tropical Pacific Ocean
    (John Wiley & Sons, 2015-03-25) Munson, Kathleen M. ; Lamborg, Carl H. ; Swarr, Gretchen J. ; Saito, Mak A.
    The formation of the toxic and bioaccumulating monomethylmercury (MMHg) in marine systems is poorly understood, due in part to sparse data from many ocean regions. We present dissolved mercury (Hg) speciation data from 10 stations in the North and South Equatorial Pacific spanning large water mass differences and gradients in oxygen utilization. We also compare the mercury content in suspended particles from six stations and sinking particles from three stations to constrain local Hg sources and sinks. Concentrations of total Hg (THg) and methylated Hg in the surface and intermediate waters of the Equatorial and South Pacific suggest Hg cycling distinct from that of the North Pacific gyre. Maximum concentrations of 180 fM for both MMHg and dimethylmercury (DMHg) are observed in the Equatorial Pacific. South of the equator, concentrations of MMHg and DMHg are less than 100 fM. Sinking fluxes of particulate THg can reasonably explain the shape of dissolved THg profiles, but those of MMHg are too low to account for dissolved MMHg profiles. However, methylated Hg species are lower than predicted from remineralization rates based on North Pacific data, consistent with limitation of methylation in Equatorial and South Pacific waters. Full water column depth profiles were also measured for the first time in these regions. Concentrations of THg are elevated in deep waters of the North Pacific, compared to those in the intermediate and surface waters, and taper off in the South Pacific. Comparisons with previous measurements from nearby regions suggest little enrichment of THg or MMHg over the past 20 years.
  • Article
    Chitin utilization by marine picocyanobacteria and the evolution of a planktonic lifestyle
    (National Academy of Sciences, 2023-05-16) Capovilla, Giovanna ; Braakman, Rogier ; Fournier, Gregory P. ; Hackl, Thomas ; Schwartzman, Julia ; Lu, Xinda ; Yelton, Alexis ; Longnecker, Krista ; Soule, Melissa C. Kido ; Thomas, Elaina ; Swarr, Gretchen ; Mongera, Alessandro ; Payette, Jack G. ; Castro, Kurt G. ; Waldbauer, Jacob R. ; Kujawinski, Elizabeth B. ; Cordero, Otto X. ; Chisholm, Sallie W.
    Marine picocyanobacteria Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus, the most abundant photosynthetic cells in the oceans, are generally thought to have a primarily single-celled and free-living lifestyle. However, while studying the ability of picocyanobacteria to supplement photosynthetic carbon fixation with the use of exogenous organic carbon, we found the widespread occurrence of genes for breaking down chitin, an abundant source of organic carbon that exists primarily as particles. We show that cells that encode a chitin degradation pathway display chitin degradation activity, attach to chitin particles, and show enhanced growth under low light conditions when exposed to chitosan, a partially deacetylated soluble form of chitin. Marine chitin is largely derived from arthropods, which underwent major diversifications 520 to 535 Mya, close to when marine picocyanobacteria are inferred to have appeared in the ocean. Phylogenetic analyses confirm that the chitin utilization trait was acquired at the root of marine picocyanobacteria. Together this leads us to postulate that attachment to chitin particles allowed benthic cyanobacteria to emulate their mat-based lifestyle in the water column, initiating their expansion into the open ocean, seeding the rise of modern marine ecosystems. Subsequently, transitioning to a constitutive planktonic life without chitin associations led to cellular and genomic streamlining along a major early branch within Prochlorococcus. Our work highlights how the emergence of associations between organisms from different trophic levels, and their coevolution, creates opportunities for colonizing new environments. In this view, the rise of ecological complexity and the expansion of the biosphere are deeply intertwined processes.
  • Article
    Metabolite diversity among representatives of divergent Prochlorococcus ecotypes
    (American Society for Microbiology, 2023-10-10) Kujawinski, Elizabeth B. ; Braakman, Rogier ; Longnecker, Krista ; Becker, Jamie W. ; Chisholm, Sallie W. ; Dooley, Keven ; Kido Soule, Melissa C. ; Swarr, Gretchen J. ; Halloran, Kathryn H.
    The euphotic zone of the surface ocean contains distinct physical-chemical regimes that vary in light and nutrient concentrations as an inverse function of depth. The most numerous phytoplankter of the mid- and low-latitude ocean is the picocyanobacterium Prochlorococcus, which consists of ecologically distinct subpopulations (i.e., “ecotypes”). Ecotypes have different temperature, light, and nutrient optima and display distinct relative abundances along gradients of these niche dimensions. As a primary producer, Prochlorococcus fixes and releases organic carbon to neighboring microbes as part of the microbial loop. However, little is known about the specific molecules Prochlorococcus accumulates and releases or how these processes vary among its ecotypes. Here, we characterize the metabolite diversity of Prochlorococcus by profiling three ecologically distinct cultured strains: MIT9301, representing a high-light-adapted ecotype dominating shallow tropical and sub-tropical waters; MIT0801, representing a low-light-adapted ecotype found throughout the euphotic zone; and MIT9313, representing a low-light-adapted ecotype relatively most abundant at the base of the euphotic zone. In both intracellular and extracellular metabolite profiles, we observe striking differences across strains in the accumulation and release of molecules, such as the DNA methylating agent S-adenosyl-methionine (intracellular) and the branched-chain amino acids (intracellular) and their precursors (extracellular). While some differences reflect variable genome content across the strains, others likely reflect variable regulation of conserved pathways. In the extracellular profiles, we identify molecules such as pantothenic acid and aromatic amino acids that may serve as currencies in Prochlorococcus’ interactions with neighboring microbes and, therefore, merit further investigation.
  • Article
    The GEOTRACES Intermediate Data Product 2017
    (Elsevier, 2018-06-01) Schlitzer, Reiner ; Anderson, Robert F. ; Dodas, Elena Masferrer ; Lohan, Maeve C. ; Geibert, Walter ; Tagliabue, Alessandro ; Bowie, Andrew R. ; Jeandel, Catherine ; Maldonado, Maria T. ; Landing, William M. ; Cockwell, Donna ; Abadie, Cyril ; Abouchami, Wafa ; Achterberg, Eric P. ; Agather, Alison ; Aguliar-Islas, Ana ; van Aken, Hendrik M. ; Andersen, Morten ; Archer, Corey ; Auro, Maureen E. ; Baar, Hein J. W. de ; Baars, Oliver ; Baker, Alex R. ; Bakker, Karel ; Basak, Chandranath ; Baskaran, Mark ; Bates, Nicholas R. ; Bauch, Dorothea ; van Beek, Pieter ; Behrens, Melanie K. ; Black, Erin E. ; Bluhm, Katrin ; Bopp, Laurent ; Bouman, Heather ; Bowman, Katlin ; Bown, Johann ; Boyd, Philip ; Boye, Marie ; Boyle, Edward A. ; Branellec, Pierre ; Bridgestock, Luke ; Brissebrat, Guillaume ; Browning, Thomas A. ; Bruland, Kenneth W. ; Brumsack, Hans-Jürgen ; Brzezinski, Mark A. ; Buck, Clifton S. ; Buck, Kristen N. ; Buesseler, Ken O. ; Bull, Abby ; Butler, Edward ; Cai, Pinghe ; Cámara Mor, Patricia ; Cardinal, Damien ; Carlson, Craig ; Carrasco, Gonzalo ; Casacuberta, Nuria ; Casciotti, Karen L. ; Castrillejo, Maxi ; Chamizo, Elena ; Chance, Rosie ; Charette, Matthew A. ; Chaves, Joaquin E. ; Cheng, Hai ; Chever, Fanny ; Christl, Marcus ; Church, Thomas M. ; Closset, Ivia ; Colman, Albert S. ; Conway, Tim M. ; Cossa, Daniel ; Croot, Peter L. ; Cullen, Jay T. ; Cutter, Gregory A. ; Daniels, Chris ; Dehairs, Frank ; Deng, Feifei ; Dieu, Huong Thi ; Duggan, Brian ; Dulaquais, Gabriel ; Dumousseaud, Cynthia ; Echegoyen-Sanz, Yolanda ; Edwards, R. Lawrence ; Ellwood, Michael J. ; Fahrbach, Eberhard ; Fitzsimmons, Jessica N. ; Flegal, A. Russell ; Fleisher, Martin Q. ; van de Flierdt, Tina ; Frank, Martin ; Friedrich, Jana ; Fripiat, Francois ; Fröllje, Henning ; Galer, Stephen J. G. ; Gamo, Toshitaka ; Ganeshram, Raja S. ; Garcia-Orellana, Jordi ; Garcia Solsona, Ester ; Gault-Ringold, Melanie ; George, Ejin ; Gerringa, Loes J. A. ; Gilbert, Melissa ; Godoy, Jose Marcus ; Goldstein, Steven L. ; Gonzalez, Santiago ; Grissom, Karen ; Hammerschmidt, Chad R. ; Hartman, Alison ; Hassler, Christel ; Hathorne, Ed C. ; Hatta, Mariko ; Hawco, Nicholas J. ; Hayes, Christopher T. ; Heimbürger, Lars-Eric ; Helgoe, Josh ; Heller, Maija Iris ; Henderson, Gideon M. ; Henderson, Paul B. ; van Heuven, Steven ; Ho, Peng ; Horner, Tristan J. ; Hsieh, Yu-Te ; Huang, Kuo-Fang ; Humphreys, Matthew P. ; Isshiki, Kenji ; Jacquot, Jeremy E. ; Janssen, David J. ; Jenkins, William J. ; John, Seth ; Jones, Elizabeth M. ; Jones, Janice L. ; Kadko, David ; Kayser, Rick ; Kenna, Timothy C. ; Khondoker, Roulin ; Kim, Taejin ; Kipp, Lauren ; Klar, Jessica K. ; Klunder, Maarten ; Kretschmer, Sven ; Kumamoto, Yuichiro ; Laan, Patrick ; Labatut, Marie ; Lacan, Francois ; Lam, Phoebe J. ; Lambelet, Myriam ; Lamborg, Carl H. ; le Moigne, Frederique ; Le Roy, Emilie ; Lechtenfeld, Oliver J. ; Lee, Jong-Mi ; Lherminier, Pascale ; Little, Susan ; López-Lora, Mercedes ; Lu, Yanbin ; Masque, Pere ; Mawji, Edward ; McClain, Charles R. ; Measures, Christopher I. ; Mehic, Sanjin ; Menzel Barraqueta, Jan-Lukas ; Merwe, Pier van der ; Middag, Rob ; Mieruch, Sebastian ; Milne, Angela ; Minami, Tomoharu ; Moffett, James W. ; Moncoiffe, Gwenaelle ; Moore, Willard S. ; Morris, Paul J. ; Morton, Peter L. ; Nakaguchi, Yuzuru ; Nakayama, Noriko ; Niedermiller, John ; Nishioka, Jun ; Nishiuchi, Akira ; Noble, Abigail E. ; Obata, Hajime ; Ober, Sven ; Ohnemus, Daniel C. ; van Ooijen, Jan ; O'Sullivan, Jeanette ; Owens, Stephanie A. ; Pahnke, Katharina ; Paul, Maxence ; Pavia, Frank ; Pena, Leopoldo D. ; Peters, Brian ; Planchon, Frederic ; Planquette, Helene ; Pradoux, Catherine ; Puigcorbé, Viena ; Quay, Paul D. ; Queroue, Fabien ; Radic, Amandine ; Rauschenberg, Sara ; Rehkämper, Mark ; Rember, Robert ; Remenyi, Tomas A. ; Resing, Joseph A. ; Rickli, Joerg ; Rigaud, Sylvain ; Rijkenberg, Micha J. A. ; Rintoul, Stephen R. ; Robinson, Laura F. ; Roca-Martí, Montserrat ; Rodellas, Valenti ; Roeske, Tobias ; Rolison, John M. ; Rosenberg, Mark ; Roshan, Saeed ; Rutgers van der Loeff, Michiel M. ; Ryabenko, Evgenia ; Saito, Mak A. ; Salt, Lesley ; Sanial, Virginie ; Sarthou, Geraldine ; Schallenberg, Christina ; Schauer, Ursula ; Scher, Howie ; Schlosser, Christian ; Schnetger, Bernhard ; Scott, Peter M. ; Sedwick, Peter N. ; Semiletov, Igor P. ; Shelley, Rachel U. ; Sherrell, Robert M. ; Shiller, Alan M. ; Sigman, Daniel M. ; Singh, Sunil Kumar ; Slagter, Hans ; Slater, Emma ; Smethie, William M. ; Snaith, Helen ; Sohrin, Yoshiki ; Sohst, Bettina M. ; Sonke, Jeroen E. ; Speich, Sabrina ; Steinfeldt, Reiner ; Stewart, Gillian ; Stichel, Torben ; Stirling, Claudine H. ; Stutsman, Johnny ; Swarr, Gretchen J. ; Swift, James H. ; Thomas, Alexander ; Thorne, Kay ; Till, Claire P. ; Till, Ralph ; Townsend, Ashley T. ; Townsend, Emily ; Tuerena, Robyn ; Twining, Benjamin S. ; Vance, Derek ; Velazquez, Sue ; Venchiarutti, Celia ; Villa-Alfageme, Maria ; Vivancos, Sebastian M. ; Voelker, Antje H. L. ; Wake, Bronwyn ; Warner, Mark J. ; Watson, Ros ; van Weerlee, Evaline ; Weigand, M. Alexandra ; Weinstein, Yishai ; Weiss, Dominik ; Wisotzki, Andreas ; Woodward, E. Malcolm S. ; Wu, Jingfeng ; Wu, Yingzhe ; Wuttig, Kathrin ; Wyatt, Neil ; Xiang, Yang ; Xie, Ruifang C. ; Xue, Zichen ; Yoshikawa, Hisayuki ; Zhang, Jing ; Zhang, Pu ; Zhao, Ye ; Zheng, Linjie ; Zheng, Xin-Yuan ; Zieringer, Moritz ; Zimmer, Louise A. ; Ziveri, Patrizia ; Zunino, Patricia ; Zurbrick, Cheryl
    The GEOTRACES Intermediate Data Product 2017 (IDP2017) is the second publicly available data product of the international GEOTRACES programme, and contains data measured and quality controlled before the end of 2016. The IDP2017 includes data from the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic, Southern and Indian oceans, with about twice the data volume of the previous IDP2014. For the first time, the IDP2017 contains data for a large suite of biogeochemical parameters as well as aerosol and rain data characterising atmospheric trace element and isotope (TEI) sources. The TEI data in the IDP2017 are quality controlled by careful assessment of intercalibration results and multi-laboratory data comparisons at crossover stations. The IDP2017 consists of two parts: (1) a compilation of digital data for more than 450 TEIs as well as standard hydrographic parameters, and (2) the eGEOTRACES Electronic Atlas providing an on-line atlas that includes more than 590 section plots and 130 animated 3D scenes. The digital data are provided in several formats, including ASCII, Excel spreadsheet, netCDF, and Ocean Data View collection. Users can download the full data packages or make their own custom selections with a new on-line data extraction service. In addition to the actual data values, the IDP2017 also contains data quality flags and 1-σ data error values where available. Quality flags and error values are useful for data filtering and for statistical analysis. Metadata about data originators, analytical methods and original publications related to the data are linked in an easily accessible way. The eGEOTRACES Electronic Atlas is the visual representation of the IDP2017 as section plots and rotating 3D scenes. The basin-wide 3D scenes combine data from many cruises and provide quick overviews of large-scale tracer distributions. These 3D scenes provide geographical and bathymetric context that is crucial for the interpretation and assessment of tracer plumes near ocean margins or along ridges. The IDP2017 is the result of a truly international effort involving 326 researchers from 25 countries. This publication provides the critical reference for unpublished data, as well as for studies that make use of a large cross-section of data from the IDP2017. This article is part of a special issue entitled: Conway GEOTRACES - edited by Tim M. Conway, Tristan Horner, Yves Plancherel, and Aridane G. González.
  • Article
    Seasonal and daily patterns in known dissolved metabolites in the northwestern Sargasso Sea
    (Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, 2024-01-10) Longnecker, Krista ; Kido Soule, Melissa C. ; Swarr, Gretchen J. ; Parsons, Rachel J. ; Liu, Shuting ; Johnson, Winifred M. ; Widner, Brittany ; Curry, Ruth G. ; Carlson, Craig A. ; Kujawinski, Elizabeth B.
    Organic carbon in seawater plays a significant role in the global carbon cycle. The concentration and composition of dissolved organic carbon reflect the activity of the biological community and chemical reactions that occur in seawater. From 2016 to 2019, we repeatedly sampled the oligotrophic northwest Sargasso Sea in the vicinity of the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study site (BATS) to quantitatively follow known compounds within the pool of dissolved organic matter in the upper 1000 m of the water column. Most metabolites showed surface enrichment, and 83% of the metabolites had significantly lower concentrations with increasing depth. Dissolved metabolite concentrations most notably revealed temporal variability. Fourteen metabolites displayed seasonality that was repeated in each of the 4 yr sampled. Concentrations of vitamins, including pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) and riboflavin (vitamin B2), increased annually during winter periods when mixed layer depths were deepest. During diel sampling, light-sensitive riboflavin decreased significantly during daylight hours. The temporal variability in metabolites at BATS was less than the spatial variability in metabolites from a previous sample set collected over a broad latitudinal range in the western Atlantic Ocean. The metabolites examined in this study are all components of central carbon metabolism. By examining these metabolites at finer resolution and in a time-series, we begin to provide insights into the chemical compounds that may be exchanged by microorganisms in marine systems, data which are fundamental to understanding the chemical response of marine systems to future changes in climate.