Bhatia Maya P.

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Bhatia
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Maya P.
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  • Preprint
    Molecular characterization of dissolved organic matter associated with the Greenland ice sheet
    ( 2010-03-16) Bhatia, Maya P. ; Das, Sarah B. ; Longnecker, Krista ; Charette, Matthew A. ; Kujawinski, Elizabeth B.
    Subsurface microbial oxidation of overridden soils and vegetation beneath glaciers and ice sheets may affect global carbon budgets on glacial-interglacial timescales. The likelihood and magnitude of this process depends on the chemical nature and reactivity of the subglacial organic carbon stores. We examined the composition of carbon pools associated with different regions of the Greenland ice sheet (subglacial, supraglacial, proglacial) in order to elucidate the type of dissolved organic matter (DOM) present in the subglacial discharge over a melt season. Electrospray ionization (ESI) Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) mass spectrometry coupled to multivariate statistics permitted unprecedented molecular level characterization of this material and revealed that carbon pools associated with discrete glacial regions are comprised of different compound classes. Specifically, a larger proportion of protein-like compounds were observed in the supraglacial samples and in the early melt season (spring) subglacial discharge. In contrast, the late melt season (summer) subglacial discharge contained a greater fraction of lignin-like and other material presumably derived from underlying vegetation and soil. These results suggest (1) that the majority of supraglacial DOM originates from autochthonous microbial processes on the ice sheet surface, (2) that the subglacial DOM contains allochthonous carbon derived from overridden soils and vegetation as well as autochthonous carbon derived from in situ microbial metabolism, and (3) that the relative contribution of allochthonous and autochthonous material in subglacial discharge varies during the melt season. These conclusions are consistent with the hypothesis that, given sufficient time (e.g., overwinter storage), resident subglacial microbial communities may oxidize terrestrial material beneath the Greenland ice sheet.
  • Preprint
    Fracture propagation to the base of the Greenland Ice Sheet during supraglacial lake drainage
    ( 2008-02-20) Das, Sarah B. ; Joughin, Ian ; Behn, Mark D. ; Howat, Ian M. ; King, Matt A. ; Lizarralde, Daniel ; Bhatia, Maya P.
    Surface meltwater that reaches the base of an ice sheet creates a mechanism for the rapid response of ice flow to climate change. The process whereby such a pathway is created through thick, cold ice has not, however, been previously observed. We describe the rapid (<2 hours) drainage of a large supraglacial lake down 980 m through to the bed of the Greenland Ice Sheet initiated by water-driven fracture propagation evolving into moulin flow. Drainage coincided with increased seismicity, transient acceleration, ice sheet uplift and horizontal displacement. Subsidence and deceleration occurred over the following 24 hours. The short-lived dynamic response suggests an efficient drainage system dispersed the meltwater subglacially. The integrated effect of multiple lake drainages could explain the observed net regional summer ice speedup.
  • Preprint
    Effect of carbon addition and predation on acetate-assimilating bacterial cells in groundwater
    ( 2009-07-13) Longnecker, Krista ; Da Costa, Andreia ; Bhatia, Maya P. ; Kujawinski, Elizabeth B.
    Groundwater microbial community dynamics are poorly understood due to the challenges associated with accessing subsurface environments. In particular, microbial interactions and their impact on the subsurface carbon cycle remain unclear. In the present project, stable isotope probing with uniformly-labeled [13C]-acetate was used to identify metabolically-active and inactive bacterial populations based on their ability to assimilate acetate and/or its metabolites. Furthermore, we assessed whether substrate availability (bottom-up control) or grazing mortality (top-down control) played a greater role in shaping bacterial community composition by separately manipulating the organic carbon supply and the protozoan grazer population. A community fingerprinting technique, Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (T-RFLP), revealed that the bacterial community was not affected by changes in acetate availability but was significantly altered by the removal of protozoan grazers. In silico identification of terminal restriction fragments and 16S rDNA sequences from clone libraries revealed a bacterial community dominated by Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes. Elucidation of the factors that structure the bacterial community will improve our understanding of the bacterial role in the carbon cycle of this important subterranean environment.
  • Preprint
    Continuous summer export of nitrogen-rich organic matter from the Greenland Ice Sheet inferred by ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry
    ( 2014-11) Lawson, Emily C. ; Bhatia, Maya P. ; Wadham, Jemma L. ; Kujawinski, Elizabeth B.
    Runoff from glaciers and ice sheets has been acknowledged as a potential source of bioavailable dissolved organic matter (DOM) to downstream ecosystems. This source may become increasingly significant as glacial melt rates increase in response to future climate change. Recent work has identified significant concentrations of bioavailable carbon and iron in Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) runoff. The flux characteristics and export of N-rich DOM are poorly understood. Here, we employed electrospray ionization (ESI) coupled to Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) to determine the elemental compositions of DOM molecules in supraglacial water and subglacial runoff from a large GrIS outlet glacier. We provide the first detailed temporal analysis of the molecular composition of DOM exported over a full melt season. We find that DOM pools in supraglacial and subglacial runoff are compositionally diverse and that N-rich material is continuously exported throughout the melt season as the snowline retreats further inland. Identification of protein-like compounds and a high proportion of N-rich DOM, accounting for 27-41% of the DOM molecules identified by ESI FT-ICR MS, may suggest a microbial provenance and high bioavailability of glacially-exported DOM to downstream microbial 16 communities.
  • Article
    Seasonal evolution of water contributions to discharge from a Greenland outlet glacier : insight from a new isotope-mixing model
    (International Glaciological Society, 2011-10-01) Bhatia, Maya P. ; Das, Sarah B. ; Kujawinski, Elizabeth B. ; Henderson, Paul B. ; Burke, Andrea ; Charette, Matthew A.
    The Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) subglacial hydrological system may undergo a seasonal evolution, with significant geophysical and biogeochemical implications. We present results from a new isotope-mixing model to quantify the relative contributions of surface snow, glacial ice and delayed flow to the bulk meltwater discharge from a small (∼5 km2) land-terminating GrIS outlet glacier during melt onset (May) and at peak melt (July). We use radioactive (222Rn) and stable isotopes (18O, deuterium) to differentiate the water source contributions. Atmospherically derived 7Be further constrains meltwater transit time from the glacier surface to the ice margin. We show that (1) 222Rn is a promising tracer for glacial waters stored at the bed and (2) a quantitative chemical mixing model can be constructed by combining 222Rn and the stable water isotopes. Applying this model to the bulk subglacial outflow from our study area, we find a constant delayed-flow (stored) component from melt onset through peak melt. This component is diluted first by snowmelt and then by increasing glacial ice melt as the season progresses. Results from this pilot study are consistent with the hypothesis that subglacial drainage beneath land-terminating sections of the GrIS undergoes a seasonal evolution from a distributed to a channelized system.
  • Article
    Pathway-centric analysis of microbial metabolic potential and expression along nutrient and energy gradients in the western Atlantic Ocean
    (Frontiers Media, 2022-05-19) Cavaco, Maria A. ; Bhatia, Maya P. ; Hawley, Alyse K. ; Torres-Beltrán, Mónica ; Johnson, Winifred M. ; Longnecker, Krista ; Konwar, Kishori ; Kujawinski, Elizabeth B. ; Hallam, Steven J.
    Microbial communities play integral roles in driving nutrient and energy transformations in the ocean, collectively contributing to fundamental biogeochemical cycles. Although it is well known that these communities are stratified within the water column, there remains limited knowledge of how metabolic pathways are distributed and expressed. Here, we investigate pathway distribution and expression patterns from surface (5 m) to deep dark ocean (4000 m) at three stations along a 2765 km transect in the western South Atlantic Ocean. This study is based on new data, consisting of 43 samples for 16S rRNA gene sequencing, 20 samples for metagenomics and 19 samples for metatranscriptomics. Consistent with previous observations, we observed vertical zonation of microbial community structure largely partitioned between light and dark ocean waters. The metabolic pathways inferred from genomic sequence information and gene expression stratified with depth. For example, expression of photosynthetic pathways increased in sunlit waters. Conversely, expression of pathways related to carbon conversion processes, particularly those involving recalcitrant and organic carbon degradation pathways (i.e., oxidation of formaldehyde) increased in dark ocean waters. We also observed correlations between indicator taxa for specific depths with the selective expression of metabolic pathways. For example, SAR202, prevalent in deep waters, was strongly correlated with expression of the methanol oxidation pathway. From a biogeographic perspective, microbial communities along the transect encoded similar metabolic potential with some latitudinal stratification in gene expression. For example, at a station influenced by input from the Amazon River, expression of pathways related to oxidative stress was increased. Finally, when pairing distinct correlations between specific particulate metabolites (e.g., DMSP, AMP and MTA) and both the taxonomic microbial community and metatranscriptomic pathways across depth and space, we were able to observe how changes in the marine metabolite pool may be influenced by microbial function and vice versa. Taken together, these results indicate that marine microbial communities encode a core repertoire of widely distributed metabolic pathways that are differentially regulated along nutrient and energy gradients. Such pathway distribution patterns are consistent with robustness in microbial food webs and indicate a high degree of functional redundancy.
  • Thesis
    Hydrological and biogeochemical cycling along the Greenland ice sheet margin
    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2012-02) Bhatia, Maya P.
    Global warming has led to a significant increase in Greenland ice sheet (GrIS) melt and runoff since 1990, resulting in escalated export of fresh water and associated sediment to the surrounding North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. Similar to alpine glacial systems, surface meltwater on ice sheet surface drains to the base (subglacial) where it joins a drainage system and can become chemically enriched from its origin as dilute snow- and ice-melt. In this thesis, I examine the interdependence of glacial hydrology and biogeochemical cycling in terms of export of carbon and iron from the Greenland ice sheet. I develop a new isotope mixing-model to quantify water source contributions to the bulk meltwater discharge draining a GrIS outlet glacier. Results illustrate (a) the new application of a naturally occurring radioisotope (radon-222) as a quantitative tracer for waters stored at the glacier bed, and (b) the seasonal evolution of the subglacial drainage network from a delayed-flow to a quick-flow system. Model results also provide the necessary hydrological context to interpret and quantify glacially-derived organic carbon and iron fluxes. I combine bulk- and molecular-level studies of subglacial organic carbon to show that GrIS discharge exports old (radiocarbon depleted), labile organic matter. Similar investigations of dissolved and particulate iron reveal that GrIS discharge may be a significant flux of labile iron to the North Atlantic Ocean during the summer meltseason. Both carbon and iron are subject to proglacial processing prior to export to the marine environment, and exhibit strong seasonal variability in correlation with the subglacial drainage evolution. Low, chemically concentrated fluxes characterize the spring discharge, whereas higher, chemically dilute fluxes typify the summer discharge. Collectively, this thesis provides some of the first descriptions and flux estimates of carbon and iron, key elements in ocean biogeochemical cycles, in GrIS meltwater runoff.
  • Article
    Metabolite composition of sinking particles differs from surface suspended particles across a latitudinal transect in the South Atlantic
    (Wiley, 2019-07-31) Johnson, Winifred M. ; Longnecker, Krista ; Kido Soule, Melissa C. ; Arnold, William A. ; Bhatia, Maya P. ; Hallam, Steven J. ; Van Mooy, Benjamin A. S. ; Kujawinski, Elizabeth B.
    Marine sinking particles transport carbon from the surface and bury it in deep‐sea sediments, where it can be sequestered on geologic time scales. The combination of the surface ocean food web that produces these particles and the particle‐associated microbial community that degrades them creates a complex set of variables that control organic matter cycling. We use targeted metabolomics to characterize a suite of small biomolecules, or metabolites, in sinking particles and compare their metabolite composition to that of the suspended particles in the euphotic zone from which they are likely derived. These samples were collected in the South Atlantic subtropical gyre, as well as in the equatorial Atlantic region and the Amazon River plume. The composition of targeted metabolites in the sinking particles was relatively similar throughout the transect, despite the distinct oceanic regions in which they were generated. Metabolites possibly derived from the degradation of nucleic acids and lipids, such as xanthine and glycine betaine, were an increased mole fraction of the targeted metabolites in the sinking particles relative to surface suspended particles, while algal‐derived metabolites like the osmolyte dimethylsulfoniopropionate were a smaller fraction of the observed metabolites on the sinking particles. These compositional changes are shaped both by the removal of metabolites associated with detritus delivered from the surface ocean and by production of metabolites by the sinking particle‐associated microbial communities. Furthermore, they provide a basis for examining the types and quantities of metabolites that may be delivered to the deep sea by sinking particles.
  • Article
    Particulate and dissolved metabolite distributions along a latitudinal transect of the western Atlantic Ocean
    (Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, 2022-12-23) Johnson, Winifred M. ; Kido Soule, Melissa C. ; Longnecker, Krista ; Bhatia, Maya P. ; Hallam, Steven J. ; Lomas, Michael W. ; Kujawinski, Elizabeth B.
    Metabolites, or the small organic molecules that are synthesized by cells during metabolism, comprise a complex and dynamic pool of carbon in the ocean. They are an essential currency in interactions at the population and community levels of biological organization. Characterizing metabolite distributions inside microbial cells and dissolved in seawater is essential to understanding the controls on their production and fate, as well as their roles in shaping marine microbial food webs. Here, we apply a targeted metabolomics method to quantify particulate and dissolved distributions of a suite of biologically relevant metabolites including vitamins, amino acids, nucleic acids, osmolytes, and intermediates in biosynthetic pathways along a latitudinal transect in the western Atlantic Ocean. We find that, in the upper 200 m of the water column, most particulate or intracellular metabolites positively covary with the most abundant microbial taxa. In contrast, dissolved metabolites exhibited greater variability with differences in distribution between ocean regions. Although fewer particulate metabolites were detected below 200 m, the particulate metabolites identified in the deep ocean may be linked to adaptive physiological strategies of deep‐sea microbes. Based on the identified metabolite distributions, we propose relationships between certain metabolites and microbial populations, and find that dissolved metabolite distributions are not directly related to their particulate abundances.