Weber
John C.
Weber
John C.
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ArticleHurricanes enhance labile carbon export to the deep ocean(American Geophysical Union, 2019-08-16) Pedrosa-Pamies, Rut ; Conte, Maureen H. ; Weber, John C. ; Johnson, RodneyTropical cyclones (hurricanes) generate intense surface ocean cooling and vertical mixing resulting in nutrient upwelling into the photic zone and episodic phytoplankton blooms. However, their influence on the deep ocean remains unknown. Here we present evidence that hurricanes also impact the ocean's biological pump by enhancing export of labile organic material to the deep ocean. In October 2016, Category 3 Hurricane Nicole passed over the Bermuda Time Series site in the oligotrophic NW Atlantic Ocean. Following Nicole's passage, particulate fluxes of lipids diagnostic of fresh phytodetritus, zooplankton, and microbial biomass increased by 30–300% at 1,500 m depth and 30–800% at 3,200 m depth. Mesopelagic suspended particles following Nicole were also enriched in phytodetrital material and in zooplankton and bacteria lipids, indicating particle disaggregation and a deepwater ecosystem response. Predicted climate‐induced increases in hurricane frequency and/or intensity may significantly alter ocean biogeochemical cycles by increasing the strength of the biological pump.
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ArticleVariability in the carbon isotopic composition of foliage carbon pools (soluble carbohydrates, waxes) and respiration fluxes in southeastern U.S. pine forests(American Geophysical Union, 2012-04-19) Mortazavi, Behzad ; Conte, Maureen H. ; Chanton, Jeffrey P. ; Weber, John C. ; Martin, Timothy A. ; Cropper, Wendell P.We measured the δ13C of assimilated carbon (foliage organic matter (δCOM), soluble carbohydrates (δCSC), and waxes (δCW)) and respiratory carbon (foliage (δCFR), soil (δCSR) and ecosystem 13CO2 (δCER)) for two years at adjacent ecosystems in the southeastern U.S.: a regenerated 32 m tall mature Pinus palustris forest, and a mid-rotation 13 m tall Pinus elliottii stand. Carbon pools and foliage respiration in P. palustris were isotopically enriched by 2‰ relative to P. elliottii. Despite this enrichment, mean δCER values of the two sites were nearly identical. No temporal trends were apparent in δCSC, δCFR, δCSR and δCER. In contrast, δCOM and δCW at both sites declined by approximately 2‰ over the study. This appears to reflect the adjustment in the δ13C of carbon storage reserves used for biosynthesis as the trees recovered from a severe drought prior to our study. Unexpectedly, the rate of δ13C decrease in the secondary C32–36 n-alkanoic acid wax molecular cluster was twice that observed for δCOM and the predominant C22–26 compound cluster, and provides new evidence for parallel but separate wax chain elongation systems utilizing different carbon precursor pools in these species. δCFR and δCER were consistently enriched relative to assimilated carbon but, in contrast to previous studies, showed limited variations in response to changes in vapor pressure deficit (D). This limited variability in respiratory fluxes and δCSC may be due to the shallow water table as well as the deep taproots of pines, which limit fluctuations in photosynthetic discrimination arising from changes in D.
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ArticleParticle Flux in the deep Sargasso Sea : the 35-Year Oceanic Flux Program time series(The Oceanography Society, 2014-03) Conte, Maureen H. ; Weber, John C.The Oceanic Flux Program (OFP) sediment trap time series, the longest running time series of its kind, has continuously measured particle fluxes in the deep Sargasso Sea since 1978. OFP results provided the first direct observation of seasonality in the deep ocean, and they have documented the tight coupling between deep fluxes and upper ocean processes and the intensity of biological reprocessing of sinking flux in the ocean interior. The synergy among OFP and other research programs co-located at the Bermuda time-series site has provided unprecedented opportunities to study the linkages among ocean physics, biology, and chemistry; particle flux generation; and particle recycling in the ocean interior. The OFP time series is beginning to reveal how basin-scale climatic forcing, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation, affects the deep particle flux.
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ArticleGlobal temperature calibration of the alkenone unsaturation index (UK′37) in surface waters and comparison with surface sediments(American Geophysical Union, 2006-02-07) Conte, Maureen H. ; Sicre, Marie-Alexandrine ; Ruhlemann, Carsten ; Weber, John C. ; Schulte, Sonja ; Schulz-Bull, Detlef ; Blanz, ThomasIn this paper, we compile the current surface seawater C37 alkenone unsaturation (UK′37) measurements (n=629, −1 to 30°C temperature range) to derive a global, field-based calibration of UK′37 with alkenone production temperature. A single nonlinear “global” surface water calibration of UK′37 accurately predicts alkenone production temperatures over the diversity of modern-day oceanic environments and alkenone-synthesizing populations (T=−0.957 + 54.293(UK′37) − 52.894(UK′37)2 + 28.321(UK′37)3, r2=0.97, n=567). The mean standard error of estimation is 1.2°C with insignificant bias in estimated production temperature among the different ocean regions sampled. An exception to these trends is regions characterized by strong lateral advection and extreme productivity and temperature gradients (e.g., the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence). In contrast to the surface water data, the calibration of UK′37 in surface sediments with overlying annual mean sea surface temperature (AnnO) is best fit by a linear model (AnnO=29.876(UK′37) − 1.334, r2=0.97, n=592). The standard error of estimation (1.1°C) is similar to that of the surface water production calibration, but a higher degree of bias is observed among the regional data sets. The sediment calibration differs significantly from the surface water calibration. UK′37 in surface sediments is consistently higher than that predicted from AnnO and the surface water production temperature calibration, and the magnitude of the offset increases as the surface water AnnO decreases. We apply the global production temperature calibration to the coretop UK′37 data to estimate the coretop alkenone integrated production temperature (coretop IPT) and compare this with the overlying annual mean sea surface temperature (AnnO). We use simple models to explore the possible causes of the deviation observed between the coretop temperature signal, as estimated by UK′37, and AnnO. Our results indicate that the deviation can best be explained if seasonality in production and/or thermocline production as well as differential degradation of 37:3 and 37:2 alkenones both affect the sedimentary alkenone signal.
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PreprintSugars as source indicators of biogenic organic carbon in aerosols collected above the Howland Experimental Forest, Maine( 2005-10-25) Medeiros, Patricia M. ; Conte, Maureen H. ; Weber, John C. ; Simoneit, Bernd R. T.Bulk aerosols (> 1 μm) were collected continuously above the canopy at the Howland Experimental Forest, Maine, USA from May to October 2002. Each sample integrated over an approximately two-week period. Mono- and disaccharide sugars were extracted using a microscale technique and were analyzed as their TMS derivatives by GC-MS. Concentrations of total aerosol sugars ranged from 10 to 180 ng m-3. Glucose was the most abundant sugar (40-75% of the total sugars). The monosaccharides arabinose, fructose, galactose, mannose, arabitol and mannitol, and the disaccharides sucrose, maltose and mycose (aka trehalose) were also present in lower concentrations. The sugar composition in the aerosols varied seasonally. Fructose and sucrose were prevalent in early spring and decreased in relative abundance as the growing season progressed. Sugar polyols (arabitol and mannitol) and the disaccharide mycose (a fungal metabolite) were more prevalent in autumn during the period of leaf senescence. The changes in the sugar composition in the aerosol samples appear to reflect the seasonality of sugar production and utilization by the ecosystem. Plant waxes were present as significant components also indicating an input from biogenic background. Smoke plumes from Quebec forest fires passed over the Howland site in early July 2002. Levoglucosan, a biomarker of biomass burning, increased by an order of magnitude in the aerosol samples collected during this time. Glucose, mannose, arabinose, galactose, and also, plant waxes increased in concentration by factors of 2-5 in the smoke-impacted samples, indicating that wildfires enhance atmospheric emissions of uncombusted organic compounds. In contrast, concentrations of fructose, sugar polyols and disaccharides were not significantly higher in the smoke-impacted samples and indicated that biomass burning was not a significant source of these compounds in the aerosols.
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ArticleMycorrhizal fungi supply nitrogen to host plants in Arctic tundra and boreal forests : 15N is the key signal(NRC Research Press, 2009-02-03) Hobbie, John E. ; Hobbie, Erik A. ; Drossman, Howard ; Conte, Maureen H. ; Weber, John C. ; Shamhart, Julee ; Weinrobe, MelissaSymbiotic fungi’s role in providing nitrogen to host plants is well-studied in tundra at Toolik Lake, Alaska, but little-studied in the adjoining boreal forest ecosystem. Along a 570 km north–south transect from the Yukon River to the North Slope of Alaska, the 15N content was strongly reduced in ectomycorrhizal and ericoid mycorrhizal plants including Betula, Salix, Picea mariana (P. Mill.) B.S.P., Picea glauca Moench (Voss), and ericaceous plants. Compared with the 15N content of soil, the foliage of nonmycorrhizal plants (Carex and Eriophorum) was unchanged, whereas content of the ectomycorrhizal fungi was very much higher (e.g., Boletaceae, Leccinum and Cortinarius). It is hypothesized that similar processes operate in tundra and boreal forest, both nitrogen-limited ecosystems: (i) mycorrhizal fungi break down soil polymers and take up amino acids or other nitrogen compounds; (ii) mycorrhizal fungi fractionate against 15N during production of transfer compounds; (iii) host plants are accordingly depleted in 15N; and (iv) mycorrhizal fungi are enriched in 15N. Increased N availability for plant roots or decreased light availability to understory plants may have decreased N allocation to mycorrhizal partners and increased δ15N by 3‰–4‰ for southern populations of Vaccinium vitis-idaea L. and Salix. Fungal biomass, measured as ergosterol, correlated strongly with soil organic matter and attained amounts similar to those in temperate forest soils.