Pigment data set from the SeaWiFS Bio-optical Archive and Storage System (1961-1996)

The oceans play a critical role in the Earth's climate, but unfortunately, the extent of this role is only partially understood. One major obstacle is the difficulty associated with making high-quality, globally distributed observations, a feat that is nearly impossible using only ships and other ocean-based platforms. The data collected by satellite-borne ocean color instruments, however, provide environmental scientists a synoptic look at the productivity and variability of the Earth's oceans and atmosphere, respectively, on high-resolution temporal and spatial scales. Three such instruments, the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) onboard ORBIMAGE's OrbView-2 satellite, and two Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometers (MODIS) onboard the National Aeronautic and Space Administration's (NASA) Terra and Aqua satellites, have been in continuous operation since September 1997, February 2000, and June 2002, respectively. To facilitate the assembly of a suitably accurate data set for climate research, members of the NASA Sensor Intercomparison and Merger for Biological and Interdisciplinary Oceanic Studies (SIMBIOS) Project and SeaWiFS Project Offices devote significant attention to the calibration and validation of these and other ocean color instruments. This article briefly presents results from the SIMBIOS and SeaWiFS Project Office's (SSPO) satellite ocean color validation activities and describes the SeaWiFS Bio-optical Archive and Storage System (SeaBASS), a state-of-the-art system for archiving, cataloging, and distributing the in situ data used in these activities.

PanConverter - a tool for data conversion and recalculation, written to convert special data collections to standard import format used by PANGAEA

Supported file formats: - CrossRef XML file(s) - TRiDaS (Tree Ring Data Standard, http://www.tridas.org). Example: hdl:10013/epic.42747.d001 - IMMA (International Maritime Meteorological Archive). Used by the project CLIWOC (García-Herrera et al. 2007, http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.743343) - NOAA IOAS (International Ocean Atlas Series). Example: hdl:10013/epic.42747.d008 - SOCAT (Surface Ocean CO2 Atlas, Bakker et al. 2014, http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.811776) - CHUAN (Comprehensive Historical Upper-Air Network, Stickler et al. 2013, http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.821222). Example: hdl:10013/epic.42747.d003 - Thermosalinograph (TSG) data. Format developed by Gerd Rohardt. Example: hdl:10013/epic.42747.d002 - Columus GPS Data Logger V-900 format to KML or GPX. Example: hdl:10013/epic.42747.d006

Coral energy reserves and calcification in a high-CO2 world at two temperatures

Rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations threaten coral reefs globally by causing ocean acidification (OA) and warming. Yet, the combined effects of elevated pCO2 and temperature on coral physiology and resilience remain poorly understood. While coral calcification and energy reserves are important health indicators, no studies to date have measured energy reserve pools (i.e., lipid, protein, and carbohydrate) together with calcification under OA conditions under different temperature scenarios. Four coral species, Acropora millepora, Montipora monasteriata, Pocillopora damicornis, Turbinaria reniformis, were reared under a total of six conditions for 3.5 weeks, representing three pCO2 levels (382, 607, 741 µatm), and two temperature regimes (26.5, 29.0°C) within each pCO2 level. After one month under experimental conditions, only A. millepora decreased calcification (-53%) in response to seawater pCO2 expected by the end of this century, whereas the other three species maintained calcification rates even when both pCO2 and temperature were elevated. Coral energy reserves showed mixed responses to elevated pCO2 and temperature, and were either unaffected or displayed nonlinear responses with both the lowest and highest concentrations often observed at the mid-pCO2 level of 607 µatm. Biweekly feeding may have helped corals maintain calcification rates and energy reserves under these conditions. Temperature often modulated the response of many aspects of coral physiology to OA, and both mitigated and worsened pCO2 effects. This demonstrates for the first time that coral energy reserves are generally not metabolized to sustain calcification under OA, which has important implications for coral health and bleaching resilience in a high-CO2 world. Overall, these findings suggest that some corals could be more resistant to simultaneously warming and acidifying oceans than previously expected.

Microalgal CO2 Sequestering - Modeling Microalgae Production Costs

Microalgae CO2 sequestering facilities might become an industrial reality if microalgae biomass could be produced at cost below $500.00 t-1. We develop a model for estimation of total production costs of microalgae as a function of known production-specific expenses, and incorporate into the model the effects of uncontrollable factors which affect known production-specific expenses. Random fluctuations were intentionally incorporated into the model, consequently into generated cost/technology scenarios, because each and every logically interconnected equipment/operation that is used in design/construction/operation/maintenance of a production process is inevitably subject to random cost/price fluctuations which can neither be eliminated nor a priori controlled. A total of 152 costs/technology scenarios were evaluated to find forty four scenarios in which Predicted Total Production Costs of Microalgae (PTPCM) was in the range $200 to $500 t-1 ha-1 y-1. An additional 24 scenarios were found with PTCPM in the range of $102 to $200 t-1 ha-1 y-1. These findings suggest that microalgae CO2 sequestering and the production of commercial compounds from microalgal biomass can be economically viable venture even today when microalgae production technology is still far from its optimum.