Palynology and sea surface temperature reconstruction for the mid-Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 at ODP Hole 210-1276A

The mid-Cretaceous is thought to be a greenhouse world with significantly higher atmospheric pCO2 and sea-surface temperatures as well as a much flatter latitudinal thermal gradient compared to the present. This time interval was punctuated by the Cenomanian/Turonian Oceanic Anoxic Event (OAE-2, ~ 93.5 Myr ago), an episode of global, massive organic carbon burial that likely resulted in a large and abrupt pCO2 decline. However, the climatic consequences of this pCO2 drop are yet poorly constrained. We determined the first, high-resolution sea-surface temperature (SST) record across OAE-2 from a deep-marine sedimentary sequence at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1276 in the mid-latitudinal Newfoundland Basin, NW Atlantic. By employing the organic palaeothermometer TEX86, we found that SSTs across the OAE-2 interval were extremely high, but were punctuated by a remarkably large cooling (5-11 °C), which is synchronous with the 2.5-5.5 °C cooling in SST records from equatorial Atlantic sites, and the "Plenus Cold Event". Because this global cooling event is concurrent with increased organic carbon burial, it likely acted in response to the associated pCO2 drop. Our findings imply a substantial increase in the latitudinal SST gradient in the proto-North Atlantic during this period of global cooling and reduced atmospheric pCO2, suggesting a strong coupling between pCO2 and latitudinal thermal gradients under greenhouse climate conditions.

Abundance of bacteria and virus during the METEOR cruise M87/1

In temperate, subpolar and polar marine systems, the classical perception that bacteria are carbon limited by end of winter and respond in activity and abundance to the production of new carbon during the diatom spring bloom and post bloom. Contrary to this view, we here document an strong increase in bacterial abundance and activity (latter measured by increasing high nuclei acid (HNA) to low nuclei acid (LNA) bacteria ratio) during the winter-spring transition, where phytoplankton smaller than 10 µm dominate. Further DNA-virus were enumerated and revealed the virus to bacteria ratio (VBR) to be decreasing during winter-spring transition, indicating that the virus did not increase in number accordingly to bacteria. During repeated visits to stations in the deep Icelandic and the Norwegian Basins and the shallow Shetland Shelf (26 March to 29 April 2012), we investigated the abundance of bacteria and the succession of HNA:LNA bacteria and VBR. Water samples were collected from CTD rosette .10 L Niskin bottles and fixed in glutaraldehyde (final conc. 5%), flash frozen in liquid Nitrogen and stored at -80°C until analysis.

Abundance of pico- and nanophytoplankton during the Meteor cruise M87/1

In temperate, subpolar and polar marine systems, the classical perception is that diatoms initiate the spring bloom and thereby mark the beginning of the productive season. Contrary to this view, here we document an pre-bloom of pico- and nanophytoplankton prior to the diatom bloom; a period with excess nutrients and deep convection of the water column. During repeated visits to stations in the deep Icelandic and the Norwegian Basins and the shallow Shetland Shelf (26 March to 29 April 2012), we investigated the succession and dynamics of <10 µm phytoplankton. Water samples were collected from CTD rosette 10 L Niskin bottles and fixed in glutaraldehyde (final conc. 5%), flash frozen in liquid Nitrogen and stored at -80°C until analysis.

Organic matter and sediment properties of samples from site GeoB15105 from the Black Sea

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in marine sediments is a complex mixture of thousands of individual constituents that participate in biogeochemical reactions and serve as substrates for benthic microbes. Knowledge of the molecular composition of DOM is a prerequisite for a comprehensive understanding of the biogeochemical processes in sediments. In this study, interstitial water DOM was extracted with Rhizon samplers from a sediment core from the Black Sea and compared to the corresponding water-extractable organic matter fraction (<0.4 µm) obtained by Soxhlet extraction, which mobilizes labile particulate organic matter and DOM. After solid phase extraction (SPE) of DOM, samples were analyzed for the molecular composition by Fourier Transform Ion-Cyclotron Resonance Mass Spectrometry (FT-ICR MS) with electrospray ionization in negative ion mode. The average SPE extraction yield of the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in interstitial water was 63%, whereas less than 30% of the DOC in Soxhlet-extracted organic matter was recovered. Nevertheless, Soxhlet extraction yielded up to 4.35% of the total sedimentary organic carbon, which is more than 30-times the organic carbon content of the interstitial water. While interstitial water DOM consisted primarily of carbon-, hydrogen- and oxygen-bearing compounds, Soxhlet extracts yielded more complex FT-ICR mass spectra with more peaks and higher abundances of nitrogen- and sulfur-bearing compounds. The molecular composition of both sample types was affected by the geochemical conditions in the sediment; elevated concentrations of HS- promoted the early diagenetic sulfurization of organic matter. The Soxhlet extracts from shallow sediment contained specific three- and four-nitrogen-bearing molecular formulas that were also detected in bacterial cell extracts and presumably represent proteinaceous molecules. These compounds decreased with increasing sediment depth while one- and two-nitrogen-bearing molecules increased, resulting in a higher similarity of both sample types in the deep sediment. In summary, Soxhlet extraction of sediments accessed a larger and more complex pool of organic matter than present in interstitial water DOM.

Records of past mid-depth ventilation: Cretaceous ocean anoxic event 2 vs. recent oxygen minimum zones

Present day oceans are well ventilated, with the exception of mid-depth oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) under high surface water productivity, regions of sluggish circulation, and restricted marginal basins. In the Mesozoic, however, entire oceanic basins transiently became dysoxic or anoxic. The Cretaceous ocean anoxic events (OAEs) were characterised by laminated organic-carbon rich shales and low-oxygen indicating trace fossils preserved in the sedimentary record. Yet assessments of the intensity and extent of Cretaceous near-bottom water oxygenation have been hampered by deep or long-term diagenesis and the evolution of marine biota serving as oxygen indicators in today's ocean. Sedimentary features similar to those found in Cretaceous strata were observed in deposits underlying Recent OMZs, where bottom-water oxygen levels, the flux of organic matter, and benthic life have been studied thoroughly. Their implications for constraining past bottom-water oxygenation are addressed in this review. We compared OMZ sediments from the Peruvian upwelling with deposits of the late Cenomanian OAE 2 from the north-west African shelf. Holocene laminated sediments are encountered at bottom-water oxygen levels of < 7 µmol/kg under the Peruvian upwelling and < 5 µmol/kg in California Borderland basins and the Pakistan Margin. Seasonal to decadal changes of sediment input are necessary to create laminae of different composition. However, bottom currents may shape similar textures that are difficult to discern from primary seasonal laminae. The millimetre-sized trace fossil Chondrites was commonly found in Cretaceous strata and Recent oxygen-depleted environments where its diameter increased with oxygen levels from 5 to 45 µmol/kg. Chondrites has not been reported in Peruvian sediments but centimetre-sized crab burrows appeared around 10 µmol/kg, which may indicate a minimum oxygen value for bioturbated Cretaceous strata. Organic carbon accumulation rates ranged from 0.7 and 2.8 g C /cm2 /kyr in laminated OAE 2 sections in Tarfaya Basin, Morocco, matching late Holocene accumulation rates of laminated Peruvian sediments under Recent oxygen levels below 5 µmol/kg. Sediments deposited at > 10 µmol/kg showed an inverse exponential relationship of bottom-water oxygen levels and organic carbon accumulation depicting enhanced bioirrigation and decomposition of organic matter with increased oxygen supply. In the absence of seasonal laminations and under conditions of low burial diagenesis, this relationship may facilitate quantitative estimates of palaeo-oxygenation. Similarities and differences between Cretaceous OAEs and late Quaternary OMZs have to be further explored to improve our understanding of sedimentary systems under hypoxic conditions.