Global reduction of in situ CO2 transfer velocity by natural surfactants in the sea-surface microlayer

Distribution of surface-active substances in the sea surface microlayers off the Malaysian peninsula

The sea surface microlayer (SML), particularly in monsoon-influenced regions, remains largely unexplored. This study aims to determine the concentrations, enrichment, and factors controlling the enrichment processes of surface-active substances (SASs), which include surfactants, dissolved monosaccharides (MCHOs), polysaccharides (PCHOs), total dissolved carbohydrates (TDCHOs), and transparent exopolymer particles (TEPs) around the coastal area of Malaysian Peninsula. The SML samples and underlying water (ULW) from a depth of 1 m were collected during the southwest (August and September 2023) and northeast (November 2023) monsoons. Surfactants, TEPs, and dissolved carbohydrates were measured spectrometrically using methylene blue, the Alcian blue assay, and 2,4,6-Tri(2-pyridyl)-s-triazine (TPTZ), respectively. The results showed that stations influenced by anthropogenic activities were generally enriched with surfactants (Enrichment factor, EF = 1.40 ± 0.91) and carbohydrate species (TDCHOs = 1.38 ± 0.28, MCHOs = 1.54 ± 0.57, PCHOs = 1.85 ± 1.43). However, TEP enrichment was not observed in our study (EF = 0.68 ± 0.24). The SASs in the SML were correlated with their underlying concentrations, implying that transport from underlying water could be a major source of substances in the SML. High carbohydrate concentrations and enrichment were found during the northeast monsoon, implying that rain and runoff water affect concentrations in the SML. Besides, the enrichment of SASs persists at moderate wind speeds and is depleted at high wind speeds.

Fluorescent Visualization of Chemical Profiles across the Air-Water Interface

Chemical transfer across the air-water interface is one of the most important geochemical processes of global significance. Quantifying such a process has remained extremely challenging due to the lack of suitable technologies to measure chemical diffusion across the air-water microlayer. Herein, we present a fluorescence optical system capable of visualizing the formation of the air-water microlayer with a spatial resolution of 10 μm and quantifying air-water diffusion fluxes using pyrene as a target chemical. We show for the first time that the air-water microlayer is composed of the surface microlayer in water (∼290 ± 40 μm) and a diffusion layer in air (∼350 ± 40 μm) with 1 μg L-1 of pyrene. The diffusion flux of pyrene across the air-water interface is derived from its high-resolution concentration profile without any pre-emptive assumption, which is 2 orders of magnitude lower than those from the conventional method. This system can be expanded to visualize diffusion dynamics of other fluorescent chemicals across the air-water interface and provides a powerful tool for furthering our understanding of air-water mass transfer of organic chemicals related to their global cycling.

Ecogenomics and cultivation reveal distinctive viral-bacterial communities in the surface microlayer of a Baltic Sea slick

Visible surface films, termed slicks, can extensively cover freshwater and marine ecosystems, with coastal regions being particularly susceptible to their presence. The sea-surface microlayer (SML), the upper 1-mm at the air-water interface in slicks (herein slick SML) harbors a distinctive bacterial community, but generally little is known about SML viruses. Using flow cytometry, metagenomics, and cultivation, we characterized viruses and bacteria in a brackish slick SML in comparison to non-slick SML as well as seawater below slick and non-slick areas (subsurface water = SSW). Size-fractionated filtration of all samples distinguished viral attachment to hosts and particles. The slick SML contained higher abundances of virus-like particles, prokaryotic cells, and dissolved organic carbon compared to non-slick SML and SSW. The community of 428 viral operational taxonomic units (vOTUs), 426 predicted as lytic, distinctly differed across all size fractions in the slick SML compared to non-slick SML and SSW. Specific metabolic profiles of bacterial metagenome-assembled genomes and isolates in the slick SML included a prevalence of genes encoding motility and carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes). Several vOTUs were enriched in slick SML, and many virus variants were associated with particles. Nine vOTUs were only found in slick SML, six of them being targeted by slick SML-specific clustered-regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) spacers likely originating from Gammaproteobacteria. Moreover, isolation of three previously unknown lytic phages for Alishewanella sp. and Pseudoalteromonas tunicata, abundant and actively replicating slick SML bacteria, suggests that viral activity in slicks contributes to biogeochemical cycling in coastal ecosystems.

Numerical validation of novel scaling laws for air entrainment in water

The Froude scaling laws have been used to model a wide range of water flows at reduced size for almost a century. In such Froude scale models, significant scale effects for air–water flows (e.g. hydraulic jumps or wave breaking) are typically observed. This study introduces novel scaling laws, excluding scale effects in the modelling of air–water flows. This is achieved by deriving the conditions under which the governing equations are self-similar. The one-parameter Lie group of point-scaling transformations is applied to the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations, including surface tension effects. The scaling relationships between variables are derived for the flow variables, fluid properties and initial and boundary conditions. Numerical simulations are conducted to validate the novel scaling laws for (i) a dam break flow interacting with an obstacle and (ii) a vertical plunging water jet. Results for flow variables, void fraction and turbulent kinetic energy are shown to be self-similar at different scales, i.e. they collapse in dimensionless form. Moreover, these results are compared with those obtained using the traditional Froude scaling laws, showing significant scale effects. The novel scaling laws are a more universal and flexible alternative with a genuine potential to improve laboratory modelling of air–water flows.

The Role of Extracellular Carbonic Anhydrase in Biogeochemical Cycling: Recent Advances and Climate Change Responses

Climate change has been predicted to influence the marine phytoplankton community and its carbon acquisition strategy. Extracellular carbonic anhydrase (eCA) is a zinc metalloenzyme that catalyses the relatively slow interconversion between HCO₃⁻ and CO₂. Early results indicated that sub-nanomolar levels of eCA at the sea surface were sufficient to enhance the oceanic uptake rate of CO₂ on a global scale by 15%, an addition of 0.37 Pg C year⁻¹. Despite its central role in the marine carbon cycle, only in recent years have new analytical techniques allowed the first quantifications of eCA and its activity in the oceans. This opens up new research areas in the field of marine biogeochemistry and climate change. Light and suitable pH conditions, as well as growth stage, are crucial factors in eCA expression. Previous studies showed that phytoplankton eCA activity and concentrations are affected by environmental stressors such as ocean acidification and UV radiation as well as changing light conditions. For this reason, eCA is suggested as a biochemical indicator in biomonitoring programmes and could be used for future response prediction studies in changing oceans. This review aims to identify the current knowledge and gaps where new research efforts should be focused to better determine the potential feedback of phytoplankton via eCA in the marine carbon cycle in changing oceans.

Natural variability in air-sea gas transfer efficiency of CO2

The flux of CO₂ between the atmosphere and the ocean is often estimated as the air–sea gas concentration difference multiplied by the gas transfer velocity (K₆₆₀). The first order driver for K₆₆₀ over the ocean is wind through its influence on near surface hydrodynamics. However, field observations have shown substantial variability in the wind speed dependencies of K₆₆₀. In this study we measured K₆₆₀ with the eddy covariance technique during a ~ 11,000 km long Southern Ocean transect. In parallel, we made a novel measurement of the gas transfer efficiency (GTE) based on partial equilibration of CO₂ using a Segmented Flow Coil Equilibrator system. GTE varied by 20% during the transect, was distinct in different water masses, and related to K₆₆₀. At a moderate wind speed of 7 m s⁻¹, K₆₆₀ associated with high GTE exceeded K₆₆₀ with low GTE by 30% in the mean. The sensitivity of K₆₆₀ towards GTE was stronger at lower wind speeds and weaker at higher wind speeds. Naturally-occurring organics in seawater, some of which are surface active, may be the cause of the variability in GTE and in K₆₆₀. Neglecting these variations could result in biases in the computed air–sea CO₂ fluxes.