Themes and Sessions

11a: Impacts of Atmospheric Deposition on Ocean Chemistry and Biology
Convenors: Adina Paytan , Natalie Mahowald, Dale W Griffin, William Landing
Keynote: Keith J. Moore (UC Irvine)
Orals: Mon AM
Posters: Mon PM
Atmospheric aerosols impact the ocean directly by depositing nutrients, trace metals, toxins, organic compounds and microorganisms, and indirectly by impacting the albedo and thus sea-surface temperature. These effects may in turn impact ocean ecosystems, interact with the oceanic carbon cycle and thus influence climate. This session welcomes all possible aspects of interactions between natural and anthropogenic aerosols and the oceans, including the contribution of atmospheric deposition to macro- and micro-nutrient input, trace metal toxicity, introduction of microorganisms and the interaction of atmospheric deposition loads with biological and chemical processes in the oceans. We also encourage contributions that discuss the impact of aerosols on ocean acidification, those that integrate observations with biogeochemical models and those reporting past and future changes in atmospheric deposition.
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11b: Connecting Oceanic Emissions, Aerosols, and Maritime Clouds: What do We Know and Where Will We go?
Convenors: Maria Cristina Facchini, Nicholas Meskhidze
Keynotes: David J. Kieber (State University of New York) , Charles McClain (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)
Orals: Mon AM
Posters: Mon PM
Over the past two decades, in situ measurements, satellite remote sensing and modeling studies have shown the importance of biogeochemical interactions and feedbacks between the oceans and atmosphere, and revealed the inherent complexity of aerosol - marine biology - cloud interactions. This session will focus on in situ and remote observations, laboratory and field experiments, as well as on modelling studies that leads to the advacement of process-level understanding of biogeochemical ocean-atmosphere interactions, linking oceanic emissions aerosol and clouds.
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11c: Biogeochemical Cycling in Low Oxygen Marine Environments of the Past and Present
Convenors: Tom Jilbert, Peter Kraal, Daniel Reed, Caroline Slomp
Keynote: Tim Lenton (University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK)
Orals: Mon PM
Posters: Mon PM
The expansion of oxygen stress in modern marine environments is an issue of major concern, primarily due to the direct adverse impacts on ecosystem health, but also because of the altered biogeochemical cycles associated with low oxygen systems. Large zones of the shallow ocean margins, such as in the Gulf of Mexico, and entire restricted basins, such as the Baltic Sea, today experience increasing oxygen stress related to anthropogenic nutrient loadings. Along deeper upwelling margins such as the Arabian Sea, naturally occurring Oxygen Minimum Zones are vulnerable to expansion as the oceans respond to climate change. Understanding the mechanisms by which low oxygen conditions are induced and maintained, and how oxygen stress influences biogeochemical cycles on a regional to global scale, are the overriding themes of this session. We encourage contributions from studies of past and modern environments, from both experimental and modeling approaches.
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11d: Nutrient Cycling in Permeable Marine Sediments
Convenors: William Savidge, Jay Brandes
Keynotes: Matt Charette (WHOI) , Markus Huettel (Florida State University)
Orals: Tue AM
Posters: Tue PM
Large areas of the continental shelves are covered with sands of high permeability and low organic content. These permeable sediments have been shown to support rapid remineralization and recycling of organic matter into the water column. Diagenesis rates are highly dependent on advective circulation of fluid and particulates within porewaters. Thus nutrient regeneration becomes a complex interaction of the physics and biology of the water column, the structure of the sediments and the resident biota. The proposed session will gather an interdisciplinary set of scientists to discuss the current state of understanding of nutrient and carbon cycling in permeable marine sediments, from modeling the hydrodynamics of flows at and below the interface, to measuring the fluxes of materials, and identifying the microbiota responsible for diagenesis and nutrient recycling in this environment.
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11e: Atmospheric Oxidation of Mercury by Reactive Halogen Species
Convenors: Rainer Volkamer, Anthony Hynes, Arnout ter Schure
Keynotes: Daniel Jacob , Dan Jaffe
Orals: Tue AM
Posters: Tue PM
Over the past few years, an increasing body of evidence from laboratory kinetics experiments, field studies, quantum calculations and atmospheric models suggest that the biogeochemical cycle of mercury may be much more dynamic than previously believed: halogen radicals and their oxides may dominate over traditional oxidants (O₃ and OH radicals) in determining the rate of reactive gaseous mercury (RGM) formation. This session encourages contributions that add to our process-level understanding of the kinetics, chemical identity and spatial distribution of RGM and its oxidants in the atmosphere with a focus on interactions and feedbacks between the ocean and the atmosphere (marine boundary layer and the free troposphere).
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04f: Atmospheric Dust
Convenors: Reto Gieré, Bernard Grobéty, Peter Stille
Keynote: Peter Buseck (Arizona State University)
Orals: Fri AM, Fri PM
Posters: Thu PM
Particulate matter (PM) is ubiquitous in the atmosphere, because it is generated through a wide range of natural processes and human activities. In the recent past, PM research was focused primarily on organic particles (e.g., soot, black carbon), produced through combustion processes (e.g., forest fires, coal combustion). This session will be centered on inorganic dust, which is abundant in the atmosphere and thus has major impacts on e.g., climate, glacial albedo, oceanic nutrient levels, and traffic. The session aims to present recent developments in mineralogical, geochemical and isotopic characterization of both anthropogenic (e.g., combustion, abrasion, construction) and naturally occurring inorganic dust (e.g., from volcanic eruptions or continental erosion). We invite contributions on topics, such as, single-particle mineralogical characterization; isotopic tracing; inorganic–organic PM interaction (e.g. adsorption); nutrient transport; quantitative distribution and source allocation of various PM types; and interaction of PM with soils, plants, glaciers, oceans and climate.
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10e: Chemical and Isotopic Perspectives on Global Elemental Cycling in Modern and Ancient Systems
Convenors: Matthew Fantle, Edward Tipper
Keynote: Yves Godderis (CNRS Toulouse)
Orals: Fri AM, Fri PM
Posters: Thu PM
Understanding the controls over the manner and degree to which many elements (such as B, Ca, Cr, Cu, Li, Fe, Mg, Mo, Os, Si, Sr, and Zn) move between the major terrestrial geochemical reservoirs is critical to elucidating the response of the Earth system to climate change and interpreting the past using geochemical proxies over various time scales. This session presents work that identifies and quantifies such controls through geochemical and isotopic measurements and/or numerical modeling. Relevant topics include: submarine ocean crust alteration, terrestrial weathering/pedogenesis, riverine transport, estuarine interactions, biogenic carbonate precipitation and dissolution, marine diagenesis, and atmospheric inputs. Work at local to regional scales is welcome, though we stress our interest in highlighting the relevance of such work within a global context. We are interested in work using numerical models of varying complexities to interpret the past, and welcome those considering novel proxies or reconsidering established proxies.
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12e: Marine-Terrestrial Archives of ‘Deep-Time’ Climate Change
Convenors: Isabel Montanez, Adrian Immenhauser
Keynote: Brad Sageman (Northwestern U.)
Orals: Tue PM
Posters: Tue PM
As our present climate system rapidly departs from the conditions of the well-studied icehouse climates of the past few million years, a ‘deep-time’ perspective of climate forcing-feedbacks and the biological response is a critical component of better understanding our future with continued global warming. The deep-time geologic record uniquely archives magnitudes of warmhouse climate change and planetary response, and fundamental feedbacks of long-term processes that are not well resolved in the Pleistocene/Holocene world. In this session we welcome abstracts that constrain deep-time climatic change using marine and/or terrestrial archives, and which permit evaluation of phasing and causal relationships within the climate system via proxy records or data-model comparison studies.
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12f: Paleo-Sea Level and Paleo-Ice Volume: Reconstructions and Implications
Convenors: eelco rohling, William G. Thompson, Peter Clark
Keynote: Alex Thomas (Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford)
Orals: Tue PM
Posters: Tue PM
This session will bring together a diverse group of scientists focused on global sea-level/ice-volume reconstructions and their implications. The session will address: - state-of-the-art data for sea level and ice volume changes during the Cenozoic - state-of-the-art attribution or fingerprinting studies regarding the origins of ice-volume change - forward projections from past sea level/ice volume data into the greenhouse future
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12g: Abrupt Climate Change and Millennial-Scale Climate Variability
Convenors: Stephen Barker, Laura Robinson
Keynote: Larry Edwards (University of Minnesota)
Orals: Wed AM
Posters: Tue PM
The observation of abrupt climate shifts across the North Atlantic region (and more widely) during the last glacial and deglacial periods, coupled with their more gradual counterparts in the Southern Hemisphere, has provided a major stimulus for paleo-climate research and fuelled debate over the possible nature of future climate change. Recent decades have seen the development of climate records from a variety of high resolution archives including speleothems, ice cores, marine and lake sediments, corals, bogs and trees. In combination these records provide an unparalleled picture of Earth’s dynamic climate system. This session aims to bring together scientists working on a variety of archive materials with the hope of stimulating cross-disciplinary discussion as well as continuing to improve the synthesis of high resolution climate reconstructions. We particularly encourage those studies which can improve our knowledge of the coupled climate system by their synthesis with other records.
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12h: Role of the Southern Ocean in Global Climate Change
Convenors: Laura Robinson, Stephen Barker
Keynote: Sidney Hemming (Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia Uni)
Orals: Thu AM
The Southern Ocean (SO) connects the world’s oceans via the Antarctic Circumpolar Current while simultaneously isolating and therefore cooling Antarctica. From the opening of the Drake Passage to the operation of the Atlantic bipolar seesaw, and with the climate changes that have been occurring over the last few decades the SO plays a pivotal role in the development and transmission of global climate change. Much of our understanding of the mechanisms of past climate changes associated with the SO derives from the development and application of geochemical proxies and tracers. As such we invite contributions that offer new insights into the role of SO processes on global climate change at a range of timescales. We envisage a combination of new proxy developments and archives with applications of more traditional approaches to paleoceanographic reconstruction. We also invite studies from outside of the marine realm which shed light on SO processes.
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14e: Isotope Tracers of Critical Zone Processes and Function
Convenors: Thomas Bullen, Friedhelm von Blanckenburg
Orals: Thu AM
Posters: Thu PM
Isotopes are increasingly being used to understand the important inorganic, biologic and biogeochemical processes active in the Critical Zone. Both radiogenic and stable isotopes provide unique information on such diverse aspects as element fluxes and cycling mechanisms, plant nutritional pathways, mineralogic development and hydrologic structure. For this session we encourage contributions describing field and laboratory studies in which metal, metalloid and gas isotopes have provided new perspectives of Critical Zone function.
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16d: Novel Approaches to Understand the Biological Pump of the Oceans at Present and in Future Climate Change Scenarios: Higher Trophic Level Contributions, Additional Sources and Fluxes, and Innovative Measuring Procedures
Convenors: Mario Lebrato, M. Debora Iglesias-Rodriguez
Studies of the biological pump primarily focus on processes associated with phytoplankton, its remineralization as it sinks through the water column, and its fate at the seabed. This can result in a misunderstanding of the global marine carbon cycle and inaccuracies in global biogeochemical models because other taxa contribute to the functioning of the biological pump. This session calls for new ways to study and understand the biological pump of the oceans (from modeling and an observationalist perspectives) by addressing any process in the water column that takes carbon and other elements to depth. We call for papers that provide new insights into benthic processes that contribute to the carbon flux that are not included in the carbon export models. The session will also explore new measurement approaches for quantifying the strength of the biological pump. We encourage abstracts on processes that can affect the strength of the biological pump at regional and global levels, that may include ocean acidification, global warming, or a combination of the two.
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