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Article
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Global census of the significance of giant mesopelagic protists to the marine carbon and silicon cycles
Rhizaria are abundant protists in the ocean and likely important to biogeochemical cycling. In this study the authors assess the global distribution, biomass and biogeochemical significance of Rhizaria, finding that they play an important role in carbon flux attenuation and dominate silicon cycling in the mesopelagic zone.
- Manon Laget
- , Laetitia Drago
- & Tristan Biard
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Article
| Open Access
Sulfur oxidation and reduction are coupled to nitrogen fixation in the roots of the salt marsh foundation plant Spartina alterniflora
The mechanisms underlying plant-microbe interactions in coastal ecosystems are little explored. Here, the authors use multi-omics and biogeochemical measurements to investigate the saltmarsh cordgrass root microbiome and its role in coupling nitrogen fixation and sulfur cycling.
- J. L. Rolando
- , M. Kolton
- & J. E. Kostka
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Comment
| Open Access
All-inclusive nitrifiers in Antarctic soils
Multidisciplinary culture-dependent and -independent techniques elucidate the unique microbial nitrogen cycle in nutrient-poor coastal Antarctica soils and reveal the contribution of novel key microbes to their nitrogen budget.
- Maximiliano Ortiz
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Article
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Unveiling unique microbial nitrogen cycling and nitrification driver in coastal Antarctica
This study reveals a unique microbial nitrogen cycling process in Antarctica’s coastal regions, with nitrification playing a significant role. The research notably identifies comammox Nitrospira clade B as a key driver of this process.
- Ping Han
- , Xiufeng Tang
- & Guitao Shi
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Article
| Open Access
The deepwater oxygen deficit in stratified shallow seas is mediated by diapycnal mixing
Oxygen deprivation in the marine environment is likely to be exacerbated by climate change. We present data to show the potential impact of changing weather patterns in the development of a seasonal oxygen deficit in seasonally stratifying shelf seas.
- Tom Rippeth
- , Sijing Shen
- & Jonathan Sharples
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Article
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Nitrogen and phosphorus trends in lake sediments of China may diverge
Nutrient levels in Chinese lakes have rapidly increased since 1950 but future trends in lacustrine nitrogen and phosphorus across China will differentiate, according to projections up to 2100.
- Panpan Ji
- , Jianhui Chen
- & Fahu Chen
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Article
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Widespread extracellular electron transfer pathways for charging microbial cytochrome OmcS nanowires via periplasmic cytochromes PpcABCDE
How do cells put electrons to rest? Using a minimal pathway to get rid of excess metabolic electrons, diverse environmentally important microbes overcome large spatial, kinetic, and thermodynamic barriers in order to survive in extreme anoxic conditions.
- Pilar C. Portela
- , Catharine C. Shipps
- & Nikhil S. Malvankar
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High hydrostatic pressure stimulates microbial nitrate reduction in hadal trench sediments under oxic conditions
Hadal trenches are the deepest oceanic ecosystems, with water depth over 6000 m, and are among the least explored habitats on Earth. This research demonstrates that high hydrostatic pressure enhances denitrification activity under oxic conditions, potentially making hadal trenches fixed nitrogen loss hotpots.
- Na Yang
- , Yongxin Lv
- & Yu Zhang
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Article
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A triple increase in global river basins with water scarcity due to future pollution
Here the authors find one third of global sub-basins will face severe clean water scarcity in 2050. Nitrogen pollution aggravates water scarcity in >2,000 sub-basins thus 3 billion more people will be posed with severe water scarcity in 2050.
- Mengru Wang
- , Benjamin Leon Bodirsky
- & Maryna Strokal
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Article
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Increased nitrous oxide emissions from global lakes and reservoirs since the pre-industrial era
Modeling shows that N2O emissions from global lakes and reservoirs have doubled since the pre-industrial era, this was mainly caused by widespread agricultural nitrogen application.
- Ya Li
- , Hanqin Tian
- & Shufen Pan
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Article
| Open Access
Atmospheric deposition and river runoff stimulate the utilization of dissolved organic phosphorus in coastal seas
Increasing deposition of dissolved inorganic nitrogen in coastal oceans through the atmosphere and rivers exacerbate the deficiency of phosphate which stimulates the utilization of dissolved organic phosphorus by phytoplankton.
- Haoyu Jin
- , Chao Zhang
- & Huiwang Gao
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Article
| Open Access
Managing urban development could halve nitrogen pollution in China
Here the authors demonstrate how managed urbanization in China could halve reactive nitrogen pollution to both the atmosphere and water resources. Investing 61 billion USD could provide 245 billion USD in benefits, while contributing to multiple SDG goals.
- Ouping Deng
- , Sitong Wang
- & Baojing Gu
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Article
| Open Access
Metallic micronutrients are associated with the structure and function of the soil microbiome
Soil micronutrients may be important for belowground biota and associated functions. Here, the authors identify the relationships between metallic micronutrients and soil microbial communities and functions across 180 sites, and validate them in a soil incubation experiment.
- Zhongmin Dai
- , Xu Guo
- & Jianming Xu
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Article
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Transient fertilization of a post-Sturtian Snowball ocean margin with dissolved phosphate by clay minerals
Clay minerals played a vital role in the delivery of phosphorus (P) to shallow Neoproterozoic post-Snowball glaciation marine waters. The resulting increase in P bioavailability by at least 20-fold coincided with seawater oxygenation.
- Ernest Chi Fru
- , Jalila Al Bahri
- & Timothy W. Lyons
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Article
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Particle-associated denitrification is the primary source of N2O in oxic coastal waters
Incomplete denitrification associated with the micro-niche of marine particles, instead of nitrification as previously assumed, is a major source of N2O in the turbid coastal waters, even though the water is well-oxygenated.
- Xianhui S. Wan
- , Hua-Xia Sheng
- & Shuh-Ji Kao
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Phyloecology of nitrate ammonifiers and their importance relative to denitrifiers in global terrestrial biomes
Nitrate ammonifiers are poorly known despite their importance for soil nitrogen retention. This study shows that they are phylogenetically diverse and globally distributed across terrestrial biomes and that the outcome of the competition with denitrifiers is controlled by soil nitrate.
- Aurélien Saghaï
- , Grace Pold
- & Sara Hallin
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Article
| Open Access
Metal toxin threat in wildland fires determined by geology and fire severity
Carcinogenic heavy metals are an underappreciated public health concern from wildfire. Fire severity, geology, and ecosystem type influence landscape-scale production of hexavalent chromium, concentrated in wind-dispersible particles.
- Alandra Marie Lopez
- , Juan Lezama Pacheco
- & Scott Fendorf
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Article
| Open Access
Marine toxin domoic acid alters nitrogen cycling in sediments
Domoic acid, a red tide algal toxin, enhances nitrification, dissimilates nitrate reduction to ammonification in sediments, while concurrently inhibiting denitrification, anammox, and nitrogen fixation.
- Zelong Li
- , Jing Wang
- & Jingfeng Fan
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Article
| Open Access
Mercury deposition and redox transformation processes in peatland constrained by mercury stable isotopes
Mercury isotope signatures in groundwater, soil gas, solid peat, and atmosphere suggest that dark abiotic reduction of peat soil HgII to volatile Hg0 does not play a significant role in mobilizing Hg during peat mass loss
- Chuxian Li
- , Martin Jiskra
- & Kevin Bishop
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Article
| Open Access
Direct biological fixation provides a freshwater sink for N2O
Denitrification is still widely considered as the only natural sink for N2O here we show how direct biological fixation represents an alternative sink for this potent climate gas.
- Yueyue Si
- , Yizhu Zhu
- & Mark Trimmer
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Article
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Dissolved organic matter thiol concentrations determine methylmercury bioavailability across the terrestrial-marine aquatic continuum
Methylmercury is a strong neurotoxin that accumulates in aquatic biota. Here, the authors demonstrate that the concentration of thiol compounds associated with dissolved organic matter controls the bioavailability of methylmercury in aquatic systems
- Emily Seelen
- , Van Liem-Nguyen
- & Erik Björn
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Dynamic redox and nutrient cycling response to climate forcing in the Mesoproterozoic ocean
Regional ocean redox variability and associated nutrient cycling in the Mesoproterozoic can be explained by climate forcing at individual locations, rather than specific events or step-changes in global oceanic redox conditions.
- Yafang Song
- , Fred T. Bowyer
- & Simon W. Poulton
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Article
| Open Access
Calcium promotes persistent soil organic matter by altering microbial transformation of plant litter
Calcium drives soil organic carbon persistence through associations between organic compounds and minerals. Here, the authors expand the role of calcium by showing that it alters microbial conversion of plant carbon into persistent mineral fractions
- Itamar A. Shabtai
- , Roland C. Wilhelm
- & Johannes Lehmann
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Article
| Open Access
Hydrodynamic regimes modulate nitrogen fixation and the mode of diazotrophy in Lake Tanganyika
Understanding how N2 fixation is distributed in aquatic systems is key to enabling robust N-budgets. In a model ecosystem, Ehrenfels et al. find that the hydrodynamic regimes (stratification/upwelling) play a critical role in modulating N2 fixation.
- Benedikt Ehrenfels
- , Kathrin B. L. Baumann
- & Cameron M. Callbeck
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Article
| Open Access
Oxygen respiration and polysaccharide degradation by a sulfate-reducing acidobacterium
Sulfate-reducing microorganisms are common in anoxic environments and represent an important link between the sulfur and carbon cycles. Here, Dyksma & Pester show that microbial sulfate reduction and aerobic respiration are not mutually exclusive in the same organism, sulfate reducers can mineralize organic polymers, and anaerobic mineralization of complex organic matter is not necessarily a multi-step process.
- Stefan Dyksma
- & Michael Pester
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Article
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The origin of suspended particulate matter in the Great Barrier Reef
This multidisciplinary fingerprinting study, using isotopic, structural and genetic fingerprints, has shown that the suspended particulate matter in the Great Barrier Reef does not have terrestrial origin but produced locally by marine phytoplankton
- Mohammad Bahadori
- , Chengrong Chen
- & Tom Stevens
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Article
| Open Access
The Marginal Ice Zone as a dominant source region of atmospheric mercury during central Arctic summertime
Oceanic evasion, which mainly occurs in the Marginal Ice Zone, is the main cause of the summertime maximum of gaseous elemental mercury in the central Arctic Ocean
- Fange Yue
- , Hélène Angot
- & Zhouqing Xie
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Article
| Open Access
River export of macro- and microplastics to seas by sources worldwide
Modelling of riverine plastic exports finds microplastics dominate in areas with many sewage systems and macroplastics where waste is mismanaged. In some areas both plastics are important. Reduction at source is needed.
- Maryna Strokal
- , Paul Vriend
- & Tim van Emmerik
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Article
| Open Access
Sulfate triple-oxygen-isotope evidence confirming oceanic oxygenation 570 million years ago
Seawater sulfate in three different paleocontinents all became conspicuously depleted in 17O mass anomalously around 570 million years ago, confirming a global oceanic oxygenation event directly linked to the involvement of paleo-atmospheric O2.
- Haiyang Wang
- , Yongbo Peng
- & Huiming Bao
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Article
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Overlooked riverine contributions of dissolved neodymium and hafnium to the Amazon estuary and oceans
The Amazon River Plume Nd and Hf isotopic signatures in the outer estuary are strongly influenced by the nearby Pará River, which plays an important role in supplying dissolved trace metals to the estuary and ocean.
- Antao Xu
- , Ed Hathorne
- & Martin Frank
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Recurrent photic zone euxinia limited ocean oxygenation and animal evolution during the Ediacaran
Using Hg isotopes, the authors find that repeated invasion of toxic, H2S-rich water into the marine photic zone of the Ediacaran ocean may have inhibited the rise of oxygen and delayed the expansion of early animals.
- Wang Zheng
- , Anwen Zhou
- & Jiubin Chen
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Hydrogen and dark oxygen drive microbial productivity in diverse groundwater ecosystems
Microbes in ancient groundwaters can be very diverse and productive. Some microbes seem to produce oxygen in the dark, which others use to consume the greenhouse gas methane. Their metabolisms are relevant for groundwater health and global change.
- S. Emil Ruff
- , Pauline Humez
- & Marc Strous
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Trajectories of freshwater microbial genomics and greenhouse gas saturation upon glacial retreat
Diverse microbial trajectories in carbon and nitrogen cycle processes represent a positive feedback loop of deglaciation on climate warming.
- Jing Wei
- , Laurent Fontaine
- & Alexander Eiler
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Overestimated nitrogen loss from denitrification for natural terrestrial ecosystems in CMIP6 Earth System Models
Nitrogen loss due to soil denitrification in global natural ecosystems is quantified using an isotope-benchmarking method, and is overestimated by almost two times in the current earth system models.
- Maoyuan Feng
- , Shushi Peng
- & Yi Xi
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Article
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Comparing ecosystem gaseous elemental mercury fluxes over a deciduous and coniferous forest
Forests are sinks for the neurotoxic mercury, but the sinks have large uncertainties. Our direct gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) exchange measurements show that GEM exchange includes complex patterns of multiple pathways to different ecosystem compartments varying over time
- Jun Zhou
- , Silas W. Bollen
- & Daniel Obrist
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Article
| Open Access
River thorium concentrations can record bedrock fracture processes including some triggered by distant seismic events
Daily measurements of the river concentration of the ultra-trace element thorium (Th) can provide a novel signature of bedrock fracture processes
- Benjamin Gilbert
- , Sergio Carrero
- & Kenneth H. Williams
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Article
| Open Access
Intracellular carbon storage by microorganisms is an overlooked pathway of biomass growth
Microbes are often assumed to reproduce as much as possible, but it has now been shown that soil microbes actually store a large part of their carbon intake. This could help microbial communities withstand environmental changes.
- Kyle Mason-Jones
- , Andreas Breidenbach
- & Michaela A. Dippold
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Stabilization of mineral-associated organic carbon in Pleistocene permafrost
In ice-rich Siberian permafrost sediments deposited during the Pleistocene, 33-74% of the organic carbon is mineral-bound favoured by the presence of reactive iron, which can reduce microbial CO2 production after thawing
- Jannik Martens
- , Carsten W. Mueller
- & Janet Rethemeyer
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The contribution of penguin guano to the Southern Ocean iron pool
Here the authors show that Chinstrap penguins play a significant role in iron recycling, essential for phytoplankton growth and carbon sequestration, recycling yearly 521 tonnes of iron, half of what they did 40 years ago due to population decline.
- Oleg Belyaev
- , Erica Sparaventi
- & Antonio Tovar-Sánchez
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Article
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O2 partitioning of sulfur oxidizing bacteria drives acidity and thiosulfate distributions in mining waters
Microbial genomics is a widely under-utilized tool in mining in understanding water quality drivers. Here the authors show early acid generation and thiosulfate concentrations are driven by O2 dependent microbial sulfur oxidizing bacterial niches in a mine tailings impoundment
- Kelly J. Whaley-Martin
- , Lin-Xing Chen
- & Lesley A. Warren
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Carbon-sink potential of continuous alfalfa agriculture lowered by short-term nitrous oxide emission events
Long-term continuous greenhouse gas measurements in alfalfa cropland showed that the magnitude of the carbon sink was significantly offset by large nitrous oxide (N2O) emission events following irrigation and rainfall.
- Tyler L. Anthony
- , Daphne J. Szutu
- & Whendee L. Silver
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| Open Access
Coastal El Niño triggers rapid marine silicate alteration on the seafloor
This study identifies the rapidness of marine mineral reactions, directly after an extreme rainfall event. The reactions have the potential to affect marine cation and CO2 cycling, impacting element turnover on human time scales
- Sonja Geilert
- , Daniel A. Frick
- & Andrew W. Dale
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Perspective
| Open Access
Toward sustainable space exploration: a roadmap for harnessing the power of microorganisms
Establishing sustainable approaches for human space exploration is key to achieve independency from terrestrial resources, as well as for ethical considerations. Here the authors highlight microbial biotechnologies that will support sustainable processes for space-based in situ resource utilization and loop-closure, and may be translatable to Earth applications.
- Rosa Santomartino
- , Nils J. H. Averesch
- & Luis Zea
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Article
| Open Access
Effects of acidification on nitrification and associated nitrous oxide emission in estuarine and coastal waters
Acidification of estuarine and coastal water due to synergistic effects of human induced eutrophication and elevated atmospheric CO2 could inhibit nitrification, a vital link of nitrogen cycle, but increase the release of powerful greenhouse gas N2O.
- Jie Zhou
- , Yanling Zheng
- & Min Liu
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Article
| Open Access
Reactive oxygen species affect the potential for mineralization processes in permeable intertidal flats
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are present in the pore water of intertidal permeable sediments, even in the anoxic zones. They control aerobic and anaerobic microbial degradation processes and thereby impact carbon turnover.
- Marit R. van Erk
- , Olivia M. Bourceau
- & Dirk de Beer
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Article
| Open Access
Long-term soil warming decreases microbial phosphorus utilization by increasing abiotic phosphorus sorption and phosphorus losses
Temperate forest soil warming (>14 years) increased soil phosphorus (P) losses and P sorption, reducing bioavailable P in soil solution and resulting in higher acid phosphatase activity but lower biotic phosphate immobilization and microbial biomass.
- Ye Tian
- , Chupei Shi
- & Wolfgang Wanek
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Article
| Open Access
Reconciling discrepant minor sulfur isotope records of the Great Oxidation Event
Emerging sulfur isotope data divides opinion surrounding the Great Oxidation Event. Utilising computational approaches and additional data, Uveges et al. reconcile these disparities, offering a more refined framework of atmospheric oxygenation.
- Benjamin T. Uveges
- , Gareth Izon
- & Roger E. Summons
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| Open Access
Low atmospheric CO2 levels before the rise of forested ecosystems
Dahl et al. present new evidence based on leaf gas-exchange in primitive vascular plants and fossil remains of some of their earliest ancestors. This alters our thinking on how plants impacted the Earth System and climate.
- Tais W. Dahl
- , Magnus A. R. Harding
- & Christopher K. Junium
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Article
| Open Access
Significant contributions of combustion-related sources to ammonia emissions
By integrating nitrogen isotope systematics of ammonia emissions and transformations in the atmosphere, this study quantified the combustion-related ammonia emission and uncovered its importance for mitigating strategies of ammonia pollution.
- Zhi-Li Chen
- , Wei Song
- & Xue-Yan Liu
Overlooked shelf sediment reductive sinks of dissolved rhenium and uranium in the modern ocean