Paleocene/Eocene carbon feedbacks triggered by volcanic activity.

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was a period of geologically-rapid carbon release and global warming ~56 million years ago. Although modelling, outcrop and proxy records suggest volcanic carbon release occurred, it has not yet been possible to identify the PETM trigger, or if multiple reservoirs of carbon were involved. Here we report elevated levels of mercury relative to organic carbon-a proxy for volcanism-directly preceding and within the early PETM from two North Sea sedimentary cores, signifying pulsed volcanism from the North Atlantic Igneous Province likely provided the trigger and subsequently sustained elevated CO2. However, the PETM onset coincides with a mercury low, suggesting at least one other carbon reservoir released significant greenhouse gases in response to initial warming. Our results support the existence of 'tipping points' in the Earth system, which can trigger release of additional carbon reservoirs and drive Earth's climate into a hotter state.

Increased fluvial runoff terminated inorganic aragonite precipitation on the Northwest Shelf of Australia during the early Holocene.

Inorganic precipitation of aragonite is a common process within tropical carbonate environments. Across the Northwest Shelf of Australia (NWS) such precipitates were abundant in the late Pleistocene, whereas present-day sedimentation is dominated by calcitic bioclasts. This study presents sedimentological and geochemical analyses of core data retrieved from the upper 13 meters of IODP Site U1461 that provide a high-resolution sedimentary record of the last ~15 thousand years. Sediments that formed from 15 to 10.1 ka BP are aragonitic and characterised by small needles (<5 µm) and ooids. XRF elemental proxy data indicate that these sediments developed under arid conditions in which high marine alkalinity favoured carbonate precipitation. A pronounced change of XRF-proxy values around 10.1 ka BP indicates a transition to a more humid climate and elevated fluvial runoff. This climatic change coincides with a shelf-wide cessation of inorganic aragonite production and a switch to carbonate sedimentation dominated by skeletal calcite. High ocean water alkalinity due to an arid climate and low fluvial runoff therefore seems to be a prerequisite for the formation of shallow water aragonite-rich sediments on the NWS. These conditions are not necessarily synchronous to interglacial periods, but are linked to the regional hydrological cycle.

The affiliation of Hexasterias problematica and Halodinium verrucatum sp. nov. to ciliate cysts based on molecular phylogeny and cyst wall composition.

Species in the genera Hexasterias and Halodinium have been recorded over the last decades as acritarchs in palynological and/or plankton studies. In paleoenvironmental studies, these resting stages are often interpreted as indicators of freshwater input. The biological affinity of these genera has never been definitely established. Here, a new species, Halodinium verrucatum sp. nov., is described and molecular evidence (single specimen SSU and LSU rDNA sequencing) reveals that both this new species and Hexasterias problematica, collected from sediment samples in the Skagerrak and Baltic Sea, are resting stages of prorodontid ciliates. Additionally, infrared spectroscopic analysis (micro-FTIR) of Hexasterias problematica and Halodinium spp. specimens indicates a carbohydrate-based composition of the cyst wall with evidence for nitrogen-containing functional groups. A similar composition is recorded for tintinnid loricae, which further supports the placement of Hexasterias and Halodinium as ciliate cysts, and the composition is consistent with the heterotrophic nature of ciliates. The morphologically similar species Radiosperma corbiferum has a comparable composition, suggesting a similar ciliate affinity and indicating the utility of micro-FTIR in understanding acritarch affinity. Hexasterias problematica typically occurs in coastal waters from temperate to arctic regions. Halodinium verrucatum sp. nov. is observed in temperate estuarine sediments in the northern hemisphere.

First record of resting cysts of the benthic dinoflagellate Prorocentrum leve in a natural reservoir in Gujan-Mestras, Gironde, France.

The resting cysts of the benthic dinoflagellate Prorocentrum leve from a natural reservoir in Gujan-Mestras (Gironde, France) were described in this study. The incubated urn-shaped cysts gave rise to cells of P. leve. Morphological observations through light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, particularly of the periflagellar platelets, combined with large subunit ribosomal DNA sequences obtained through single-cell analysis confirm their affinity to the species P. leve. The cysts were characterized by a specific shape and the presence of an anterior plug. This is the first conclusive evidence for fossilizable resting stages within the Prorocentrales, one of the major orders within the Dinophyceae. Palynological treatments show that the cysts and endospores withstand hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acids. Micro-Fourier transform infrared analysis on single specimens suggests that the composition of the endospore is cellulosic and the cyst wall a more robust, noncellulosic ß-glucan. The spectra overall are similar to other published spectra of resting cysts from autotrophic, planktonic dinoflagellates.

Australian shelf sediments reveal shifts in Miocene Southern Hemisphere westerlies.

Global climate underwent a major reorganization when the Antarctic ice sheet expanded ~14 million years ago (Ma) (1). This event affected global atmospheric circulation, including the strength and position of the westerlies and the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), and, therefore, precipitation patterns (2-5). We present new shallow-marine sediment records from the continental shelf of Australia (International Ocean Discovery Program Sites U1459 and U1464) providing the first empirical evidence linking high-latitude cooling around Antarctica to climate change in the (sub)tropics during the Miocene. We show that Western Australia was arid during most of the Middle Miocene. Southwest Australia became wetter during the Late Miocene, creating a climate gradient with the arid interior, whereas northwest Australia remained arid throughout. Precipitation and river runoff in southwest Australia gradually increased from 12 to 8 Ma, which we relate to a northward migration or intensification of the westerlies possibly due to increased sea ice in the Southern Ocean (5). Abrupt aridification indicates that the westerlies shifted back to a position south of Australia after 8 Ma. Our midlatitude Southern Hemisphere data are consistent with the inference that expansion of sea ice around Antarctica resulted in a northward movement of the westerlies. In turn, this may have pushed tropical atmospheric circulation and the ITCZ northward, shifting the main precipitation belt over large parts of Southeast Asia (4).

Differences in the chemical composition of organic-walled dinoflagellate resting cysts from phototrophic and heterotrophic dinoflagellates.

Dinoflagellates constitute a large proportion of the planktonic biomass from marine to freshwater environments. Some species produce a preservable organic-walled resting cyst (dinocyst) during the sexual phase of their life cycle that is an important link between the organisms, the environment in which their parent motile theca grew, and the sedimentary record. Despite their abundance and widespread usage as proxy indicators for environmental conditions, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the dinocyst wall chemical composition. It is likely that numerous factors, including phylogeny and life strategy, determine the cyst wall chemistry. However, the extent to which this composition varies based on inherent (phylogenetic) or variable (ecological) factors has not been studied. To address this, we used micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to analyze nine cyst species produced by either phototrophic or heterotrophic dinoflagellates from the extant orders Gonyaulacales, Gymnodiniales, and Peridiniales. Based on the presence of characteristic functional groups, two significantly different cyst wall compositions are observed that correspond to the dinoflagellate's nutritional strategy. The dinocyst wall compositions analyzed appeared carbohydrate-based, but the cyst wall produced by phototrophic dinoflagellates suggested a cellulose-like glucan, while heterotrophic forms produced a nitrogen-rich glycan. This constitutes the first empirical evidence nutritional strategy is related to different dinocyst wall chemistries. Our results indicated phylogeny was less important for predicting composition than the nutritional strategy of the dinoflagellate, suggesting potential for cyst wall chemistry to infer past nutritional strategies of extinct taxa preserved in the sedimentary record.

Ventilatory effects of gap junction blockade in the RTN in awake rats.

We tested the hypothesis that carbenoxolone, a pharmacological inhibitor of gap junctions, would reduce the ventilatory response to CO(2) when focally perfused within the retrotrapezoid nucleus (RTN). We tested this hypothesis by measuring minute ventilation (V(E)), tidal volume (V(T)), and respiratory frequency (F(R)) responses to increasing concentrations of inspired CO(2) (Fi(CO(2)) = 0-8%) in rats during wakefulness. We confirmed that the RTN was chemosensitive by perfusing the RTN unilaterally with either acetazolamide (AZ; 10 microM) or hypercapnic artificial cerebrospinal fluid equilibrated with 50% CO(2) (pH approximately 6.5). Focal perfusion of AZ or hypercapnic aCSF increased V(E), V(T), and F(R) during exposure to room air. Carbenoxolone (300 microM) focally perfused into the RTN decreased V(E) and V(T) in animals <11 wk of age, but V(E) and V(T) were increased in animals >12 wk of age. Glyzyrrhizic acid, a congener of carbenoxolone, did not change V(E), V(T), or F(R) when focally perfused into the RTN. Carbenoxolone binds to the mineralocorticoid receptor, but spironolactone (10 microM) did not block the disinhibition of V(E) or V(T) in older animals when combined with carbenoxolone. Thus the RTN is a CO(2) chemosensory site in all ages tested, but the function of gap junctions in the chemosensory process varies substantially among animals of different ages: gap junctions amplify the ventilatory response to CO(2) in younger animals, but appear to inhibit the ventilatory response to CO(2) in older animals.