Biogeochemistry, macronutrient and carbon cycling in the benthic layer

底栖生物地球化学、常量营养素和碳循环

• 批准号: NE/K001809/1
• 负责人: Gary Fones
• 金额: $ 30.44万
• 依托单位: University of Portsmouth
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2013 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FK001809%2F1
• 关键词: Biogeochemistry; macronutrient; carbon; cycling; benthic

The coasts and shelf seas that surround us have been the focal point of human prosperity and well-being throughout our history and, consequently, have had a disproportionate effect on our culture. The societal importance of the shelf seas extends beyond food production to include biodiversity, carbon cycling and storage, waste disposal, nutrient cycling, recreation and renewable energy. Yet, as increasing proportions of the global population move closer to the coast, our seas have become progressively eroded by human activities, including overfishing, pollution, habitat disturbance and climate change. This is worrying because the condition of the seabed, biodiversity and human society are inextricably linked. Hence, there is an urgent need to understand the relative sensitivities of a range of shelf habitats so that human pressures can be managed more effectively to ensure the long-term sustainability of our seas and provision of societal benefits. Achieving these aims is not straightforward, as the capacity of the seabed to provide the goods and services we rely upon depends on the type of substrate (rock, gravel, sand, mud) and local conditions; some habitats are naturally dynamic and relatively insensitive to disturbance, while others are comparatively stable and vulnerable to change. This makes it very difficult to assess habitat sensitivities or make general statements about what benefits we can expect from our seas in the future.Recently, NERC and DEFRA have initiated a major new research programme on Shelf Sea Biogeochemistry that will improve knowledge about these issues. In response to this call, we have assembled a consortium of leading scientists that includes microbiologists, ecologists, physical oceanographers, biogeochemists, mathematical modellers and policy advisors. With assistance from organisations like CEFAS, Marine Scotland and AFBI, they will carry out a series of research cruises around the UK that will map the sensitivity and status of seabed habitats based on their physical condition, the microbial and faunal communities that inhabit them, and the size and dynamics of the nitrogen and carbon pools found there. The latest marine technologies will measure the amount of mixing and flow rates just above the seabed, as well as detailed seabed topography. These measurements will allow better understanding of the physical processes responsible for movement and mixing of sediment, nutrient, and carbon. At the same time, cores will be retrieved containing the microbial and faunal communities and their activity and behaviour will be linked to specific biogeochemical responses. Highly specialised autonomous vehicles, called landers, will also measure nutrient concentrations and fluxes at the seabed. Components of the system can then be experimentally manipulated to mimic scenarios of change, such as changing hydrodynamics, disturbance or components of climate change. This will be achieved in the field by generating different flow regimes using a submerged flume or, in the laboratory, using intact sediment communities exposed to different levels of CO2, temperature and oxygen. By measuring the biogeochemical response and behaviour of the microbial and faunal communities to these changes, we will generate an understanding of what may happen if such changes did occur across our shelf seas.We will use all of this information to assess the relative vulnerability of areas of the UK seabed by overlaying the observation and experimental results over maps of various human pressures, which will be of value to planners and policymakers. Mathematical models will test future scenarios of change, such as opening or closing vulnerable areas to fishing or anticipated changes in the factors that control nutrient and carbon stocks. This will be valuable in exploring different responses to external pressures and for deciding which management measures should be put in place to preserve our shelf seas for future generations.

我们周围的海岸和大陆架海在我们整个历史上一直是人类繁荣和福祉的焦点，因此对我们的文化产生了不成比例的影响。陆架海的社会重要性不仅限于粮食生产，还包括生物多样性、碳循环和储存、废物处理、营养循环、娱乐和可再生能源。然而，随着越来越多的全球人口向沿海地区迁移，我们的海洋已逐渐受到人类活动的侵蚀，包括过度捕捞、污染、生境干扰和气候变化。这令人担忧，因为海底状况、生物多样性和人类社会有着不可分割的联系。因此，迫切需要了解一系列大陆架生境的相对敏感性，以便更有效地管理人类的压力，确保我们海洋的长期可持续性和提供社会福利。实现这些目标并非易事，因为海底提供我们所依赖的货物和服务的能力取决于基底类型（岩石、砾石、沙子、泥土）和当地条件;有些生境自然动态，对干扰相对不敏感，而另一些生境则相对稳定，易受变化影响。这使得很难评估生境的敏感性，或对我们今后可以从海洋中得到什么样的好处作出一般性的说明，最近，NERC和DEFRA发起了一项关于陆架海生物地球化学的新的重大研究方案，这将提高对这些问题的认识。为了响应这一号召，我们召集了一个由顶尖科学家组成的联盟，其中包括微生物学家、生态学家、物理海洋学家、海洋地球化学家、数学建模者和政策顾问。在CEFAS，Marine Scotland和AFBI等组织的帮助下，他们将在英国各地进行一系列研究巡航，根据海底栖息地的物理条件，栖息在其中的微生物和动物群落以及那里发现的氮和碳池的大小和动态绘制海底栖息地的敏感性和状态。最新的海洋技术将测量海底上方的混合量和流速，以及详细的海底地形。这些测量将有助于更好地了解沉积物、养分和碳的运动和混合的物理过程。与此同时，将收回含有微生物和动物群落的岩心，并将其活动和行为与特定的生物地球化学反应联系起来。高度专业化的自动驾驶车辆，称为着陆器，也将测量海底的营养浓度和通量。然后，可以通过实验操纵系统的组成部分，以模拟变化的情景，例如不断变化的流体动力学、扰动或气候变化的组成部分。这将通过使用水下水槽或在实验室中使用暴露于不同水平的CO2、温度和氧气的完整沉积物群落产生不同的流态来实现。通过测量微生物和动物群落对这些变化的生物地球化学反应和行为，我们将了解如果这些变化确实发生在我们的陆架海，可能会发生什么。我们将利用所有这些信息，通过将观察和实验结果叠加在各种人类压力的地图上，这将对规划者和决策者有价值。数学模型将测试未来的变化情景，如开放或关闭脆弱地区的捕鱼或控制营养和碳储量的因素的预期变化。这将有助于探讨对外部压力的不同反应，并决定应采取哪些管理措施，为子孙后代保护我们的陆架海。

项目成果

Benthic controls of resuspension in UK shelf seas: Implications for resuspension frequency

• DOI: 10.1016/j.csr.2017.12.005
• 发表时间: 2017-12
• 期刊: Continental Shelf Research
• 影响因子: 2.3
• 作者: C. Thompson;M. E. Williams;L. Amoudry;T. Hull;S. Reynolds;Anouska Panton;G. Fones

Across the sediment-water interface. Biogeochemical cycling in coastal and shelf seas

• DOI: 10.1016/j.csr.2019.07.011
• 发表时间: 2019-09
• 期刊: Continental Shelf Research
• 影响因子: 2.3
• 作者: Charlie Thompson;D. Mayor;G. Fones;Rachel Hale-

An approach for the identification of exemplar sites for scaling up targeted field observations of benthic biogeochemistry in heterogeneous environments.

一种识别范例地点的方法，用于扩大异质环境中海底生物地球化学的目标现场观测。

• DOI: 10.1007/s10533-017-0366-1
• 发表时间: 2017
• 期刊: Biogeochemistry
• 影响因子: 4
• 作者: Thompson CEL