Mechanisms of microbial carbon sequestration in the ocean – future research directions

N Jiao (1) , C Robinson (2) , F Azam (3) , Hassan Thomas (4) , F Baltar (5) , H Dang (1) , N. J. Hardman-Mountford (6) , M Johnson (2) , D. L. Kirchman (7) , B.P. Koch (8) , L Legendre (9) , C Li (10) , Jialin Liu (1) , T Luo (1) , Y.-W Luo (1) , A Mitra (11) , A Romanou (12, 13) , K Tang (1) , Xingbo Wang (14) , Cong Zhang (15) , R Zhang (1)

1 Xiamen University
2 UEA - University of East Anglia [Norwich]
3 SIO - UC San Diego - Scripps Institution of Oceanography
4 Dalhousie University [Halifax]
5 University of Otago [Dunedin, Nouvelle-Zélande]
6 CSIRO-MAR - CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research
7 University of Delaware [Newark]
8 AWI - Alfred-Wegener-Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung = Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research = Institut Alfred-Wegener pour la recherche polaire et marine
9 LOV - Laboratoire d'océanographie de Villefranche
10 Wuhan University [China]
11 Swansea University
12 Columbia University [New York]
13 GSFC - NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
14 CAS - Chinese Academy of Sciences [Changchun Branch]
15 Tongji University

This paper reviews progress on understanding biological carbon sequestration in the ocean with special reference to the microbial formation and transformation of recal-citrant dissolved organic carbon (RDOC), the microbial carbon pump (MCP). We propose that RDOC is a concept with a wide continuum of recalcitrance. Most RDOC compounds maintain their levels of recalcitrance only in a specific environmental context (RDOC t). The ocean RDOC pool also contains compounds that may be inaccessible to microbes due to their extremely low concentration (RDOC c). This differentiation allows us to appreciate the linkage between microbial source and RDOC composition on a range of temporal and spatial scales. Analyses of biomarkers and isotopic records show intensive MCP processes in the Proterozoic oceans when the MCP could have played a significant role in regulating climate. Understanding the dynamics of the MCP in conjunction with the better constrained biological pump (BP) over geological timescales could help to predict future climate trends. Integration of the MCP and the BP will require new research approaches and opportunities. Major goals include understanding the interactions between particulate organic carbon (POC) and RDOC that contribute to sequestration efficiency, and the concurrent determination of the chemical composition of organic carbon, microbial community composition and enzymatic activity. Molecular biomarkers and isotopic tracers should be employed to link water column processes Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. 5286 N. Jiao et al.: Mechanisms of microbial carbon sequestration in the ocean to sediment records, as well as to link present-day observations to paleo-evolution. Ecosystem models need to be developed based on empirical relationships derived from bioassay experiments and field investigations in order to predict the dynamics of carbon cycling along the stability continuum of POC and RDOC under potential global change scenarios. We propose that inorganic nutrient input to coastal waters may reduce the capacity for carbon sequestration as RDOC. The nutrient regime enabling maximum carbon storage from combined POC flux and RDOC formation should therefore be sought.

Domaines: Sciences de l'environnement

N Jiao, C Robinson, F Azam, Hassan Thomas, F Baltar, et al.. Mechanisms of microbial carbon sequestration in the ocean – future research directions. Biogeosciences, 2014, 11 (19), pp.5285-5306. ⟨10.5194/bg-11-5285-2014⟩. ⟨hal-01308012⟩