Impact of accelerated future global mean sea level rise on hypoxia in the Baltic Sea

Meier, H. E. Markus; Höglund, Anders; Eilola, Kari; Almroth‐Rosell, Elin

doi:10.1007/s00382-016-3333-y

Cited by 49 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…This results in stagnation of the bottom waters for several years . Therefore, marine inflows do not necessarily lead to improved oxygen conditions and can actually result in an expansion of hypoxic areas (Conley et al, 2002;Meier et al, 2017;Neumann et al, 2017).…”

Section: Regional Setting Present Baltic Seamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This has a positive feedback on the spreading of hypoxic zones (Zillén and Conley, 2010). Both natural and humaninduced changes of the Baltic Sea ecosystem play a role in the current spreading of hypoxic zones (Zillén and Conley, 2010;Meier et al, 2017), but their relative importance is difficult to separate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ongoing anthropogenic and natural climate forcing on the Baltic Sea ecosystem are expected to increase primary productivity (Meier et al, 2011bStorch von et al, 2015). Whether, the salinity of the Baltic Sea will increase or decrease is uncertain (Meier et al, 2011a(Meier et al, , 2017. Assessing the impact of such changes on redox conditions in the water column can be projected to present and future changes in the Baltic Sea ecosystem and used to design action plans to improve its status by adjusting human actions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Middle to Late Holocene Variations in Salinity and Primary Productivity in the Central Baltic Sea: A Multiproxy Study From the Landsort Deep

Wirdum

Andrén

Wienholz³

et al. 2019

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Anthropogenic forcing has led to an increased extent of hypoxic bottom areas in the Baltic Sea during recent decades. The Baltic Sea ecosystem is naturally prone to the development of hypoxic conditions due to its geographical, hydrographical, geological, and climate features. Besides the current spreading of hypoxia, the Baltic Sea has experienced two extensive periods of hypoxic conditions during the Holocene, caused by changing climate conditions during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM; 8-4.8 cal ka BP) and the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA; 1-0.7 cal ka BP). We studied the variations in surface and bottom water salinity and primary productivity and their relative importance for the development and termination of hypoxia by using microfossil and geochemical data from a sediment core retrieved from the Landsort Deep during IODP Expedition 347 (Site M0063). Our findings demonstrate that increased salinity was of major importance for the development of hypoxic conditions during the HTM. In contrast, we could not clearly relate the termination of this hypoxic period to salinity changes. The reconstructed high primary productivity associated with the hypoxic period during the MCA is not accompanied by considerable increases in salinity. Our proxies for salinity show a decreasing trend before, during and after the MCA. Therefore, we suggest that this period of hypoxia is primarily driven by increasing temperatures due to the warmer climate. These results highlight the importance of natural climate driven changes in salinity and primary productivity for the development of hypoxia during a warming climate.

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Section: Regional Setting Present Baltic Seamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Middle to Late Holocene Variations in Salinity and Primary Productivity in the Central Baltic Sea: A Multiproxy Study From the Landsort Deep

Wirdum

Andrén

Wienholz³

et al. 2019

Front. Mar. Sci.

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“…Homogenization of coastal upwelling has also been predicted, and this could have significant implications for ocean fishes and fisheries (Wang et al 2015). These results highlight the importance of understanding influences of climate on stratification and upwelling (Wang et al 2015, Meier et al 2017.…”

Section: Complexity Theorymentioning

confidence: 83%

Unnatural hypoxic regimes

et al. 2018

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Coastal hypoxia is increasing worldwide in response to human‐caused changes in global climate and biogeochemical cycles. In this paper, we view anthropogenic trends in coastal hypoxia through the lens of disturbance ecology and complexity theory. Complexity theory provides a framework for describing how estuaries and other coastal aquatic ecosystems respond to hypoxia by understanding feedback loops. Can it also be valuable in understanding how these ecosystems behave under shifting (i.e., unnatural) disturbance regimes? When viewed as a disturbance regime, shifts in the spatial (areal extent and fragmentation) and temporal (frequency and duration of events) characteristics of coastal hypoxia can be used to track changes into a non‐stationary future. Here, we consider options for increasing the resilience of coastal aquatic ecosystems to future, unnatural hypoxic regimes. To start, we define desirable states as ecosystems with long trophic chains and slow nutrient and carbon dynamics that produce many ecosystem services. We then work backward to describe circumstances dominated by positive feedbacks that can lead ecosystems toward an undesirable state (i.e., depauperate communities and chemically reduced sediments). Processes of degradation and recovery can be understood in the context of island biogeography whereby species diversity in habitats fragmented by hypoxia is determined by the balance between rapid local extinction, slow recolonization from the edges of hypoxic patches, and opportunities for ecological succession during between disturbance events. We review potential future changes associated with changing global climate and highlight ways to enhance coastal resilience. In addition to efforts to slow climate change, potential interventions include reduced nutrient and carbon loadings from rivers, restoration of aquatic vegetation, and managing for key species, including those that promote sediment oxygenation, that enhance water clarity, or that promote grazing on epiphytic algae through top‐down control.

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“…Primary sources of hypoxia are weather patterns such as El Niño and La Niña, coastal upwelling, and anthropogenic eutrophication [Altieri and Gedan, 2015;Diaz and Rosenberg, 2008]. Since the 1970s cases of reported hypoxic zones have increased dramatically with some of the more recent cases being documented in the Baltic Sea, an area undergoing rapid sea surface temperature warming [MacKenzie and Schiedek, 2007;Meier et al, 2016]. Recently, infections caused by such pathogenic Vibrio species as V. vulnificus, V. parahaemolyticus, and V. cholerae are being reported in areas where such infections were never seen before, as far as 65°N, during unseasonably warm heat wave phenomena [Baker-Austin et al, 2013;Bier et al, 2015;Levy, 2015].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of hypoxia on gene expression patterns by the human pathogen, Vibrio vulnificus, and bacterial community composition in a North Carolina estuary

Phippen

Oliver

2017

GeoHealth

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Estuarine environments are continuously being shaped by both natural and anthropogenic sources which directly/indirectly influence the organisms that inhabit these important niches on both individual and community levels. Human infections caused by pathogenic Vibrio species are continuing to rise, and factors associated with global climate change have been suggested to be impacting their abundance and geographical range. Along with temperature, hypoxia has also increased dramatically in the last 40 years, which has led to persistent dead zones worldwide in areas where these infections are increasing. Thus, utilizing membrane diffusion chambers, we investigated the impact of in situ hypoxia on the gene expression of one such bacterium, Vibrio vulnificus, which is an inhabitant of these vulnerable areas worldwide. By coupling these data with multiple abiotic factors, we were able to demonstrate that genes involved in numerous functions, including those involved in virulence, environmental persistence, and stressosome production, were negatively correlated with dissolved oxygen. Furthermore, comparing 16S ribosomal RNA, we found similar overall community compositions during both hypoxia and normoxia. However, unweighted beta diversity analyses revealed that although certain classes of bacteria dominate in both low‐ and high‐oxygen environments, there is the potential for quantitative shifts in lower abundant species, which may be important for effective risk assessment in areas that are becoming increasingly more hypoxic. This study emphasizes the importance of investigating hypoxia as a trigger for gene expression changes by marine Vibrio species and highlights the need for more in depth community analyses during estuarine hypoxia.

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Impact of accelerated future global mean sea level rise on hypoxia in the Baltic Sea

Abstract: reinforced ventilation of the deep water does not lead to overall improved oxygen conditions but causes instead expanded dead bottom areas accompanied with increased internal phosphorus loads from the sediments and increased risk for cyanobacteria blooms.

Cited by 49 publications

References 57 publications

Middle to Late Holocene Variations in Salinity and Primary Productivity in the Central Baltic Sea: A Multiproxy Study From the Landsort Deep

Middle to Late Holocene Variations in Salinity and Primary Productivity in the Central Baltic Sea: A Multiproxy Study From the Landsort Deep

Unnatural hypoxic regimes

Impact of hypoxia on gene expression patterns by the human pathogen, Vibrio vulnificus, and bacterial community composition in a North Carolina estuary

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