Dataset Information

Natural variability in air-sea gas transfer efficiency of CO₂.

ABSTRACT: The flux of CO₂ between the atmosphere and the ocean is often estimated as the air-sea gas concentration difference multiplied by the gas transfer velocity (K₆₆₀). The first order driver for K₆₆₀ over the ocean is wind through its influence on near surface hydrodynamics. However, field observations have shown substantial variability in the wind speed dependencies of K₆₆₀. In this study we measured K₆₆₀ with the eddy covariance technique during a ~ 11,000 km long Southern Ocean transect. In parallel, we made a novel measurement of the gas transfer efficiency (GTE) based on partial equilibration of CO₂ using a Segmented Flow Coil Equilibrator system. GTE varied by 20% during the transect, was distinct in different water masses, and related to K₆₆₀. At a moderate wind speed of 7 m s^-1, K₆₆₀ associated with high GTE exceeded K₆₆₀ with low GTE by 30% in the mean. The sensitivity of K₆₆₀ towards GTE was stronger at lower wind speeds and weaker at higher wind speeds. Naturally-occurring organics in seawater, some of which are surface active, may be the cause of the variability in GTE and in K₆₆₀. Neglecting these variations could result in biases in the computed air-sea CO₂ fluxes.

SUBMITTER: Yang M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8245487 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Natural variability in air-sea gas transfer efficiency of CO2.

Yang Mingxi M Smyth Timothy J TJ Kitidis Vassilis V Brown Ian J IJ Wohl Charel C Yelland Margaret J MJ Bell Thomas G TG

Scientific reports 20210630 1

The flux of CO2 between the atmosphere and the ocean is often estimated as the air-sea gas concentration difference multiplied by the gas transfer velocity (K660). The first order driver for K660 over the ocean is wind through its influence on near surface hydrodynamics. However, field observations have shown substantial variability in the wind speed dependencies of K660. In this study we measured K660 with the eddy covariance technique duri ...[more]

PMID: 34193883

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Project description:BackgroundIt is known that a part of natural gas is produced by biogenic degradation of organic matter, but the microbial pathways resulting in the formation of pressurized gas fields remain unknown. Autogeneration of biogas pressure of up to 20 bar has been shown to improve the quality of biogas to the level of biogenic natural gas as the fraction of CO2 decreased. Still, the pCO2 is higher compared to atmospheric digestion and this may affect the process in several ways. In this work, we investigated the effect of elevated pCO2 of up to 0.5 MPa on Gibbs free energy, microbial community composition and substrate utilization kinetics in autogenerative high-pressure digestion.ResultsIn this study, biogas pressure (up to 2.0 MPa) was batch-wise autogenerated for 268 days at 303 K in an 8-L bioreactor, resulting in a population dominated by archaeal Methanosaeta concilii, Methanobacterium formicicum and Mtb. beijingense and bacterial Kosmotoga-like (31% of total bacterial species), Propioniferax-like (25%) and Treponema-like (12%) species. Related microorganisms have also been detected in gas, oil and abandoned coal-bed reservoirs, where elevated pressure prevails. After 107 days autogeneration of biogas pressure up to 0.50 MPa of pCO2, propionate accumulated whilst CH4 formation declined. Alongside the Propioniferax-like organism, a putative propionate producer, increased in relative abundance in the period of propionate accumulation. Complementary experiments showed that specific propionate conversion rates decreased linearly from 30.3 mg g-1 VSadded day-1 by more than 90% to 2.2 mg g-1 VSadded day-1 after elevating pCO2 from 0.10 to 0.50 MPa. Neither thermodynamic limitations, especially due to elevated pH2, nor pH inhibition could sufficiently explain this phenomenon. The reduced propionate conversion could therefore be attributed to reversible CO2-toxicity.ConclusionsThe results of this study suggest a generic role of the detected bacterial and archaeal species in biogenic methane formation at elevated pressure. The propionate conversion rate and subsequent methane production rate were inhibited by up to 90% by the accumulating pCO2 up to 0.5 MPa in the pressure reactor, which opens opportunities for steering carboxylate production using reversible CO2-toxicity in mixed-culture microbial electrosynthesis and fermentation.Graphical abstractThe role of pCO2 in steering product formation in autogenerative high pressure digestion.

Dataset Information

Natural variability in air-sea gas transfer efficiency of CO₂.

Publications

Natural variability in air-sea gas transfer efficiency of CO<sub>2</sub>.

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