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Aims: Coastal salt marshes are productive ecosystems that are highly efficient carbon sinks, but there is uncertainty regarding the interactions among climate warming, plant species, and tidal restriction on C cycling. Methods: Open-top chambers (OTCs) were deployed at two coastal wetlands in Yancheng, China, where native Phragmites australis (Phragmites) and invasive Spartina alterniflora (Spartina) were dominant, respectively. Two study locations were set up in each area based on difference in tidal action. The OTCs achieved an increase of average daytime air temperature of ~ 1.11–1.55 °C. Net ecosystem CO2 exchange (NEE), ecosystem respiration (Reco), CH4 fluxes, aboveground biomass and other abiotic factors were monitored over three years. Results: Warming reduced the magnitude of the radiative balance of native Phragmites, which was determined to still be a consistent C sink. In contrast, warming or tidal flooding presumably transform the Spartina into a weak C source, because either warming-induced high salinity reduced the magnitude of NEE by 19% or flooding increased CH4 emissions by 789%. Remarkably, native Phragmites affected by tidal restrictions appeared to be a consistent C source with the radiative balance of 7.11–9.64 kg CO2-eq m–2 yr–1 because of a reduction in the magnitude of NEE and increase of CH4 fluxes. Conclusions: Tidal restrictions that disconnect the tidal hydrologic connection between the ocean and land may transform coastal wetlands from C sinks to C sources. This transformation may potentially be an even greater threat to coastal carbon sequestration than climate warming or invasive plant species in isolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Holocene hydroclimate evolution and underlying mechanisms modulating the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) remains controversial, especially in south eastern China. Here we present a multiproxy peat record of monsoon evolution from southeastern China covering the last 14 ka. Our new records show a relatively weaker EASM but wetter hydroclimate during the early (10 to 8 ka) and late Holocene (after 5.4 ka), while a stronger EASM and overall drier climate during the mid-Holocene (8 to 5.4 ka). In line with nearby speleothem records, our results reveal a dominant control of the northern-latitude ice-sheet meltwater forcing on millennial-scale East Asian hydroclimate variability during the last deglaciation and early Holocene. This dominant influence, however, likely waned once the global sea level had stabilized during the mid-to-late Holocene, giving way to other drivers of the monsoon and hydroclimate, including a combination of summer insolation and teleconnection patterns associated with vegetation-dust feedbacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) in lacustrine sediments are widely used to reconstruct terrestrial paleoenvironments. However, lipids of diverse origin in lakes make it difficult to decipher environmental information, appealing for the necessity to evaluate the impact of terrigenous input on the distribution of GDGTs through long-term monitoring. In this study, we conducted two-year monitoring of GDGTs along the river, estuary, near shore, to the center of Lake Liangzi in central China. By comparing the spatiotemporal changes of GDGT distribution in suspended particulate matter (SPM) and surface sediments, we found that the archaeal isoprenoid GDGTs (isoGDGTs) were mainly produced in situ in the river-lake systems, and not affected by the soil input. In contrast, the bacterial branched GDGTs (brGDGTs) were affected, to some extent, by soil input, depending on the distance to the lakeshore. The soil input of brGDGTs was enhanced during an episode of abnormal rainfall (flood). Moreover, the large variation of isoGDGTs indicates the in situ production under the anoxic condition in lake water. The paired increase in the GDGT-0/Cren ratio and GDGT concentration might be diagnostic of flooding events in ancient times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct evidence of intense chemical weathering induced by volcanism is rare in sedimentary successions. Here, we undertake a multiproxy analysis (including organic carbon isotopes, mercury (Hg) concentrations and isotopes, chemical index of alteration (CIA), and clay minerals) of two well-dated Triassic–Jurassic (T–J) boundary sections representing high- and low/middle-paleolatitude sites. Both sections show increasing CIA in association with Hg peaks near the T–J boundary. We interpret these results as reflecting volcanism-induced intensification of continental chemical weathering, which is also supported by negative mass-independent fractionation (MIF) of odd Hg isotopes. The interval of enhanced chemical weathering persisted for ~2 million years, which is consistent with carbon-cycle model results of the time needed to drawdown excess atmospheric CO2 following a carbon release event. Lastly, these data also demonstrate that high-latitude continental settings are more sensitive than low/middle-latitude sites to shifts in weathering intensity during climatic warming events. The work shows that volcanic-related elevated continental chemical weathering could have played a significant role in global environmental perturbations during the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The policy and practice of ecological restoration and conservation in China obtained some remarkable results. For example, Sphagnum moss growing on abandoned farmland, which was peatland before agricultural use, has rapidly expanded the wetland area in SW China. Microorganisms such as testate amoebae are sensitive to environmental change and thus have been widely used as ecological indicators in various habitats. We analyzed differently aged Sphagnum growing plots on a Sphagnum growing farmland and natural Sphagnum plots in SW China to examine how Sphagnum-dwelling testate amoeba communities and corresponding protozoic silicon (Si) pools respond to ecological restoration practice. We found that abundance, taxon richness, and diversity of testate amoebae were higher in Sphagnum growing farmland plots compared to natural Sphagnum plots. Protozoic Si pools showed an increase with Sphagnum growing time representing increased Si accumulation by idiosomic testate amoeba shells. However, protozoic Si pools were negatively correlated with taxon richness and diversity of testate amoebae. Our results showed that (i) natural Sphagnum plots were not characterized by the expected higher biodiversity of testate amoebae compared to Sphagnum growing plots and (ii) consequently protozoic Si pool quantity in natural Sphagnum plots was less driven by biodiversity of testate amoebae than expected. We concluded our results to underline the value of (i) environmental restoration policy in general and (ii) testate amoeba communities and corresponding protozoic Si pools for Si cycling in restoration areas of peatlands in particular. Based on our results, we recommend a sustainable cultivation of Sphagnum moss and an additional establishment of protected areas, where no Sphagnum harvesting occurs. These protected Sphagnum areas might represent hot spots of undisturbed testate amoeba communities and corresponding protozoic Si pools and thus of microbial Si cycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The discipline of "Bio-Organic Geochemistry" is a cross research field between biogeochemistry and traditional organic geochemistry, which focuses on geochemical processes related to the biosynthesis of organic molecules (particularly lipids) by (micro) organisms, organic matter production by primary producers, degradation of organic matter by microbial processes recorded by retainable lipid biomarkers, and organic proxies for studies of paleo-climate, paleo-environments, paleoecology and Earth evolution. This field aims to go beyond the traditional petroleum-oriented Organic Geochemistry by integrating with biogeochemical concepts concerned mostly with biomolecules from cellular material such as DNA and lipids. A formal Chinese organization in Bio-Organic Geochemistry was established in 2012 when the first conference was held in Guangzhou. This organization has witnessed rapid growth over the past six years with focused research addressing organic proxies in paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental applications, with particular rapid development in glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers-derived proxies. Most progresses in China so far are made following or paralleling the international trend in biogeochemical studies. Things have begun to change with China's ambitious initiatives in several bio-geo programs such as the Ocean Deep Drilling Program of China, the Microbial Hydrosphere Program, the Deep Carbon Observatory, and the Microbiome Program. Looking forward in the 21st Century, the growing Chinese research community in Bio-Organic Geochemistry faces grand opportunities and challenges as Chinese scientists propel themselves toward global research frontiers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming, the most severe faunal mass extinction and the shift of biogeochemical cycles were observed in the ocean across the Permian-Triassic boundary about 252 million years ago, providing an analog to understanding the modern oceans. Along with the progressive global warming, the biogeochemical cycle was documented to show a shift from the decoupled processes of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur prior to the mass extinction to the coupled biogeochemical processes during faunal mass extinction. The coupled biogeochemical cycle was further observed to shift from the coupled C-N processes during the first episode of the faunal mass extinction to the coupled C-N-S processes during the second episode, diagnostic of the progressive development of more deteriorated marine environmental conditions and the more severe biotic crisis across the Permian-Triassic boundary. The biogeochemical cycles could thus be an indication to the progressive collapse of marine ecosystems triggered by the global warming in Earth history. In modern oceans, the coupled C-N cycle triggered by the global warming was observed in some regions. If these local C-N processes develop and expand to the global oceans, the coupled C-N-S processes might be brought into existence and the marine ecosystems are inevitable to suffer from complete collapse as observed at 252 million years ago. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geomicrobiology is a sub-discipline of geobiology and emphasizes the interaction between microorganisms and their environment on Earth. There is a need to explicitly emphasize the biogeochemical processes performed by microorganisms associated with Earth’s tectonic activities, especially under the framework of the modern theory of plate tectonics. Tectonomicrobiology aims to create a better synergy between microbial and active tectonic processes. This explicit synergy should also foster better communications between solid Earth scientists and life scientists in terms of holistic Earth system dynamics at both tectonic and micro-scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recently proposed global and local calibrations for the mean annual air temperature (MAT) reconstruction on the basis of 5- and 6-methyl brGDGTs have rarely been applied to the Chinese LPS yet, leaving the applicability of these calibrations unclear. Here, we used the improved chromatography method to analyze 198 loess-paleosol samples from the Weinan section in the southern CLP for the past 350 kyr. The 6-methyl brGDGTs comprise a major proportion of total brGDGTs, pointing to alkaline conditions for most soil samples from the Weinan LPS. The decoupled profile variation of MBT′ and MBT′ suggests their response to different enviromental factors, possibly soil pH (or soil moisture) and temperature, respectively. This discrimination further corraborates that temperature and monsoonal precipitation were not in phase during the last four deglaciations on the CLP. Temperature estimates for the six calibrations tested show similar trends but remarkably differ in amplitudes. The soil moisture appears to affect the global MBT′/CBT calibration, the global MAT calibration (a calibration based on the multiple linear regression) and the Chinese local SSM (Stepwise Selection Method) calibration, resulting in a significant underestimation of late Holocene temperature. In contrast, the dry climate has no effect on the global MBT′ calibration. Of the six calibrations, only the Chinese local SSM calibration and global MAT calibration produce temperature variation amplitude over the past 350 ka that is consistent with other independent proxy data. The recently proposed local calibrations based on 5- and 6-methyl brGDGTs for North China yield the amplitude of temperature changes that is much larger than the results determined by other approaches. All the six calibrations have their own weakness in the MAT reconstruction, due partly to the inconsistency between the brGDGT distribution in the Weinan LPS and the modern soils used to establish these calibrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbes not only show sensitive responses to environmental changes but also play important roles in geochemical and geophysical systems. It is well known that microbes have caused major changes in surface environments and biogeochemical cycles through Earth history. Microbial processes can also induce the synthesis of certain minerals under Earth-surface conditions that previously were believed to form only under high temperatures and pressures in the deep Earth. For example, microbes can promote the conversion of smectite to illite, synthesis of authigenic plagioclase, precipitation of dolomite, and biotransformation of geolipids. These effects of microbes are due to their large surface/volume ratios, enzyme production, and abundant functional groups. Microbial catalyzation of chemical reactions proceeds through reaction-specific enzymes, a decrease in Gibbs's free energy, and/or break through the dynamics reaction thresholds via their metabolisms and physiology. Microbes can lower the surface free energy of mineral nuclei via biophysical adsorption due to their large surface/volume ratios and abundant functional groups. The mineral precipitation and transformation processes induced by microbes are functionally equivalent to geological processes operating at high temperatures and pressures in the deep Earth, suggesting that microbial processes can serve as analogs to deep abiotic processes that are difficult to observe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) in lake sediments are useful biomarkers for the continental paleoclimatic reconstruction. However, the environmental controls on the distribution of these compounds, in particular the 6-methyl isomers of bacterial branched GDGTs (bGDGTs), in the lakes with contrasting pH, are still unknown, hindering their application for paleo-reconstructions. Here, we investigated the environmental impacts on the distribution of GDGTs in 17 alkaline lakes and 1 acid lake in China. It was found that the dissolved oxygen content in water column may have an impact on the distribution of archaeal isoprenoid GDGTs (iGDGTs) by causing the change in archaeal communities. The ratio of GDGT-0/crenarchaeol increases with decreasing oxygen content, indicating that the relative abundance of anaerobic methanogenic archaea or Miscellaneous Crenarchaeotic Group (MCG) vs. aerobic Thaumarchaeota is controlled by the oxygen content dissolved in water of these lakes. Thaumarchaeota are likely to contribute only a small proportion of iGDGTs in the relatively oxygen-depleted lakes, and thus TEX is not suitable for the reconstruction of the surface temperature of these lakes. The abundance ratio of iGDGTs to bGDGTs ( R) appears to show no relationship with water pH in all the lakes, but exhibits a significant positive correlation with the water depth of the acid Lake Qinghai in Tengchong. As expected, the methylation degree of bGDGTs (MBT′) was found to correlate with both mean annual air temperature (MAT) and water pH, and the cyclization degree of bGDGTs (CBT) correlates only with water pH in these lakes. However, the MBT′, an index to measure the methylation degree of 5-methyl bGDGTs, exhibits no relationship with MAT, whereas MBT′, the methylation degree of 6-methyl bGDGTs, was found to correlate significantly with MAT. This is opposite to the situation observed in the global soils, pointing to a different adaptation of bGDGT-producing bacteria to environmental variables or different microbial sources of bGDGTs in these lakes. The relative abundance of 6- vs. 5-methyl bGDGTs is controlled by pH in these lakes, similar to that observed in worldwide soils. Hence, the isomer ratio (IR) of 6-methyl bGDGTs or CBT′ can be used as a proxy for water pH, although they might be influenced by other environmental factors including temperature in the lakes with a narrow range of pH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Testate amoebae are micro-organisms characterized by an agglutinated or autogenous shell enclosing the cytoplasm. Testate amoebae have been widely proposed as valuable bioindicators in a range of ecosystems (such as soils, peatlands and lakes). The use of testate amoebae as bioindicators of water quality in aquatic ecosystems is much less developed than for other microorganisms and previous research is geographically restricted. We investigated a large range of environmental variables and their relations to testate amoeba communities from 37 shallow lakes in the middle and lower Yangtze River Plain of China. Multiple factor analysis, redundancy analysis (RDA) and a forward-selection approach were used to explore the overall community structure and the links between the environmental variables and testate amoeba composition. Results showed that testate amoebae are widely distributed in most of the lakes despite often high levels of pollution. Our data highlight some links between water quality variables and testate amoeba communities. In particular, our results suggest that heavy metals have a role in shaping testate amoeba assemblage structure, although correlations are comparatively weak, perhaps due to lagged responses. Our results support previous suggestions that testate amoebae may be useful bioindicators in aquatic ecosystems but emphasize the need for an improved mechanistic understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molybdenum (Mo) proxies, including bulk concentration and isotopic composition, have been increasingly used to reconstruct ancient ocean redox states. This study systematically reviews Mo cycles and their accompanying isotopic fractionations in modern ocean as well as their application in paleo-ocean redox reconstruction. Our review indicates that Mo enrichment in sediments mainly records the adsorption of Fe-Mn oxides/hydroxides and chemical bonding of HS. Thus, Mo enrichment in anoxic sediments generally reflects the presence of HS in the water column or pore waters. In addition to the effect of euxinia, sedimentary Mo enrichment is related to the size of the oceanic Mo reservoir. Given these primary mechanisms for oceanic Mo cycling, Mo abundance data and Mo/TOC ratios acquired from euxinic sediments in geological times show that fluctuations of the oceanic Mo reservoir are well correlated with oxygenation of the atmosphere and oceans and suggest that oxygenation occurred in phases. Mo proxies suggest that Mo isotopes in strongly euxinic sediments reflect the contemporaneous Mo isotopic composition of seawater, but other processes such as iron-manganese (Fe-Mn) adsorption and weak euxinia can result in different fractionations. Diagenesis may complicate Mo enrichment and its isotopic fractionation in sediments. With appropriate constraints on the Mo isotopic composition of seawater and various outputs, a Mo isotope mass-balance model can quantitatively reconstruct global redox conditions over geological history. In summary, Mo proxies can be effectively used to reconstruct oceanic redox conditions on various timescales due to their sensitivity to both local and global marine redox conditions. However, given the complexity of geochemical processes, particularly the effects of diagenesis, further work is required to apply Mo proxies to ancient oceans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation (ca. 635-551 Ma) deposited immediately after the last Neoproterozoic glaciations and recorded the most prominent negative excursions of carbonate carbon isotopic composition (δC). These excursions have been interpreted as a result of widespread remineralization of a large dissolved organic carbon (DOC) reservoir in the Ediacaran deep oceans. However, there is no direct evidence so far found in rocks for the proposed DOC reservoir, which devalues such an interpretation. Here, we conducted a detailed study on the glow-curves characteristics and signal origins of spurious thermoluminescence (TL) of the Doushantuo Formation at Jiulongwan in Yangtze Gorges area, South China, through sequential tests under CO, N and air. Spurious TL intensities for test samples before and after removing soluble organic matter via accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) are nearly identical. Further, significant positive correlation between the spurious TL intensity and total inorganic carbon (TIC) content ( R=0.7) indicate that the Doushantuo spurious TL with the characteristic peak at 393.5 °C from the sequential test is chemiluminescence (CL) which is derived from the oxidation of a type of non-volatile organic matter strongly associated with carbonate mineral lattice (termed as 'X-OM'). A most likely explanation is that the X-OM is a type of dissolved organic matter which co-precipitated with carbonate minerals into sediments in the Ediacaran Doushantuo Ocean. Furthermore, a significant exponential negative correlation ( R=0.55) is observed between the CL data and the isotopic difference between carbonate and coexisting bulk organic matter (i.e., ΔC, a proxy for remineralization degree of DOC reservoir in proposed DOC hypothesis), suggesting that the X-OM was derived from the oxidation of the DOC reservoir in the Ediacaran Ocean. We thus propose that the X-OM and its CL detected in our study may have recorded the evolution of the possible DOC reservoir in the Ediacaran Doushantuo Ocean. If this is correct, the stratigraphic variations of the CL intensity in the Doushantuo Formation at Jiulongwan support the pulsed oxidation of the DOC reservoir in the Ediacaran Ocean. Our findings indicate that the CL derived from the oxidation of non-volatile organic matter which is strongly associated with carbonate mineral lattices in rocks may provide a feasible approach for probing the evolution of DOC reservoir in the ancient oceans, thus likely provide direct geological evidence for the development of oceanic DOC reservoir in geological times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early oceans (>520 Ma) were characterized by widespread water-column anoxia, stratification, and limited oxidant availability, which are comparable to the chemical characteristics of modern marine sedimentary pore-waters in productive continental margins. Based on this similarity and our current understanding of the formation mechanism of early Earth ocean chemistry, we propose an idealized chemical zonation model for early oceans that includes the following redox zones (from shallow nearshore to deep offshore regions): oxic, nitrogenous (NO-NO-enriched), manganous-ferruginous (Mn or Fe-enriched), sulfidic (HS-enriched), methanic (CH-enriched), and ferruginous (Fe-enriched). These zones were dynamically maintained by a combination of processes including surface-water oxygenation by atmospheric free oxygen, nitrate reduction beneath the chemocline, nearshore manganese-iron reduction, sulfate reduction, methanogenesis, and hydrothermal Fe inputs from the deep ocean. Our modified 'euxinic wedge' model expands on previous versions of this model, providing a more complete theoretical framework for the chemical zonation of early Earth oceans that helps to explain observations of unusual Mo-S-C isotope patterns. This model may provide a useful foundation for future studies of ocean chemistry evolution and elemental biogeochemical cycles in early Earth history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1- O-monoalkyl glycerol ethers (MAGEs) were initially viewed as the biomarkers for sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) mediating anaerobic oxidation of methane in the marine environments. However, limited information is known about their distribution in terrestrial and other aquatic settings including soils, fresh water lakes, and cave sediments, which may obscure our understanding of their biological sources. Here we found that MAGEs were ubiquitous but differed obviously in distributional pattern among those environments. The surface soils are dominated generally by iC-MAGE, followed by nC-MAGE whereas the lake sediments show the opposite, resulting in significantly higher iC/ nC ratios in soils than in lake sediments. The cave deposits are characterized by considerably higher proportions of branched MAGEs than the former two environments. The logarithm of iC/ aC ratio shows a significant negative correlation with soil pH, likely reflecting an adaptation of microbial cell membrane to change in the ambient proton concentration. The MAGE profiles in cultured bacteria cannot fully explain the MAGE distribution in all the samples analyzed. Therefore, MAGEs in soil, lake sediments, and cave deposits likely have additional biological source(s) other than SRB and cultured MAGE-producing bacteria. The difference in MAGE pattern among environments is likely to be attributed to change in microbial communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The MBT/CBT (Methylation Index of Branched Tetraethers/Cyclisation ratio of Branched Tetraether) proxy, a terrestrial paleothermometer based on bacterial branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (bGDGTs), was employed to indicate altimetry; however, the mechanistic control on this proxy is still ambiguous. Here, we investigated the bGDGTs' distribution and associated environmental factors along an altitude transect of Mt. Shennongjia in China in order to determine the applicability of bGDGT-based proxies to altimetry reconstruction. The MBT index exhibits only a weak correlation with estimated mean annual air temperature (MATe, estimated according to the meteorological record and lapse rate) or altitude. Likewise, MBT shows weak or no relationship with temperature or altitude at four other mountains (Mts. Meghalaya, Jianfengling, Gongga, and Rungwe). It is notable that mean annual air temperature (MAT) or altitude estimated by the MBT/CBT proxy largely relies on CBT, rather than on MBT, which was generally acknowledged. The poor relationship between MBTand MATe for Mt. Shennongjia can be ascribed to the insensitive response of bGDGT-I to temperature. Our data from this mountain imply that care should be taken if the MBT/CBT proxy is employed as an indication of paleoaltimetry. We propose that the fractional abundance of bGDGTs may be a better paleoaltimeter than the MBT/CBT proxy, because specific bGDGT subsets that might show the most sensitive response to temperature can be preferentially selected using a statistical method and used to establish local calibration. This local calibration was applied to Mt. Shennongjia and apparently improves the accuracy of temperature and altimetry reconstruction. The differential response of bGDGTs to temperature among mountains suggests that local calibrations are needed to better constrain the altimetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxygenation has widely been viewed as a major factor driving the emergence and diversification of animals. However, links between early animal evolution and shifts in surface oxygen levels have largely been limited to extrapolation of paleoredox conditions reconstructed from unfossiliferous strata to settings in which contemporaneous fossils were preserved. Herein, we present a multi-proxy paleoredox study of late Ediacaran (ca. 560-551 Ma) shales hosting the Miaohe Konservat-Lagerstätte of South China and, for comparison, equivalent non-fossil-bearing shales at adjacent sections. For the fossiliferous strata at Miaohe there is geochemical evidence for anoxic conditions, but paleontological evidence for at least episodically oxic conditions. An oxygen-stressed environment is consistent with the low diversity and simple morphology of Miaohe Biota macrofossils. However, there is no evidence for euxinic (anoxic and sulphidic) conditions for the fossiliferous strata at Miaohe, in contrast to adjacent unfossiliferous sections. Our results indicate that Ediacaran marine redox chemistry was highly heterogeneous, even at the kilometre-scale. Therefore, our study provides direct-rather than inferred-evidence that anoxia played a role in shaping a landmark Ediacaran ecosystem. If the anoxic conditions characteristic of the studied sections were widespread in the late Neoproterozoic, environmental stress would have hindered the development of complex ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]