Giant Hydrogen Sulfide Plume in the Oxygen Minimum Zone Off Peru Supports Chemolithoautotrophy
Giant Hydrogen Sulfide Plume in the Oxygen Minimum Zone off Peru Supports Chemolithoautotrophy Harald Schunck1,2., Gaute Lavik3., Dhwani K. Desai1,4., Tobias Großkopf1,5, Tim Kalvelage3, Carolin R. Lo¨ scher2, Aure´lien Paulmier3,6,7, Sergio Contreras3,8, Herbert Siegel9, Moritz Holtappels3, Philip Rosenstiel10, Markus B. Schilhabel10, Michelle Graco7, Ruth A. Schmitz2, Marcel M. M. Kuypers3, Julie LaRoche1,4* 1 Research Division Marine Biogeochemistry, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Kiel, Germany, 2 Institute for General Microbiology, Christian-Albrechts- University, Kiel, Germany, 3 Department of Biogeochemistry, Max-Planck-Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany, 4 Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, 5 College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom, 6 Laboratory for Studies in Geophysics and Spatial Oceanography, Institute of Research for Development, Toulouse, France, 7 Direccio´n de Investigaciones Oceanogra´ficas, Instituto del Mar del Peru´, Callao, Peru, 8 Large Lakes Observatory, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota, United States of America, 9 Physical Oceanography and Instrumentation, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemu¨nde, Rostock, Germany, 10 Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, Germany Abstract In Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems nutrient-rich waters are transported to the ocean surface, fuelling high photoautotrophic primary production. Subsequent heterotrophic decomposition of the produced biomass increases the oxygen-depletion at intermediate water depths, which can result in the formation of oxygen minimum zones (OMZ). OMZs can sporadically accumulate hydrogen sulfide (H2S), which is toxic to most multicellular organisms and has been implicated in massive fish kills. During a cruise to the OMZ off Peru in January 2009 we found a sulfidic plume in continental shelf 2 4 waters, covering an area .5500 km , which contained ,2.2610 tons of H2S.
[Show full text]