SEAW ORDS TheMarineOption Program Newsletter
Winter Holidays2020
Volume XXXV, Number 7
Aloha, and welcome to the winter holidays issue of Seawords! Happy holidays! It's been a chaotic year, to say the least, and it feels good to be at the finish line of 2020. Looking into the new year and reflecting on this one, it's important to take note of where we are now and where we'd like to be going forward. Therefore, in this month's issue, we examine problems and solutions. Read up on new research to study microscopic communities on page 18, or learn more about seaweed blooms and what can be done about them on page 14. Closer to home, turn to page 20 for information about how corals adapt. We'll see you in 2021! W hat would you like to see more of in Seawords?Send in your thoughts, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @mopseawords!
Zada Boyce-Quentin, SeawordsEditor
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Contents 2: LETTER FROM THE EDITOR 4: RISING IN THE DEEP 6: ARCTIC RIVERS 8: HAW AIIAN AQUIFERS 10: CREATURE OF THE MONTH 14: LOST IN THE SEAW EEDS 18: NEW DEEP SEA FLOATS TO STUDY MICROSCOPIC ORGANISMS
20: DIVERSITY OF HAW AIIAN CORALS
Photo Credits Fr ont Page: School of fish. By: Shera Mercer, Flickr. Tabl e of Contents: Coral reef. By: Beyond Neon, Flickr. Back Cover : Christmas tree worms. By: Andy, Flickr.
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Waveson thesea. Photoby: apasciuto, Flickr.
RISING IN THE DEEP By: Chloe Molou, UHH SeawordsLiaison The effects of global warming have been visible for several decades now, but the severity of its impact on deep-ocean water temperatures has yet to be fully documented. In terms of actual research and observations, more data has been collected on terrestrial and sea-surface temperature variations. Surface water temperature can be measured and recorded by satellites and buoys, and terrestrial temperature is easy to observe, but it is much harder to collect data on the deep sea. Previous observations of deep-ocean water temperature have come primarily from rather infrequent ship surveys. Since about 90%of the heat absorbed by the Earth goes into its oceans, and water?s heat capacity is much higher than that of air?s, this is an area of research that requires much more attention. The main issue with the ship survey method of researching deep sea temperature is that these are far too infrequent to expose trends. Other deep-ocean temperature observations have been made by Argo float arrays or conductivity temperature depth sections (CTD). However, these methods have drawbacks that make them incapable of completely documenting temperature variations in the deep ocean. 4 | Seawords
There are 3000-4000 Argo floats worldwide that collect data on the top 2000m of the water column, however, since they move with currents, they are unable to take frequent readings of a particular site. CTDs are usually collected by dedicated vessels and collect data throughout a full water column, but this is quite expensive and therefore not repeated frequently enough. New data collected have revealed that deep ocean water is warming faster than previously predicted. These data, collected by the Southwest Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (SAM) project, show hourly-recorded temperature measurements over the past decade from 2009 to 2019. The SAM project aimed to measure vertical acoustic travel times within the Argentine Basin, just off of the coast of Uruguay. They deployed pressure-equipped inverted echosounders (PIES) at four different depths between 1360 and 4757m below the sea surface, anchored just 1m above the seafloor. The data collected from these PIES showed linear warming trends of around 0.02 degrees per decade for the three deeper sites and 0.04 degrees per decade in the shallowest site. W hile these numbers may seem miniscule, considering the vast reach of the deep ocean, they are actually quite significant These data are particularly worrying considering that this part of the ocean is warming much faster than expected. The organisms that live and processes that take place in this environment are very sensitive to temperature changes, and so these new data show that they are being threatened by global warming much sooner than anyone anticipated. The deep sea is hard to access and even more difficult to research, but it is essential that we learn more about this ecosystem and how to protect it. HOLIDAYS 2020
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Arcticice. Photoby: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Flickr.
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Arctic Rivers By: Haley Chasin, UHM MOP Student Did you know that you can?t actually drink melted sea ice?It is far too salty for people to consume and has added concentrations of salt in droplets called brine. The salt itself can be found trapped between ice crystals and eventually disappears as the ice ages. Sea ice is found in polar regions and covers about 25 million square kilometers- about two and a half times the size of Canada. Unlike icebergs, glaciers, and ice shelves, which all originate on land, sea ice forms and grows in the ocean. Arctic ice is a huge part of the polar climate system and plays an essential role in climate regulation. This is done by reflecting solar radiation and providing a buffer between the atmosphere and the ocean. Many significant changes in the arctic climate are the result of changes in sea ice cover. The melting of the sea ice often creates rivers. The heat from these rivers is the cause of 10%of total sea ice loss annually. Older ice has declined by 88%, with ice that is 9 years old essentially dissipated completely. This has caused significant changes in the thickness of sea ice. Once the warm river water falls into the ice-covered Arctic Ocean, it spreads below the ice and thereby heats the ocean. The most pronounced instances of these are the Siberian Arctic rivers that dump into shallower shelf regions. Monthly sea ice for September 2007 was 23%smaller than previously documented, now with a growth rate of -10.7%per decade. The decreased cover of sea ice, along with other consequences of climate change, has altered the delicate equilibrium of the ecosystem which ensures proper function of the food web in the northern Bering Sea. This change in food web production has led to displacement of fishes, seals, polar bears, seabirds, and other Arctic-dwelling animals who rely on the ice for breeding or pupping and for food, as well as affecting harvest and commercial fisheries. These changes are happening rapidly and causing very real harm to the environment. It?s scary to think about, but we are seeing the consequences of climate change right now and urgent action must be taken.To learn more about this problem and donate, go to: https:/ / oceanconservancy.org/ protecting-the-arctic/ .
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Hawaiian
By: Symantha Robblee
The freshwater supply of the Hawaiian islands has been a topic of many studies, due to the ever-increasing demand for agricultural, industrial, and home use. Much of this water is sourced by pumping water from aquifers- layers of permeable rock which contain groundwater. The issue is that the demand for freshwater is often higher than the aquifer can supply. As a result, more must be collected, but if too much groundwater is taken, many ecosystems that rely on it would no longer receive the water they need. It is a delicate balance to collect enough to support human needs while also ensuring that enough water remains to support dependent ecosystems.
Aquifer diagram. By: fiveless, Wikimedia Commons.
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n Aquifers
e, UHM MOP Student
However, recent studies involving isotopes of water have found that the water contained in the aquifers is leaking out. Eric Attias, a postdoctoral researcher at the university of Hawaii, is looking into the issue focusing on Big Island. Attias believes that groundwater is leaking both below the surface and offshore. In order to find where the water is going, Attias uses electromagnetic imaging to find any sign of where the freshwater could be leaking out. This works because ocean water is highly conductive compared to freshwater, due to the salts ionized in the seawater. Imaging shows that there are underground rivers of freshwater that appear to be flowing between fractured pieces of volcanic rock. Attias predicts that there is enough water down there to fill 1.4 million Olympic swimming pools. In order to access this vast amount of freshwater, Attias suggests that a method similar to those used to drill oil be employed. If the discovery of freshwater running through the lava tubes provides a more stable source of fresh water for the islands, then there would be no more worry of running the aquifers dry. This would be beneficial because there would be no known risk to any Hawaiian ecosystems. W hile other researchers are more cautious about what this might mean and how it could affect the islands, Dr. Attias suggests that this offshore reservoir might be applicable to other islands struggling with water supply, and is hopeful about the results of investigating this further.
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R. rectangulus. Photoby: TravisWiens, Flickr.
CREATURE OF THE MONTH: REEF TRIGGERFISH By: Michael a Johnson, UHM MOP Student 10 | Seawords
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Rhinecanthusrectangulus, more commonly known as the reef triggerfish, has been the Hawaiian state fish since 1984. This fish is easily recognizable by its distinct patterns and unique body shape. The shape of its head earned the triggerfish its Hawaiian name, humuhumunukunuku?pua?a, meaning ?triggerfish with a snout like a pig.? In Hawaiian mythology, this fish was one of the forms that the demigod Kamapua?a could take. After a tempestuous relationship with the goddess of fire, Pele, the two fought, and Kamapua?a turned into the reef triggerfish to seek safety in the reef. The reef triggerfish inhabits the shallow reefs of the Hawaiian Islands, where they browse the sea floor for food. Their sharp teeth and powerful jaws enable them to feed on a wide variety of ocean critters. An ideal meal includes algae, sea urchins, snails, brittlestars, worms, or crustaceans. W hen threatened, triggerfish have been observed responding with pig-like grunting sounds, potentially warning other triggerfish of danger. They also utilize their characteristic dorsal spine to lock themselves into small crevices, a behavior known as wedging. Wedging is used both as a defense tactic for predators and as a mechanism for resting in the shelter of the reef at night.
Reef triggerfish. Photoby: zsispeo, Wikimedia Commons.
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Reef triggerfishfromabove. Photoby: PhillipeBourjon, Wikimedia Commons.
Reef Triggerfish Diet: Algae, sea urchins, snails, brittlestars, worms, crustaeans Size: Up to 10 inches long Range: Tropical and subtropical waters Habitat: Typically found in shallow reef environments IUCN Red List: Not listed
Another defining quality of the humuhumunukunuku?pua?a is their adept swimming ability. Their dorsal fin and anal fins work together to maneuver them through reef habitats, allowing them to quickly change direction in the presence of danger. This swimming technique, in combination with their wedging behavior, gives them an advantage in predator evasion as well as in searching for food. It also makes them a difficult fish to approach closely. Although the reef triggerfish is not a preferred dish today, that was not always the case. Early Native Hawaiians used these versatile fish for a multitude of purposes, including meals, religious ceremonies, and even as cooking fuel when supplies ran low. W hile no longer a desirable food item, humuhumunukunuku?pua?a are a highly valued presence on the reef for their beauty. HOLIDAYS 2020
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LOST IN THE SEAW EEDS By: Al exandr ya Robinson, UHM MOP Student 14 | Seawords
Sargassumwashed up on shore. Photoby: Ria Tan, Flickr.
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Climate change has caused a multitude of ripple effects all across the globe. One large area that has been impacted is from West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico, where the great Atlantic Sargassum belt is located. This is a five thousand mile stretch made up of a concentrated area of Sargassum- a floating species of brown seaweed that clumps together in mass formations. Yearly Sargassum blooms have increased in size since 2011, reaching peaks during the months of June and July. It is hypothesized that this increase is due to the change in ocean currents and wind patterns that are a result of climate change, but this has yet to be concretely determined by scientists. The development of the Amazon for farmland has also aggravated the Sargassum blooms by allowing for more nutrient runoff into the ocean. This acts as a concentrated nutrient source for the seaweed. Although Sargassum in the ocean does provide the benefit of acting as a natural breeding ground for turtles, large excesses of the plant material become detrimental to that breeding area while also trapping larger marine animals and fish. Sargassum blooms also have the ability to suffocate valuable reefs, which are natural oceanic biodiversity hotspots. Problems don?t stop there; once the seaweed washes up onto shore, excess Sargassum makes it impossible for sea turtles to nest effectively. The negative effects extend outside just the biological realm as well. Floating Sargassum. Photoby: Ria Tan, Flickr.
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Sargassum on thebeach. Photoby: rjsinenomine, Flickr.
On the beach, the Sargassum decomposes and releases mass amounts of noxious hydrogen sulfide gas, effectively stinking up beaches and killing tourism for the area. The adverse effects to places where the economy is heavily reliant on tourism have caused more than just unsightly problems due to the decomposing plant matter. Across the board, having the Sargassum population grow at a greater rate than ever before is causing ecological and economic problems. In response to the need to adapt to the effects of climate change on coastal communities, researchers from Exeter and Bath have developed a solution to remediate the problem. The process, hydrothermal liquefaction, involves splitting up the biomass into more manageable portions using heat and pressure. Although energy intensive due to the necessary conditions required to make hydrothermal liquefaction work, there are positive results from this development. From Sargassum blooms that have previously wrought havoc on the beaches, new source materials can be created. Biofuel, metals from the Sargassum, carbon dioxide, fertilizer, and charcoal are all useful byproducts of hydrothermal liquefaction. More energy conservation efforts such as papermaking, livestock feed, and building material from Sargassum have also helped to cope with the bloom sizes. Although this is not the full solution to dealing with massive Sargassum blooms, innovations continue to form in response. HOLIDAYS 2020
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Microplankton. Photoby: ChrisMoody, Flickr.
New Deep Sea Floats To Study Microscopic Organisms By: Amiti Maloy, UHM MOP Student Climate change is warming the world?s oceans. This is an accepted reality by many scientists, who cannot deny the surface water temperature increases nor the clearly visible effects of these thermal changes presented by coral bleaching. W hile these visible impacts are of grave importance, they are not the only ocean life being hit. Millions of microscopic organisms, phytoplankton, can be found within a single ocean droplet. These mighty mini-machines play major roles in our planet's health and are essential in the fight against climate change. Phytoplankton is responsible for capturing approximately twenty-five percent of our exhaled carbon dioxide (CO2) and exchanging it for over half of the oxygen that we breathe. W hile this process is familiar and generalizations like the approximations above, based on information collected by 4000 temperature tracking floats over the last decade and a half, have previously been sufficient, new and more comprehensive data are needed to study how microscopic communities are being affected by climate change. A collaborative effort between researchers and scientists from W oods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Princeton University, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, and Scripps Oceanography resulted in a project to aid in this endeavor. The proposal to design and utilize new, more technologically advanced floats was one of three mid-scale infrastructure projects selected by the National Science Foundation (NSF). NSF has allocated $53 million dollars to this cause, which will allow researchers to add 500 drifting floats across the ocean. The new floats are targeted to be completed and ready for sea by the end of 2021. 18 | Seawords
This new fleet is significantly more capable than their predecessors. The sleek Argo floats are equipped with biogeochemical (BGC) sensors on their outer skin. The installation will be relatively simple; each 1-meter tall float will be launched from a ship with the expectation of suspension in the ocean currents approximately 1000 meters below the surface. Once in place, it will float within that water gradient for around ten days before fluctuating its density via an oil-filled bladder, which allows the float to plunge down another 1000 meters before commencing its gradual ascent to the surface. Once the float reaches the surface it will ?phone home?its data before the program repeats. Scientists acknowledge that these floats are not as skilled at obtaining the same level of detail as research vessels, which are able to carry more equipment. At the same time, these robotic floats produce much more longitudinally significant information, as they are constantly in the water collecting data from the area. These floats promise to provide important information about how climate change is currently affecting the microscopic organisms that make up the base of marine ecosystems and provide innumerable benefits to the world.
Plankton bloom. Photoby: NASA GoddardSpaceFlight Center, Flickr.
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Corals. Photoby: Doug Finney, Flickr.
Diver sity of Haw aiian Cor al s By: Geor gia Johnson-King, UHM MOP Student 20 | Seawords
Researchers at the University of Hawai ?i have conducted a study to discover why corals in Hawai ?i are so diverse. The study, published Oct. 12 2020 and led by the Hawai ?i Institute of Marine Biology, aimed to study the biodiversity hypothesized to be lost due to climate change in the future. ?Corals have incredible variation with such a wide range of shapes, sizes and colors that it?s really hard for even the best-trained experts to be able to sort out different species,?said Zac Forsman, an HIMB assistant researcher and lead author of the study. ?On top of that, some corals lose their algal symbionts, turning stark white or ?bleached?and die during marine heatwaves, while a similar-looking coral right next to it seems fine. We wanted to try to understand better what might be driving some of this incredible variation that you see on a typical coral reef,?he continued. By analyzing relationships between corals, researchers were able to determine which genes in individual corals are commonly associated with bleaching, as well as study factors which lead to variation on reefs. W hile they found surprisingly few genes which were connected to coral bleaching, many more were associated with the distance of coral communities from shore and their associated morphologies. ?We sought out to better understand coral bleaching and place it in the context of other sources of variation in a coral species complex,?said Forsman. ?Unexpectedly, we found evidence that these corals have adapted and diverged very recently over depth and distance from shore. The algal symbionts and microbes were also in the process of diverging, implying that coevolution is involved. It?s like we caught them in the act of adaptation and speciation.? The study is available in the October edition of the Nature Scientific Journal. Closeup of brain coral. Photoby: Kat2Kat2, Flickr. HOLIDAYS 2020
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Vol u m e XXXV, Nu m ber 6 Editor : Zada Boyce-Qu en tin Dr. Cyn th ia H u n ter (em in en ce gr ise) Jeffr ey Ku wabar a (em in en ce gr ise) Seawor ds- M ar in e Option Pr ogr am Un iver sity of H awai ?i , Col l ege of Natu r al Scien ces 2450 Cam pu s Road, Dean H al l 105A H on ol u l u , H I 96822-2219 Tel eph on e: (808) 956-8433 Em ail : <seawor ds@ h awaii.edu > W ebsite: <h ttp:/ / www.h awaii.edu / m op> Seawor ds is th e m on th l y n ewsl etter n ewsl etter of th e M ar in e Option Pr ogr am at th e Un iver sity of H awai?i. Opin ion s expr essed h er ein ar e n ot n ecessar il y th ose of th e M ar in e Option Pr ogr am or of th e Un iver sity of H awai?i. Su ggestion s an d su bm ission s ar e wel com e. Su bm ission s m ay in cl u de ar ticl es, ph otogr aph y,ar t wor k , or an yth in g th at m ay be of in ter est to th e m ar in e com m u n ity in H awai ?i. an d ar ou n d th e wor l d. All photos ar e taken by M OP unless other wise cr edited.