Natural iron fertilization by shallow hydrothermal sources fuels diazotroph blooms in the ocean.

Iron is an essential nutrient that regulates productivity in ~30% of the ocean. Compared with deep (>2000 meter) hydrothermal activity at mid-ocean ridges that provide iron to the ocean's interior, shallow (<500 meter) hydrothermal fluids are likely to influence the surface's ecosystem. However, their effect is unknown.

Freshwater lake to salt-water sea causing widespread hydrate dissociation in the Black Sea.

Gas hydrates, a solid established by water and gas molecules, are widespread along the continental margins of the world. Their dynamics have mainly been regarded through the lens of temperature-pressure conditions. A fluctuation in one of these parameters may cause destabilization of gas hydrate-bearing sediments below the seafloor with implications in ocean acidification and eventually in global warming.

Sensing dissolved methane in aquatic environments: an experiment in the central baltic sea using surface plasmon resonance.

A new sensor for in situ, real time methane (CH4) measurements in aqueous environments is based on the refractive index (RI) modulation of a sensitive film composed of a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) layer incorporating molecules of cryptophane-A. The RI varies according to the amount of CH4 bound to the cryptophane-A in the film and is determined using surface plasmon resonance (SPR). Tests of the sensor in the summer of 2012 reveal the expansive range of conditions of the Central Baltic Sea with CH4 concentrations varying from 5 nM up to a few hundred nanomolar.

A novel, low-cost, high performance dissolved methane sensor for aqueous environments.

A new method for in-situ detection and measurement of dissolved methane in aqueous media/environments with a limit of detection of 0.2 nM (3 sigma, and t90 approxiamtely 110s) and range (1-300 nM) is presented. The detection method is based on refractive index (RI) modulation of a modified PolyDiMethylSiloxane (PDMS) layer incorporating molecules of cryptophane-A [1] which have a selective and reversible affinity for methane [2].