Anna Belcher

• PhD Marine Biogeochemistry
• Catchment Biogeochemist at UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

The Controls Over Mesopelagic Interior Carbon Storage (COMICS) cruise DY086 took place aboard the RRS Discovery in the South Atlantic during November and December, 2017. Physical, chemical, biogeochemical and biological data were collected during three visits to ocean observatory station P3, off the coast of South Georgia, during an austral spring...

The carbon sequestration potential of open-ocean pelagic ecosystems is vastly under-reported compared to coastal vegetation ‘blue carbon’ systems. Here we show that just a single pelagic harvested species, Antarctic krill, sequesters a similar amount of carbon through its sinking faecal pellets as marshes, mangroves and seagrass. Due to their massi...

Understanding and managing the response of marine ecosystems to human pressures including climate change requires reliable large-scale and multi-decadal information on the state of key populations. These populations include the pelagic animals that support ecosystem services including carbon export and fisheries. The use of research vessels to coll...

Marine life contribute to carbon stores helping lock carbon away from the atmosphere. Open-ocean pelagic ecosystems are vastly under-reported in terms of carbon sequestration conservation potential, compared to coastal vegetation blue carbon systems. Here we show that a harvested organism, Antarctic krill, has similar carbon sequestration potential...

This work investigates the spatial variability of soil CO2 fluxes in relation to topography. The hypothesis is that topographic variations impact soil temperature and moisture and, thus, the soil CO2 fluxes. The soil CO2 emissions were measured along a slope in a mixed broadleaf plantation at East Grange, United Kingdom. The altitude ranged from 28...

The biological carbon pump is responsible for much of the decadal variability in the ocean carbon dioxide (CO2) sink, driving the transfer of carbon from the atmosphere to the deep ocean. A mechanistic understanding of the ecological drivers of particulate organic carbon (POC) flux is key both to the assessment of the magnitude of the ocean CO2 sin...

Zooplankton form an integral component of epi- and mesopelagic ecosystems, and there is a need to better understand their role in ocean biogeochemistry. The export and remineralisation of particulate organic matter at depth plays an important role in controlling atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Pelagic mesozooplankton and micronekton communities may...

The biological carbon pump is responsible for much of the decadal variability in the ocean carbon dioxide (CO2) sink, driving the transfer of carbon from the atmosphere to the deep ocean. A mechanistic understanding of the ecological drivers of particulate organic carbon (POC) flux is key to both the assessment of the magnitude of the ocean CO2 sin...

The boreal copepod Calanus finmarchicus sequesters substantial amounts of carbon (C) in the deep layers of the North Atlantic Ocean through their contribution to the “lipid pump.” This pump is driven by these zooplankton descending from the surface layers to spend prolonged periods at depth during which time they metabolise substantial lipid reserv...

The changing Arctic environment is affecting zooplankton that support its abundant wildlife. We examined how these changes are influencing a key zooplankton species, Calanus finmarchicus, principally found in the North Atlantic but expatriated to the Arctic. Close to the ice-edge in the Fram Strait, we identified areas that, since the 1980s, are in...

Antarctic krill are the dominant metazoan in the Southern Ocean in terms of biomass; however, their wide and patchy distribution means that estimates of their biomass are still uncertain. Most currently employed methods do not sample the upper surface layers, yet historical records indicate that large surface swarms can change the water colour. Oce...

Myctophids (family Myctophidae, commonly known as the lanternfishes) are critical components of open ocean food webs and an important part of the ocean biological carbon pump, as many species actively transport carbon to the deep ocean through their diel vertical migrations. Estimating the magnitude of myctophids’ contribution to the biological car...

Ocean life helps keep atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide lower by taking carbon out of the atmosphere and transporting it to the deep ocean, through sinking particles. Antarctic krill live in the Southern Ocean and gather in huge swarms. Importantly, they produce large, fast-sinking poo (called fecal strings), meaning that we get a rain of poo be...

Acquiring not only field-specific knowledge but also a set of transferable professional skills becomes increasingly important for Early Career Scientists (ECS) in Geo-sciences and other academic disciplines. Although the need for training in transferable skills adds to the work-load of an individual Early Career Scientist, it is often neglected wit...

Mesopelagic fish are an important component of marine ecosystems and their contribution to marine biogeochemical cycles is becoming increasingly recognised. However, major uncertainties remain in the rates at which they remineralise organic matter. We collected samples of mesopelagic fish from two oceanographically contrasting regions; the Scotia S...

Copepods are amongst the most abundant animals on our planet. Who knew?! These small (typically 1–10 mm) crustaceans are found in all of the world’s oceans and play an important role in regulating Earth’s climate. Like wildebeest in the Serengeti graze on grasslands and are food for lions, herbivorous copepods represent a vital link in oceanic food...

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) are swarming, oceanic crustaceans, up to two inches long, and best known as prey for whales and penguins – but they have another important role. With their large size, high biomass and daily vertical migrations they transport and transform essential nutrients, stimulate primary productivity and influence the carb...

The biological carbon pump drives a flux of particulate organic carbon (POC) through the ocean and affects atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide. Short term, episodic flux events are hard to capture with current observational techniques and may thus be underrepresented in POC flux estimates. We model the potential hidden flux of POC originating from...

Mesopelagic fish have recently been highlighted as an important, but poorly studied component of marine ecosystems, particularly regarding their role in the marine pelagic food webs and biogeochemical cycles. Myctophids (Family Myctophidae) are one of the most biomass-dominant groups of mesopelagic fishes, and their large vertical migrations provid...

The abundance and flux of acantharian cysts were recorded for a period of 12 months from December 2012 to 2013 in a sediment trap deployed at 1500 m in the north-eastern Scotia Sea, Southern Ocean. Acantharia (radiolarian protists) are found globally, have very dense celestite skeletons, and form cysts which can sink rapidly through the water colum...

The UK Polar Network is a national committee of the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) with 600 members across the UK, ranging from undergraduates to postdocs. Our primary goals are (1) organizing and participating in career development programmes, (2) conducting education and outreach activities to inspire and enthuse young minds...

https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/polar-science-communication-north-south/41143/

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) play a central role in the food web of the Southern Ocean, forming a link between primary production and large predators. Krill produce large, faecal pellets (FP) which can form a large component of mesopelagic particulate organic carbon (POC) fluxes. However, the patchy distribution of krill swarms, highly varia...

The remineralization depth of particulate organic carbon (POC) fluxes exported from the surface ocean exert a major control over atmospheric CO₂ levels. According to a long held paradigm most of the POC exported to depth is associated with large particles. However, recent lines of evidence suggest that slow sinking POC (SSPOC) may be an important c...

The faecal pellets (FPs) of zooplankton can be important vehicles for the transfer of particulate organic carbon (POC) to the deep ocean, often making large contributions to carbon sequestration. However, the routes by which these FPs reach the deep ocean have yet to be fully resolved. We address this by comparing estimates of copepod FP production...

The efficiency of the ocean's biological carbon pump (BCPeff – here the product of particle export and transfer efficiencies) plays a key role in the air–sea partitioning of CO2. Despite its importance in the global carbon cycle, the biological processes that control BCPeff are poorly known. We investigate the potential role that zooplankton play i...

The efficiency of the ocean’s biological carbon pump (BCPeff – here the product of particle export and transfer efficiencies) plays a key role in the air–sea partitioning of CO2. Despite its importance in the global carbon cycle, the biological processes that control BCPeff are poorly known. We investigate the potential role that zooplankton play i...

The faecal pellets (FP) of zooplankton can be important vehicles for the transfer of particulate organic carbon (POC) to the deep ocean, often making large contributions to carbon sequestration. However, the routes by which these FP reach the deep ocean have yet to be fully resolved. We address this by comparing estimates of FP production to measur...

The biological carbon pump plays a key role in regulating the ocean-atmosphere balance of CO2, without it atmospheric CO2 would likely be 200ppm higher than it is today. The most rapid attenuation of downward particulate organic carbon (POC) flux typically occurs in the upper few hundred meters of the water column, yet the practical difficulties of...

Atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide are tightly linked to the depth at which sinking particulate organic carbon (POC) is remineralised in the ocean. Rapid attenuation of downward POC flux typically occurs in the upper mesopelagic (top few hundred metres of the water column), with much slower loss rates deeper in the ocean. Currently, we lack under...

The efficiency of the ocean’s biological carbon pump (BCPeff – here the product of particle export and transfer efficiencies) plays a key role in the air-sea partitioning of CO2. Despite its importance in the global carbon cycle, the biological processes that control BCPeff are poorly known. We investigate the potential role that zooplankton play i...

The depth at which sinking particulate organic carbon (POC) is remineralized in the ocean is tightly linked to atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide. Rapid attenuation of downward POC flux typically occurs in the upper mesopelagic (top few hundred meters of the water column), with much slower loss rates deeper in the ocean. Currently we lack underst...

Fecal pellets (FP) are a key component of the biological carbon pump, as they can, under some circumstances, efficiently transfer carbon to depth. Like other forms of particulate organic carbon (POC), they can be remineralized in the ocean interior (particularly in the upper 200 m), or alternatively they can be preserved in the sediments. The contr...

Senior thesis written for Oceanography 444 Rumble III is a shallow volcano in the Kermadec Arc. Its plume is influenced by surface tidal currents. Using connectivity-temperature-depth-optical (CTD-O) measurements, this study demonstrates that the plume is distributed in the water column in concert with the tidal cycle. The venting source is another...