Matthias Egger

The Ocean Cleanup

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and its biological conversion in marine sediments, largely controlled by anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM), is a crucial part of the global carbon cycle. However, little is known about the role of iron oxides as an oxidant for AOM. Here we provide the first field evidence for iron-dependent AOM in brackish co...

Anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) is an important process of methane (CH4) removal in sediments. Various studies suggest that AOM coupled to iron oxide (Fe(OH)3) reduction (Fe-AOM) may complement sulfate-driven AOM in CH4-rich sediments. Here, we apply a transient reaction-transport model to depth profiles of key porewater and sediment constitue...

Studies of authigenic phosphorus (P) minerals in marine sediments typically focus on authigenic carbonate fluorapatite, which is considered to be the major sink for P in marine sediments and can easily be semi-quantitatively extracted with the SEDEX sequential extraction method. The role of other potentially important authigenic P phases, such as t...

The surface sediments in the Black Sea are underlain by extensive deposits of iron (Fe) oxide-rich lake sediments that were deposited prior to the inflow of marine Mediterranean Sea waters ca. 9000 years ago. The subsequent downward diffusion of marine sulfate into the methane-bearing lake sediments has led to a multitude of diagenetic reactions in...

The North Pacific garbage patch has accumulated floating plastic pollution for several decades. The Ocean Cleanup, a not-for-profit organization that works to retrieve this floating plastic, has conducted systematic surveys in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre since 2015. The dataset, now spanning seven years, includes the deployment of trawls of...

The Global Plastics Treaty presents an opportunity to “end plastic pollution”. Legacy plastics will continue to fragment to secondary microplastics for decades, without additional mitigation measures. We identify this flux as a “fragmentation gap”, currently overlooked in global policy targets.

Marine plastic pollution is increasing. The Indian Ocean is understudied compared to the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. This study investigates plastic pollution in the Southwest Indian Ocean using a multi-faceted approach that includes both floating (visual survey and manta trawls) and beach-collected plastics, assessing their concentration, composi...

The North Pacific Garbage Patch, located in the eastern part of the North Pacific subtropical gyre, contains vast amounts of floating plastic debris. Research over the past decades has mainly focused on assessing the extent of plastic pollution in this oceanic region. However, the North Pacific subtropical gyre is also home to the surface-associate...

Scientific research over the past decade has demonstrated that plastic in our oceans has detrimental consequences for marine life at all trophic levels. As countries negotiate an international legally binding instrument on plastic pollution , the focus is on eliminating plastic emissions to the environment. Here, we argue that, while this endeavour...

Plastics pollution research attracts scientists from diverse disciplines. Many Early Career Researchers (ECRs) are drawn to this field to investigate and subsequently mitigate the negative impacts of plastics. Solving the multi-faceted plastic problem will always require breakthroughs across all levels of science disciplinarity, which supports inte...

We show that the high seas are colonized by a diverse array of coastal species, which survive and reproduce in the open ocean, contributing strongly to its floating community composition. Analysis of rafting plastic debris in the eastern North Pacific Subtropical Gyre revealed 37 coastal invertebrate taxa, largely of Western Pacific origin, exceedi...

Due to its ever-increasing ocean inputs, fossil-based microplastics (MP) comprise a considerable constituent in the particulate organic carbon (POC) pool, which is instrumental in ocean biogeochemical cycling. Their distribution within the oceanic water column and the underpinning processes, however, remain unclear. Here we show that MP prevail thr...

Ocean plastic pollution is a problem of increasing magnitude; yet, the amount of plastic at the sea surface is much lower than expected. Solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation can induce photodegradation, but its importance in determining the longevity of floating plastic remains unconstrained. Here, we measured photodegradation rates of different plasti...

The subtropical oceanic gyre in the North Pacific Ocean is currently covered with tens of thousands of tonnes of floating plastic debris, dispersed over millions of square kilometres. A large fraction is composed of fishing nets and ropes while the rest is mostly composed of hard plastic objects and fragments, sometimes carrying evidence on their o...

At present, the distribution of plastic debris in the ocean water column remains largely unknown. Such information, however, is required to assess the exposure of marine organisms to plastic pollution as well as to calculate the ocean plastic mass balance. Here, we provide water column profiles (0–300 m water depth) of plastic (0.05–5 cm in size) c...

The long-term fate of plastics in the ocean and their interactions with marine microorganisms remain poorly understood. In particular, the role of sinking plastic particles as a transport vector for surface microbes towards the deep sea has not been investigated. Here, we present the first data on the composition of microbial communities on floatin...

The seabed plays a key role in the marine carbon cycle as a) the terminal location of aerobic oxidation of organic matter, b) the greatest anaerobic bioreactor, and c) the greatest repository for reactive organic carbon on Earth. We compiled data on the oxygen uptake of marine sediments with the objective to understand the constraints on mineraliza...

Current mitigation strategies to offset marine plastic pollution, a global concern, typically rely on preventing floating debris from reaching coastal ecosystems. Specifically, clean-up technologies are designed to collect plastics by removing debris from the aquatic environment such as rivers and estuaries. However, to date, there is little publis...

Despite recent advances in remote sensing of large accumulations of floating plastic debris, mainly in coastal regions, the quantification of individual macroplastic objects (>50 cm) remains challenging. Here, we have trained an object-detection algorithm by selecting and labeling footage of floating plastic debris recorded offshore with GPS-enable...

Despite an increasing research conducted on ocean plastic pollution over the last decade, there are still large knowledge gaps in our current understanding of how floating plastic debris accumulating in subtropical oceanic gyres may harm the surface-associated pelagic community known as neuston. Removing floating plastic debris from the surface oce...

Plastic waste accumulating in the global ocean is an increasingly threatening environmental issue. To date, the floating and thus most visible fraction of ocean plastic pollution has been mapped at global scale. Yet, large knowledge gaps exist in our current understanding of the transport and transformation processes of positively buoyant plastic d...

Microbial cells buried in subseafloor sediments comprise a substantial portion of Earth’s biosphere and control global biogeochemical cycles; however, the rate at which they use energy (i.e., power) is virtually unknown. Here, we quantify organic matter degradation and calculate the power utilization of microbial cells throughout Earth’s Quaternary...

We collected water samples from the Scheldt estuary during December 2015 and November 2016 for methane (CH4) concentration and isotopic composition (δ13C and δD values) analyses, to investigate the origin of the excess dissolved CH4, which is a common feature in estuaries. The Scheldt estuary is a eutrophic, heterotrophic tidal estuary, located at...

The infamous garbage patches on the surface of subtropical oceanic gyres are proof that plastic is polluting the ocean on an unprecedented scale. The fate of floating plastic debris ‘trapped’ in these gyres, however, remains largely unknown. Here, we provide the first evidence for the vertical transfer of plastic debris from the North Pacific Garba...

Marine plastic debris floating on the ocean surface is a major environmental problem. However, its distribution in the ocean is poorly mapped, and most of the plastic waste estimated to have entered the ocean from land is unaccounted for. Better understanding of how plastic debris is transported from coastal and marine sources is crucial to quantif...

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

The Bothnian Sea is an oligotrophic brackish basin characterized by low salinity and high concentrations of reactive iron, methane, and ammonium in its sediments, enabling the activity and interactions of many microbial guilds. Here, we studied the microbial network in these sediments by analyzing geochemical and microbial community depth profiles...

Predicted global figures for plastic debris accumulation in the ocean surface layer range on the order of hundreds of thousands of metric tons, representing only a few percent of estimated annual emissions into the marine environment. The current accepted explanation for this difference is that positively buoyant macroplastic objects do not persist...

Volatile fatty acids (VFA) are key intermediates in the degradation pathway of organic matter (OM) in marine sediments. They are products of fermentation and are utilized as substrates in the terminal steps of microbial OM mineralization, such as sulfate reduction and methanogenesis. We studied the distribution of formate, acetate, propionate and b...

Sulfate and methane diffuse vertically along opposed concentration gradients into the sulfate-methane transition in subsurface marine sediments where anaerobic oxidation of methane with sulfate takes place. The stoichiometry of this process is 1:1, yet the calculated sulfate flux often exceeds the calculated methane flux. Our aim was to determine w...

The Bothnian Sea is an oligotrophic brackish basin characterized by low salinity and high concentrations of reactive iron, methane and ammonium in the sediments potentially enabling an intricate microbial network. Therefore, we analyzed and compared biogeochemical and microbial profiles at one offshore and two near coastal sites in the Bothnian Sea...

The Baltic Sea is characterized by the largest area of hypoxic (oxygen (O2) < 2 mg L−1) bottom waters in the world’s ocean induced by human activities. Natural ventilation of these O2-depleted waters largely depends on episodic Major Baltic Inflows from the adjacent North Sea. In 2014 and 2015, two such inflows led to a strong rise in O2 and declin...

Estuarine sediments are key sites for removal of phosphorus (P) from rivers and the open sea. Vivianite, an Fe(II)-P mineral, can act as a major sink for P in Fe-rich coastal sediments. In this study, we investigate the burial of P in the Öre Estuary in the northern Baltic Sea. We find much higher rates of P burial at our five study sites (up to ∼0...

Phosphorus is often invoked as the ultimate limiting nutrient, modulating primary productivity on geological timescales. Consequently, along with nitrogen, phosphorus bioavailability exerts a fundamental control on organic carbon production, linking all the biogeochemical cycles across the Earth system. Unlike nitrogen that can be microbially fixed...

Land-based macroplastic is considered one of the major sources of marine plastic debris. However, estimations of plastic emission from rivers into the oceans remain scarce and uncertain, mainly due to a severe lack of standardized observations. To properly assess global plastic fluxes, detailed information on spatiotemporal variation in river plast...

Estuarine sediments are key sites for removal of phosphorus (P) from rivers and the open sea. Vivianite, an iron (Fe)(II)-P mineral, can act as a major sink for P in Fe-rich coastal sediments. In this study, we investigate the burial of P in the Öre Estuary in the northern Baltic Sea. We find much higher rates of P burial at our five study sites (u...

Phosphorus is often invoked as the ultimate limiting nutrient, modulating primary productivity on geological timescales. Consequently, along with nitrogen, phosphorus bioavailability exerts a fundamental control on organic carbon production, linking all the biogeochemical cycles across the Earth system. Unlike nitrogen that can be microbially fixed...

The anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) is a crucial component of the methane cycle, but its enzymatic versatility under environmental conditions is still poorly understood. We use sediment samples collected during IODP Expedition 347 to the Baltic Sea to show that relative abundances of ¹² CH 2 D 2 and ¹³ CH 3 D molecules in methane gas trace the...

Anaerobic oxidation of methane provides a globally important, yet poorly constrained barrier for the vast amounts of methane produced in the subseafloor. Here we provide a global map and budget of the methane flux and degradation in diffusion-con-trolled marine sediments in relation to the depth of the methane oxidation barrier. Our new budget sugg...

Methane (CH4) is produced in many natural systems that are vulnerable to change under a warming climate, yet current CH4 budgets, as well as future shifts in CH4 emissions, have high uncertainties. Climate change has the potential to increase CH4 emissions from critical systems such as wetlands, marine and freshwater systems, permafrost, and methan...

Phosphorus (P) concentrations in sediments are frequently used to reconstruct past environmental conditions in freshwater and marine systems, with high values thought to be indicative of a high biological productivity. Recent studies suggest that the post-depositional formation of vivianite, an iron(II)-phosphate mineral, might significantly alter...

The microbial community inhabiting the shallow sulfate-methane transition zone in coastal sediments from marine Lake Grevelingen (The Netherlands) was characterized, and the ability of the microorganisms to carry out anaerobic oxidation of methane coupled to sulfate reduction was assessed in activity tests. In vitro activity tests of the sediment w...

Phosphorus (P) concentrations in sediments are frequently used to reconstruct past environmental conditions in freshwater and marine systems, with high values thought to be indicative of a high biological productivity. Recent studies suggest that the post-depositional formation of vivianite, an iron(II)-phosphate mineral, might significantly alter...

The Arctic Ocean, especially the East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS), has been proposed as a significant source of methane that might play an increasingly important role in the future. However, the underlying processes of formation, removal and transport associated with such emissions are to date strongly debated. CH4 concentration and triple isotope...

[Presenter: Joshua F Dean] Atmospheric methane (CH4) concentrations are increasing again following a brief plateau between 1999 and 2006. CH4 is produced in many natural systems that are vulnerable to change under a warming climate, yet current CH4 budgets are not well constrained, let alone potential future shifts in CH4 emissions. Climate change...

Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and its emission from marine sediments to the atmosphere is largely controlled by anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM). Traditionally, sulfate is considered to be the most important electron acceptor for AOM in marine sediments. Recent evidence suggests, however, that AOM may also be coupled to the reduction of...

The surface sediments in the Black Sea are underlain by extensive deposits of iron (Fe)-oxide-rich lake sediments that were deposited prior to the inflow of marine Mediterranean Sea waters ca. 9000 years ago. The subsequent downward diffusion of marine sulfate into the methane-bearing lake sediments has led to a multitude of diagenetic reactions in...

Methane (CH4) represents one of the key compounds in the global carbon (C) cycle. A major part of the CH4 in the Earth system is produced in marine sediments by methanogenesis, the final step in the gradual fermentation of organic matter deposited on the seafloor. Once emitted to the atmosphere, CH4 acts as a powerful greenhouse gas. Despite high r...

Methane (CH4) is a strong greenhouse gas emitted by human activity and natural processes that are highly sensitive to climate change. The Arctic Ocean, especially the East Siberian Arctic Shelf (ESAS) overlays large areas of subsea permafrost that is degrading. The release of large amount of CH4 originally stored or formed there could create a stro...

Globally, the methane (CH 4) efflux from the ocean to the atmosphere is small, despite high rates of CH 4 production in continental shelf and slope environments. This low efflux results from the biological removal of CH 4 through anaerobic oxidation with sulfate in marine sediments. In some settings, however, pore water CH 4 is found throughout the...

Additional solid phase data, overview of sampling campaigns and model parameterization. (PDF)

The surface sediments in the Black Sea are underlain by extensive deposits of iron (Fe) oxide-rich lake sediments that were deposited prior to the inflow of marine Mediterranean Sea waters ca. 9000 years ago. The subsequent downward diffusion of marine sulfate into the methane-bearing lake sediments has led to a multitude of diagenetic reactions in...

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Studies of authigenic phosphorus (P) minerals in marine sediments typically focus on authigenic carbonate fluorapatite, which is considered to be the major sink for P in marine sediments and can easily be semi-quantitatively extracted with the SEDEX sequential extraction method. The role of other potentially important authigenic P phases, such as t...