November 2022 Seawords

SEAW ORDS TheMarineOption Program Newsletter

November 2022

Volume XXXVII, Number 9

Al oha and W el come to the November issue of Seawords!

In this month's issue explore some of the ocean's most expansive systems and processes! On page 4, read about how plastic pollution moves through the ocean and what one company is doing to clean it up!

On page 12, follow carbon's journey from emission through the ocean and finally it's sequestration in the deep sea.

Learn about how tiny ancient sea creatures have the potential to cause earthquakes on page 8 and about the massive phytoplankton blooms following the recent eruption on Tonga's Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha?apai volcano (page 20) Last but not least, our Seawordscreature of the month for November is none other than the exquisitely unique pom-pom crab!

W hat would you like to see more of in Seawords?Send in your thoughts, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @mopseawords!

Abbie Jeremiah, SeawordsEditor

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Contents 2: LETTER FROM THE EDITOR 4: CLEANING UP THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH 8: ANCIENT SEA ANIMALS CAUSE EARTHQUAKES 12: THE DESCENT OF CARBON 16: CREATURE OF THE MONTH: POM-POM CRAB 20: PHYTOPLANKTON AND TONGA'S HUNGA TONGA-HUNGA HA?APAI VOLCANO 24: MOP CALENDAR

Photo Credits Front Page: Boxer Crab Carrying Eggs. Photo by: Silke Baron, Flickr.

Table of Contents: Honu. Photo by: Sheraca, Flickr.

Back Cover: Puffer Pair. Photo by: Klaus Stiefel, Flickr.

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Plastic. Photo by: Daniel Nunez, Flickr.

Cl ea ning Up t he Gr ea t Pa c if ic Ga r ba ge Pa t c h By : Ha l ey Cha sin, UHM MOP Al umna 4 | Seawords

Marine debris accumulation locations in the North Pacific Ocean. Graphics by: NOAA, Wikimedia commons.

Approximately 24 to 35

degrade. The weight loss of plastic

million metric tons (Mt) of

is less than 1% a year; the most

plastics enter oceans, rivers, and

common plastic, polyethylene,

lakes annually, contributing to

could take up to a century to go

the estimated 5 trillion pieces of

away.

plastic currently in the ocean.

The most common types of

This amounts to a large-scale

plastics found in the ocean are

problem and something that

High-Density Polyethylenes (HDPE)

needs to be addressed. Solutions

these include fishing equipment,

include reducing waste,

ghost nets, bottle caps,

improving waste management,

toothbrushes, detergent bottles,

and cleaning up the ocean and

shampoo, conditioner, shower gel

other waterways. Plastics do

bottles, beverage bottles, crates,

their job in that they are hard to

pieces of buckets and toys.

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A smaller percentage of

ocean garbage patches; the largest

Low-Density Polyethylenes (LDPE)

one is the Great Pacific Garbage

and PP (Polypropylene) exist in

Patch (GPGP), located between

the ocean. The densities of these

Hawaii and California. The Ocean

plastics are lower than water

Cleanup crew devised a plan.

which makes them float more easily and stay in the ocean longer. Some plastics do not stay in the ocean but wash up onto shore or sink close to the coast.

These plastics include plastic bags, cigarette filters, PET bottles, styrofoam food and beverage containers, straws, and textiles.

Right now, 5-10% of the plastics in the ocean are microplastics, small particulate plastic less than 5 mm in diameter.

The plastics that go into the ocean accumulate in currents known as gyres. The plastics will continue to circulate until they

On October 20th they launched System 002, ?Jenny,? a system that will collect garbage in the ocean without causing harm to the ecosystem. It works by creating a circulating current in the garbage patch that moves plastic around, creating changing hotspots where the system cleanup occurs. The net is wide enough to collect plastic but also narrow enough to allow fish to escape. It maintains a current speed and catches the plastic in the retention zone by correcting its wingspan, speed, and direction.

Once the system is full, the

break down into smaller pieces

plastic goes onboard to be sorted

eventually becoming

and is later used to make

microplastics, making them

sunglasses. The system is

harder to clean up and easier for

designed to capture plastics of

animals to ingest. The

both small and large size, including

accumulation of plastics becomes

ghost nets. Since its deployment in

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Beach Trash. Photo by: Justin Dolske, Wikimedia Commons.

Haley Chasin

August 2021, the Ocean Cleanup crew has collected 101,353 kg of plastic over 45 extractions in an area of 3,000 km squared, the size of Rhode Island. Their goal is to start at rivers to make sure that more plastics do not enter the oceans while other clean-up projects are occurring in the open ocean.

Humans use multitasking daily to solve problems related to

eradicating disease, climate change, reducing poverty, and improving education so clearly, we should be able to do the same thing with plastic. To help this company and their mission you can volunteer and do your part to refuse, reuse, reduce and recycle plastics. Additionally, beach cleanups and cleaning up around your local community can be beneficial for both the environment and the community.

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Morning Walk at Plimmerton. Photo by: Stuart Baird, Flickr.

A n ci en t Sea A n i m al s C a u s e E a r t h qu a k es B y : L uci a n A n d er s o n , U H M M O P A l u m n u s 8 | Seawords

M ost of th e h u m an p op u l ati on al on g th e Paci f i c Ri m h as ex p er i en ced ear th qu akes.

Ear th qu akes can be cau sed by tecton i c p l ates m ov i n g i n op p osi t e d i r ect i on s al on g a f au l t l i n e, su bd u ct i on zon e m ovem en t, or vol can i c act i v i ty.

Resear ch er s f r om Te H ar an ga W ak a- V i ctor i a U n i ver si t y of W el l i n gton , N ew Z eal an d h ave been ex am i n i n g th e H i k u r an gi Su bd u cti on Z on e, w h er e th e Paci f i c p l at e su bd u ct s (d i ves) u n d er th e Au str al i an p l ate. T h i s zon e r u n s al on g th e east coast of th e N or t h I sl an d i n N ew Z eal an d .

T h i s su bd u ct i on zon e can cr eate m egath r u st ear th qu akes at an 8 on th e Ri ch ter scal e. Gi ven th e m agn i tu d e of th ese ear th qu akes, i t i s i m p or t an t to stu d y th i s su bd u ct i on zon e. Yet d esp i t e th e si ze of th e ear th qu akes, i t h as n ot been stu d i ed th or ou gh ly an d i t can p ose ch al l en ges to ex am i n e.

Stu d y i n g th e H i k u r an gi su bd u ct i on zon e i s an i m p or tan t key to p r ed i ct i n g u p com i n g ear th qu akes.

Resear ch er s f r om Te H er en ga W ak a h ave f ou n d

Calcite crystals growing in a fossilized clamshell.

Photo by: Robert Lavinsky, Wikimedia Commons.

i n ter esti n g ev i d en ce th at cou l d be af f ecti n g th e m agn i tu d e of th ese ear th qu akes. O f f th e Rock y Bl u f f s al on g th e H u n gar oa Fau l t, n ot f ar f r om an d cr eated as a r esu l t of th e H i k u r an gi Su bd u cti on Z on e, D r . Car oly n Bou l tan an d h er team of r esear ch er s f ou n d l ar ge am ou n t s of cal ci te sam p l es. Cal ci te i s a com m on m i n er al th at com es f r om an ci en t si n gl e- cel l ed or gan i sm s su ch as p l an k ton , al gae, an d sp on ges. T h ese cal ci te sam p l es w er e l ef t by an ci en t m ar i n e or gan i sm s th at p er i sh ed m i l l i on s of y ear s ago.

So, w h at d o r em n an ts of an ci en t p l an k ton h ave to d o w i t h ear th qu akes i n N ew Z eal an d ?

Accor d i n g to D r . Car oly n NOVEMBER 2022

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al l ow i n g easy su bd u cti on . I f i t d oes n ot d i ssolve i t can bu i l d u p at th e f au l ts cau si n g p r essu r e to bu i l d th u s a l ar ge am ou n t of en er gy i s r el eased w h en an ear th qu ake occu r s.

Rainbow over Lake Wakatipu. Photo by: Kathrin & Stefan Marks, Flickr.

Bou l tan , ?cal ci t e d i ssolves f aster w h en i t?s h i gh ly str essed an d w h en tem p er atu r es ar e cool er .?

Sh e ad d s, ?i t d i ssolves m or e easi ly at l ow tem p er atu r es ? say, r oom tem p er atu r e. Bu t i t get s h ar d er to d i ssolve as tem p er atu r e goes u p ? say, d eep er i n th e Ear th . I n th e su bd u ct i on zon e, tem p er at u r e i n cr eases m or e sl ow ly th an on l an d ? by on ly ar ou n d 10 ºC (18 °F) p er k m . So th e f au l t i s r eal ly sen si t i ve to w h at cal ci t e, th ose sh el l s of ol d d ead m ar i n e or gan i sm s, i s d oi n g. T h e am ou n t an d beh av i or of cal ci t e f r om th ese or gan i sm s i s a bi g p i ece of th e p u zzl e of h ow l ar ge th e n ex t ear th qu ake m i gh t be.? T h i s m ean s th at w h en cal ci t e d i ssolves i t can act as a l u br i can t f or th e su bd u cti n g p l ate, 10 | Seawords

T h e r esear ch team i s st i l l f i n d i n g ou t w h at cal ci te's ef f ect s ar e on su bd u cti on zon es i f th ey can l ead to ex tr em e ear th qu akes.

T h e H i k u r an gi Su bd u cti on Z on e sti l l h as m an y secr ets th at n eed to be u n cover ed to ef f ecti vely p r ed i ct an d br ace N ew Z eal an d to coex i st w i th th ese l ar ge ear th qu akes. W i th ou t l ar ge scal e d r i l l i n g equ i p m en t, i t i s h ar d to gi ve a sol i d an sw er . D r . Bou l t on ad d ed ?W h at w e r eal ly w an t to k n ow i s: A r e th er e sl ow - sl i p even ts ou t th er e w e h aven ?t d etected ? A r e th e r ock s m ov i n g w i th ou t ear th qu akes, or ar e th ey tr u ly l ocked u p ? T h at w i l l h el p tel l u s w h at m i gh t h ap p en i n th e n ex t ear th qu ake.? T h i s cou l d l ead r esear ch er s at h i gh - r i sk ear th qu ake ar eas to al so ex am i n e i f l ar ge am ou n ts of cal ci te cou l d be f ou n d . M or e r esear ch i s n eed ed , bu t i t i s an i n ter est i n g tu r n of even ts f or sei sm ol ogy.

Surf. Photo by: Stuart Baird, Flickr.

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Rudderfish Below. Photo by: John Burns/ NOAA, Flickr.

TheDescent of Carbon By: AbbieJeremiah,SeawordsEditor 12 | Seawords

The carbon cycle. The ocean absorbs carbon through the food chain and the process of ocean mixing. Graphics by: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Wikimedia Commons.

More and more frequently we are observing and experiencing the effects of anthropogenic climate change.

One of the largest contributors to this crisis is the massive amounts of carbon dioxide emissions.

excess carbon in the atmosphere through biotic and abiotic mechanisms. From 1994-2007,34 billion metric tons of carbon was absorbed by the ocean globally. T his is four times the annual amount compared to the period 1800-1994.

T he ocean is an important buffer the earth has against CO2 emissions. Each year the oceans absorb up to one third of the

One way the ocean absorbs carbon is through the process of ocean mixing, which is largely driven by temperature. Colder NOVEMBER 2022

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water is heavier than warmer water and sinks, creating a vertical redistribution of properties including nutrients, salinity, and gas. A portion of atmospheric carbon is directly absorbed by the ocean?s surface and enters the ocean mixing pathway. T he carbon sinks with the cooler water and makes its way to the deep sea where it can remain sequestered for thousands of years.

Another way carbon is sequestered by the ocean is through the food chain. T he process known as diel vertical migration (DV M) happens when many twilight zone dwelling organisms head to the surface each night to feed.

Phytoplankton at the surface carry out photosynthesis, taking in carbon and releasing oxygen. Carbon enters the food chain when the phytoplankton are consumed.

After a night of feeding, 14 | Seawords

twilight zone residents head back down to deeper waters.

T heir waste and eventually their bodies will sink to the bottom of the ocean where they become a part of ocean sediment and the carbon within them is stored in a more permanent way. T he timescale of geologically stored carbon can last for thousands of years.

However, it is still not clear as to how much atmospheric CO2 makes it to deep sea ocean sediment and how much remains circulating in the ocean. Additionally, there is the possibility the ocean?s effectiveness at absorbing atmospheric CO2 is decreasing due to anthropogenic changes in greenhouse gas emissions and the resulting climate change.

One study compared climate model simulations to models that considered ocean-specific changes between the years 1960 and 2005.

Swirling Ocean. Photo by: Life is a Wonder, Flickr.

T he analysis of the models found that low latitude regions, where waters are warmer, have experienced a reduction in carbon uptake capabilities attributed to anthropogenic climate change. T his is due, most likely, to changes in sea surface temperature that affect carbon?s solubility and stratification. More gas can be dissolved in a colder liquid compared to a warmer one. At higher latitude regions, no significant changes in ocean carbon uptake were found.

T hese results can be attributed

to the massive internal variability of the ocean.

Overall, the study concluded that global ocean carbon uptake has not yet been affected by climate change, but noted that most available data on ocean carbon cycles come from high latitude regions where it can be harder to detect the impacts of climate change. T hey highlighted the need to expand the observations of climate-carbon feedback loops in low-latitude oceans to get a better sense of how we are impacting ocean carbon uptake.

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Cr eat ur e of t he Mont h: 16 | Seawords

Pom-

By: Alexandr ya Robin

Lybia tesesllata. Photo by: Eliot Ferguson, Wikimedia Commons.

-pom Cr ab

nson , UHM MOP St udent NOVEMBER 2022

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A f asci n at i n g cr ab w i th som e i n ter esti n g f eatu r es i s Lybia edmondsoni, bet ter k n ow n as th e H aw ai i an p om - p om cr ab, th e boxer cr ab, or k ? m i m i p u a. T h e p om - p om cr ab get s i t s n am e f r om i t s m u t u al i st i c r el at i on sh i p w i t h sea an em on es. T h e cr ab car r i es an an em on e i n each of i t s ch el ae. M ost of ten th ese an em on es ar e T riactis producta, w h i ch ar e ven om ou s an d gr eat f or d ef en se.

W h en th e p om - p om cr ab m ol ts, i t tr an sf er s th e an em on es to i ts n ew sh el l .

Resear ch sh ow ed th at f or m ost of th e stu d i ed p om - p om cr abs, th e or i gi n al an em on es th at th e p om - p om cr abs p i cked u p stay ed w i t h t h em th r ou gh ou t th ei r l i f e.

T h e p om - p om cr ab i s al so k n ow n as th e boxer cr ab f or a r eason - th ey ar e aggr essi ve i n n atu r e esp eci al ly tow ar d s th ose of th ei r ow n sp eci es, an d d o n ot w i l l i n gly H ow ever , th e an em on es exch an ge an em on es even i f ar e n ot on ly u sed f or d ef en se! th ey bu d . T h e i m p or tan ce of T h e p om - p om cr ab d oesn ?t th e an em on es, even w h en l ost h ave ver y st r on g cl aw s f or d u r i n g aggr essi ve beh av i or s, cap t u r i n g p r ey, so th e i s sh ow n by th e p om - p om an em on es ar e u sed to col l ect cr abs f r agm en ti n g th e or i gi n al f ood p ar t i cl es as w el l . T h e an em on e to sp eed u p th e an em on es ar e abl e to d u p l i cati on p r ocess so t h at asex u al ly r ep r od u ce, m ean i n g th er e i s alw ay s on e an em on e t h e p om - p om cr ab can p er ch el ae. su r v i ve w i th ju st on e A l th ou gh th i s i n ter act i on an em on e u n t i l i t bu d s, w as obser ved i n a l ab set t i n g, cr eat i n g an oth er an em on e. r esear ch er s al so ex p l or ed t h e 18 | Seawords

Pom-pom crab. Illustration by: Alyssa Perez, UHM MOP student.

D N A of t h e w i l d - cau gh t p om - p om cr ab?s an em on es.

T h e d ata sh ow ed th at m ost cr abs h ad an em on es th at w er e i d en t i cal cop i es of each ot h er . T h i s i n d i cates th at th i s steal i n g beh av i or i s com m on i n t h e w i l d . Ad d i t i on al ly, th e f r agm en t i n g beh av i or i s th e on ly k n ow n ex am p l e of a sp eci es i n d u ci n g asex u al r ep r od u ct i on i n an oth er sp eci es.

Pom - p om cr abs ar e f asci n ati n g cr u stacean s, bu t m u ch r em ai n s to be d i scover ed . For ex am p l e, t h e m u tu al i sti c an em on es h ave n ot been obser ved to be l i v i n g an d gr ow i n g on t h ei r ow n . H ow d o th e cr abs acqu i r e th e an em on es? H ow d i d th i s u n i qu e r el ati on sh i p evolve? T h ese u n k n ow n s on ly m ake th em m or e i n ter esti n g!

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Phytoplank ton & Tonga?s Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha?apai Volcano By: Chloe M olou, UHH Seawords Li ason 20 | Seawords

Phytoplankton Bloom in the Bay of Biscay.

Photo by: Jeff Schmaltz/ NASA, Flickr.

North of the island of Tongatapu in the kingdom of Tonga, the submarine volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha?apai (HTHH) violently erupted on the morning of January 15th, 2022, sending a plume of hot ash 58 km into the atmosphere.

HTHH had shown intermittent activity for weeks, with its initial detection on December 20th, 2021, and eventually caused the largest submarine eruption since 1883.

On land, the tsunami and ash deposits that followed furthered the destruction and shock of the initial eruption.

In the ocean, the eruption and associated ash plume had a very interesting impact on the seawater

surrounding the island.

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Only two days following the eruption, came the formation of a massive phytoplankton bloom ? 40 times the size of the island of O?ahu. Tonga?s surrounding waters normally display low levels of phytoplankton as they are carried away by ocean currents. This means this environment could benefit greatly from a large phytoplankton bloom.

Chlorophyll a concentrations were found to have increased tenfold in the days following the main eruption; this trend has been observed previously in much smaller scales, following eruptive activity in 2015 and 2017. A decrease in the chlorophyll a concentration began on January 17th and 22 | Seawords

did not reach typical values until January 27th; again, a similar trend to what was observed in 2015 and 2017.

The great eruption of HTHH caused a large disturbance to a vast oligotrophic ecosystem, transporting nutrients through ash fallout and supporting primary production in the surface waters. The nutrient flux and increase in phytoplankton biomass in this region could mean a great number of things for the organisms in this ecosystem. However, as it has been previously observed, researchers are wary that the nutrient flux will lead to a phosphorus limitation, threatening the nutrient uptake of many marine organisms.

Sardine Wormhole. Photo by: Byron Chin, Flickr.

Ash Plume from Eruption at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai. Photo by: NASA/ USGS, Wikimedia Commons.

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Vol u m e XXXVII, Nu m ber 9 Editor : Abbie Jer em iah 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) W r itin g Team : Ch l oe M ol ou , Lu cian An der son , Al exan dr ya Robin son , H al ey Ch asin , Abbie Jer em iah 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.