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Isoprene flux from permeable carbonate sediments on the Great Barrier Reef
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Isoprene flux from permeable carbonate sediments on the Great Barrier Reef

Victoria Hrebien, Elisabeth Deschaseaux and Bradley D Eyre
Marine Chemistry, Vol.225, 103856
10/09/2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2020.103856
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Isoprene flux from permeable carbonate sediments on the Great Barrier ReefView
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Abstract

Coral reef Advection Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry Permeable sands
Isoprene is the most abundant biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) on the planet, with annual emissions accounting for up to half of all BVOC emissions. Isoprene has been measured extensively in terrestrial habitats where it is highly abundant; however, there is limited knowledge on marine systems where it is found at lower concentrations. Here, we report for the first time isoprene fluxes from coral reef permeable carbonate sediments with a cover of microphytobenthos (MPB) from Heron and Lizard Islands, on the southern and northern ends of the Great Barrier Reef, respectively. Using advective and diffusive benthic chambers, we measured isoprene fluxes over full diel cycles on both islands. Net effluxes of isoprene from the sediment to the water column were observed at both Heron Island (mean: 10.0 ± 1.1 nmol m2 h−1) and Lizard Island (mean: 3.9 ± 0.9 nmol m2 h−1). Light isoprene fluxes were much higher on Heron Island than on Lizard Island and both islands had lower isoprene emissions in the dark. Higher isoprene fluxes during the day reflects the role of MPB photosynthesis in isoprene production. Lower isoprene fluxes at night is most likely due to isoprene consumption by microbial activity or less production in the absence of photosynthesis. The contribution of benthic isoprene emissions from coral reef carbonate sands worldwide (0.52 Gg C y−1) were estimated to represent less than 0.005% of the global marine atmospheric fluxes (11,600 Gg C y−1). •Coral reef carbonate sediments dominated by microphytobenthos are a net source of isoprene to the water column.•Higher isoprene fluxes in the light than at night are likely a result of photosynthetic activity in microphytobenthos.•Lower isoprene fluxes at night suggest the absence of photosynthetic production or microbial consumption of isoprene.

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