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Archive for biogeochemical cycles

Ice sheets mobilize trace elements for export downstream

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Thursday, January 7th, 2021 

Trace elements are essential micronutrients for life in the ocean and also serve as valuable fingerprints of chemical weathering. The behaviour of trace elements in the ocean has gained interest because some of these elements are found at vanishingly low concentrations that limit ecosystem productivity. Despite delivering >2000 km3 yr-1 of freshwater to the polar oceans, ice sheets have largely been overlooked as major trace element sources. This is partly due to a lack of data on meltwater endmember chemistry beneath and emerging from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, which cover 10% of Earth’s land surface area, and partly because meltwaters were previously assumed to be dilute compared to most river waters.

In a study published in PNAS, authors analysed the trace element composition of meltwaters from the Mercer Subglacial Lake, a hydrologically active subglacial lake >1000 m below the surface of the Antarctic Ice Sheet, and a meltwater river emerging from beneath a large outlet glacier of the Greenland Ice Sheet (Leverett Glacier). These subglacial meltwaters (i.e., water travelling along the ice-rock interface beneath an ice mass) contained much higher concentrations of trace elements than anticipated. For example, typically immobile elements like iron and aluminium were observed in the dissolved phase (<0.45 µm) at much higher concentrations than in mean river or open ocean waters (up to 20,900 nM for Fe and 69,100 nM for Al), but exhibited large size fractionation between colloidal/nanoparticulate (0.02 – 0.45 µm) and soluble (<0.02 µm) size fractions (Figure 1). Subglacial physical and biogeochemical weathering processes are thought to mobilize many of these trace elements from the bedrock and sediments beneath ice sheets and export them downstream. Antarctic subglacial meltwaters were more enriched in dissolved trace elements than Greenland Ice Sheet outflow, which is likely due to longer subglacial residence times, lack of dilution from surface meltwater inputs, and differences in underlying sediment geology.

These results indicate that ice sheet systems can mobilize large quantities of trace elements from the land to the ocean and serve as major contributors to regional elemental cycles (e.g., coastal Southern Ocean). In a warming climate with increasing ice sheet runoff, subglacial meltwaters will become an increasingly dynamic source of micronutrients to coastal oceanic ecosystems in the polar regions.

Figure caption: Leverett Glacier (Greenland Ice Sheet) and Mercer Subglacial Lake (Antarctic Ice Sheet) dissolved elemental concentrations (<0.45 µm) normalized to mean non-glacial riverine trace element concentrations (Gaillardet et al., 2014) and major element concentrations (Martin and Meybeck, 1979). Grey regions indicate ±50 % of the riverine mean. Although major elements can be significantly depleted compared to non-glacial rivers, trace elements are commonly similar to or enriched.

 

Authors:
Jon R. Hawkings (Florida State Univ and German Research Centre for Geosciences)
Mark L. Skidmore (Montana State Univ)
Jemma L. Wadham (Univ of Bristol, UK)
John C. Priscu (Montana State Univ)
Peter L. Morton (Florida State Univ)
Jade E. Hatton (Univ of Bristol, UK)
Christopher B. Gardner (Ohio State Univ)
Tyler J. Kohler (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland)
Marek Stibal (Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic)
Elizabeth A. Bagshaw (Cardiff Univ, UK)
August Steigmeyer (Montana State Univ)
Joel Barker (Univ of Minnesota)
John E. Dore (Montana State Univ)
W. Berry Lyons (Ohio State Univ)
Martyn Tranter (Univ of Bristol, UK)
Robert G. M. Spencer (Florida State Univ)
SALSA Science Team

A new Regional Earth System Model of the Mediterranean Sea biogeochemical dynamics

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Thursday, November 19th, 2020 

The Mediterranean Sea is a semi-enclosed mid-latitude oligotrophic basin with a lower net primary production than the global ocean. A west-east productivity trophic gradient results from the superposition of biogeochemical and physical processes, including the biological pump and associated carbon and nutrient (nitrogen, phosphorus) fluxes, the spatial asymmetric distribution of nutrient sources (rivers, atmospheric deposition, coastal upwelling, etc.), the estuarine inverse circulation associated with the inflow of Atlantic water through the Gibraltar Strait. The complex and highly variable interface between land and sea throughout this basin add a further layer of complexity in the Mediterranean oceanic and atmospheric circulation and on the associated biogeochemistry dynamics, emphasizing the need for high-resolution truly integrated Regional Earth System Models to track and understand fine-scale processes and ecosystem dynamics.

In a recent paper published in the Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth System, the authors introduced a new version of the Regional Earth System model RegCM-ES and evaluated its performance in the Mediterranean region. RegCM-ES fully integrates the regional climate model RegCM4, the land surface scheme CLM4.5 (Community Land Model), the river routing model HD (Hydrological Discharge Model), the ocean model MITgcm (MIT General Circulation model) and the Biogeochemical Flux Model BFM.

A comparison with available observations has shown that RegCM-ES was able to capture the mean climate of the region and to reproduce horizontal and vertical patterns of chlorophyll-a and PO4 (the limiting nutrient in the basin) (Figure 1). The same comparison revealed a systematic underestimation of simulated dissolved oxygen (which will be fixed by the use of a new parametrization of oxygen solubility), and an overestimation of NO3, possibly due to uncertainties in initial and boundary conditions (mostly traced to river and Dardanelles nutrient discharges) and an overly vigorous vertical mixing simulated by the ocean model in some parts of the Basin.

Figure.1 Distributions of chlorophyll-a mg/m3 (top) and PO4 mmol/m3 (bottom) in the Mediterranean Sea as simulated by RegCM-ES.

Overall, this analysis has demonstrated that RegCM-ES has the capabilities required to become a powerful tool for studying regional dynamics and impacts of climate change on the Mediterranean Sea and other ocean basins around the world.

 

Authors:
Marco Reale (Abdus Salam International Centre for theoretical physics-ICTP, National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics-OGS)
Filippo Giorgi (Abdus Salam International Centre for theoretical physics-ICTP)
Cosimo Solidoro (National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics-OGS)
Valeria Di Biagio (National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics-OGS)
Fabio Di Sante (Abdus Salam International Centre for theoretical physics-ICTP)
Laura Mariotti (National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics-OGS)
Riccardo Farneti (Abdus Salam International Centre for theoretical physics-ICTP)
Gianmaria Sannino (Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development-ENEA)

Marine heatwave implications for future phytoplankton blooms

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Thursday, October 15th, 2020 

Ocean temperature extreme events such as marine heatwaves are expected to intensify in coming decades due to anthropogenic warming. Although the effects of marine heatwaves on large plants and animals are becoming well documented, little is known about how these warming events will impact microbes that regulate key biogeochemical processes such as ocean carbon uptake and export, which represent important feedbacks on the global carbon cycle and climate.

Figure caption: Relationship between phytoplankton bloom response to marine heatwaves and background nitrate concentration in the 23 study regions. X-axis denotes the annual-mean sea-surface nitrate concentration based on the model simulation (1992-2014; OFAM3, blue) and the in situ climatology (WOA13, orange). Y-axis denotes the mean standardised anomalies (see Equation 1 of the paper) of simulated sea-surface phytoplankton nitrogen biomass (1992-2014; OFAM3, blue) and observed sea-surface chlorophyll a concentration (2002-2018; MODIS, orange) during the co-occurrence of phytoplankton blooms and marine heatwaves.

In a recent study published in Global Change Biology, authors combined model simulations and satellite observations in tropical and temperate oceanographic regions over recent decades to characterize marine heatwave impacts on phytoplankton blooms. The results reveal regionally‐coherent anomalies depicted by shallower surface mixed layers and lower surface nitrate concentrations during marine heatwaves, which counteract known light and nutrient limitation effects on phytoplankton growth, respectively (Figure 1). Consequently, phytoplankton bloom responses are mixed, but derive from the background nutrient conditions of a study region such that blooms are weaker (stronger) during marine heatwaves in nutrient-poor (nutrient-rich) waters.

Given the projected expansion of nutrient-poor waters in the 21st century ocean, the coming decades are likely to see an increased occurrence of weaker blooms during marine heatwaves, with implications for higher trophic levels and biogeochemical cycling of key elements.

Authors:
Hakase Hayashida (University of Tasmania)
Richard Matear (CSIRO)
Pete Strutton (University of Tasmania)

Will global change “stress out” ocean DOC cycling?

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Tuesday, September 29th, 2020 

The dissolved organic carbon (DOC) pool is vital for the functioning of marine ecosystems. DOC fuels marine food webs and is a cornerstone of the earth’s carbon cycle. As one of the largest pools of organic matter on the planet, disruptions to marine DOC cycling driven by climate and environmental global changes can impact air-sea CO2 exchange, with the added potential for feedbacks on Earth’s climate system.

Figure 1. Simplified view of major dissolved organic carbon (DOC) sources (black text) and sinks (yellow text) in the ocean.

Since DOC cycling involves multiple processes acting concurrently over a range of time and space scales, it is especially challenging to characterize and quantify the influence of global change. In a recent review paper published in Frontiers in Marine Science, the authors synthesize impacts of global change-related stressors on DOC cycling such as ocean warming, stratification, acidification, deoxygenation, glacial and sea ice melting, inflow from rivers, ocean circulation and upwelling, and atmospheric deposition. While ocean warming and acidification are projected to stimulate DOC production and degradation, in most regions, the outcomes for other key climate stressors are less clear, with much more regional variation. This synthesis helps advance our understanding of how global change will affect the DOC pool in the future ocean, but also highlights important research gaps that need to be explored. These gaps include for example a need for studies that allow to understand the adaptation of degradation/production pathways to global change stressors, and their cumulative impacts (e.g. temperature with acidification).

 

 
Authors:
C. Lønborg (Aarhus University)
C. Carreira (CESAM, Universidade de Aveiro)
Tim Jickells (University of East Anglia)
X.A. Álvarez-Salgado (CSIC, Instituto de Investigacións Mariñas)

Blue hole in the South China Sea reveals ancient carbon

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Wednesday, July 8th, 2020 

Blue holes are unique depositional environments that are formed within carbonate platforms. Due to an enclosed geomorphology that restricts water exchange, blue hole ecosystems are typically characterized by steep biogeochemical gradients and distinctive microbial communities. For the past three decades, studies have described vertical gradients in physical, chemical, and biological parameters that typify blue hole water columns, but their elemental cycles, particularly carbon, remain poorly understood.

Figure 1. Aerial photo of the Yongle Blue Hole in the South China Sea (Credit: P. Yao et al./JGR Biogeosciences)

In July 2016, the Yongle Blue Hole (YBH) was discovered to be the deepest known blue hole on Earth (~300 m). YBH is located in the Xisha Islands of the South China Sea. The unique features and ease of accessibility make YBH an ideal natural laboratory for studying carbon cycling in marine anoxic systems. In a recent study published in JGR Biogeosciences, the authors reported extremely low concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) (e.g., 22 µM) and very high concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) (e.g., 3,090 µM) in YBH deep waters. Radiocarbon dating revealed that the YBH DOC and DIC were unusually old, yielding ages (6,810 and 8270 years BP, respectively) that are much more typical of open ocean deep water. Based on H2S and microbial community composition profiles, the authors concluded that sharp redox gradients and a high abundance of sulfur cycling bacteria were likely responsible for much of the DOC consumption in YBH. The unusually low concentrations and old DOC ages in the relatively shallow YBH suggest short-term cycling of recalcitrant DOC in oceanic waters, which has been recognized as a long-term microbial carbon sink in the global ocean. The stoichiometry of DIC and total alkalinity changes suggested that the accumulation of DIC in the deep layer of the YBH was largely derived from both the dissolution of carbonate and OC decomposition through sulfate reduction. However, the role of carbonate dissolution from the walls of the blue hole in affecting the old ages of carbon in this system remain uncertain, yet there appears to no evidence of subterranean freshwater into the bottom waters of the blue hole. In the face of expanding oxygen minimum zones and anthropogenically-induced coastal hypoxia, blue holes such as YBH can provide an accessible natural laboratory in which to study the microbial and biogeochemical features that typify these low-oxygen systems.

 

Authors:
Peng Yao (Ocean University of China)
Thomas S. Bianchi (University of Florida)
Xuchen Wang (Ocean University of China)
Zuosheng Yang (Ocean University of China)
Zhigang Yu (Ocean University of China)

Physics vs. biology in Southern Ocean nutrient gradients

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Tuesday, June 16th, 2020 

In the Southern Ocean, surface water silicate (SiO4) concentrations decline very quickly relative to nitrate concentrations along a northward gradient toward mode water formation regions on the northern edge (Figure 1a, b). These mode waters play a critical role in driving global nutrient concentrations, setting the biogeochemistry of low- and mid-latitude regions around the globe after they upwell further north. To explain this latitudinal surface gradient, most hypotheses have implicated diatoms, which take up and export silicon as well as nitrogen: (1) Diatoms, including highly-silicified species such as Fragilariopsis kerguelensis, are more abundant in the Southern Ocean than elsewhere; (2) Iron limitation, which is prevalent in the Southern Ocean, elevates the Si:N ratio of diatoms; (3) Mass export of empty diatom frustules pumps silicate but not nitrate to deeper waters.

Figure 1: (a) and (b) nitrate and silicate concentrations in surface waters of the Southern Ocean (GLODAPv2_2019 data). (c) Model results of a standard run (black diamonds), a run without biology (red diamonds) and a run without mixing (blue diamonds).

In a recent paper published in Biogeosciences, the authors use an idealized model to explore the relative roles of biological vs. physical processes in driving the observed latitudinal surface nutrient gradients. Over timescales of a few years, removing the effects of biology (no SiO4 uptake or export) from the model elevates silicate concentrations slightly over the entire latitudinal range, but does not remove the strong latitudinal gradient (Figure 1c). However, if the effects of vertical mixing processes such as upwelling and entrainment are removed from the model by eliminating the observed deep [SiO4] gradient, the observed surface nutrient gradient is greatly altered (Figure 1c). These model results suggest that, over short timescales, physics is more important than biology in driving the observed surface water gradient in SiO4:NO3 ratios and forcing silicate depletion of mode waters leaving the Southern Ocean. These findings add to our understanding of Southern Ocean dynamics and the downstream effects on other oceans.

 

Authors:
P. Demuynck (University of Southampton)
T. Tyrrell (University of Southampton)
A.C. Naveira Garabato (University of Southampton)
C.M. Moore (University of Southampton)
A.P. Martin (National Oceanography Centre)

A Methane-Charged Carbon Pump in Shallow Marine Sediments

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Wednesday, June 3rd, 2020 

Ocean margins are often characterized by the transport of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, entering from the subsurface and moving towards the seafloor. However, a significant portion of subsurface methane is consumed within shallow sediments via microbial driven anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM). AOM converts the methane carbon to dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and reduces the amount of sulfate that diffuses down from the seafloor towards a sediment interval known as the sulfate-methane transition zone (SMTZ). The SMTZ is where the upward flux of methane encounters the downward diffusive sulfate flux (Figure 1). While the mechanisms of methane production and consumption have been extensively studied, the fate of the DIC that is produced in methane-charged sediments is not well constrained.

In a recent study published in Frontiers in Marine Science, authors used existing reports of methane and sulfate flux values to the SMTZ and synthesized a carbon flow model to quantify the DIC cycling in diffusive methane flux sites globally. They report an annual average of 8.7 Tmol (1 Tmol = 1012 moles) of DIC entering the diffusive methane-charged shallow marine sediments due to sulfate reduction coupled with AOM and organic matter degradation, as well as DIC input from depth (Figure 1). Approximately 75% (average of 6.5 Tmol year–1) of this DIC pool flows upward toward the water column, making it a potential contributor to oceanic CO2 and ocean acidification. Further, an average of 1.7 Tmol year–1 DIC precipitates as methane-derived authigenic carbonates. This synthesis emphasizes the importance of the SMTZ, not only as a methane sink but also an important biogeochemical front for global DIC cycling.

Figure 1: A simplified representation of DIC cycling at diffusive methane charged settings.

The study highlights that regions characterized by diffusive methane fluxes can contribute significantly to the oceanic inorganic carbon pool and sedimentary carbonate accumulation. DIC outflux from the methane-charged sediments is comparable to ~20% global riverine DIC flux to oceans. Methane-derived authigenic carbonate precipitation is comparable to ~15% of carbonate accumulation on continental shelves and in pelagic sediments, respectively. These  pathways must be included in coastal and geologic carbon models.

Authors:
Sajjad Akam (Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)
Richard Coffin (Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)
Hussain Abdulla (Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi)
Timothy Lyons (University of California, Riverside)

An Important Biogeochemical Link between Organic and Inorganic Carbon Cycling: Contributions of Organic Alkalinity

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Wednesday, April 8th, 2020 

As a part of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), organic acid charge groups can contribute significantly to total alkalinity (TA) in natural waters. Such a contribution is termed as organic alkalinity (OrgAlk). Beyond being part of TA, OrgAlk represents an important biogeochemical linkage between organic and inorganic carbon cycling. In other words, the biogeochemical cycling of organic acid charge groups – i.e. their sources, sinks, and biogeochemical behaviors – directly impacts pH and carbonate speciation, which may ultimately influence air-water CO2 exchange and inorganic carbon fluxes. However, the effects of OrgAlk is often ignored or treated as a calculation uncertainty in many aquatic CO2 studies. How we treat and study OrgAlk may need a new paradigm under biogeochemical cycles.

Based on direct titration data of OrgAlk, the authors of a recent study conducted a comprehensive assessment of OrgAlk variability, sources, and characteristics in a sub-estuary of Waquoit Bay (Massachusetts). The sub-estuary is influenced by a salt marsh, groundwater input, and offshore water. Both the salt marsh and groundwater OrgAlk contributed up to 4.3% of the TA across all sampled seasons. Estuarine OrgAlk:DOC ratios varied across space and time, which suggests that their abundances are controlled by different biogeochemical processes. In addition, the study demonstrates the insufficiency of using a fixed proportion of DOC to account for OrgAlk, as well as the challenge of using measured pH, TA, and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) to estimate OrgAlk. The effects of OrgAlk in these waters are equivalent to a pH change of ~ 0.03 – 0.26, or a pCO2 change of ~30–1600 matm. If extrapolating OrgAlk results to other coastal systems ranging from estuaries to continental shelves, OrgAlk would exert a strong control on both carbonate speciation and, ultimately, air-sea CO2 fluxes. This study provides a new conceptual framework for cycling of OrgAlk species and associated links between DOC and DIC pools in coastal systems (Figure 1).

Figure caption: A conceptual model of organic alkalinity cycling in coastal systems. BioP and ChemP represent in-situ biological production and chemical production of organic acid charge groups, respectively. Alk denotes total alkalinity. Arrows with dashed lines indicate processes that were not studied in the present study. The values in the boxes of pH, pCO2, and buffer capacity represent the magnitude of OrgAlk effects on pH, pCO2, and buffer capacity in the range of OrgAlk% in TA observed in this study (0.9 – 4.3%).

 

Authors
Shuzhen Song (East China Normal University)
Zhaohui Aleck Wang (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Meagan Eagle Gonneea (U. S. Geological Survey)
Kevin D. Kroeger (U. S. Geological Survey)

Untangling microbial evolution in the oceans: How the interaction of biological and physical timescales determine marine microbial evolutionary strategies

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Wednesday, March 11th, 2020 

Marine microbes are the engines of global biogeochemical cycling in the oceans. They are responsible for approximately half of all photosynthesis on the planet and drive the ‘biological pump’, which transfers organic carbon from the surface to the deep ocean. As such, it is important to determine how marine microbes will adapt and evolve in response to a changing climate in order to understand and predict how the global carbon cycle may change. However, we still lack a mechanistic understanding of how and how fast microorganisms adapt to stressful and changing environments. This is particularly challenging due to the diversity of organisms that live in the ocean and the dynamic nature of the oceans themselves—microbes are at the whim of ocean currents and so get transported large distances fairly quickly. For the first time, a new study published in PNAS provides a prediction on the controls of microbial evolutionary timescales in the oceans.  The authors hypothesize that there is a trade-off for marine microbes between ability to evolve to long-term changes versus respond to shorter term variability. Their results suggest that marine microbes commonly experience conditions that favor a short-term strategy at the cost of long-term adaptation. This trade-off determines evolutionary timescales and provides a foundation for understanding distributions of microbial traits and biogeochemistry.

Illustration of trade-off in evolutionary strategy as a function of environmental variability. Trajectories where individuals perceived high environmental variability (a & b) exhibited low selective pressure for any one environment but allowed for high environmental tracking. Trajectories where individuals perceived a more stable environment (c&d) had high selective pressure for ’new environments’ (high probability of a selective sweep) but these individuals exhibited poor environmental tracking. Panels a and c show trajectories where selective sweeps were highly probable (red), likely (yellow), and had a low probability (grey). Panels b and d show the estimated persistence of non-genetic modifications necessary for environmental tracking, where grey indicates unrealistically long timescales.

 

Authors:
Nathan G. Walworth (University of Southern California)
Emily J. Zakem (University of Southern California)
John P. Dunne (Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, NOAA)
Sinéad Collins (University of Edinburgh)
Naomi M. Levine (University of Southern California)

Diatoms commit iron piracy with stolen bacterial gene

Posted by mmaheigan 
· Tuesday, February 4th, 2020 

Since diatoms carry out much of the primary production in iron-limited marine environments, constraining the details of how these phytoplankton acquire the iron they need is paramount to our understanding of biogeochemical cycles of iron-depleted high-nutrient low-chlorophyll (HNLC) regions. The proteins involved in this process are largely unknown, but McQuaid et al. (2018) scientists described a carbonate-dependent uptake protein that enables diatoms to access inorganic iron dissolved in seawater. As increasing atmospheric CO2 results in decreased seawater carbonate ion concentrations, this iron uptake strategy may have an uncertain future. In a recent study published in PNAS, authors used CRISPR technology to characterize a parallel uptake system that requires no carbonate and is therefore not impacted by ocean acidification.

This system targets an organically complexed form of iron (siderophores, molecules that bind and transport iron in microorganisms) that is only produced by co-occurring microbes. Two genes are required to convert siderophores from a potent toxicant to an essential nutrient. One of these (FBP1) is a receptor that was horizontally acquired from siderophore-producing bacteria. The other (FRE2) is a eukaryotic reductase that facilitates the dissociation of Fe-siderophore complexes.

Figure caption: (A) Growth curves of diatom cultures ( • = WT, ◇ = ΔFBP1, ☐ = ΔFRE2) in low iron media. (B) Growth in same media with siderophores added. (C) Diatoms under 1000x magnification, brightfield. (D) mCherry-FBP1. (E) Plastid autofluorescence. (F) YFP-FRE2. (G) Phylogenetic tree of FBP1 and related homologs.

Are diatoms really stealing siderophores from hapless bacteria? The true nature of this interaction is unknown and may at times be mutualistic. For example, when iron availability limits the carbon supply to a microbial community, heterotrophic bacteria may benefit from using siderophores to divert iron to diatom companions. Further work is needed to understand the true ecological basis for this interaction, but these results suggest that as long as diatoms and bacteria co-occur, iron limitation in marine ecosystems will not be exacerbated by ocean acidification.

Authors:
Tyler Coale (Scripps Institution of Oceanography, J.Craig Venter Institute)
Mark Moosburner (Scripps Institution of Oceanography, J.Craig Venter Institute)
Aleš Horák (Biology Centre CAS, Institute of Parasitology, University of South Bohemia)
Miroslav Oborník (Biology Centre CAS, Institute of Parasitology, University of South Bohemia)
Katherine Barbeau (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)
Andrew Allen (Scripps Institution of Oceanography, J.Craig Venter Institute)

Also see joint post on the GEOTRACES website

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