Biogeochemical Cycles and Ecosystem Functioning in Extreme Marine Environments

Dear Colleagues,

The functioning of the Ocean's ecosystem due to its scale of impact on the planet is not a passive epiphenomenon of the Ocean’s physical conditions and geochemical processes. In fact, the metabolism and growth activities of the Ocean’s biota move significant quantities of chemical elements and compounds between the hydrosphere, lithosphere, and atmosphere every year. The study of biogeochemical cycles integrates research questions and methodologies from geoscience, chemistry, and biology with the final goal of understanding how life and the biosphere modulate the fluxes and space-time distributions of energy and matters in the Ocean System. The main actors in the modulation of biogeochemical cycles are the 'unseen and silent majority' of microbes, which sustain the existence of all higher trophic life forms in oceans and constitute the life support system of the biosphere. In the Anthropocene, in which we now live, climate change is impacting Biogeochemical Cycles and Ecosystem Functioning in the oceans including some extreme environments such as polar ones. An extreme environment is a habitat characterized by harsh environmental conditions (extreme temperature; extreme pH; extreme ionic strength; extreme pressure; high-radiation environments; xeric environments) further than the optimal range for the development of living organisms.

This Special Issue is devoted to experimental studies and reviews, relating to any aspect of Biogeochemical Cycles and Ecosystem Functioning in Extreme Environments (e.g., polar regions, deep sea, Hydrothermal vents, Deep Hypersaline Anoxic Basins, etc.) and aims to contribute to highlighting recent findings and acquiring a comprehensive perspective on the current status of this broad research field. All article types are welcome.

Dr. Maurizio Azzaro
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.