embedded in the Ni wire synchronously with the attachment of thiols. This suggests that Fe has an affinity for Ni and that the thiolation of Ni by crude oil may depend on the availability of Fe in the oil. In addition to thiols, porphyrins also likely play an important role in the dissolution of Ni, as shown by the fact that the oil in which Ni was most soluble has a high nitrogen content, whereas in the other oil, which is characterized by a high thiol content, the Ni solubility was relatively low and the nitrogen content of this oil was below the detection limit. Immature biodegraded oils that are sourced from carbonate rocks generally tend to be enriched in asphaltenes, Ni and sulfur. Nevertheless, some mature oils acquire anomalously large thiol contents through Thermochemical Sulfate Reduction (TSR), a high temperature (100 to 140 °C) reaction occurring commonly in carbonate reservoirs, which involves the abiotic reduction of sulfate minerals at the expense of oil or bitumen. Thus, given the affinity of Ni for thiols, large volumes of Ni-poor oil can potentially be altered by TSR to produce smaller volumes of residual oil enriched in thiols and Ni.

Sardi, S.S., Qurban, M.A., Li, W., Kadinjappalli, K.P., Manikandan, P.K., Hariri, M.M., Tawabini, B.S., Khalil, A.B., El-Askary, H., 2020. Assessment of areas environmentally sensitive to oil spills in the western Arabian Gulf, Saudi Arabia, for planning and undertaking an effective response. Marine Pollution Bulletin 150, 110588.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X19307362 A comprehensive environmental sensitivity index was prepared and ESM maps generated. Impact of Gulf War Oil Spill in 1991 impact on a mangrove habitat was assessed using Landsat imageries. Impact probability of oil spill are calculated through General NOAA Operational Modeling Environment/Automated Data Inquiry for Oil Spills (GNOME/ADIOS) model simulation. Areas with the highest priority for protection in case of an oil spill were demarcated for the development of immediate response plans.

Sasmito, S.D., Kuzyakov, Y., Lubis, A.A., Murdiyarso, D., Hutley, L.B., Bachri, S., Friess, D.A., Martius, C., Borchard, N., 2020. Organic carbon burial and sources in soils of coastal mudflat and mangrove ecosystems. CATENA 187, 104414.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0341816219305569 Mangrove organic carbon is primarily stored in soils, which contain more than two-thirds of total mangrove ecosystem carbon stocks. Despite increasing recognition of the critical role of mangrove ecosystems for climate change mitigation, there is limited understanding of soil organic carbon sequestration mechanisms in undisturbed low-latitude mangroves, specifically on organic carbon burial rates and sources. This study assessed soil organic carbon burial rates, sources and stocks across an undisturbed coastal mudflat and mangrove hydrogeomorphological catena (fringe mangrove and interior mangrove) in Bintuni Bay, West Papua 210 Province, Indonesia. Pb radionuclide sediment dating, and mixing model of natural stable isotope signatures 13 15 (δ C and δ N) and C/N ratio were used to estimate organic carbon burial rates and to quantify proportions of allochthonous (i.e., upland terrestrial forest) and autochthonous (i.e., on-site mangrove forest) organic carbon in - 1 - 1 the top 50 cm of the soil. Burial rates were in the range of 0.21 - 1.19 Mg C ha yr . Compared to the fringe mangroves, organic carbon burial rates in interior mangroves were almost twice as high. Primary productivity of C upland forest vegetation and mangroves induced soil organic carbon burial in interior mangroves and this 3 - 1 was consistent with the formation of the largest organic carbon stocks (179 ± 82 Mg C ha ). By contrast, - 1 - 1 organic carbon stored in the fringe mangrove (68 ± 11 Mg C ha ) and mudflat (62 ± 10 Mg C ha ) soils mainly originated from upland forests (allochthonous origin). These findings clearly indicate that carbon sequestered and cycling in mangrove and terrestrial forest ecosystems are closely linked, and at least a part of carbon losses (e.g., erosion) from terrestrial forests is buried in mangrove ecosystems.

Saupe, E.E., Qiao, H., Donnadieu, Y., Farnsworth, A., Kennedy-Asser, A.T., Ladant, J.-B., Lunt, D.J., Pohl, A., Valdes, P., Finnegan, S., 2020. Extinction intensity during Ordovician and Cenozoic glaciations explained by cooling and palaeogeography. Nature Geoscience 13, 65-70.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0504-6