Pathways and timescales of Southern Ocean hydrothermal iron and manganese transport

• Published in: Communications Earth & Environment
• Main Authors: Antony J. Birchill, Chelsey A. Baker, Neil J. Wyatt, Katsiaryna Pabortsava, Hugh J. Venables, C. Mark Moore, Isobel Turnbull, Angela Milne, Simon J. Ussher, Sophy Oliver, Adrian P. Martin
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Portfolio 2024
• Subjects: Geology; QE1-996.5; Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Antarc*; Antarctic; Southern Ocean
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01564-8; https://doaj.org/article/fe64e351a2074de7a6906bcfd285e0a7

Abstract Scarcity of iron and manganese limits the efficiency of the biological carbon pump over large areas of the Southern Ocean. The importance of hydrothermal vents as a source of these micronutrients to the euphotic zone of the Southern Ocean is debated. Here we present full depth profiles of dissolved and total dissolvable trace metals in the remote eastern Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean (55–60° S, 89.1° W), providing evidence of enrichment of iron and manganese at depths of 2000–4000 m. These enhanced micronutrient concentrations were co-located with 3He enrichment, an indicator of hydrothermal fluid originating from ocean ridges. Modelled water trajectories revealed the understudied South East Pacific Rise and the Pacific Antarctic Ridge as likely source regions. Additionally, the trajectories demonstrate pathways for these Southern Ocean hydrothermal ridge-derived trace metals to reach the Southern Ocean surface mixed layer within two decades, potentially supporting a regular supply of micronutrients to fuel Southern Ocean primary production.