Enhanced trace element mobilization by Earth’s ice sheets

Trace elements are integral to biogeochemical processes at the Earth’s surface and play an important role in the carbon cycle as micronutrients to support biological productivity. We present data from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to demonstrate the importance of subglacial biogeochemical p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Main Authors: Hawkings, Jon R., Skidmore, Mark, Wadham, Jemma L., Priscu, John C., Morton, Peter L., Hatton, Jade, Gardner, Christopher B., Kohler, Tyler J., Stibal, Marek, Bagshaw, Elizabeth A., Steigmeyer, August, Barker, Joel, Dore, John, Lyons, W. Berry, Tranter, Martyn, Spencer, Robert G. M., Team, the SALSA Science
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2020
Subjects:
Antarc*
Antarctic
Greenland
Southern Ocean
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/1983/b0a1d1b3-6ff9-4c19-8c90-0abaacc55b01
https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/publications/b0a1d1b3-6ff9-4c19-8c90-0abaacc55b01
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2014378117
Description
Summary:Trace elements are integral to biogeochemical processes at the Earth’s surface and play an important role in the carbon cycle as micronutrients to support biological productivity. We present data from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to demonstrate the importance of subglacial biogeochemical processes in mobilizing substantial quantities of these elements. Usually immobile elements are found in subglacial meltwaters at elevated concentrations compared with typical rivers, with most exhibiting distinctive size fractionation due to adsorption onto nanoparticles. Our findings suggest that ice sheets need to be included in models of global biogeochemical cycles of trace elements and studies of the fertilization of adjacent marine systems, especially the Southern Ocean, due to large export fluxes of micronutrients, most notably iron.

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