Impact of ocean acidification and ocean warming on the oxidation of dissolved Fe(II) in coastal and open Southern Ocean water

• Main Author: Aflenzer, H
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Iron; ocean acidification; ocean warming; phytoplankton; Southern Ocean; tracemetals; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://eprints.utas.edu.au/47526/; https://eprints.utas.edu.au/47526/1/Aflenzer_whole_thesis.pdf

The Southern Ocean is the largest region where major nutrients such as nitrate, silicate and phosphate are present in excess, yet the crucial micronutrient element iron (Fe) is scarce. It is well established that the Southern Ocean is key in exporting carbon to greater depths through biomass production by phytoplankton, but Fe is metabolically required for photosynthesis. Changes in uptake of carbon and heat to the ocean will impact ocean acidification and ocean warming. These anthropogenically linked processes are projected to lead to a drop in ocean pH by 0.2 units and an increase in the ocean’s temperature by 2°C by the end of the century and are already known to have tremendous ecological impacts on the ocean’s flora and fauna. However, little is known about how changes in ocean temperature and pH could alter the nutrient composition in future oceans. Regarding nutrients, this work focuses on the dissolved (d) element Fe. It is essential for photosynthesis, but also a limiting element in the Southern Ocean due to limiting sources leading to low availability. Iron exists in two redox states in seawater. While the species dFe(III) is stable in seawater and occurs in relatively higher concentrations, its redox partner dFe(II) is tied to several physico-chemical processes impacting its oxidation time and overall presence. The importance of dFe(II) also lies with its accessibility for phytoplankton in its reduced oxidative state. The overall aim of this study was to investigate changes in concentration, speciation, and availability of the ‘more’ bioavailable, rapidly oxidizing Fe species dFe(II) under a changing Southern Ocean scenario. Chapter 2 addressed the redox behaviour of dFe(II) and dFe(III), where several questions were explored for further experimental planning. The main question was how the coastal and open ocean systems differ in their dFe(II) concentrations and how ocean acidification and ocean warming impact Fe redox chemistry in both systems. I therefore performed controlled acidification and ...