Quantification of Dissolved Iron Sources to the North Atlantic Ocean
Dissolved iron is an essential micronutrient for marine phytoplankton, and its availability controls patterns of primary productivity and carbon cycling throughout the oceans1,2. The relative importance of different sources of iron to the oceans is not well known, however, and flux estimates from at...
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ftusouthflorida:oai:digitalcommons.usf.edu:geo_facpub-2523 2023-07-30T04:05:15+02:00 Quantification of Dissolved Iron Sources to the North Atlantic Ocean Conway, Tim M. John, Seth G. 2014-07-01T07:00:00Z https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/1509 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13482 unknown Digital Commons @ University of South Florida https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/1509 doi:10.1038/nature13482 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13482 School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications Earth Sciences article 2014 ftusouthflorida https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13482 2023-07-13T20:43:52Z Dissolved iron is an essential micronutrient for marine phytoplankton, and its availability controls patterns of primary productivity and carbon cycling throughout the oceans1,2. The relative importance of different sources of iron to the oceans is not well known, however, and flux estimates from atmospheric dust, hydrothermal vents and oceanic sediments vary by orders of magnitude. Here we present a high-resolution transect of dissolved stable iron isotope ratios (δ56Fe) and iron concentrations ([Fe]) along a section of the North Atlantic Ocean. The different iron sources can be identified by their unique δ56Fe signatures, which persist throughout the water column. This allows us to calculate the relative contribution from dust, hydrothermal venting and reductive and non-reductive sedimentary release to the dissolved phase. We find that Saharan dust aerosol is the dominant source of dissolved iron along the section, contributing 71–87 per cent of dissolved iron. Additional sources of iron are non-reductive release from oxygenated sediments on the North American margin (10–19 per cent), reductive sedimentary dissolution on the African margin (1–4 per cent) and hydrothermal venting at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (2–6 per cent). Our data also indicate that hydrothermal vents in the North Atlantic are a source of isotopically light iron, which travels thousands of kilometres from vent sites, potentially influencing surface productivity. Changes in the relative importance of the different iron sources through time may affect interactions between the carbon cycle and climate. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic University of South Florida St. Petersburg: Digital USFSP Mid-Atlantic Ridge Nature 511 7508 212 215 |
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University of South Florida St. Petersburg: Digital USFSP |
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ftusouthflorida |
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topic |
Earth Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Earth Sciences Conway, Tim M. John, Seth G. Quantification of Dissolved Iron Sources to the North Atlantic Ocean |
topic_facet |
Earth Sciences |
description |
Dissolved iron is an essential micronutrient for marine phytoplankton, and its availability controls patterns of primary productivity and carbon cycling throughout the oceans1,2. The relative importance of different sources of iron to the oceans is not well known, however, and flux estimates from atmospheric dust, hydrothermal vents and oceanic sediments vary by orders of magnitude. Here we present a high-resolution transect of dissolved stable iron isotope ratios (δ56Fe) and iron concentrations ([Fe]) along a section of the North Atlantic Ocean. The different iron sources can be identified by their unique δ56Fe signatures, which persist throughout the water column. This allows us to calculate the relative contribution from dust, hydrothermal venting and reductive and non-reductive sedimentary release to the dissolved phase. We find that Saharan dust aerosol is the dominant source of dissolved iron along the section, contributing 71–87 per cent of dissolved iron. Additional sources of iron are non-reductive release from oxygenated sediments on the North American margin (10–19 per cent), reductive sedimentary dissolution on the African margin (1–4 per cent) and hydrothermal venting at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (2–6 per cent). Our data also indicate that hydrothermal vents in the North Atlantic are a source of isotopically light iron, which travels thousands of kilometres from vent sites, potentially influencing surface productivity. Changes in the relative importance of the different iron sources through time may affect interactions between the carbon cycle and climate. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Conway, Tim M. John, Seth G. |
author_facet |
Conway, Tim M. John, Seth G. |
author_sort |
Conway, Tim M. |
title |
Quantification of Dissolved Iron Sources to the North Atlantic Ocean |
title_short |
Quantification of Dissolved Iron Sources to the North Atlantic Ocean |
title_full |
Quantification of Dissolved Iron Sources to the North Atlantic Ocean |
title_fullStr |
Quantification of Dissolved Iron Sources to the North Atlantic Ocean |
title_full_unstemmed |
Quantification of Dissolved Iron Sources to the North Atlantic Ocean |
title_sort |
quantification of dissolved iron sources to the north atlantic ocean |
publisher |
Digital Commons @ University of South Florida |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/1509 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13482 |
geographic |
Mid-Atlantic Ridge |
geographic_facet |
Mid-Atlantic Ridge |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/1509 doi:10.1038/nature13482 https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13482 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13482 |
container_title |
Nature |
container_volume |
511 |
container_issue |
7508 |
container_start_page |
212 |
op_container_end_page |
215 |
_version_ |
1772817041008361472 |