Evidences of strong sources of DFe and DMn in Ryder Bay, Western Antarctic Peninsula.

The spatial distribution, biogeochemical cycling and external sources of dissolved iron and dissolved manganese (DFe and DMn) were investigated in Ryder Bay, a small coastal embayment of the West Antarctic Peninsula, during Austral summer (2013 and 2014). Dissolved concentrations were measured throughout the water column at 11 stations within Ryder Bay. The concentration ranges of DFe and DMn were large, between 0.58 and 32.7 nM, and between 0.18 and 26.2 nM, respectively, exhibiting strong gradients from the surface to the bottom. Surface concentrations of DFe and DMn were higher than concentrations reported for the Southern Ocean and coastal Antarctic waters, and extremely high concentrations were detected in deep water. Glacial meltwater and shallow sediments are likely to be the main sources of DFe and DMn in the euphotic zone, while lateral advection associated with local sediment resuspension and vertical mixing are significant sources for intermediate and deep waters. During summer, vertical mixing of intermediate and deep waters and sediment resuspension occurring from Marguerite Trough to Ryder Bay are thought to be amplified by a series of overflows at the sills, enhancing the input of Fe and Mn from bottom sediment and increasing their concentrations up to the euphotic layer.This article is part of the theme issue 'The marine system of the West Antarctic Peninsula: status and strategy for progress in a region of rapid change'.

Return of naturally sourced Pb to Atlantic surface waters.

Anthropogenic emissions completely overwhelmed natural marine lead (Pb) sources during the past century, predominantly due to leaded petrol usage. Here, based on Pb isotope measurements, we reassess the importance of natural and anthropogenic Pb sources to the tropical North Atlantic following the nearly complete global cessation of leaded petrol use. Significant proportions of up to 30-50% of natural Pb, derived from mineral dust, are observed in Atlantic surface waters, reflecting the success of the global effort to reduce anthropogenic Pb emissions. The observation of mineral dust derived Pb in surface waters is governed by the elevated atmospheric mineral dust concentration of the North African dust plume and the dominance of dry deposition for the atmospheric aerosol flux to surface waters. Given these specific regional conditions, emissions from anthropogenic activities will remain the dominant global marine Pb source, even in the absence of leaded petrol combustion.

Rapid invasion of anthropogenic CO2 into the deep circulation of the Weddell Gyre.

Data are presented for total carbon dioxide (TCO2), oxygen and nutrients from 14 cruises covering two repeat sections across the Weddell Gyre, from 1973 to 2010. Assessments of the rate of increase in anthropogenic CO2 (Cant) are made at three locations. Along the Prime Meridian, TCO2 is observed to steadily increase in the bottom water. Accompanying changes in silicate, nitrate and oxygen confirm the non-steady state of the Weddell circulation. The rate of increase in TCO2 of +0.12±0.05 µmol kg(-1) yr(-1) therefore poses an upper limit to the rate of increase in Cant. By contrast, the bottom water located in the central Weddell Sea exhibits no significant increase in TCO2, suggesting that this water is less well ventilated at the southern margins of the Weddell Sea. At the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula (i.e. the formation region of the bottom water found at the Prime Meridian), the high rate of increase in TCO2 over time observed at the lowest temperatures suggests that nearly full equilibration occurs with the anthropogenic CO2 of the atmosphere. This observation constitutes rare evidence for the possibility that ice cover is not a major impediment for uptake of Cant in this prominent deep water formation region.

The distribution of dissolved iron in the West Atlantic Ocean.

Iron (Fe) is an essential trace element for marine life. Extremely low Fe concentrations limit primary production and nitrogen fixation in large parts of the oceans and consequently influence ocean ecosystem functioning. The importance of Fe for ocean ecosystems makes Fe one of the core chemical trace elements in the international GEOTRACES program. Despite the recognized importance of Fe, our present knowledge of its supply and biogeochemical cycle has been limited by mostly fragmentary datasets. Here, we present highly accurate dissolved Fe (DFe) values measured at an unprecedented high intensity (1407 samples) along the longest full ocean depth transect (17,500 kilometers) covering the entire western Atlantic Ocean. DFe measurements along this transect unveiled details about the supply and cycling of Fe. External sources of Fe identified included off-shelf and river supply, hydrothermal vents and aeolian dust. Nevertheless, vertical processes such as the recycling of Fe resulting from the remineralization of sinking organic matter and the removal of Fe by scavenging still dominated the distribution of DFe. In the northern West Atlantic Ocean, Fe recycling and lateral transport from the eastern tropical North Atlantic Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) dominated the DFe-distribution. Finally, our measurements showed that the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW), the major driver of the so-called ocean conveyor belt, contains excess DFe relative to phosphate after full biological utilization and is therefore an important source of Fe for biological production in the global ocean.

MORPHOLOGICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS IN PROBOSCIA ALATA (BACILLARIOPHYCEAE) GROWN UNDER DIFFERENT LIGHT AND CO2 CONDITIONS OF THE MODERN SOUTHERN OCEAN(1).

The combined effects of different light and aqueous CO2 conditions were assessed for the Southern Ocean diatom Proboscia alata (Brightwell) Sundström in laboratory experiments. Selected culture conditions (light and CO2(aq) ) were representative for the natural ranges in the modern Southern Ocean. Light conditions were 40 (low) and 240 (high) µmol photons · m(-2) · s(-1) . The three CO2(aq) conditions ranged from 8 to 34 µmol · kg(-1) CO2(aq) (equivalent to a pCO2 from 137 to 598 µatm, respectively). Clear morphological changes were induced by these different CO2(aq) conditions. Cells in low [CO2(aq) ] formed spirals, while many cells in high [CO2(aq) ] disintegrated. Cell size and volume were significantly affected by the different CO2(aq) concentrations. Increasing CO2(aq) concentrations led to an increase in particulate organic carbon concentrations per cell in the high light cultures, with exactly the opposite happening in the low light cultures. However, other parameters measured were not influenced by the range of CO2(aq) treatments. This included growth rates, chlorophyll a concentration and photosynthetic yield (FV /FM ). Different light treatments had a large effect on nutrient uptake. High light conditions caused an increased nutrient uptake rate compared to cells grown in low light conditions. Light and CO2 conditions co-determined in various ways the response of P. alata to changing environmental conditions. Overall P. alata appeared to be well adapted to the natural variability in light availability and CO2(aq) concentration of the modern Southern Ocean. Nevertheless, our results showed that P. alata is susceptible to future changes in inorganic carbon concentrations in the Southern Ocean.

Distribution of size fractionated dissolved iron in the Canary Basin.

The distribution of size fractionated dissolved iron (DFe, <0.2 mum) species was determined in the upper water column (0-150 m) of the Canary Basin (25-32 degrees N and 18-24 degrees W) on a research cruise in October 2002. A DFe concentration gradient resulting from a decrease in both soluble iron (SFe, <0.02 microm) and colloidal iron (CFe, 0.02-0.2 microm) was shown to extend from the coast of North West Africa into the oligotrophic gyre (varying from approximately 1 nM in the shelf region to 0.15 nM in the most off shore waters). At the time of this study, the dominant dissolved Fe input to the region was deduced to be the advection of shelf and upwelled waters rather than Saharan dust deposition. SFe and CFe fractions had mean concentrations (+/- one standard deviation) of 0.25 +/- 0.11 and 0.21 +/- 0.16 nM, respectively (n = 58). Colloidal iron formed a highly variable fraction of DFe (ca. 0-80%, mean of 42%) in the region but was less variable in the low iron, oligotrophic intermediate waters (0.18 +/- 0.06 nM, 31.7 degrees N, 22.0 degrees W, 0-1300 m depth). The high variability found at the most productive near-shelf stations was driven by biological processing and mixing of different water masses. In contrast, less variability between SFe and CFe at the remote off shore stations suggested that vertical variations in the water column were controlled more by chemical partitioning and vertical particle fluxes with evidence of preferential biological uptake and/or removal of SFe in the most remote surface waters.

Enhanced open ocean storage of CO2 from shelf sea pumping.

Seasonal field observations show that the North Sea, a Northern European shelf sea, is highly efficient in pumping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to the North Atlantic Ocean. The bottom topography-controlled stratification separates production and respiration processes in the North Sea, causing a carbon dioxide increase in the subsurface layer that is ultimately exported to the North Atlantic Ocean. Globally extrapolated, the net uptake of carbon dioxide by coastal and marginal seas is about 20% of the world ocean's uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide, thus enhancing substantially the open ocean carbon dioxide storage.