Science

This section presents the GEOTRACES scientific activities.

 

Sinking organic matter: a major driver of the oceanic zinc cycle?

Zinc (Zn) is a marine micronutrient, important for phytoplankton and involved in biogeochemical cycling throughout the oceans. Despite the importance of this element, the processes that control the oceanic Zn […]

17.04.2014

First full depth profiles of zinc isotopes in the ocean, thanks to IPY/GEOTRACES cruise (GIPY5)

Three major and original features are deduced from the first three full depth profiles of zinc measured by Zhao and co-workers (2014; see reference below) in the Southern Ocean: below 1000 […]

02.04.2014

When atmospheric dynamic controls the nutrient distributions in the ocean

Rainfall detection with satellites together with high-resolution data (~0.3°) for dissolved iron (DFe), aluminium (DAl), and inorganic phosphorus (DIP), confirm the existence of a sharp north–south biogeochemical boundary in the […]

First results from platinum reference samples published

In Cobelo-García and co-authors work, data on platinum (Pt) concentrations in SAFe and GEOTRACES reference samples is reported for the first time. The paper also provides helpful information for those […]

GEOTRACES: Changing the way we explore ocean chemistry

Read about the experiences and lessons learned in the planning and implementation of GEOTRACES international programme in a recent paper published in Oceanography. Anderson and co-authors present an extraordinary synthesis of […]

01.04.2014

The potential of anthropogenic 236-Uranium as a new and transient oceanographic tracer demonstrated in the North Atlantic

236-Uranium (236U) is present on Earth due to natural and anthropogenic production. However, the estimated inventory of anthropogenic 236U (106 kg) largely exceeds the natural one (30 kg). Releasing even […]

26.03.2014

New data on oceanic rare earth elements concentrations and neodymium isotopic compositions

Early 2014 was favourable to the publication of new data of rare earth elements (REE) concentrations and neodymium (Nd) isotopic compositions in extreme areas of the ocean: the southern Atlantic […]

11.02.2014

Long-lived thorium isotopes: powerful tools to estimate lithogenic fluxes to the ocean

Hayes and co-workers are back with another rich contribution, based on dissolved thorium-232 (232Th) and thorium-230 (230Th) (click here to access previous highlight from the same author). The game is […]

21.01.2014

New revelations on boundary scavenging in the North Pacific

Thorium (Th) and protactinium (Pa) are very efficient tracers of particle dynamics in the ocean. More particularly, their relative distributions inform on the intensity of “scavenging”, in other words, the […]

11.12.2013

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