Dissolved zinc and silicate decoupling in the North Pacific Ocean

Large-scale distributions of dissolved zinc (Zn) in the western and central subarctic North Pacific Ocean was established as part of the North Pacific GEOTRACES section GP02. Kim and co-workers could figure out interesting Zn behavior in this area:

  • Decoupling between Zn and Silicate in the intermediate water,
  • Zn* values (used to show the variability in the relationship between dissolved Zn and silicate in the ocean) are strongly positive in the intermediate waters of the western and central subarctic North Pacific,
  • Dissolved Zn and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentrations were relatively high in the intermediate water.

The authors suggest that these particular values observed in the intermediate waters of the subarctic North Pacific result of remineralization from Zn-rich biogenic particles, weak reversible scavenging onto sinking biogenic particles, and sedimentary Zn sources.

17 KimlFigure: (A) Locations of sampling stations in the subarctic North Pacific. (B) Relationships between dissolved Zn and silicate. (C) Zn* as a function of density. The shaded bar represents density range of the intermediate water (26.6–27.5 σθ). (D) Relationships between dissolved Zn and SRP. In (B) and (D), green, red, and black indicate shallow water, intermediate water, and deep water in the subarctic North Pacific, respectively, while blue indicates data from the subtropical North Pacific. Click here to view the figure larger.

Reference:

Kim, T., Obata, H., Nishioka, J., & Gamo, T. (2017). Distribution of Dissolved Zinc in the Western and Central Subarctic North Pacific. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 31(9), 1454–1468. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GB005711

Latest highlights

Overlooked riverine contributions of dissolved neodymium and hafnium to the Amazon estuary and oceans

Xu and colleagues investigated the isotopic composition of dissolved neodymium and hafnium along the entire salinity gradient of the Amazon estuary.

Pulling back the veil on reversible scavenging of lead

This work further contains the role that reversible scavenging may play in the cycling of lead in the ocean, an ever-evolving global experiment where lead contamination can be tracked in real-time.

Extremely high radioactive levels in the manganese nodules

Volz and co-authors demonstrate that radioisotopes in the manganese nodules mostly exceed exempt activity levels…

The North Pacific Ocean, a key actor for the zinc oceanic cycle

Sieber and his colleagues lift the veil on some of the mechanisms that control the behavior of zinc in the Pacific Ocean, and more globally.

Rechercher