Results from the first US-GEOTRACES cruise in the North Atlantic

Science Highlights

28 October 2013

Results from the first US-GEOTRACES cruise in the North Atlantic are coming out! Andrew Wozniak and co-authors show that aerosols from European-influenced air masses (combustion influenced) have higher relative iron (Fe) and aluminium (Al) solubilities, higher Water Soluble Organic Carbon (WSOC)/trace metal ratios, and distinct organic matter (OM) chemical characteristics compared to those from North African-influenced (mineral dust) air masses (see Figure below). Many factors influencing the solubility of trace metals are discussed. However, the data shown in this work are consistent with an important role for carboxylate aerosol water soluble OM (WSOM) ligands in determining the solubility of Fe and Al in continentally-derived aerosols.

13 Wozniak h
Figure: Aerosol trace metal loadings, fractional solubilities, and water soluble organic carbon to trace metal ratios for aerosol a) Fe and b) Al in samples characterized by North African (brown), European (green), and marine (blue) air mass trajectories. Please click here to view the image larger.

 

Reference:

Andrew S. Wozniak, Rachel U. Shelley, Rachel L. Sleighter, Hussain A.N. Abdulla, Peter L. Morton, William M. Landing, Patrick G. Hatcher (2013) Relationships among aerosol water soluble organic matter, iron and aluminum in European, North African, and Marine air masses from the 2010 US GEOTRACES cruise, Marine Chemistry, Volume: 154, 24-33, DOI: 10.1016/j.marchem.2013.04.011

Latest highlights

Sedimentary controls on seawater nickel distributions and nickel isotope compositions: a two steps study

Nickel isotopic mass balance in the ocean stands among the less understood so far…

23 million years of productivity reconstructed in the Central Pacific Ocean using past and modern proxies

Using diverse geochemical proxies, Chu and colleagues analysed an iron–manganese crust to reconstruct central Pacific productivity over the past 23 million years.

Lead isotopes reveal that hydrothermal variability is driven by Sea‐Level change and transient magmatism

De and colleagues present the first millennial-scale reconstruction of hydrothermal variability at a mid-ocean ridge using lead isotopes from iron-manganese coatings…

Long-range transport of iron via the Agulhas Current and counter-current: a boon for the phytoplankton

Authors establish that significant iron fertilisation via the Agulhas current explains the Indian Subantarctic blooms…

Rechercher