Dissolved chromium (Cr) in the ocean is present under two oxidation states: The oxidized and soluble Cr (VI) and the reduced more reactive Cr (III). Reduction of Cr (VI) to Cr (III) is favored by the occurrence of biological particles, reducing conditions in the sediments or the water column (at least in the Pacific Oxygen […]
Mar / 19 / 2019
The insoluble radiogenic isotopes of thorium (Th) are produced at a known rate in the water column via the decay of soluble uranium (234Th, 230Th) and radium (228Th) isotopes. These three isotopes are radioactive and their half-lives vary from days (234Th) to years (228Th) to tens of thousands of years (230Th). Combining their known production […]
Feb / 07 / 2019
Three articles from three cruises highlighted here! Atlantic waters have been recently recognized to play an increasing role in reducing sea-ice extent in the Arctic Ocean at a rate now comparable to losses from atmospheric thermodynamic forcing. Beyond the Arctic Ocean, the water mass transport and transformation processes in the North Atlantic Ocean substantially contribute […]
Jan / 30 / 2019
The linear relationship between the seawater cadmium and phosphate dissolved concentrations lead to use the cadmium/calcium (Cd/Ca) imprinted in calcareous archives to reconstruct the past phosphate (PO4) distributions. However, variations in the Cd/PO4 ratio between different water masses and within vertical oceanic profiles were recently identified. Among the processes that could explain these variations, sequestration […]
Jan / 07 / 2019
Dissolved neodymium (Nd) isotopes and concentrations were measured at six stations in the Australian sector of the Southern Ocean, targeting the study of the Adelie Land Bottom Water (ALBW), a variety of Antarctic Bottom Water formed off the Adélie Land coast of East Antarctica. Lambelet and co-authors (2018, see reference below) present the first dissolved […]
Dec / 11 / 2018
Thorium-230 (230Th) and protactinium-231 (231Pa) are two geochemical tracers extensively used for investigating particle transport in the ocean and reconstructing past ocean circulation. A key feature in reproducing their distributions by modelling is to understand and constrain as good as possible the scavenging processes, which means: 1) having the good adsorption-desorption kinetic rates and 2) describing […]
Dec / 10 / 2018
Thanks to samples collected as part of the Japanese GEOTRACES cruise in 2009 – 2010, along section GI04, Takahata and co-workers (2018, see reference below) identified a maximum helium-3 ratios value (δ3He >14%) at mid-depth (2000 – 3000 m) in the northern part (north of 30°S) of the central Indian Ocean, whereas lower ratio was […]
Oct / 23 / 2018
Abrupt climate changes in the past have been attributed to variations in Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) strength. Knowing the exact timing and magnitude of the AMOC shift is important to understand the driving mechanism of such climate variability. After a thorough selection of 13 sediment cores, the authors show that the proxy Protactinium-231-Thorium-230 (231Pa/230Th) […]
Oct / 19 / 2018
This is what reveals the first full transarctic section of radium-228 (228Ra) in surface waters measured during Arctic cruises along GEOTRACES transects GN04 (cruise PS94) and GN01 (cruise HLY1502) proposed by Rutgers van der Loeff and colleagues (2018, see reference below). 228Ra activities in the central Arctic have increased from 2007 through 2011 to 2015 […]
Sep / 22 / 2018