Insights into silicon cycling from ice sheet to coastal ocean from isotope geochemistry.

ABSTRACT: The polar regions are biologically productive and play a critical role in regional and global biogeochemical cycling. A key nutrient is dissolved silicon, required for the growth of siliceous phytoplankton, diatoms, which form an important component of polar ecosystems. Glacial weathering is thought to be an important dissolved silicon source to coastal waters, especially critical in regions experiencing seasonal silicon limitation of diatom growth. However, complex physical and biogeochemical interactions in fjords and coastal regions modulate the downstream supply of dissolved and particulate nutrients, including silicon. Here, we review the biogeochemical complexities of glaciated margins and the insights into this system that silicon isotope geochemistry offer. We show that stable and

SUBMITTER: Hendry KR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12009215 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature