Iron stable isotopes track pelagic iron cycling during a subtropical phytoplankton bloom.

ABSTRACT: The supply and bioavailability of dissolved iron sets the magnitude of surface productivity for ∼ 40% of the global ocean. The redox state, organic complexation, and phase (dissolved versus particulate) of iron are key determinants of iron bioavailability in the marine realm, although the mechanisms facilitating exchange between iron species (inorganic and organic) and phases are poorly constrained. Here we use the isotope fingerprint of dissolved and particulate iron to reveal distinct isotopic signatures for biological uptake of iron during a GEOTRACES process study focused on a temperate spring phytoplankton bloom in subtropical waters. At the onset of the bloom, dissolved iron within the mixed layer was isotopically light relative to particulate iron. The isotopically light dissolved i

SUBMITTER: Ellwood MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4291648 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature