The Effects of Iron Complexing Ligands on the Long Term Ecosystem Response to Iron Enrichment of HNLC waters
The central hypothesis of this project is that natural iron-complexing organic ligands in seawater differentially regulate iron availability to large (microplankton) and small (nano and picoplankton) class of phytoplankton and thereby strongly influence the potential carbon sequestration in High Nitrate Low Chlorophyll (HNLC) regions of the ocean. The primary project goals are to: 1) determine how different natural and synthetic Fe chelators affect Fe availability to phytoplankton species that are representative of offshore HNLC waters, 2) elucidate how the changes in absolute concentrations of these chelators affect the longer-term ecosystem response to alleviation of Fe limitation, and 3) ascertain how changes in the ligand composition affect rates of cell sinking and aggregation - representative measures of the efficiency of carbon sequestration to the deep.
- Research Organization:
- University of Maine, School of Marine Sciences, Orono, ME 04469
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FG02-02ER63429
- OSTI ID:
- 895393
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-ER634293; TRN: US200721%%537
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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