Iron mobilization in North African dust.
- Environmental Science Division
Iron is an essential nutrient for phytoplankton. Although iron-containing dust mobilized from arid regions supplies the majority of the iron to the oceans, the key flux in terms of the biogeochemical response to atmospheric deposition is the amount of soluble or bioavailable iron. Atmospheric processing of mineral aerosols by anthropogenic pollutants (e.g. sulfuric acid) may transform insoluble iron into soluble forms. Previous studies have suggested higher iron solubility in smaller particles, as they are subject to more thorough atmospheric processing due to a longer residence time than coarse particles. On the other hand, the specific mineralogy of iron in dust may also influence the particulate iron solubility in size. Compared to mineral dust aerosols, iron from combustion sources could be more soluble, and found more frequently in smaller particles. Internal mixing of alkaline dust with iron-containing minerals could significantly reduce iron dissolution in large dust aerosols due to the buffering effect, which may, in contrast, yield higher solubility in smaller particles externally mixed with alkaline dust (Ito and Feng, 2010). Here, we extend the modeling study of Ito and Feng (2010) to investigate atmospheric processing of mineral aerosols from African dust. In contrast to Asian dust, we used a slower dissolution rate for African dust in the fine mode. We compare simulated fractional iron solubility with observations. The inclusion of alkaline compounds in aqueous chemistry substantially limits the iron dissolution during long-range transport to the Atlantic Ocean: only a small fraction of iron (<0.2%) dissolves from illite in coarsemode dust aerosols with 0.45% soluble iron initially. In contrast, a significant fraction (1-1.5%) dissolves in fine-mode dust aerosols due to the acid mobilization of the iron-containing minerals externally mixed with carbonate minerals. Consequently, the model generally reproduces higher iron solubility in smaller particles as suggested by measurements over the Atlantic Ocean. Our results imply that the dissolution of iron in African dust is generally slower than that in Asian dust. Conventionally, dust is assumed as the major supply of bioavailable iron with a constant solubility at 1-2% to the remote ocean. Therefore, the timing and location of the atmospheric iron input to the ocean with detailed modeling of atmospheric processing could be different from those previously assumed. Past and future changes in aerosol supply of bioavailable iron might play a greater role in the nutrient supply for phytoplankton production in the upper ocean, as global warming has been predicted to intensify stratification and reduce vertical mixing from the deep ocean. Thus the feedback of climate change through ocean uptake of carbon dioxide as well as via aerosol-cloud interaction might be modified by the inclusion of iron chemistry in the atmosphere.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC); Innovative Program of Climate Change Projection for the 21st Century
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 1025709
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/EVS/JA-67826; TRN: US201120%%726
- Journal Information:
- Proc. Environ. Sci., Vol. 6, Issue 2011
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- ENGLISH
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