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High particulate iron(II) content in glacially sourced dusts enhances productivity of a model diatom

Journal Article · · Science Advances
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [2];  [4];  [5];  [6];  [3];  [3];  [3]
  1. Columbia Univ., Palisades, NY (United States). Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory; Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States); DOE/OSTI
  2. Columbia Univ., Palisades, NY (United States). Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory; Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States)
  3. Columbia Univ., Palisades, NY (United States). Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
  4. Columbia Univ., New York, NY (United States). Barnard College
  5. University of Chile, Santiago (Chile)
  6. National University of Córdoba (Argentina)
Little is known about the bioavailability of iron (Fe) in natural dusts and the impact of dust mineralogy on Fe utilization by photosynthetic organisms. Variation in the supply of bioavailable Fe to the ocean has the potential to influence the global carbon cycle by modulating primary production in the Southern Ocean. Much of the dust deposited across the Southern Ocean is sourced from South America, particularly Patagonia, where the waxing and waning of past and present glaciers generate fresh glaciogenic material that contrasts with aged and chemically weathered nonglaciogenic sediments. We show that these two potential sources of modern-day dust are mineralogically distinct, where glaciogenic dust sources contain mostly Fe(II)-rich primary silicate minerals, and nearby nonglaciogenic dust sources contain mostly Fe(III)-rich oxyhydroxide and Fe(III) silicate weathering products. In laboratory culture experiments, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, a well-studied coastal model diatom, grows more rapidly, and with higher photosynthetic efficiency, with input of glaciogenic particulates compared to that of nonglaciogenic particulates due to these differences in Fe mineralogy. Monod nutrient accessibility models fit to our data suggest that particulate Fe(II) content, rather than abiotic solubility, controls the Fe bioavailability in our Fe fertilization experiments. Thus, it is possible for this diatom to access particulate Fe in dusts by another mechanism besides uptake of unchelated Fe (Fe') dissolved from particles into the bulk solution. If this capability is widespread in the Southern Ocean, then dusts deposited to the Southern Ocean in cold glacial periods are likely more bioavailable than those deposited in warm interglacial periods.
Research Organization:
SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
National Science Foundation (NSF); USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-76SF00515
OSTI ID:
1625972
Journal Information:
Science Advances, Journal Name: Science Advances Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 3; ISSN 2375-2548
Publisher:
AAASCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Biolabile ferrous iron bearing nanoparticles in glacial sediments journal July 2018
Highly bioavailable dust-borne iron delivered to the Southern Ocean during glacial periods journal October 2018
Aerosol-Climate Interactions During the Last Glacial Maximum journal April 2018
Physical Weathering Intensity Controls Bioavailable Primary Iron(II) Silicate Content in Major Global Dust Sources journal October 2019
Arctic climate shifts drive rapid ecosystem responses across the West Greenland landscape journal July 2019
XANES Iron Geochemistry in the Mineral Dust of the Talos Dome Ice Core (Antarctica) and the Southern Hemisphere Potential Source Areas journal December 2018
Transport of Mineral Dust and Its Impact on Climate journal April 2018
Improved methodologies for Earth system modelling of atmospheric soluble iron and observation comparisons using the Mechanism of Intermediate complexity for Modelling Iron (MIMI v1.0) journal January 2019

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Highly bioavailable dust-borne iron delivered to the Southern Ocean during glacial periods
Journal Article · Sun Oct 14 20:00:00 EDT 2018 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · OSTI ID:1483093