skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

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

Journal Article · · Science Advances

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 Laboratory (SLAC), 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, Vol. 3, Issue 6; ISSN 2375-2548
Publisher:
AAASCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 44 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (83)

Hydroxamate Siderophores: Occurrence and Importance in the Atlantic Ocean journal December 2008
Provenance of dust to Antarctica: A lead isotopic perspective: PB ISOTOPIC SIGNATURE IN ANTARCTIC DUST journal March 2016
SEQUENCE ANALYSIS AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION OF IRON ACQUISITION GENES IN TWO MARINE DIATOMS 1 journal August 2007
Deep carbon export from a Southern Ocean iron-fertilized diatom bloom journal July 2012
Chemically and Geographically Distinct Solid-Phase Iron Pools in the Southern Ocean journal November 2012
Photosynthetic architecture differs in coastal and oceanic diatoms journal October 2004
Availability of colloidal ferric oxides to coastal marine phytoplankton journal March 1995
Effect of iron limitation on photosynthesis in a marine diatom journal December 1991
Patagonian origin of glacial dust deposited in East Antarctica (Vostok and Dome C) during glacial stages 2, 4 and 6 journal February 1997
Comparative metatranscriptomics identifies molecular bases for the physiological responses of phytoplankton to varying iron availability journal January 2012
Origin and significance of calcium carbonate in soils of southwestern Patagonia journal December 2006
The Genome of the Diatom Thalassiosira Pseudonana: Ecology, Evolution, and Metabolism journal October 2004
Material supply to the abyssal seafloor in the Northeast Atlantic journal January 2001
Integrated Regulatory and Metabolic Networks of the Marine Diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum Predict the Response to Rising CO 2 Levels journal February 2017
Influence of Atmospheric Processes on the Solubility and Composition of Iron in Saharan Dust journal June 2016
Tracking eolian dust with helium and thorium: Impacts of grain size and provenance text January 2016
Tracking eolian dust with helium and thorium: Impacts of grain size and provenance journal February 2016
Trajectory modeling of modern dust transport to the Southern Ocean and Antarctica journal September 2015
The Phaeodactylum genome reveals the evolutionary history of diatom genomes journal October 2008
Soluble and Colloidal Iron in the Oligotrophic North Atlantic and North Pacific journal August 2001
Dust- and mineral-iron utilization by the marine dinitrogen-fixer Trichodesmium journal June 2011
Use of active fluorescence to estimate phytoplankton photosynthesis in situ journal December 1993
Preparation and Chemistry of the Artificial Algal Culture Medium Aquil journal January 1989
Glacial flour dust storms in the Gulf of Alaska: Hydrologic and meteorological controls and their importance as a source of bioavailable iron: GLACIAL FLOUR DUST IN GULF OF ALASKA journal March 2011
Dissolution of aerosol-derived iron in seawater: Leach solution chemistry, aerosol type, and colloidal iron fraction journal June 2010
Southern Patagonian glacial chronology for the Last Glacial period and implications for Southern Ocean climate journal February 2008
Interactions between Diatoms and Bacteria journal August 2012
The role of siderophores in iron acquisition by photosynthetic marine microorganisms journal April 2009
SIXPack a Graphical User Interface for XAS Analysis Using IFEFFIT journal January 2005
Combining Selective Sequential Extractions, X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy, and Principal Component Analysis for Quantitative Zinc Speciation in Soil journal December 2002
Iron requirements of the pennate diatom Pseudo-nitzschia : Comparison of oceanic (high-nitrate, low-chlorophyll waters) and coastal species journal September 2006
A procedure for routine purification of algal cultures with antibiotics journal December 1967
A switch from Si(OH) 4 to NO 3 depletion in the glacial Southern Ocean journal January 2002
Iron bioavailability to phytoplankton: an empirical approach journal October 2014
Patagonian and southern South Atlantic view of Holocene climate journal June 2016
Iron solubility driven by speciation in dust sources to the ocean journal April 2009
Aquil: a Chemically Defined Phytoplankton Culture Medium for Trace Metal Studies12 journal June 1979
A record from Lake Cardiel of climate change in southern South America journal June 1990
Does dust from Patagonia reach the sub-Antarctic Atlantic Ocean? journal January 2007
Confirmation of iron limitation of phytoplankton photosynthesis in the equatorial Pacific Ocean journal October 1996
Response of the Photosynthetic Apparatus of Phaeodactylum Tricornutum (Bacillariophyceae) to Nitrate, Phosphate, or iron Starvation1 journal December 1993
A Novel Protein, Ubiquitous in Marine Phytoplankton, Concentrates Iron at the Cell Surface and Facilitates Uptake journal February 2015
The Growth of Bacterial Cultures journal October 1949
Testing the iron hypothesis in ecosystems of the equatorial Pacific Ocean journal September 1994
Iron-light interactions differ in Southern Ocean phytoplankton journal July 2012
Quantitative Speciation of Mn-Bearing Particulates Emitted from Autos Burning (Methylcyclopentadienyl)manganese Tricarbonyl-Added Gasolines Using XANES Spectroscopy journal March 2000
A mesoscale phytoplankton bloom in the polar Southern Ocean stimulated by iron fertilization journal October 2000
Influence of Patagonian glaciers on Antarctic dust deposition during the last glacial period journal March 2009
Availability of well-defined iron colloids to the marine diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii journal May 1990
Comparing the Epica and Vostok dust records during the last 220,000 years: stratigraphical correlation and provenance in glacial periods journal June 2004
Iron Limitation Modulates Ocean Acidification Effects on Southern Ocean Phytoplankton Communities journal November 2013
Glacial-interglacial CO 2 change: The Iron Hypothesis journal February 1990
Iron Fertilization of the Subantarctic Ocean During the Last Ice Age journal March 2014
Fluctuations of the Última Esperanza ice lobe (52°S), Chilean Patagonia, during the last glacial maximum and termination 1 journal January 2011
Standard-state thermodynamic properties of annite, KFe3[(OH)2AlSi3O10], based on new calorimetric measurements [Standard-state thermodynamic properties of annite, KFe3[(OH)2AlSi3O10], based on new calorimetric measurements] journal September 2015
Responses of microplankton community structure to iron addition in the Scotia Sea journal January 2012
lron transport in marine phytoplankton: Kinetics of cellular and medium coordination reactions journal July 1990
Whole-cell response of the pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum to iron starvation journal July 2008
Atmospheric Iron Deposition: Global Distribution, Variability, and Human Perturbations journal January 2009
Primary Production of the Biosphere: Integrating Terrestrial and Oceanic Components journal July 1998
A uniform isotopic and chemical signature of dust exported from Patagonia: Rock sources and occurrence in southern environments journal March 2007
Assessing Primary Production Variability in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre: a Comparison of fast Repetition rate Fluorometry and 14c Measurements1 journal February 2006
Holocene glacier history of the Lago Argentino basin, Southern Patagonian Icefield journal October 2014
Aquil: a Chemically Defined Phytoplankton Culture Medium for Trace Metal Studies12 journal June 1979
Chloroplast genomes of the diatoms Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Thalassiosira pseudonana: comparison with other plastid genomes of the red lineage journal January 2007
Plankton community structure and export of C, N, P and Si in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current journal March 2006
Iron-Induced Changes in Light Harvesting and Photochemical Energy Conversion Processes in Eukaryotic Marine Algae journal October 1992
Recent progress in diatom genomics and epigenomics journal April 2017
Genetic indicators of iron limitation in wild populations of Thalassiosira oceanica from the northeast Pacific Ocean journal October 2014
Direct use of inorganic colloidal iron by marine mixotrophic phytoplankton journal June 2001
The biogeochemical cycle of iron in the ocean journal September 2010
Glacial geomorphology of the Torres del Paine region (southern Patagonia): Implications for glaciation, deglaciation and paleolake history journal January 2014
Evolutionary genomics of the cold-adapted diatom Fragilariopsis cylindrus journal January 2017
The life of diatoms in the world's oceans journal May 2009
Paleodust variability since the Last Glacial Maximum and implications for iron inputs to the ocean: PALEODUST VARIABILITY AND IRON journal April 2016
Metatranscriptomes reveal functional variation in diatom communities from the Antarctic Peninsula journal April 2015
Production and dissolution of biogenic silica in the ocean: Revised global estimates, comparison with regional data and relationship to biogenic sedimentation journal September 1995
Spatial and temporal development of phytoplankton iron stress in relation to bloom dynamics in the high-latitude North Atlantic Ocean journal February 2013
The integral role of iron in ocean biogeochemistry journal March 2017
Siderophore-based microbial adaptations to iron scarcity across the eastern Pacific Ocean journal December 2016
Chemical characterization of ambient aerosol collected during the southwest monsoon and intermonsoon seasons over the Arabian Sea: Labile-Fe(II) and other trace metals journal February 1999
Seasonal and spatial distributions and dry deposition fluxes of atmospheric total and labile iron over the tropical and subtropical North Atlantic Ocean journal January 2004
Iron limitation modulates ocean acidification effects on southern ocean phytoplankton communities dataset January 2013

Cited By (8)

Aerosol-Climate Interactions During the Last Glacial Maximum journal April 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
Highly bioavailable dust-borne iron delivered to the Southern Ocean during glacial periods journal October 2018
Arctic climate shifts drive rapid ecosystem responses across the West Greenland landscape journal July 2019
Physical Weathering Intensity Controls Bioavailable Primary Iron(II) Silicate Content in Major Global Dust Sources journal October 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
Biolabile ferrous iron bearing nanoparticles in glacial sediments journal July 2018

Figures / Tables (4)


Similar Records

Highly bioavailable dust-borne iron delivered to the Southern Ocean during glacial periods
Journal Article · Mon Oct 15 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · OSTI ID:1625972

Improving the Representation of Soluble Iron in Climate Models
Technical Report · Sun Mar 13 00:00:00 EST 2016 · OSTI ID:1625972

Inactivation of Phaeodactylum tricornutum urease gene using transcription activator-like effector nuclease-based targeted mutagenesis
Journal Article · Fri Oct 10 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Plant Biotechnology Journal · OSTI ID:1625972