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Development of a mineralogy-based anthropogenic combustion-iron emission inventory

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1734628· OSTI ID:1734628

Atmospheric supply of iron can modulate ocean biogeochemistry, due to its key role in global nitrogen and carbon cycles. Using a detailed technology-based methodology we revise total and soluble anthropogenic iron emissions and resolve iron into its mineral components, which allows modeling mineral-specific atmospheric reactions. The inclusion of metal smelting as an iron source, increases fine iron aerosol emissions (smaller than 1 µm) compared with most previous inventories. Different assumptions about solubility lead to estimates of 40-450 Gg/year deposition of soluble anthropogenic iron. When combined with dust and wildfires, the global total anthropogenic soluble iron deposition is 1900-2300 Gg/yr, so assumptions in anthropogenic inventories can affect estimates of global soluble iron supply by about 30%. In regions where marine primary productivity is iron-limited, anthropogenic combustion-iron contributes up to half of the atmospheric soluble iron flux to North Pacific Ocean.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER). Earth and Environmental Systems Science Division
DOE Contract Number:
SC0016321
OSTI ID:
1734628
Report Number(s):
DOE-UIUC-16321
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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