Cerium redox cycles and rare earth elements in the Sargasso Sea

Journal Article · Tue Oct 01 00:00:00 EDT 1991 · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(91)90440-G· OSTI ID:7302586

Sholkovitz, E R; Schneider, D L ^[1]

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1. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MA (United States)

Two profiles of the rare earth elements (REEs) are reported for the upper water column of the Sargasso Sea. The trivalent-only REEs have remarkably constant concentrations in the upper 500m of an April 1989 profile and in the upper 200m of a May 1989 profile. In contrast, Ce concentrations decrease smoothly with increasing depth. In April 1989 Ce decreases from 15.7 pmol/kg at 20 m to 5.1 pmol/kg at 750 m. Cerium, which has Redox transformations in seawater, behaves anomalously with respect to its REE(III) neighbors. While both dissolved Ce and Mn have elevated concentrations in the upper 200m, their vertical gradients are distinctly different. In contrast to Mn, which reaches a minimum dissolved concentration near the zone (150-250 m) of a particulate Mn maximum, Ce is being removed both near this zone and to depths of at least 750m. These new profiles indicate that Ce is involved in an upper ocean redox cycle. This interpretation is consistent with the MOFFETT (1990) incubation tracer experiments on the same May 1989 seawater. He showed that Ce(III) oxidation is biologically mediated, probably light inhibited, increases with depth, and 3-4 times slower than Mn(II) oxidation in the 100-200 m zone. CERoclines provide new information into the fine scale zonation of redox process operating in the upper columns of oligotrophic oceans.

• OSTI ID: 7302586
• Journal Information: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (United States), Journal Name: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (United States) Vol. 55:10; ISSN GCACA; ISSN 0016-7037
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
580000* -- Geosciences
ATLANTIC OCEAN
CERIUM
CHARGED PARTICLES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMISTRY
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ELEMENTS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
ION EXCHANGE
IONS
MANGANESE IONS
METALS
MINERAL CYCLING
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
QUANTITY RATIO
RARE EARTHS
REDOX REACTIONS
SARGASSO SEA
SEAS
SEAWATER
SURFACE WATERS
WATER
WATER CHEMISTRY