Mechanisms of Pb supply and removal in two remote (sub-)polar ocean regions.

Schlosser, Christian and Garbe-Schönberg, Dieter (2019) Mechanisms of Pb supply and removal in two remote (sub-)polar ocean regions. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 149 (Article number 110659). DOI 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.110659.

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Abstract

Highlights

• Elevated concentrations of surface DPb near South Georgia in the Southern Ocean originated from glacial flour
• DPb in the open ocean North Atlantic and Southern Ocean originate from dust particles delivered from Patagonia and Northern Hemisphere
• Scavenging of DPb onto biogenic particles formed during spatially confined phytoplankton blooms leads to dissolved Pb removal

Abstract

Today, four decades past peak anthropogenic lead emissions in the 1970s, dissolved lead (DPb) concentrations in the surface ocean remain elevated. To constrain contemporary sources and sinks of DPb, we studied high latitude surface waters of the North Atlantic and the Southern Ocean. We observed high concentrations of surface DPb (46 pmol kg-1) near South Georgia in the Southern Ocean, sourced from glacial flour, while offshore DPb concentrations of 3–9 pmol kg-1 were attributable to aeolian Pb inputs mainly from Patagonia. Dissolved Pb in the North Atlantic (4–29 pmol kg-1) originated from aeolian particles from Northern Hemisphere sources. Extremely low DPb concentrations of <5 pmol kg-1 found in both polar regions were the result of scavenging of DPb onto biogenic particles formed during spatially confined phytoplankton blooms, indicating that changes in phytoplankton abundance may alter the residence time and distribution of DPb in the surface ocean.

Document Type: Article
Keywords: Dissolved lead (DPb), Trace metals, Glacial flour, Scavenging, Dust, High latitude oceans, RRS James Clark Ross
Research affiliation: Kiel University > Kiel Marine Science
OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB2 Marine Biogeochemistry > FB2-CH Chemical Oceanography
Kiel University
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: No
Publisher: Elsevier
Date Deposited: 22 Oct 2019 14:18
Last Modified: 31 Jan 2022 09:22
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/48046

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