Achterberg, Eric P. and Singh, Naman Deep (2023) Equatorial Pacific GEOTRACES, Cruise No. SO298, April 14 - June 2 2023, Guayaquil (Ecuador) - Townsville (Australia), GEOTRACES GP11. . SONNE-Berichte, SO298 . UNSPECIFIED, 106 pp. DOI 10.48433/cr_so298.

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Abstract

Research cruise SO298 with RV SONNE was sailed in the period April to June 2023 in the
Equatorial Pacific Ocean (EPO) from Guayaquil (Ecuador) to Townsville (Australia), with a focus
on trace element biogeochemistry and chemical oceanography but also including physical and
biological oceanographic components. The research topic of the cruise was to determine in detail
the distributions, sources and sinks of trace elements and their isotopes (TEIs) in the water column
along a zonal section in one of the biogeochemically least studied ocean regions on earth. We
aimed to investigate the biogeochemical cycling of TEIs, and their interactions with surface ocean
productivity and the carbon and nitrogen cycles (incl. N2 fixation), given that some TEIs act as
micronutrients. The findings will have global significance for understanding the chemical
environment in which ecosystems operate. The supply pathways of TEIs to the EPO from ocean
boundaries including the atmosphere (dust and rain), continents (mainly Asian rivers), sediments
(on continental shelves/slopes of the Indonesian Island Arcs), and ocean crust (hydrothermalism)
were investigated. The TEI transport within water masses was determined with a focus on the
equatorial eastward flow of Asian shelf derived TEIs in the Equatorial Undercurrent and the deep
inflow of Southern Ocean waters in the western EPO. The TEI transport assessment along the
cruise track will allow a more reliable use of particular TEIs as paleo circulation proxies. The
cruise is officially part of the GEOTRACES program.

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