Identification

Title

Slowly sinking particles underlie dissolved iron transport across the Pacific Ocean

Abstract

Continental shelf sediments are an important source of iron (Fe) in the oceans. Observational data suggest that basin-scale transport of sedimentary sourced Fe accompanies the ventilation of the intermediate layer in the North Pacific. Here we use a marine biogeochemical model to explore the Fe transport mechanism with a focus on the role of sinking particles. The lateral penetration of sedimentary sourced Fe was best simulated when we assumed a short desorption and disaggregation length scale of Fe from sinking particles. The simulation results indicated that Fe is laterally transported mainly through interactions with particles with sinking velocities of 180-460 m yr(-1); these velocities are two orders of magnitude slower than typical sinking rates of marine aggregates determined from mass flux measurements. Slowly sinking particles drive the basin-scale transport of Fe by prolonging its residence time and by injecting sedimentary sourced Fe supplied originally to less dense waters into the intermediate layer water across isopycnal surfaces. A large amount of Fe from shelf sediments of the Okhotsk and Bering Seas is exported to the North Pacific through this particle interaction. These results highlight a biogeochemical linkage between the marginal seas and ocean basins that has been overlooked in global ocean models.

Resource type

document

Resource locator

Unique resource identifier

code

http://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d7h135dq

codeSpace

Dataset language

eng

Spatial reference system

code identifying the spatial reference system

Classification of spatial data and services

Topic category

geoscientificInformation

Keywords

Keyword set

keyword value

Text

originating controlled vocabulary

title

Resource Type

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Geographic location

West bounding longitude

East bounding longitude

North bounding latitude

South bounding latitude

Temporal reference

Temporal extent

Begin position

End position

Dataset reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2021-04-01T00:00:00Z

Frequency of update

Quality and validity

Lineage

Conformity

Data format

name of format

version of format

Constraints related to access and use

Constraint set

Use constraints

Limitations on public access

None

Responsible organisations

Responsible party

contact position

OpenSky Support

organisation name

UCAR/NCAR - Library

full postal address

PO Box 3000

Boulder

80307-3000

email address

opensky@ucar.edu

web address

http://opensky.ucar.edu/

name: homepage

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata on metadata

Metadata point of contact