Measurement of iron chemical speciation in seawater at 4°C: The use of competitive ligand exchange-adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry

Iron is mostly bound to poorly characterised organic ligands; thus, organic ligands are paramount in defining Fe biogeochemical cycling and its control on oceanic primary productivity. Since 1994, Fe chemical speciation has been determined by Competitive Ligand Exchange-Adsorptive Cathodic Stripping Voltammetry (CLE-AdCSV) at room temperature. However, chemical speciation is strongly dependent on temperature and some organic ligands can be temperature sensitive. Here, we compare the use of the CLE-AdCSV at room temperature and at 4°C-a temperature closer to that found in the Southern Ocean, one of the largest iron-limited regions. For both temperatures, similar detection limits and total Fe concentrations were found. However, at 4°C the analytical detection window (αFe(TAC)2) was shifted by 1.4-fold towards the detection of weaker ligands, resulting in up to 2-fold lower ligand concentrations as well as a 2- to 5-fold and 10- to70-fold lower conditional stability constants with inorganic Fe (Fe') and Fe(III), respectively. As a result, the Fe' concentration at 4°C was 2-fold greater, resulting in direct implication for Fe bioavailability. Results show that difference in Fe chemical speciation at 4°C was not solely explained by temperature effect on thermodynamics with the exchange ligands or the diffusion of the electroactive complex towards the Hg drop. Lowering analytical window during analysis at room temperature is proposed as a first estimate of temperature effect on iron chemical speciation. © 2013 Elsevier B.V

Zinc requirement for two phytoplankton strains of the Tasman Sea

© CSIRO 2017. Zinc has been proposed as a limiting, or co-limiting, micronutrient for phytoplankton. In the Tasman Sea, extremely low zinc concentrations have been reported, raising the possibility there of limitation of phytoplankton growth by zinc. The pennate diatom Nitzschia closterium (CS-1) and the coccolithophorid Emiliania huxleyi (CS-812) were cultured in two low zinc concentrations (Zn2+=1.5 pmol L-1 and Zn2+=1.5 nmol L-1) mimicking conditions found in coastal and pelagic Tasman Sea. To monitor phytoplankton health and productivity, the maximum quantum yield (Fv/Fm), growth rate and cell size were analysed. These parameters showed that both strains were able to adapt and still grow. Shortterm uptake experiments revealed an effect on Zn biological transport, with consequences for its bioavailability. When grown at low Zn2+ concentrations, E. huxleyi showed an induction of a two-transporter system, highly dependent on photosynthetic energy for Zn uptake. N. closterium was able to survive without inducing a higher-affinity Zn transporter. Its Zn uptake was also highly dependent on cellular energy and the ability to potentially access labile complexed forms of Zn. This strategy, thus, represented an advantage over E. huxleyi. Results are discussed in the context of the conditions found in the Tasman Sea. Journal compilation