RV "Poseidon" Cruise 332 [POS332] - Chasing Saharan dust storms, 26 January - 26 February 2006

The Poseidon P332 cruise in the Cape Verde Island region was undertaken as part of the UK-SOLAS project (Surface-Ocean / Lower-Atmosphere Study, websites: www.solas-int.org and www.nerc.ac.uk/funding/thematics/solas/) to improve understanding of the atmospheric transport, cycling and deposition of dust and nutrients into the North Atlantic. The cruise was funded by NERC. The objectives of the cruise were: 1) Obtain an improved temporal and spatial estimate of atmospheric dust input to the Tropical N Atlantic. 2) Obtain an improved estimate of the seawater dissolution of N, P and Fe species from aerosol dust. 3) Determine the influence dust exerts on phytoplankton carbon fixation, species diversity and nutrient cycling in surface waters. 4) Determine the impact of atmospheric dust derived micronutrients on microbial community production and species diversity in the surface microlayer and underlying waters. In particular this cruise aimed to combine in-situ aircraft measurements of the atmosphere (DODO, University of Reading, www.met.rdg.ac.uk/~aer/dodo/dodo.html) with in situ sampling of the lower atmosphere and the water column (University of East Anglia, University of Southampton, National Oceanography Centre Southampton and University of Birmingham) around the Cape Verde islands. However, the Poseidon did not meet up with the aircraft due to a lack of dust in the atmosphere. The main sampling and data-gathering activities comprised 21 stations for CTD and GoFlo profiles, 175 underway samples from the towed Fish and 6 samples of the surface microlayer. Stand Alone Pumps (SAPS) were deployed 4 times but without success. One dust event was encountered at 4-8 Feb. The transect sailed at 3-4 Feb. during the dust event was again sampled a week later to investigate changes in nutrients, trace-metals and the microbial community. The Cape Verde Time Series Station was sampled at 9 Feb

Controls on seawater 231Pa, 230Th and 232Th concentrations along the flow paths of deep waters in the Southwest Atlantic

Measurements of dissolved Th-230, Pa-231 and Th-232 were made for twelve full-depth profiles along a Southwest Atlantic section during GEOTRACES cruise GA02S. Sampling captures all the main Atlantic deep water masses along their meridional flow paths and allows insight into the control on Th and Pa in a setting where waters are flowing in opposing directions, with direct relevance to understanding the use of Pa-231/Th-230 as an ocean-circulation proxy. Water-column Th-230 increases linearly with depth, in line with expected reversible scavenging models. Pa-231 increases from the surface to similar to 1200-1500 m, but is invariant or decreases with greater depth, deviating from the behavior expected for reversible scavenging. Dissolved Pa-231/Th-230 ratios display a mid-water-column maximum at similar to 1000-2000 m which is broadly coincident with Upper Circumpolar Deep Water. Below 2000 m, nuclide distributions and ratios exhibit no dependence on water mass, nor any indication of progressive change within a water mass, challenging the use of Pa-231/Th-230 as a past circulation tracer in the South Atlantic. Calculation of horizontal transport of Th-230 and Pa-231 by ocean circulation indicates a net southward export out of the Atlantic of 19% of the Pa-231 and 3% of the Th-230 produced in that ocean. This removal is all from the North Atlantic while, in the South Atlantic, removal to sediment equals production. Simple one-dimensional modeling can simulate Th-230 profiles but not the mid-water-column maximum observed in Pa-231 profiles, suggesting an additional source of Pa-231 (perhaps lateral transport from the margin) or removal at depth due to bottom scavenging. Near seafloor minima in concentrations indicates bottom scavenging of Th-230 and (231)pa, which is enhanced in the presence of nepheloid layers, particularly for 231Pa. This additional scavenging fractionates Th-230 and Pa-231 and, in the presence of nepheloid layers, may lead to an increase in sedimentary Pa-231/Th-230 ratios. Th-232 concentrations were paired with Th-230-derived residence times in the upper 250 m of the water column to test the application of Th as a tracer of dust deposition. Maxima in Th-232 indicate high dust input from the African and possibly South American continents

Fluxes and distribution of dissolved iron in the eastern (sub-) tropical North Atlantic Ocean

Aeolian dust transport from the Saharan/Sahel desert regions is considered the dominant external input of iron (Fe) to the surface waters of the eastern (sub-) tropical North Atlantic Ocean. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the sources of dissolved Fe (DFe) and quantified DFe fluxes to the surface ocean in this region. In winter 2008, surface water DFe concentrations varied between <0.1 nM and 0.37 nM, with an average of 0.13 ± 0.07 nM DFe (n = 194). A strong correlation between mixed layer averaged concentrations of dissolved aluminum (DAl), a proxy for dust input, and DFe indicated dust as a source of DFe to the surface ocean. The importance of Aeolian nutrient input was further confirmed by an increase of 0.1 nM DFe and 0.05 ?M phosphate during a repeat transect before and after a dust event. An exponential decrease of DFe with increasing distance from the African continent, suggested that continental shelf waters were a source of DFe to the northern part of our study area. Relatively high Fe:C ratios of up to 3 × 10?5 (C derived from apparent oxygen utilization (AOU)) indicated an external source of Fe to these African continental shelf waters. Below the wind mixed layer along 12°N, enhanced DFe concentrations (>1.5 nM) correlated positively with apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) and showed the importance of organic matter remineralization as an DFe source. As a consequence, vertical diffusive mixing formed an important Fe flux to the surface ocean in this region, even surpassing that of a major dust event

Distributions of particulate Heme b in the Atlantic and Southern Oceans-Implications for electron transport in phytoplankton

Concentrations of heme b, the iron-containing component of b-type hemoproteins, ranged from  500). High chl a:heme b ratios resulted from relative decreases in heme b, suggesting proteins such as cytochrome b6f, the core complex of photosystem II, and eukaryotic nitrate reductase were depleted relative to proteins containing chlorophyll such as the eukaryotic light-harvesting antenna. Relative variations in heme b, particulate organic carbon, and chl a can thus be indicative of a physiological response of the phytoplankton community to the prevailing growth conditions, within the context of large-scale changes in phytoplankton community composition

231Pa and 230Th in the Arctic Ocean 1991-2015: Changes in the Eurasian and Makarov Basins

230Th and 231Pa are produced in sea water by radioactive decay of Uranium isotopes (234U, 235U). Both are particle reactive and are scavenged onto settling particles. As 230Th is more particle reactive than 231Pa, their distribution in the water column and activity ratio give information about particle fluxes and circulation patterns and –intensities. Both particle fluxes and deep water circulation may respond to climatic changes in the Arctic Ocean. This study discusses temporal changes in radionuclide concentration in the context of climate change. We compare results from 1991 [1] 2007 and 2015. We present results of dissolved 231Pa and 230Th activities of samples collected in the Nansen-, Amundsenand Makarov Basins during GEOTRACES sections GIPY11 (2007, 4 stations), GN04 (2015, 10 stations) aboard RV Polarstern. Our discussion of factors controlling the 230Th and 231Pa distribution is supported by, dissolved CFC, dissolved iron and particulate 230Th and 231Pa (3 stations) collected during GEOTRACES section GN04. We find that distributions and concentrations of dissolved 231Pa and 230Th in the central Arctic Ocean have changed significantly since 1991. Dissolved 231Pa concentrations in the Makarov basin decreased by half within less than 20 years. These changes are discussed in the context of environmental changes, such as declining sea ice cover and related increase of particle fluxes or changing deep water circulation. [1] Scholten, J. C., et al. (1995). Deep-Sea Research II 42: 1519- 153

Return of naturally sourced Pb to Atlantic surface waters

Anthropogenic emissions completely overwhelmed natural marine lead (Pb) sources during the past century, predominantly due to leaded petrol usage. Here, based on Pb isotope measurements, we reassess the importance of natural and anthropogenic Pb sources to the tropical North Atlantic following the nearly complete global cessation of leaded petrol use. Significant proportions of up to 30-50% of natural Pb, derived from mineral dust, are observed in Atlantic surface waters, reflecting the success of the global effort to reduce anthropogenic Pb emissions. The observation of mineral dust derived Pb in surface waters is governed by the elevated atmospheric mineral dust concentration of the North African dust plume and the dominance of dry deposition for the atmospheric aerosol flux to surface waters. Given these specific regional conditions, emissions from anthropogenic activities will remain the dominant global marine Pb source, even in the absence of leaded petrol combustion

The GEOTRACES Intermediate Data Product 2014

The GEOTRACES Intermediate Data Product 2014 (IDP2014) is the first publicly available data product of the international GEOTRACES programme, and contains data measured and quality controlled before the end of 2013. It consists of two parts: (1) a compilation of digital data for more than 200 trace elements and isotopes (TEIs) as well as classical hydrographic parameters, and (2) the eGEOTRACES Electronic Atlas providing a strongly inter-linked on-line atlas including more than 300 section plots and 90 animated 3D scenes. The IDP2014 covers the Atlantic, Arctic, and Indian oceans, exhibiting highest data density in the Atlantic. The TEI data in the IDP2014 are quality controlled by careful assessment of intercalibration results and multi-laboratory data comparisons at cross-over stations. The digital data are provided in several formats, including ASCII spreadsheet, Excel spreadsheet, netCDF, and Ocean Data View collection. In addition to the actual data values the IDP2014 also contains data quality flags and 1-? data error values where available. Quality flags and error values are useful for data filtering. Metadata about data originators, analytical methods and original publications related to the data are linked to the data in an easily accessible way. The eGEOTRACES Electronic Atlas is the visual representation of the IDP2014 data providing section plots and a new kind of animated 3D scenes. The basin-wide 3D scenes allow for viewing of data from many cruises at the same time, thereby providing quick overviews of large-scale tracer distributions. In addition, the 3D scenes provide geographical and bathymetric context that is crucial for the interpretation and assessment of observed tracer plumes, as well as for making inferences about controlling processes

Event log for GEOTRACES Southwestern Atlantic Transect cruise RSS/James Cook JC057 leg 3, March 2011 (GEOTRACES-SWAT project)

Dataset: JC057 eventlogEvent log for GEOTRACES Southwestern Atlantic Transect cruise RSS/James Cook JC057 leg 3, March 2011 (GEOTRACES-SWAT project). For a complete list of measurements, refer to the full dataset description in the supplemental file 'Dataset_description.pdf'. The most current version of this dataset is available at: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/672511NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE) OCE-126051