One of the primary sources of micronutrients to the sea surface in remote ocean regions is the deposition of atmospheric dust. Geographic patterns in biogeochemical processes such as primary production and nitrogen fixation that require micronutrients like iron (Fe) are modulated in part by the spatial distribution of dust supply. Global models of dust deposition rates are poorly calibrated in the open ocean, owing to the difficulty of determining dust fluxes in sparsely sampled regions. We present new estimates of dust and Fe input rates from measurements of dissolved and particulate thorium isotopes230Th and232Th on the
North African dust is known to be deposited in the Gulf of Mexico, but its deposition rate and associated supply of lithogenic dissolved metals, such as the abiotic metal thorium or the micronutrient metal iron, have not been well‐quantified.232Th is an isotope with similar sources as iron and its input can be quantified using radiogenic230Th. By comparing dissolved232Th fluxes at three sites in the northern Gulf of Mexico with upwind sites in the North Atlantic, we place an upper bound on North African dust contributions to232Th and Fe in the Gulf of Mexico, which is about 30% of the total input. Precision on this bound is hindered by uncertainty in the relative rates of dust deposition in the North Atlantic and the northern Gulf of Mexico. Based on available radium data, shelf sources, including rivers, submarine groundwater discharge, and benthic sedimentary releases are likely as important if not more important than dust in the budget of lithogenic metals in the Gulf of Mexico. In other words, it is likely there is no one dominant source of Th and Fe in the Gulf of Mexico. Finally, our estimated Fe input in the northern Gulf of Mexico implies an Fe residence time of less than 6 months, similar to that in the North Atlantic despite significantly higher supply rates in the Gulf of Mexico.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 1737023
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10380596
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
- Volume:
- 127
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 2169-9275
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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