Southern Ocean deep-water carbon export enhanced by natural iron fertilization

Raymond T. Pollard, Ian Salter, Richard J. Sanders (), Mike I. Lucas, C. Mark Moore, Rachel A. Mills, Peter J. Statham, John T. Allen, Alex R. Baker, Dorothee C. E. Bakker, Matthew A. Charette, Sophie Fielding, Gary R. Fones, Megan French, Anna E. Hickman, Ross J. Holland, J. Alan Hughes, Timothy D. Jickells, Richard S. Lampitt, Paul J. Morris, Florence H. Nédélec, Maria Nielsdóttir, Hélène Planquette, Ekaterina E. Popova, Alex J. Poulton, Jane F. Read, Sophie Seeyave, Tania Smith, Mark Stinchcombe, Sarah Taylor, Sandy Thomalla, Hugh J. Venables, Robert Williamson and Mike V. Zubkov
Additional contact information
Raymond T. Pollard: National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Natural Environment Research Council and University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
Ian Salter: National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Natural Environment Research Council and University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
Richard J. Sanders: National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Natural Environment Research Council and University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
Mike I. Lucas: University of Cape Town
C. Mark Moore: National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Natural Environment Research Council and University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
Rachel A. Mills: National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Natural Environment Research Council and University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
Peter J. Statham: National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Natural Environment Research Council and University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
John T. Allen: National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Natural Environment Research Council and University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
Alex R. Baker: School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia
Dorothee C. E. Bakker: School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia
Matthew A. Charette: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA
Sophie Fielding: British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
Gary R. Fones: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Burnaby Building, Burnaby Road, Portsmouth PO1 3QL, UK
Megan French: School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia
Anna E. Hickman: University of Liverpool, L69 3GP, UK
Ross J. Holland: National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Natural Environment Research Council and University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
J. Alan Hughes: National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Natural Environment Research Council and University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
Timothy D. Jickells: School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia
Richard S. Lampitt: National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Natural Environment Research Council and University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
Paul J. Morris: National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Natural Environment Research Council and University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
Florence H. Nédélec: Laboratoire Environnement et Resources de Normandie, IFREMER, Avenue du Général de Gaulle - B.P.32, 14 520 Port-en-Bessin, France
Maria Nielsdóttir: National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Natural Environment Research Council and University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
Hélène Planquette: Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08901, USA
Ekaterina E. Popova: National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Natural Environment Research Council and University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
Alex J. Poulton: National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Natural Environment Research Council and University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
Jane F. Read: National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Natural Environment Research Council and University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
Sophie Seeyave: National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Natural Environment Research Council and University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
Tania Smith: National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Natural Environment Research Council and University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
Mark Stinchcombe: National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Natural Environment Research Council and University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
Sarah Taylor: National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Natural Environment Research Council and University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK
Sandy Thomalla: University of Cape Town
Hugh J. Venables: British Antarctic Survey, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
Robert Williamson: University of Cape Town
Mike V. Zubkov: National Oceanography Centre Southampton, Natural Environment Research Council and University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK

Nature, 2009, vol. 457, issue 7229, 577-580

Abstract: Iron fertilization, naturally The ocean's importance in storing carbon is widely recognized, as is the importance of iron as a limiting nutrient in much of the global ocean. But quantifying the increase in long-term carbon storage in response to the lifting of iron limitation has proved difficult. The CROZEX experiment, a cruise on-board the RRS Discovery, set out to test the hypothesis that the observed north–south gradient in phytoplankton concentrations near the Crozet Islands in the Southern Ocean is induced by natural iron fertilization that results in enhanced organic carbon flux to the deep ocean. The data support the hypothesis: carbon export fluxes to the deep from the fertile waters were two to three times greater than those fluxes from an adjacent high-nutrient low-chlorophyll area not fertilized by iron. The efficiency of carbon export was somewhat greater than that reported in experiments where iron is added artificially, a possible consequence of large losses of the artificially added iron, but smaller compared to that reported from a naturally induced bloom, possibly related to the importance of horizontal iron supply.

Date: 2009
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DOI: 10.1038/nature07716

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