Chemical controls on iron distributions across the subsurface South Pacific Ocean
Iron and nitrogen are the primary nutrients that limit productivity in the ocean. While nitrogen cycling is largely controlled by biology, iron cycling is strongly determined by chemistry because iron losses are driven by abiotic formation of authigenic mineral iron. Here, we apply a mechanistic app...
| Autores: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2026 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya) |
| Repositorio: | Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:dnet:recercat____::d2a4e0e8ecfffddee94181c186ebe9eb |
| Acceso en línea: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-72070-y https://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/470082 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Iron cycling Organic matter Authigenic minerals |
| Sumario: | Iron and nitrogen are the primary nutrients that limit productivity in the ocean. While nitrogen cycling is largely controlled by biology, iron cycling is strongly determined by chemistry because iron losses are driven by abiotic formation of authigenic mineral iron. Here, we apply a mechanistic approach to examine how organic matter across the dissolved-particulate size spectrum controls authigenic iron formation in subsurface waters (>250 m) of the South Pacific Ocean. We find that accounting for the chemical heterogeneity of organic matter is essential for predicting widespread authigenic iron formation. Predicted dissolved and particulate iron concentrations matched observations in the ocean interior, while discrepancies were linked to kinetic control of authigenic iron formation or inputs of particles from the seafloor. Our work shows the need to represent the complexity of abiotic interactions to better resolve the interplay of chemical and biological controls on ocean iron cycling |
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