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Overlooked riverine contributions of dissolved neodymium and hafnium to the Amazon estuary and oceans

Author

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  • Antao Xu

    (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel)

  • Ed Hathorne

    (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel)

  • Georgi Laukert

    (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
    Dalhousie University
    Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

  • Martin Frank

    (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel)

Abstract

The Amazon River accounts for 20% of global freshwater runoff and supplies vital trace metals to the Atlantic Ocean. Suspended particles within its plume are thought to partially dissolve, constituting a large potential source of metals, which is, however, not well constrained. Here we used combined neodymium (Nd) and hafnium (Hf) isotopes to disprove the release of Nd and Hf from particles as the cause of the observed dissolved concentration increases and isotopic variability across the plume. Instead, the changes reflect admixture of nearby Pará River freshwater with exceptionally high dissolved Nd and Hf concentrations contributing 45–100% of the riverine fraction to the southern and outer estuary. This result led us to develop an empirical relationship between riverine Nd concentration and pH to revise the global dissolved riverine Nd flux, which accordingly is at least three times higher than commonly used estimates. Future work should focus on contributions of low-pH rivers to global metal fluxes.

Suggested Citation

  • Antao Xu & Ed Hathorne & Georgi Laukert & Martin Frank, 2023. "Overlooked riverine contributions of dissolved neodymium and hafnium to the Amazon estuary and oceans," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-39922-3
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39922-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Qingquan Hong & Yilin Cheng & Yang Qu & Lin Wei & Yumeng Liu & Jianfeng Gao & Pinghe Cai & Tianyu Chen, 2024. "Overlooked shelf sediment reductive sinks of dissolved rhenium and uranium in the modern ocean," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Zhouling Zhang & Antao Xu & Ed Hathorne & Marcus Gutjahr & Thomas J. Browning & Kathleen J. Gosnell & Te Liu & Zvi Steiner & Rainer Kiko & Zhongwei Yuan & Haoran Liu & Eric P. Achterberg & Martin Fran, 2024. "Substantial trace metal input from the 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption into the South Pacific," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.

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