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Constraints on soluble aerosol iron flux to the Southern Ocean at the Last Glacial Maximum

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  • T.M. Conway

    (University of Cambridge
    British Antarctic Survey
    Present address: Department of Earth Sciences, Institute for Geochemistry and Petrology, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland)

  • E.W. Wolff

    (University of Cambridge
    British Antarctic Survey)

  • R. Röthlisberger

    (British Antarctic Survey
    Present address: Federal Office for the Environment, Bern, Switzerland)

  • R. Mulvaney

    (British Antarctic Survey)

  • H.E. Elderfield

    (University of Cambridge)

Abstract

Relief of iron (Fe) limitation in the Southern Ocean during ice ages, with potentially increased carbon storage in the ocean, has been invoked as one driver of glacial–interglacial atmospheric CO2 cycles. Ice and marine sediment records demonstrate that atmospheric dust supply to the oceans increased by up to an order of magnitude during glacial intervals. However, poor constraints on soluble atmospheric Fe fluxes to the oceans limit assessment of the role of Fe in glacial–interglacial change. Here, using novel techniques, we present estimates of water- and seawater-soluble Fe solubility in Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) atmospheric dust from the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica (EPICA) Dome C and Berkner Island ice cores. Fe solubility was very variable (1–42%) during the interval, and frequently higher than typically assumed by models. Soluble aerosol Fe fluxes to Dome C at the LGM (0.01–0.84 mg m−2 per year) suggest that soluble Fe deposition to the Southern Ocean would have been ≥10 × modern deposition, rivalling upwelling supply.

Suggested Citation

  • T.M. Conway & E.W. Wolff & R. Röthlisberger & R. Mulvaney & H.E. Elderfield, 2015. "Constraints on soluble aerosol iron flux to the Southern Ocean at the Last Glacial Maximum," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 6(1), pages 1-9, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:6:y:2015:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms8850
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8850
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