TRACE ELEMENTS IN SEAWATER
My lab has been involved in a series of cruises aimed at understanding dissolved trace element distributions in seawater. Over the years, people from my lab have participated in a variety of research cruises including the IOC-sponsored Baseline cruises (South Africa to Maderia, 1990; Halifax to Iceland, 1993; Uruguay to Barbados, 1996; Japan to Hawaii, 2002). The plot of Mn in surface waters of the Atlantic found on my home page is one example of that work. Below is a plot of dissolved Fe from Station ALOHA near Hawaii comparing our results with those of two other labs. Also shown below is a plot of Mn, Fe, and Co in surface waters of the Northwest Pacific. (Thanks to Pat Heidingsfelder, with assistance from Lyndsie Gross, for producing the data illustrated below.)
We are now involved in the US Geotraces program, the largest marine chemistry project ever funded. With a suite of international collaborators we are examining trace element distributions in a zonal section across the North Atlantic. Other cruises throughout the ocean basins will occur in future years.
Rev. 02/28/11