Coupling of Trace Metal Micronutrients and Phytoplankton Dynamics - A Focus on the Bering Sea and the Role of Iron

海洋科学中一个令人兴奋的研究前沿涉及微量营养元素如铁、锰、锌和钴在影响浮游生物群落结构和功能中的作用。某些具有生物活性的痕量金属--特别是铁--可以在分子、细胞、群落和生态系统层面上影响海洋浮游植物。特别重要的是铁等微量金属作为生物限制微量营养素的关键作用，特别是在通过上升流或垂直混合以高比率向表层水提供大量营养素的地区。该项目的重点是2003年7月在白令海进行的一项为期一个月的重大实地工作，以调查微量营养金属(重点是铁)在影响浮游植物群落中的作用。加州大学圣克鲁斯分校的研究人员将研究大洋白令海环流和西亚北极环流的主要高营养、低叶绿素区域--他们认为这些区域铁有限。他们还将考察白令海大陆架--一个覆盖近一半白令海的多产地区。这是一个非常宽的大陆架，宽度从500公里到800多公里不等。有人提到，白令海的内陆架上出现了一道“铁幕”，尽管没有数据可以证实这一观点。在整个夏季的搁架间歇期，有一条高叶绿素和初级生产量的“绿化带”，必须获得足够的铁和宏观营养才能维持自己的生存。这项研究的重点将是检查铁(和其他微量营养素)相对于常量营养素分布的分布，以便深入了解白令海不同区域的微量和常量营养素的相对供求情况。除了在白令海的主要实地工作外，这些研究人员还将进行一项研究，以解决铁在影响加州中部上升流系统浮游植物群落方面的作用。

ABSTRACTOCE-0137085An exciting research frontier in ocean sciences involves the role of micronutrient trace metals such as Fe, Mn, Zn, and Co in affecting the structure and function of plankton communities. Certain bioactive trace metals - in particular iron - can influence marine phytoplankton at the molecular, cellular, community and ecosystem levels. Of particular importance is the critical role trace metals such as iron play as biolimiting micronutrients, especially in areas where macronutrients are provided to the surface waters by upwelling or vertical mixing at high rates.The focus of this project is a major month-long field effort to the Bering Sea in July 2003 to investigate the role of micronutrient trace metals (with a focus on Fe) in influencing phytoplankton communities. Researchers at the University of California at Santa Cruz will study the major high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll regions of the oceanic Bering Sea gyre and the western subarctic gyre - regions that they believe are Fe-limited. They will also examine the Bering Sea Shelf - a productive region that covers almost half of the Bering Sea. This is an extremely wide continental shelf, ranging from 500 to over 800 km in width. There has been mention of an "iron curtain" occurring over the inner shelf of the Bering Sea, although there are no data available to confirm this idea. There is a "Green Belt" of high chlorophyll and primary production that occurs throughout the summer at the shelf break which must receive adequate Fe along with macro-nutrients to sustain itself. An emphasis of this study will be to examine the distribution of Fe (and other micronutrient trace metals) relative to the macronutrient distributions in order to gain insight into the relative supply and demand of micro- and macronutrient elements in the various regions of the Bering Sea. In addition to the major field effort in the Bering Sea, these researchers will conduct a study to address the role of iron in influencing phytoplankton communities in the central California upwelling system.