Pyrite nanoparticles are a kinetically stable iron source to the ocean

黄铁矿纳米粒子是海洋中动力学稳定的铁源

• 批准号: 1131109
• 负责人: George Luther
• 金额: $ 33.79万
• 依托单位: University of Delaware
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-10-01 至 2015-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1131109&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Pyrite; nanoparticles; kinetically; stable; iron

Deep sea high-temperature hydrothermal vents spew metals leached from rocks in the seafloor up into the ocean as jets of concentrated fluids. When these hot metal-charged liquids hit cold seawater at the bottom of the ocean as they exit the vents, recent research has shown that nanoparticles of Fe, Fe-Cu, and other metal sulfides form and are wafted upward into the water column. This research investigates these particles and how far they are able to travel from their site of origin. It involves complementary fieldwork at three deep sea hydrothermal vents on the mid-Atlantic Ridge and laboratory experiments. The fieldwork allows collection of new vent fluid samples containing dissolved and nano-crystallized nanoparticles. Lab work consists of characterization of these natural particles and a study of their chemical makeup, in addition to experiments designed to determine their resistance to oxidation in seawater and fluids that range in pH from 7 to 8. A primary goal of the work is to discover naturally occurring mechanisms that allow these metal nanoparticles to resist aggregation, settling, and oxidation in the ocean, allowing them to be transported long distances at abyssal ocean depths where they form essential nutrients for chemosynthetic organisms. The broader impacts of the work include a strong workforce development piece that reaches from the high school to the graduate student level. Both undergraduates students and a high school teacher will be involved in the research and the teacher will also accompany the scientists to sea. The work has impacts outside of its field in that it will (1) dramatically improve our understanding the distribution and sources of essential chemosynthetic nutrients in the deep sea and (2) improves our understanding of the behavior of anthropogenically generated metallic nanoparticles in the ocean.

深海高温热液喷口将从海底岩石中浸出的金属以浓缩流体的形式喷入海洋。 当这些热金属带电的液体在离开喷口时遇到海底的冷海水时，最近的研究表明，Fe，Fe-Cu和其他金属硫化物的纳米颗粒形成并向上飘入水柱。 这项研究调查了这些粒子以及它们能够从它们的起源地旅行多远。 它涉及在大西洋中脊三个深海热液喷口进行补充性实地工作和实验室实验。 野外工作允许收集含有溶解和纳米结晶纳米颗粒的新的喷口流体样品。 实验室工作包括对这些天然颗粒的表征及其化学组成的研究，以及旨在确定其在海水和pH值为7至8的液体中抗氧化性的实验。 这项工作的主要目标是发现自然发生的机制，使这些金属纳米颗粒能够抵抗海洋中的聚集，沉淀和氧化，使它们能够在深海深处长距离运输，在那里它们形成化学合成生物的必需营养素。 这项工作的更广泛的影响包括从高中到研究生水平的强大的劳动力发展。 本科生和一名高中教师都将参与研究，教师也将陪同科学家出海。 这项工作在其领域之外产生了影响，因为它将（1）极大地提高我们对深海中基本化学合成营养素的分布和来源的理解，（2）提高我们对海洋中生物生成的金属纳米颗粒行为的理解。