Natural Iron Fertilization from the Patagonian and South Georgia Island Shelves to the Open Waters of the Southern Ocean.

与其他高营养、低叶绿素(HNLC)地区一样，南大洋的初级生产力可能受到铁供应的限制。与太平洋地区相比，南大洋的大西洋地区很少出现这种情况，这表明大西洋地区的生产力可能是铁投入增加的结果，而铁的来源尚不清楚。在这项研究中，俄勒冈州立大学的研究人员将使用模型模拟来定量检查在南大洋南大西洋部分观察到的铁源和导致叶绿素a水华的过程，特别是在巴塔哥尼亚陆架毗邻地区和南乔治亚岛附近。这项研究的结果将促进我们对自然铁肥如何影响南大洋潜在最强碳汇地区的初级生产力的理解。广泛影响：这项研究将有助于气候和海洋生态系统群落的研究，特别是关于铁输入如何控制南大洋二氧化碳通量的研究。此外，这项研究的教育影响包括对本科生和博士后研究人员的培训，以及将研究结果整合到本科课程中。

As in other high nutrient, low chlorophyll (HNLC) regions, primary production in the Southern Ocean is likely limited by iron availability. These HNLC conditions are rarely observed in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean in contrast to the Pacific sector, indicating that productivity in the Atlantic sector may be the result of a greater input of iron, the source of which remains unidentified. In this study, researchers from Oregon State University will use model simulations to quantitatively examine iron sources and the processes leading to the chlorophyll-a blooms observed in the South Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean, particularly in the region contiguous to the Patagonian shelf and near the South Georgia Island. Results from this study will advance our understanding of how natural iron fertilization affects primary productivity in potentially the strongest carbon sink area of the Southern Ocean.Broader Impacts: This research will contribute to the climate and marine ecosystem community research, particularly with respect to how iron inputs may control carbon dioxide fluxes in the Southern Ocean. In addition, educational impacts from this study include training for undergraduate and post-doctoral researchers, and integration of findings into undergraduate curriculum.