海洋中铁元素对海洋生态系统的影响显著，对铁循环过程的研究是国际前沿的科学领域。痕量元素铁是浮游植物生长所必需的营养元素，对于促进海洋初级生产力和增加海洋吸收二氧化碳的能力等具有重要作用。确切描述北太平洋上层海洋生物可用铁的来源、铁络合配体的分布与性质、未来海洋酸化和物理环境变化对铁循环的影响及其所带来的初级生产力和生态系统的改变，具有重要的科学意义。本项目通过历史资料收集、航次观测、实验室控制实验等方式获取铁元素和生态系统数据，建立三维物理-生态-铁的耦合模式，模拟当今北太平洋海域铁元素的时空分布状况，针对铁元素对上层海洋生态系统的影响开展研究，实现对未来北太平洋生态系统变化趋势的预测。研究成果将阐释北太平洋上层海洋生态系统对铁的响应规律和机制，提升我国在铁循环研究领域的国际地位，为研究其他类似海区的生态系统提供典范。

The micronutrient iron regulates biological productivity and influences marine ecosystems, and understanding iron cycle is at the heart of modern biogeochemical and ecosystem research. Iron is now recognized to be a key factor in controlling the ocean primary productivity and uptaking anthropogenic carbon dioxide from atmosphere. It is important to understand the major iron sources to the upper ocean, distributions and characters of different iron forms, the response of iron cycle to the change of ocean and atmospheric conditions in future. We plan to compile and use the historical iron and other biogeochemical data for the North Pacific Ocean, conduct laboratory experiments, and participate research cruises to measure iron and its impact on primary productivity and phytoplankton responses. These historical data and new observations will be used to constrain and improve an ecosystem model performance. By building a three-dimensional physical-ecosystem-iron model, we will simulate spatial distribution and temporal change of iron in North Pacific Ocean, and investigate the impact of iron on biological productivity and marine ecosystems in the upper ocean. The response of iron cycle to the future change of ocean and atmospheric conditions, such as ocean acidification and warming, is the foundation for projecting changes of marine ecosystems in the North Pacific Ocean. The research will strengthen Chinese contribution and promote international collaboration on studying iron cycle and can be a showcase for understanding similar marine ecosystems in other regions.