Premium
Scandium in the open ocean: A comparison with other group 3 trivalent metals
Author(s) -
Parker C. E.,
Brown M. T.,
Bruland K. W.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2016gl067827
Subject(s) - scandium , yttrium , geotraces , gallium , lanthanum , metal , reactivity (psychology) , geology , base metal , inorganic chemistry , mineralogy , chemistry , oceanography , seawater , materials science , metallurgy , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , welding , oxide
Little is known about the distribution of scandium (Sc) in the open ocean. Since the 1970s there has been only one published depth profile of dissolved Sc. The work presented here reports depth profiles of dissolved Sc from GEOTRACES cruises in the North Atlantic, North Pacific, and South Pacific. This work also compares the reactivity of Sc with its trivalent periodic table groupmates in Group IIIB, yttrium (Y) and lanthanum (La), and Group IIIA, aluminum (Al) and gallium (Ga). Yttrium and La are classic nutrient‐type metals that increase in concentration in aging deep water; Al and Ga are classic scavenged‐type metals that do the opposite. Results indicate that Sc is a hybrid‐type metal with an inferred residence time on the order of 1000 years, and that Sc's inorganic speciation and reactivity are similar to Fe's and have the potential to give insights into the nonnutrient side of oceanic Fe cycling.