Premium
On the use of dissolved aluminum in surface waters to estimate dust deposition to the ocean
Author(s) -
Measures C. I.,
Vink S.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
global biogeochemical cycles
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.512
H-Index - 187
eISSN - 1944-9224
pISSN - 0886-6236
DOI - 10.1029/1999gb001188
Subject(s) - biogeochemical cycle , deposition (geology) , surface water , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , sediment , residence time (fluid dynamics) , surface layer , mixed layer , mineral dust , flux (metallurgy) , atmosphere (unit) , aerosol , environmental chemistry , hydrology (agriculture) , oceanography , geology , chemistry , layer (electronics) , meteorology , geomorphology , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , physics , environmental engineering
The concentration of dissolved Al in surface waters from various oceanic regimes is used in a simple model to calculate the annual amount of dust deposited to the surface ocean. Calculated values range from 0.015 to 9.9 g dust m −2 yr −1 . Comparison of these calculated dust depositions with independent dust deposition estimates obtained from direct measurements, suspended atmospheric dust loads, or sediment traps show remarkably good agreement over approximately 3 orders of magnitude. In regions where the agreement between the model and other estimates is weakest, it is anticipated that local scaling of model parameters such as mixed layer depth and surface water residence time, will lead to improved agreement. Since surface water Al concentrations appear to be driven primarily by dust deposition, the distribution of dissolved Al in surface waters can be used to investigate the systematics of the delivery of other biologically important trace elements, for example, Fe, to the surface of the remote ocean by this route. In addition, temporal variations in surface water Al concentrations can be used to investigate the biogeochemical consequences to the surface ocean of large‐scale changes in atmospheric dust loads driven by decadal‐scale climatic variations.