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The flux of iron from continental shelf sediments: A missing source for global budgets
Author(s) -
Elrod Virginia A.,
Berelson William M.,
Coale Kenneth H.,
Johnson Kenneth S.
Publication year - 2004
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 - 10.1029/2004gl020216
Subject(s) - flux (metallurgy) , continental shelf , submarine pipeline , oceanography , geology , sediment , environmental science , extrapolation , water column , geomorphology , chemistry , mathematical analysis , mathematics , organic chemistry
The flux of dissolved iron from sediments to the water column was measured with flux chambers along the California coast over a five‐year period. High fluxes were observed from sediments on the continental shelf. The measured fluxes were an average of 75 times larger than flux values derived from pore‐water iron gradients. The iron flux was significantly correlated with the oxidation of organic matter, which allows an extrapolation to the global shelf. The input from shelf sediments is at least as significant as the global input of dissolved iron from aerosols, which has been presumed to be the dominant external iron source. Evidence of this input is seen 100's of kilometers offshore where it can enable the high productivity of broad coastal regions seen in satellite images.