Letter abstract
Nature Geoscience 2, 197 - 201 (2009)
Published online: 8 February 2009 | doi:10.1038/ngeo433
Subject Category: Biogeochemistry
Preservation of iron(II) by carbon-rich matrices in a hydrothermal plume
Brandy M. Toner1,4, Sirine C. Fakra2, Steven J. Manganini1, Cara M. Santelli1, Matthew A. Marcus2, James W. Moffett3, Olivier Rouxel1, Christopher R. German1 & Katrina J. Edwards1,3
Hydrothermal venting associated with mid-ocean ridge volcanism is globally widespread1. This venting is responsible for a dissolved iron flux to the ocean that is approximately equal to that associated with continental riverine runoff2. For hydrothermal fluxes, it has long been assumed that most of the iron entering the oceans is precipitated in inorganic forms. However, the possibility of globally significant fluxes of iron escaping these mass precipitation events and entering open-ocean cycles is now being debated3, and two recent studies suggest that dissolved organic ligands might influence the fate of hydrothermally vented metals4, 5. Here we present spectromicroscopic measurements of iron and carbon in hydrothermal plume particles at the East Pacific Rise mid-ocean ridge. We show that organic carbon-rich matrices, containing evenly dispersed iron(II)-rich materials, are pervasive in hydrothermal plume particles. The absence of discrete iron(II) particles suggests that the carbon and iron associate through sorption or complexation. We suggest that these carbon matrices stabilize iron(II) released from hydrothermal vents in the region, preventing its oxidation and/or precipitation as insoluble minerals. Our findings have implications for deep-sea biogeochemical cycling of iron, a widely recognized limiting nutrient in the oceans.
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720, USA
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA
- Present address: Department of Soil, Water, and Climate, University of Minnesota—Twin Cities, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA
Correspondence to: Brandy M. Toner1,4 e-mail: toner@umn.edu
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