Biogeochemical Cycling of Manganese at Hydrothermal Vents
Abstract
The interactions between bacteria and metals in the ocean are profoundly important both in environments with high levels of metals, such as hydrothermal vents, as well as in metal-poor oligotrophic environments. These represent the environmental extremes for metal concentrations. Metals affect primary productivity by both metal limitation of phytoplankton growth and by serving as a potential energy source for bacterial (autotrophic) growth. In addition, the highly charged surfaces of metal oxide particles, which, to a large extent, are microbially produced, govern much trace metal and organic geochemistry. The role these oxides surfaces play is evident both in hydrothermal vent plumes (which, because they are dispersed hundreds of kilometers away from venting sources, have a profound influence on the chemistry and ecology of the deep sea) as well as in the photic zone, where trace metals and organics are transported via metal oxides out of surface layer and through the water column (so called redox-mediated transport').
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA219360
Entities
People
- Bradley M. Tebo
Organizations
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography