Methods Development for an Unenclosed Mesoscale Iron Enrichment
Abstract
The long-term goals of this work are to test the hypothesis that metals, especially iron, regulate rates of primary production in High Nitrate, Low Chlorophyll (HNLC) areas of the ocean. An important corollary of this hypothesis is that is might be feasible to regulate productivity in small patches in the open ocean by addition of small amounts of iron. The ability to produce mini-blooms would be an extremely valuable experimental tool for the study of ocean biogeochemistry. The primary objective of the work undertaken in 1993 was to perform the first mesoscale iron enrichment experiment in the open ocean. We also conducted a study of trace metal distributions downstream of the Galapagos Islands. The area downstream of the Islands has elevated chlorophyll concentrations. We hypothesized this to be a natural analog of an open ocean iron enrichment experiment in which the iron was derived from the Islands.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1994
- Accession Number
- ADA285799
Entities
People
- K. H. Coale
- K. S. Johnson
Organizations
- San José State University