Method Development for Unenclosed Mesoscale Iron Enrichment Experiment.
Abstract
The long-term goals of this work were to test the hypothesis that metals, especially iron, regulate rates of primary production in High Nutrient, Low Chlorophyll (HNLC) areas of the ocean. Two open ocean, iron enrichments were conducted in the eastern equatorial Pacific. Four nM iron was added in a single addition during the first experiment (Oct. 1993) and in three separate additions of 2, 1 and 1 nM in the second (May 1995). There was a strong response of the ecosystem with increases in primary production rates and plankton biomass. Large changes in bio-optical properties were also observed. The second experiment, in which higher iron concentrations were sustained for 1 week, produced a 20-fold increase in chlorophyll - a proxy for photoplankton biomass. The results of the experiments have been reported in some 20 journal articles.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 15, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA332971
Entities
People
- Kenneth Coale
- Kenneth S. Johnson