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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
general
Diatom carbon export enhanced by silicate upwelling in the northeast Atlantic
Nature, Volume 437, No. 7059, Year 2005
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Description
Diatoms are unicellular or chain-forming phytoplankton that use silicon (Si) in cell wall construction. Their survival during periods of apparent nutrient exhaustion enhances carbon sequestration in frontal regions of the northern North Atlantic. These regions may therefore have a more important role in the 'biological pump' than they have previously been attributed, but how this is achieved is unknown. Diatom growth depends on silicate availability, in addition to nitrate and phosphate, but northern Atlantic waters are richer in nitrate than silicate. Following the spring stratification, diatoms are the first phytoplankton to bloom. Once silicate is exhausted, diatom blooms subside in a major export event. Here we show that, with nitrate still available for new production, the diatom bloom is prolonged where there is a periodic supply of new silicate: specifically, diatoms thrive by 'mining' deep-water silicate brought to the surface by an unstable ocean front. The mechanism we present here is not limited to silicate fertilization; similar mechanisms could support nitrate-, phosphate- or iron-limited frontal regions in oceans elsewhere. © 2005 Nature Publishing Group.
Authors & Co-Authors
Allen, John Taylor
United Kingdom, Southampton
National Oceanography Centre Southampton
United Kingdom, Inverness
University of the Highlands and Islands
Brown, Louise
United Kingdom, Southampton
National Oceanography Centre Southampton
United Kingdom, St Andrews
University of st Andrews
Sanders, Richard J.
United Kingdom, Southampton
National Oceanography Centre Southampton
Moore, C. Mark
United Kingdom, Southampton
National Oceanography Centre Southampton
Fielding, Sophie
United Kingdom, Southampton
National Oceanography Centre Southampton
Lucas, Michael I.
United Kingdom, Southampton
National Oceanography Centre Southampton
Rixen, Michel
Italy, La Spezia
Nato Undersea Research Centre
Henson, Stephanie A.
United Kingdom, Southampton
National Oceanography Centre Southampton
Mayor, Daniel J.
United Kingdom, Southampton
National Oceanography Centre Southampton
Statistics
Citations: 146
Authors: 9
Affiliations: 5
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1038/nature03948
ISSN:
00280836
Research Areas
Environmental