A new review of silicon cycling in glacial environments, led by scientists from the University of Bristol, highlights the potential importance of glaciers in exporting silicon to downstream ecosystems.
A new review of silicon cycling in glacial environments, led by scientists from the University of Bristol, highlights the potential importance of glaciers in exporting silicon to downstream ecosystems.
This, say the researchers, could have implications for marine primary productivity and impact the carbon cycle on the timescales of ice ages.
This is because silica is needed by primary producers, such as diatoms (a form of algae that account for up to 35 percent of all marine primary productivity), and these primary producers remove significant amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, transporting it to the deep ocean.
Lead author Jade Hatton from the University of Bristol’s School of Earth Sciences, said: “It is important we understand the role glaciers play in silicon cycling and we have examined previously published work considering subglacial weathering and nutrient fluxes to bring together this review, focusing upon the chemical fingerprint of silicon exported from these environments.”
Read more at: University of Bristol
Flying over Greenland Ice Sheet - A view of outlet glaciers terminating into the complex fjord network around Greenland. (Photo Credit: Jade Hatton - University of Bristol)
