Will climate change lead to more iron fertilization in the ocean?
The importance of icebergs as an important source of nutrients in the polar regions has long been discussed. Iron is scarce in large parts of the polar oceans, so that an increase in iceberg production as a result of climate change could potentially increase the supply of iron and would therefore have a positive effect on primary production in the polar oceans. An international research team led by GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel has investigated ice samples worldwide. A key result is that only a small part of the glacier ice contaminated with sediment contains large amounts of iron, while the vast majority of clean ice contains very little iron. The study was published today in the international journal Nature Communications.
Sea creatures, whether large or small, need nutrients. The supply mechanism delivering these nutrients is very different in different parts of the ocean, there are nutrient-rich coastal areas, but also very nutrient-poor regions in the open ocean. In some areas, the lack of iron in seawater limits plankton growth. These include much of the polar oceans. Here, icebergs appear to be an important source of iron input, which could increase due to increased iceberg production as a result of climate change. So far, however, only a limited amount of data has been available to estimate this process. An international team of researchers led by GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel has now examined ice samples worldwide for their iron content. The results show that an increase in icebergs, for example due to global warming, does not necessarily lead to an increase in iron input into the oceans. The results of their study were published today in the international journal Nature Communications.
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