Iron

The Southern Ocean is one of the largest high-nutrient low-chlorophyll region in the Global Ocean, where primary productivity is primarily limited by iron availability. The spatio-temporal observations of iron in the Southern Ocean are restricted compared to other oceanic regions, primarily due to inaccessibility during winter, limiting our understanding of the full seasonal cycle. Seasonality plays an important role in determining the variability of the internal and external sources of iron in the Southern Ocean, which ultimately constrains phytoplankton biomass and primary productivity.

The primary focus of SOCCO’s iron biogeochemical research is as follows:

  • Expand our measurements across the full seasonal cycle
  • Increase our observations in naturally fertilised regions downstream of sub-Antarctic Islands such as Gough Island and Prince Edward Islands
  • Measure the physical speciation of iron across the dissolved, soluble, colloidal and particulate size fractions
  • Measure both iron and copper organic speciation
  • Measure Fe(II) oxidation-kinetics which has yet to be performed in the Southern Ocean
Related News and Publications

The Southern Ocean is one of the largest high-nutrient low-chlorophyll region in the Global Ocean, where primary productivity is primarily limited by iron availability. The spatio-temporal observations of iron in the Southern Ocean are restricted compared to other oceanic regions, primarily due to inaccessibility during winter, limiting our understanding of the full seasonal cycle. Seasonality plays an important role in determining the variability of the internal and external sources of iron in the Southern Ocean, which ultimately constrains phytoplankton biomass and primary productivity.

The primary focus of SOCCO’s iron biogeochemical research is as follows:

  • Expand our measurements across the full seasonal cycle
  • Increase our observations in naturally fertilised regions downstream of sub-Antarctic Islands such as Gough Island and Prince Edward Islands
  • Measure the physical speciation of iron across the dissolved, soluble, colloidal and particulate size fractions
  • Measure both iron and copper organic speciation
  • Measure Fe(II) oxidation-kinetics which has yet to be performed in the Southern Ocean