Moving Iron in Antarctica
Wednesday, June 12, 2013 - 14:00
in Earth & Climate
Diatoms stuff more iron into their silica shells than they actually need. As a result, there’s not enough iron to go around, and the added iron during fertilization experiments may stimulate less productivity than expected. The study also says that the removal of iron through incorporation into diatom silica may be a profound factor controlling the Southern Ocean’s bioavailable pool of iron, adversely affecting the ecosystem.