Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-03T01:27:40.619Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Nanoparticulate bioavailable iron minerals in icebergs and glaciers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

R. Raiswell
Affiliation:
Earth and Biosphere Institute, School of Earth and Environment, Leeds University, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
L. G. Benning*
Affiliation:
Earth and Biosphere Institute, School of Earth and Environment, Leeds University, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
L. Davidson
Affiliation:
Earth and Biosphere Institute, School of Earth and Environment, Leeds University, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
M. Tranter
Affiliation:
Bristol Glaciology Centre, School of Geographical Sciences, Bristol University, Bristol BS8 1SS, UK
*

Abstract

Ice-hosted sediments in glaciers and icebergs from Antarctica and Svalbard contain authigenic nanoparticulates of schwertmannite, ferrihydrite and goethite that formed during sulphide oxidation. These phases indicate the existence of subglacial biogeochemical hotspots containing fluids of low pH (2—4), rich in dissolved Fe(III) and sulphate. Nanophase Fe is partially bioavailable and potentially important to global biogeochemical cycles, since the flux delivered by icebergs to the Southern Ocean is comparable to the flux of soluble, bioavailable Fe from aeolian dust.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Banfield, IF., Welch, S.A., Zhang, H., Tebert, T.T. and Penn, R.L. (2000) Aggregation-based crystal growth and micro structure development in natural iron oxyhydroxide biomineralization products. Science, 289, 751–754.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bigham, J.M., Schwertmann, U., Carlson, L. and Murad, E. (1990) A poorly crystallised oxyhydroxysulfate of iron formed by bacterial oxidation of Fe(II) in acid mine waters. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 54, 2743–2758.Google Scholar
Bigham, J.M., Schwertmann, U., Traina, S.J., Winland, R.L. and Wolf, M. (1996) Schwertmannite and the chemical modelling of iron in acid sulphate waters. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 60, 2111–2121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carlson, L., Bigham, J.K., Schwertmann, U., Kyek, A. and Wagner, F. (2002) Scavenging of As from acid mine drainage by schwertmannite ferrihydrite: a comparison with synthetic analogues. Environmental Science and Technology, 36, 1712–1719.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chen, M., Dei, R.C.H., Wang, W.-X. and Guo, L. (2003) Marine diatom uptake of iron bound with natural colloids of different origin. Marine Chemistry, 81, 177–189.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davidson, L.E., Shaw, S. and Benning, L.G. (2008) The kinetics and mechanisms of schwertmannite transformation to goethite and hematite under alkaline conditions. American Mineralogis. (in press).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hyacinthe, C. and van Cappellen, P. (2004) An authigenic iron phosphate phase in estuarine sediments: composition, formation and chemical reactivity. Marine Chemistry, 91, 227–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jickells, T.D., An, Z.S., Andersen, K.K., Baker, A.R., Bergametti, G., Brooks, N., Cao, J.J., Boyd, P.W., Duce, R.A., Hunter, K.A., Kawahata, H., Kubilay, N., La Roche, L., Liss, P.S., Mahowald, N., Prospero, J.M., Ridgwell, A.J., Tegen, L. and Torres, R. (2005) Global iron connections between desert dust, ocean biogeochemistry and climate. Science, 308, 67–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lannuzel, D., Schoemann, V., de Jong, J., Tison, J.-L. and Chou, L. (2007) Distribution and biogeochem-ical behaviour of iron in the East Antarctic sea ice. Marine Chemistry, 106, 18–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raiswell, R., Tranter, M., Benning, L.G., Siegert, M., de'ath, R., Huybrechts, P. and Payne, T. (2006) Contributions from glacially derived sediment to the global iron (oxyhydr)oxide cycle: implications for iron delivery to the oceans. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 70, 2765–2780.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raiswell, R., Benning, L.G., Tranter, M. and Tulaczyk, S. (2008) Bioavailable iron in the Southern Ocean: The significance of the iceberg conveyor belt. Geochemical Transactions, 9, 7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rich, H.W. and Morel, F.M.M. (1990) Availability of well-defined iron colloids to the marine diatom. Thalassiosira weissflogii. Limnology and Oceanography, 35, 652–662.Google Scholar
Schwertmann, U. and Carlson, L. (2005) The pH-dependent transformation of schwertmannite to goethite at 25°C. Clays and Clay Minerals, 40, 63–66.Google Scholar
Schwertmann, U. and Murad, E. (1983) Effect of pH on the formation of goethite and hematite from ferrihydrite. Clays and Clay Minerals, 31, 277–284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, K.L., Robison, B.H., Helly, J.J., Kaufmann, R.S., Ruhl, H.A., Shaw, T.J., Twining, B.S. and Vernal, M. (2007) Free-drifting icebergs: hot spots of chemical and biological enrichment in the Weddell Sea. Science, 317, 478–483.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wells, M.L., Zorkin, M.G. and Lewis, A.G. (1983) The role of colloidal chemistry in providing a source of iron to phytoplankton. Journal of Marine Research, 41, 731–746.CrossRefGoogle Scholar