Cruise to trace ocean's vital nutrients
8 October 2010
A new scientific expedition sets sail for the South Atlantic on
17 October to investigate the ‘micronutrient’ metals which are
vital to marine life and also affect global climate and societies
and economies around the world.
The 39-day mission, led by Oxford University scientists, will
sail west from Cape Town to Montevideo studying the processes which
supply metals, such as iron and zinc, that are essential fuel for
ocean ecosystems.
The logistics for the cruise are coordinated by Malcolm Woodward
from Plymouth Marine Laboratory who is also responsible for
measuring micronutrients on the cruise. These nutrient
species are pivotal in the study of biological and chemical cycles
within the ocean. Malcolm said: "Understanding levels of nutrients
is essential to be able to interpret the trace metal results. The
Plymouth Marine Laboratory is one of the world's leading centres
for analysis of very low levels of nutrients where we use a unique
suite of technologies to analyse samples."
24 scientists from 10 UK institutes, all part of the
UK-GEOTRACES consortium, will be aboard the Royal Research Ship
Discovery, one of the Natural Environment Research
Council’s research vessels, to collect samples and carry out
experiments.
‘Metals such as iron and zinc are vital nutrients for marine
life and, by controlling the abundance of this life, they
indirectly control the carbon uptake of our oceans and so affect
our climate,’ said Professor Gideon Henderson of Oxford
University’s Department of Earth Sciences and the Oxford Martin
School, who is leading the consortium. ‘Because they are present in
seawater at such low concentrations they are difficult to measure
but with this new expedition we hope to revolutionise our
understanding of the metal ‘micronutrient’ cycle and gain insights
into the past, present and future of Earth’s climate.’
Dr Rachel Mills from the major consortium partner, the
University of Southampton, explains 'much of our understanding of
past climate comes from measurements of marine sediments but
understanding how such climate information is reflected in the
chemistry of the sediments is essential if we are to interpret this
evidence correctly. Understanding the cycle is also vital if we are
to assess whether proposed geo-engineering schemes, such as
‘seeding’ the oceans with iron to increase their carbon uptake,
might work.'
The RRS Discovery will head to the South Atlantic where
the ocean is particularly rich in life, but where the sources of
micronutrients are a mystery. By collecting samples, and making a
wide range of measurements both onboard and back in the lab, the
research team hopes to learn how the metals enter and leave the
ocean, and how their abundance in seawater influences marine
biology.
‘Understanding changes in the productivity of our oceans will
help us to understand global climate change,’ said Professor
Henderson. ‘However, changes in marine ecosystems also have a wider
impact: these ecosystems are vital for food production,
biodiversity, international development, tourism, and pollution
management. Any changes in the cycling of micronutrients in the
South Atlantic will have an impact not just on the local area but
also on the natural resources, economies and standard of living of
countries around the world.’
The cruise will leave Cape Town, South Africa, on 17 October
2010 and is scheduled to dock at Montevideo, Uruguay, on 25
November. The consortium website http://www.ukgeotraces.com/ will
feature a blog with daily reports of the mission’s progress.