Imperial College London
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Dr Susan H. Little

Faculty of Engineering, Department of Earth Science & Engineering

Honorary Research Fellow
 
 
 
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s.little CV

 
 
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Location

 

Royal School of MinesSouth Kensington Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Vance:2017:10.1038/ngeo2890,
author = {Vance, D and Little, SH and De, Souza GF and Khatiwala, S and Lohan, MC and Middag, R},
doi = {10.1038/ngeo2890},
journal = {Nature Geoscience},
pages = {202--206},
title = {Silicon and zinc biogeochemical cycles coupled through the Southern Ocean},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2890},
volume = {10},
year = {2017}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Zinc is vital for the physiology of oceanic phytoplankton. The striking similarity of the depth profiles of zinc to those of silicate suggests that the uptake of both elements into the opaline frustules of diatoms, and their regeneration from these frustules, should be coupled. However, the zinc content of diatom opal is negligible, and zinc is taken up into and regenerated from the organic parts of diatom cells. Thus, since opaline frustules dissolve deep in the water column while organic material is regenerated in the shallow subsurface ocean, there is little reason to expect the observed close similarity between zinc and silicate, and the dissimilarity between zinc and phosphate. Here we combine observations with simulations using a three-dimensional model of ocean circulation and biogeochemistry to show that the coupled distribution of zinc and silicate, as well as the decoupling of zinc and phosphate, can arise in the absence of mechanistic links between the uptake of zinc and silicate, and despite contrasting regeneration length scales. Our simulations indicate that the oceanic zinc distribution is, in fact, a natural result of the interaction between ocean biogeochemistry and the physical circulation through the Southern Ocean hub. Our analysis demonstrates the importance of uptake stoichiometry in controlling ocean biogeochemistry, and the utility of global-scale elemental covariation in the ocean in understanding these controls.
AU  - Vance,D
AU  - Little,SH
AU  - De,Souza GF
AU  - Khatiwala,S
AU  - Lohan,MC
AU  - Middag,R
DO  - 10.1038/ngeo2890
EP  - 206
PY  - 2017///
SN  - 1752-0908
SP  - 202
TI  - Silicon and zinc biogeochemical cycles coupled through the Southern Ocean
T2  - Nature Geoscience
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2890
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/44055
VL  - 10
ER  -
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