ALBERT

Beschreibung: Atmospheric deposition fluxes of soluble nutrients (N, P, Si, Fe, Co, Zn) to the tropical North Atlantic were determined during cruise M55 of the German SOLAS programme. Nutrient fluxes were highest in the east of the section along 10°N, owing to the proximity of source regions in West Africa and Europe, and lowest in the west, for both dry and wet deposition modes. In common with other recent studies, atmospheric P and Si inputs during M55 were strongly depleted relative to the stoichiometry of phytoplankton Fe, N, P and Si requirements. Atmospheric N inputs were equivalent to 0.1–4.7% of observed primary productivity during the cruise. Atmospheric nutrient supply was also compared to observed nitrogen fixation rates during M55. While atmospheric Fe supply may have been sufficient to support N fixation (depending on the relationship between our simple Fe leaching experiment and aerosol Fe dissolution in seawater), atmospheric P supply was well below the required rate. The stable nitrogen isotope composition of nitrate–N in aerosol and rain was also determined. Results of a simple model indicate that atmospheric deposition and nitrogen fixation introduce similar amounts of isotopically light nitrogen into surface waters of the study region. This implies that nitrogen isotope-based methods would overestimate nitrogen fixation here by a factor of 2, if atmospheric inputs were not taken into account.

Beschreibung: The shift of lava geochemistry between volcanic front to rear-arc volcanoes in active subduction zones is a widespread phenomenon. It is somehow linked to an increase of the slab surface depth of the subducting oceanic lithosphere and increasing thickness of the mantle wedge and new constraints for its causes may improve our understanding of magma generation and element recycling in subduction zones in general. As a case study, this paper focuses on the geochemical composition of lavas from two adjacent volcanic centres from the volcanic front (VF) to rear-arc (RA) transition of the Southern Kamchatkan subduction zone, with the aim to examine whether the shift in lava geochemistry is associated with processes in the mantle wedge or in the subducted oceanic lithosphere or both. The trace element and O–Sr–Nd–Hf–Pb (double-spike)-isotopic composition of the mafic Mutnovsky (VF) and Gorely (RA) lavas in conjunction with geochemical modelling provides constraints for the degree of partial melting in the mantle wedge and the nature of their slab components. Degrees of partial melting are inferred to be significantly higher beneath Mutnovsky (∼18%) than Gorely (∼10%). The Mutnovsky (VF) slab component is dominated by hydrous fluids, derived from subducted sediments and altered oceanic crust, eventually containing minor but variable amounts of sediment melts. The composition of the Gorely slab component strongly points to a hydrous silicate melt, most likely mainly stemming from subducted sediments, although additional fluid-contribution from the underlying altered oceanic crust (AOC) is likely. Moreover, the Hf–Nd-isotope data combined with geochemical modelling suggest progressive break-down of accessory zircon in the melting metasediments. Therefore, the drastic VF to RA shift in basalt chemistry mainly arises from the transition of the nature of the slab component (from hydrous fluid to melt) in conjunction with decreasing degrees of partial melting within ∼15 km across-arc. Finally, systematic variations of key inter-element with high-precision Pb-isotope ratios provide geochemical evidence for a pollution of the Mutnovsky mantle source with Gorely melt components but not vice versa, most likely resulting from trench-ward mantle wedge corner flow. We also present a geodynamic model integrating the location of the Mutnovsky and Gorely volcanic centres and their lava geochemistry with the recently proposed thermal structure of the southern Kamchatkan arc and constraints about phase equilibria in subducted sediments and AOC. Herein, the slab surface hosting the subducted sediments suffers a transition from dehydration to melting above a continuously dehydrating layer of AOC. Wider implications of this study are that an onset of (flush-) sediment melting may ultimately be the main trigger for the VF to RA transition of lava geochemistry in subduction zones.

Beschreibung: During segment-scale studies of the southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR), 7–12° S, we found evidence in the water column for high-temperature hydrothermal activity, off-axis, east of Ascension Island. Extensive water column and seafloor work using both standard CTD and deep submergence AUV and ROV deployments led to the discovery and sampling of the “Drachenschlund” (“Dragon Throat”) black smoker vent at 8°17.87′ S/13°30.45′ W in 2915 m water depth. The vent is flanked by several inactive chimney structures in a field we have named “Nibelungen”. The site is located 6 km south of a non-transform offset between two adjacent 2nd-order ridge-segments and 9 km east of the presently-active, northward-propagating A2 ridge-segment, on a prominent outward-facing fault scarp. Both vent-fluid compositions and host-rock analyses show this site to be an ultramafic-hosted system, the first of its kind to be found on the southern MAR. The thermal output of this single vent, based on plume rise-height information, is estimated to be 60 ± 15 MW. This value is high for a single “black smoker” vent but small for an entire field. The tectonic setting and low He content of the vent fluids imply that high-temperature off-axis venting at “Drachenschlund” is driven not by magmatic processes, as at the majority of on-axis hydrothermal systems, but by residual heat “mined” from the deeper lithosphere. Whether this heat is being extracted from high-temperature mantle peridotites or deep crustal cumulates formed at the “duelling” non-transfrom offset is unclear, in either case the Drachenschlund vent provides the first direct observations of how cooling of deeper parts of the lithosphere, at least at slow-spreading ridges, may be occurring.

Beschreibung: Aerosol (soluble and total) iron and water-column dissolved (DFe, 〈 0.2 μm) and total dissolvable (TDFe, unfiltered) iron concentrations were determined in the Canary Basin and along a transect towards the Strait of Gibraltar, in order to sample across the Saharan dust plume. Cumulative dust deposition fluxes estimated from direct aerosol sampling during our one-month cruise are representative of the estimated deposition fluxes based on near surface water dissolved aluminium concentrations measured on board. Iron inventories in near surface waters combined with flux estimates confirmed the relatively short residence time of DFe in waters influenced by the Saharan dust plume (6-14 months). Enhanced near surface water concentrations of DFe (5.90-6.99 nM) were observed at the Strait of Gibraltar mainly due to inputs from metal-rich rivers. In the Canary Basin and the transect towards Gibraltar, DFe concentrations (0.07-0.76 nM) were typical of concentrations observed in the surface North Atlantic Waters, with the highest concentrations associated with higher atmospheric inputs in the Canary Basin. Depth profiles showed that DFe and TDFe were influenced by atmospheric inputs in this area with an accumulation of aeolian Fe in the surface waters. The sub-surface minimum of both DFe and TDFe suggests that a simple partitioning between dissolved and particulate Fe is not obvious there and that export may occur for both phases. At depths of around 1000-1300 m, both regeneration and Meddies may explain the observed maximum. Our data suggest that, in deep waters, higher particle concentrations likely due to dust storms may increase the scavenging flux and thus decrease DFe concentrations in deep waters. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Beschreibung: Concentrations of dissolved iron (DFe) and Fe-binding ligands were determined in the tropical Northeast Atlantic Ocean (12-30°N, 21-29°W) as part of the UK-SOLAS (Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study) cruise Poseidon 332 (P332) in January-February 2006. The surface water DFe concentrations varied between 0.1 and 0.4 nM with an average of 0.22 ± 0.05 nM (n = 159). The surface water concentrations of total Fe-binding ligands varied between 0.82 and 1.46 nM with an average of 1.11 ± 0.14 nM (n = 33). The concentration of uncomplexed Fe-binding ligands varied between 0.64 and 1.35 nM with an average of 0.90 ± 0.14 nM (n = 33). Thus, on average 81 of the total Fe-binding ligand concentration was uncomplexed. The average logarithmic conditional stability constant of the pool of Fe-binding ligands was 22.85 ± 0.38 with respect to Fe 3+ (n = 33). A transect (12°N, 26°W to 16°N, 25.3°W) was sailed during a small Saharan dust event and repeated a week later. Following the dust event, the concentration of DFe increased from 0.20 ± 0.026 nM (n = 125) to 0.25 ± 0.028 (n = 17) and the concentration of free Fe-binding ligands decreased from 1.15 ± 0.15 (n = 4) to 0.89 ± 0.10 (n = 4) nM. Furthermore, the logarithmic stability constants of the Fe-binding ligands south of the Cape Verde islands were distinctively lower than north of the islands. The absence of a change in the logarithmic stability constant after the dust event south of the Cape Verde islands suggests that there was no significant atmospheric input of new Fe-binding ligands during this dust event.

Beschreibung: We give details of the biological and pathological findings in a mass stranding of 19 white-sided dolphins on the west coast of Ireland. The pod consisted of adults and calves; no juveniles were present. The calf of a recently parturient female was not found. The presence of small foetuses suggested that mating took place in late August or early September. The largest and oldest male was severely diseased but the remainder of the pod were in good health although some minor lesions were found. The site where the animals came ashore was compatible with the geomagnetic theory of mass strandings.