ALBERT

Description: The radiogenic isotope composition of the Rare Earth Element (REE) neodymium (Nd) is a powerful water mass proxy for present and past ocean circulation. The processes controlling the Nd budget of the global ocean are not quantitatively understood and in particular source and sink mechanisms are still under debate. In this study we present the first full water column data set of dissolved Nd isotope compositions and Nd concentrations for the Eastern Equatorial Pacific (EEP), where one of the globally largest Oxygen Minimum Zones (OMZ) is located. This region is of particular interest for understanding the biogeochemical cycling of REEs because anoxic conditions may lead to release of REEs from the shelf, whereas high particle densities and fluxes potentially remove the REEs from the water column. Data were obtained between 11400N and 161S along a nearshore and an offshore transect. Near surface zonal current bands, such as the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC) and the Subsurface Countercurrent (SSCC), which are supplying oxygen-rich water to the OMZ are characterized by radiogenic Nd isotope signatures (eNd=-2). Surface waters in the northernmost part of the study area are even more radiogenic (eNd = +3), most likely due to release of Nd from volcanogenic material. Deep and bottom waters at the southernmost offshore station (141S) are clearly controlled by advection of water masses with less radiogenic signatures (eNd=- 7) originating from the Southern Ocean. Towards the equator, however, the deep waters show a clear trend towards more radiogenic values of up to eNd=-2. The northernmost station located in the Panama basin shows highly radiogenic Nd isotope signatures in the entire water column, which indicates that particle scavenging, downward transport and release processes play an important role. This is supported by relatively low Nd concentrations in deep waters (3000-6000 m) in the EEP (20 pmol/kg) compared to locations in the Northern and Central Pacific (40-60 pmol/kg), which suggests enhanced removal of Nd in the EEP.

Description: New records of stable silicon isotope signatures (?30Si) together with concentrations of biogenic opal and organic carbon from the central (9°S) and northern (5°S) Peruvian margin reveal changes in diatom productivity and nutrient utilization during the past 20,000 years. The findings are based on a new approach using the difference between the ?30Si signatures of small (11-32 ?m) and large (〉150 ?m) diatom fractions (?30Si ) in combination with the variance in diatom assemblages for reconstruction Coscino-bSi of past upwelling intensity. Combination of our records with two previously published records from the southern upwelling area off Peru (12-15°S) shows a general decoupling of the environmental conditions at the central and southern shelf mainly caused by a northward shift of the main upwelling cell from its modern position (12-15°S) toward 9°S during Termination 1. At this time only moderate upwelling intensity and productivity levels prevailed between 9°S and 12°S interpreted by a more northerly position of Southern Westerly Winds and the South Pacific Subtropical High. Furthermore, a marked decrease in productivity at 12-15°S during Heinrich Stadial 1 coincided with enhanced biogenic opal production in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific, which was induced by a southward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and enhanced northeasterly trade winds. Modern conditions were only established at the onset of the Holocene. Past changes in preformed ?30Si signatures of subsurface waters reaching the Peruvian Upwelling System did not significantly affect the preserved ?30Si signatures

Description: Dissolved silicon isotope compositions have been analysed for the first time in pore waters (δ30SiPW) of three short sediment cores from the Peruvian margin upwelling region with distinctly different biogenic opal content in order to investigate silicon isotope fractionation behaviour during early diagenetic turnover of biogenic opal in marine sediments. The δ30SiPW varies between +1.1‰ and +1.9‰ with the highest values occurring in the uppermost part close to the sediment–water interface. These values are of the same order or higher than the δ30Si of the biogenic opal extracted from the same sediments (+0.3‰ to +1.2‰) and of the overlying bottom waters (+1.1‰ to +1.5‰). Together with dissolved silicic acid concentrations well below biogenic opal saturation, our collective observations are consistent with the formation of authigenic alumino-silicates from the dissolving biogenic opal. Using a numerical transport-reaction model we find that approximately 24% of the dissolving biogenic opal is re-precipitated in the sediments in the form of these authigenic phases at a relatively low precipitation rate of 56 μmol Si cm−2 yr−1. The fractionation factor between the precipitates and the pore waters is estimated at −2.0‰. Dissolved and solid cation concentrations further indicate that off Peru, where biogenic opal concentrations in the sediments are high, the availability of reactive terrigenous material is the limiting factor for the formation of authigenic alumino-silicate phases.

Description: The distribution of dissolved rare earth elements (REEs) and neodymium isotopes (εNd) in the open ocean traces water mass mixing and provides information on lithogenic inputs to the source regions of the water masses. However, the processes influencing the REE budget at the ocean margins, in particular source and sink mechanisms, are not yet well quantified. In this study the first dissolved REE concentrations and Nd isotope compositions of seawater from the Panama Basin (RV Meteor cruise M90) in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific (EEP) are presented.