The availability of iron limits primary productivity and the associated uptake of carbon over large areas of the ocean. Iron thus plays an important role in the carbon cycle, and changes in its supply to the surface ocean may have had a significant effect on atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations over glacial-interglacial cycles. To date, the role of iron in carbon cycling has largely been assessed using short-term iron-addition experiments. It is difficult, however, to reliably assess the magnitude of carbon export to the ocean interior using such methods, and the short observational periods preclude extrapolation of the results to longer timescales. Here we report observations of a phytoplankton bloom induced by natural iron fertilization--an approach that offers the opportunity to overcome some of the limitations of short-term experiments. We found that a large phytoplankton bloom over the Kerguelen plateau in the Southern Ocean was sustained by the supply of iron and major nutrients to surface waters from iron-rich deep water below. The efficiency of fertilization, defined as the ratio of the carbon export to the amount of iron supplied, was at least ten times higher than previous estimates from short-term blooms induced by iron-addition experiments. This result sheds new light on the effect of long-term fertilization by iron and macronutrients on carbon sequestration, suggesting that changes in iron supply from below--as invoked in some palaeoclimatic and future climate change scenarios--may have a more significant effect on atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations than previously thought.

River systems connect the terrestrial biosphere, the atmosphere and the ocean in the global carbon cycle. A recent estimate suggests that up to 3 petagrams of carbon per year could be emitted as carbon dioxide (CO2) from global inland waters, offsetting the carbon uptake by terrestrial ecosystems. It is generally assumed that inland waters emit carbon that has been previously fixed upstream by land plant photosynthesis, then transferred to soils, and subsequently transported downstream in run-off. But at the scale of entire drainage basins, the lateral carbon fluxes carried by small rivers upstream do not account for all of the CO2 emitted from inundated areas downstream. Three-quarters of the world's flooded land consists of temporary wetlands, but the contribution of these productive ecosystems to the inland water carbon budget has been largely overlooked. Here we show that wetlands pump large amounts of atmospheric CO2 into river waters in the floodplains of the central Amazon. Flooded forests and floating vegetation export large amounts of carbon to river waters and the dissolved CO2 can be transported dozens to hundreds of kilometres downstream before being emitted. We estimate that Amazonian wetlands export half of their gross primary production to river waters as dissolved CO2 and organic carbon, compared with only a few per cent of gross primary production exported in upland (not flooded) ecosystems. Moreover, we suggest that wetland carbon export is potentially large enough to account for at least the 0.21 petagrams of carbon emitted per year as CO2 from the central Amazon River and its floodplains. Global carbon budgets should explicitly address temporary or vegetated flooded areas, because these ecosystems combine high aerial primary production with large, fast carbon export, potentially supporting a substantial fraction of CO2 evasion from inland waters.

Fertilization of the ocean by adding iron compounds has induced diatom-dominated phytoplankton blooms accompanied by considerable carbon dioxide drawdown in the ocean surface layer. However, because the fate of bloom biomass could not be adequately resolved in these experiments, the timescales of carbon sequestration from the atmosphere are uncertain. Here we report the results of a five-week experiment carried out in the closed core of a vertically coherent, mesoscale eddy of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, during which we tracked sinking particles from the surface to the deep-sea floor. A large diatom bloom peaked in the fourth week after fertilization. This was followed by mass mortality of several diatom species that formed rapidly sinking, mucilaginous aggregates of entangled cells and chains. Taken together, multiple lines of evidence-although each with important uncertainties-lead us to conclude that at least half the bloom biomass sank far below a depth of 1,000 metres and that a substantial portion is likely to have reached the sea floor. Thus, iron-fertilized diatom blooms may sequester carbon for timescales of centuries in ocean bottom water and for longer in the sediments.

[1] We analyzed d 29 Si of dissolved silicate for eight water column profiles across the Southern Ocean (south of Australia in spring 2001) from the Seasonal Ice Zone (SIZ) north to the Subantarctic Zone (SAZ), including the first isotopic compositions measured for Si-depleted seawaters. All profiles display mixed layer enrichments in heavy Si isotopes relative to deep water in accordance with preferential uptake of the light isotope by diatoms. As silicate levels decrease from the SIZ northward across the Polar Front Zone (PFZ) to the SAZ, surface and mesopelagic d 29 Si signatures generally become progressively heavier, but the most Si-depleted SAZ waters do not exhibit d 29 Si values heavier than in the PFZ. This intricacy appears to derive from variations in the vertical and horizontal supply of silicate to surface waters, and by applying a steady state open system model, we estimate a fractionation factor, 29 e, between diatoms and seawater of À0.45 ± 0.17%, independently of zones and phytoplankton community. Though encouraging, these results are related to latitudinal changes in mesopelagic d 29 Si values, complexity in surface silicateÀd 29 Si correlations, and differences from previous studies, which underline the need for caution in the use of silicon isotopes in paleoceanographic studies until systematic efforts have been undertaken to better understand modern variations.

Thorium-234 is increasingly used as a tracer of ocean particle flux, primarily as a means to estimate particulate organic carbon export from the surface ocean. This requires determination of both the 234 Th activity distribution (in order to calculate 234 Th fluxes) and an estimate of the C / 234 Th ratio on sinking particles, to empirically derive C fluxes. In reviewing C / 234 Th variability, results obtained using a single sampling method show the most predictable behavior. For example, in most studies that employ in situ pumps to collect size fractionated particles, C / 234 Th either increases or is relatively invariant with increasing particle size (size classes N 1 to 100s Am). Observations also suggest that C / 234 Th decreases with depth and can vary significantly between regions (highest in blooms of large diatoms and highly productive coastal settings). Comparisons of C fluxes derived from 234 Th show good agreement with independent estimates of C flux, including mass balances of C and nutrients over appropriate space and time scales (within factors of 2-3). We recommend sampling for C / 234 Th from a standard depth of 100 m, or at least one depth below www.elsevier.com/locate/marchem the mixed layer using either large volume size fractionated filtration to capture the rarer large particles, or a sediment trap or other device to collect sinking particles. We also recommend collection of multiple 234 Th profiles and C / 234 Th samples during the course of longer observation periods to better sample temporal variations in both 234 Th flux and the characteristic of sinking particles. We are encouraged by new technologies which are optimized to more reliably sample truly settling particles, and expect the utility of this tracer to increase, not just for upper ocean C fluxes but for other elements and processes deeper in the water column. D

Over the past few decades, the radioisotope pair of 238 U/ 234 Th has been widely and increasingly used to describe particle dynamics and particle export fluxes in a variety of aquatic systems. The present paper is one of five review articles dedicated to 234 Th. It is focused on the models associated with 234 Th whereas the companion papers (same issue) are focused on present and future methodologies and techniques (Rutgers van der Loeff et al.), C/ 234 Th ratios (Buesseler et al.), 234 Th speciation (Santschi et al.) and present and future applications of 234 Th (Waples et al.). In this paper, we review current 234 Th scavenging models and discuss the relative importance of the non steady state and physical terms associated with the most commonly used model to estimate 234 Th flux. Based on this discussion we recommend that for future work the use of models should be accompanied by a discussion of the effect that model and data uncertainty have on the model results. We also suggest that future field work incorporate repeat occupations of sample sites on time scales of 1-4 weeks in order to evaluate steady state versus non steady state estimates of 234 Th export, especially during high flux events (> ca. 800 dpm m-2 d-1). Finally, knowledge of the physical oceanography of the study area is essential, particularly in ocean margins and in areas of established upwelling (e.g. Equatorial Pacific). These suggestions will greatly enhance the application of 234 Th as a tracer of particle dynamics and flux in more complicated regimes.

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There have been several studies where the isotopic composition of organisms has been determined seasonally, but fewer have examined separate organs. In this context, separate organs (e.g. gonad, digestive gland and muscle), of a suspension-feeder, the scallop Pecten maximus, were used to assess seasonal changes of both stable isotopes and biochemical components. Our study used multiple indicators (stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes ratios, biochemical components and seston Chl a) to track nutritive activity and energy allocation in P. maximus from the Bay of Brest (France). In addition to seasonal variation in the isotopic composition of P. maximus tissues, we found strong differences in the mean isotopic signatures of different organs. This has serious implications for interpretation of animal diets and potential use in animal physiology. Furthermore, we present evidence that seasonal variations of metabolism will cause changes in the isotopic composition not related to changes in the diet. Interpretation of isotopic data may require consideration of values from several separate organs. Finally, δ 15 N appears powerful to track metabolite fates in the scallop P. maximus.