A re-assessment of redfield correlations between dissolved iodine and nutrients in oceanic waters and a strategy for further investigations of iodine

Abstract

The use of the Redfield nutrient model to explain the behaviour of iodine in the oceanic water column is re-assessed using a rigorous theoretical approach together with existing hydrographic information. It is shown that tests of the model's applicability need to be based upon stations which display a marked turning point in their nutrient profile. Stations that do not, e.g. North and South Atlantic, should be avoided. The earlier use of mixtures of the two types is shown to have biased the conclusion in favour of a fit with Redfield. Reasons are given for believing that, in comparison with the plant nutrients, a greater proportion of iodine is re-cycled in the shallow domain of the profile. The possible correlations between inorganic iodine and the Redfield variables are considered from both theoretical and empirical standpoints.