Distributions of dissolved vitamin B 12 and Co in coastal and open-ocean environments

Abstract

Distributions of dissolved vitamin B 12 and total dissolved Co were measured to gain an understanding of the cycling of these interdependent micronutrients in six marine settings including; an upwelling location, a semi-enclosed bay, two urban coastal systems, and two open ocean locations. Along the coast of Baja California, Mexico, concentrations of B 12 and dissolved Co varied from 0.2 to 11 pM and 180 to 990 pM, respectively. At a nearby upwelling station, vitamin B 12 and Co concentrations ranged from 0.3 to 7.0 pM and 22 to 145 pM, and concentrations did not correlate with upwelling intensity. Concentrations of B 12 were highest within Todos Santos Bay, a semi-enclosed bay off the coast of Baja California, Mexico, during a dinoflagellate bloom, ranging from 2 to 61 pM, while Co concentrations varied between 61 and 194 pM. In the anthropogenically impacted Long Island Sound, NY, U.S.A., B 12 levels were between 0.1 and 23 pM and Co concentrations varied from 60 to 1900 pM. However, anthropogenic inputs were not evident in B 12 levels in the San Pedro Basin, located outside Los Angeles, Ca, U.S.A., where concentrations of B 12 were 0.2–1.8 pM, approximating observed open ocean B 12 concentrations. In the Southern Ocean and North Atlantic Ocean, B 12 levels were 0.4–4 pM and 0.2–2 pM, respectively. Total Co concentrations in the Southern Ocean and North Atlantic tended to be low; measuring 26–59 pM and 15–80 pM, respectively. These low Co concentrations may limit B 12 synthesis and its availability to B 12-requiring phytoplankton because the total dissolved Co pool is not necessarily entirely bioavailable.