Variable influence of the atmospheric flux on the trace metal chemistry of oceanic suspended matter

Abstract

The particulate concentrations of 17 trace metals, Al, Sc, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se, Ag, Sb, Au, Hg, Pb and Th have been measured in the marine atmosphere (58 samples) and in the deep waters (35 samples) of the Tropical North Atlantic. For oceanic suspended matter, our results are similar to those in samples from the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans collected during the GEOSECS Program. Based on these results, we have made a flux balance for the mixed layer between input via the atmosphere and removal through small and large particles. These data show that the primary flux of suspended aluminosilicates in the Tropical North Atlantic is attributable to the atmospheric input. Elements Sc, Th, Fe, V, Mn, Co and Cr show high correlation with Al in the marine atmosphere. Of these elements, Fe, Mn, V, Co and Cr are influenced by additional processes such as biological, in the marine environment. For elements Ni, Cu, Zn, Se, Ag, Sb, Au, Hg and Pb, we observe high enrichments (relative to average crustal material) in the marine atmosphere which may be due, at least partially, to the influence of anthropogenic sources. These metals also show similar enrichments in deep ocean suspended matter. Model calculations indicate that the atmospheric flux may not control the deep ocean particulate chemistry of Ni, Cu, Zn, Ag, Sb, Au and Hg. Hence it is likely that, for these elements, the enrichment in the ocean is due to processes within the marine regime, for example their involvement in the biological cycle of the ocean. For Se and Pb, the atmospheric source looks to be the dominant contribution to their particulate concentration in seawater. In the deep North Atlantic, particulate Pb appears to be mostly of anthropogenic origin, which is not the case for Se.