Geochemical Fluxes Research Articles

Phosphate removal from sea water by adsorption on volcanogenic ferric oxides

Chemical data presented in this paper indicate a good correlation between P 2O 5 and Fe 2O 3 in some iron-rich volcanogenic sediments from the East Pacific Rise. In addition, adsorption experiments and chemical analyses of deuterically altered and unaltered samples of submarine basalts strongly suggest that this association is due to the reaction of phosphate in sea water with poorly crystallized hydrous ferric oxides. East Pacific Rise sediments adsorb far greater amounts of phosphate from sea water than either carbonate or non-carbonate sediments from other areas of the ocean. From geochemical flux calculations it is concluded that an appreciable proportion of dissolved phosphate delivered to the oceans by rivers is removed by ridge crest volcanogenic iron oxides either as absorbed surface coatings or as discrete, but highly disordered, ferric phosphate phases. This process should be taken into consideration when considering oceanic phosphate budgets, both in the present and past oceans.