The concentrations and bioavailability of trace metals influence marine food web productivity and structure, and are an integral component of ocean biogeochemistry. The Gulf of Mexico is a semi-enclosed basin, and trace metal concentrations in these waters appear to be heavily impacted by margin sources including rivers, continental shelf sediments and seasonal dust deposition, though much of the basin remains understudied for trace metals. In the eastern Gulf of Mexico specifically, dust-derived iron (Fe) has been hypothesized to play a role in the development of harmful algal blooms of Karenia brevis. Sources and cycling of trace metals within the eastern Gulf of Mexico may also impact the North Atlantic via Loop Current-Gulf Stream circulation connections. This project examines spatial and temporal variability in the concentrations of Fe and other bioactive trace metals across the West Florida Shelf in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
Dataset | Latest Version Date | Current State |
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Dissolved and total dissolvable trace metal concentrations, Fe and Cu-binding organic ligands, and Fe-binding humic-like substances from R/V Weatherbird cruise WB1513 and R/V Hogarth cruise HO-1807 along the West Florida Shelf in 2015 and 2018 | 2020-08-11 | Final no updates expected |