Trace metals and ocean life
Overview
Within this research theme we study the interactions between trace metals and life in the ocean. Iron, together with other trace metals, is an essential micronutrient, required for the growth of all organisms, including phytoplankton that form the base of the marine food web. Given that phytoplankton convert CO2 into biomass that partly settles into the deep ocean, trace metals are key players in global climate. In many remote ocean regions, such as the high latitude North Atlantic or the Southern Ocean, phytoplankton, and thus primary productivity, are limited by the availability of iron or other metals such as manganese. This research theme is a collaboration between the CIO-Oceans department and the NIOZ Ocean Systems department and aims to understand how both current and future ocean changes affect the interaction between marine microbes and global biogeochemical cycles, notably the marine iron cycle.
Contact person
Current project
Metalgate: Trace metals & the Artic-Atlantic gateway in a changing world
| Last modified: | 18 January 2022 3.01 p.m. |