[IIOE2-EP38] Cruise SO276 (GEOTRACES-SIO)"
Lead Investigator :
- Eric Achterberg, 1.GEOMAR Helmholtz Zentrum fur Ozeanforschung Kiel , 2. Christian Albrecht Universitat zu Kiel, Germany
eachterberg@geomar.de
Other Key participants (s):
- Martin Frank,1.GEOMAR Helmholtz Zentrum fur Ozeanforschung Kiel , 2. Christian Albrecht Universitat zu Kiel, Germany
mfrank@geomar.de - Zvi Steiner, GEOMAR Helmholtz Zentrum fur Ozeanforschung Kiel,Germany
zsteiner@geomar.de
Period of Project: 07 July 2020 - 25 August 2020
Brief description of the Project:
A research cruise on-board FS Sonne will take place in the South Indian Ocean (SIO) from Durban (South
Africa) to Fremantle (Australia) in July-August 2020, with a focus on trace metal biogeochemistry and
chemical oceanography but also including physical and biological oceanographic components. The research
topic of the cruise is to determine in detail the distributions, sources and sinks of trace elements and their
isotopes (TEIs) in the water column along a zonal section in one of the least studied ocean regions on earth.
We aim to investigate the biogeochemical cycling of TEIs, and their interactions with surface ocean
productivity and the carbon and nitrogen cycles (incl. N2 fixation (diazotrophy)) given that some TEIs act as
micronutrients. The findings will have global significance for understanding the chemical environment in
which ecosystems operate. The supply pathways of TEIs to the SIO from the ocean boundaries including the
atmosphere (Australian dust), continents (mainly the Zambezi River), sediments (on continental slopes), and
the ocean crust (hydrothermalism) will be investigated. The TEI transport within water masses will be
determined, which will allow a more reliable use of some TEIs as paleo circulation proxies.
Region of study:
