Reconstructing export production at the NE Atlantic Margin: potential and limits of the Ba proxy

[en] Barium (Ba), aluminium (Al), and zirconium (Zr) were measured in sediment trap material deployed at two margin settings of the NE Atlantic: the Bay of Biscaye at Goban Spur and the NW Iberian Margin. The Particulate Organic Carbon (POC)/Ba ratios of the trapped material in both margin environments are clearly higher compared to the open ocean. Although lateral advection of POC may partly explain these higher POC/Ba ratios for margin systems, it is clear that the yield of authigenic particulate Ba during organic matter degradation in the water column is lower in margin environments. In order to assess export production in margin settings we optimised transfer functions based on trapped Ba fluxes that were originally elaborated for open ocean settings. Calculations of export production based on trapped Ba flux and POC/Ba ratio were compared with calculations based on trapped POC flux only. Export production based on Ba flux show greater internal consistency amongst traps along the same mooring, suggesting that this approach has advantages over the one based on POC flux only. Estimated export productions are of the same order of magnitude as estimates of new production, but systematically fall short of the latter. This systematic discrepancy needs further investigation. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Disciplines :

Physical, chemical, mathematical & earth Sciences: Multidisciplinary, general & others
Earth sciences & physical geography

Author, co-author :

Fagel, Nathalie ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de géologie > Géochim. sédiment. - Sédiment. mar. & continent. du quatern.

Dehairs, Frank

Peinert, Ralf

Antia, Avan

André, Luc ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Géochim. sédiment. - Sédiment. mar. & continent. du quatern.

Language :

English

Title :

Reconstructing export production at the NE Atlantic Margin: potential and limits of the Ba proxy

Publication date :

28 February 2004

Journal title :

Marine Geology

ISSN :

0025-3227

eISSN :

1872-6151

Publisher :

Elsevier Science Bv, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Volume :

204

Issue :

1-2

Pages :

11-25

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Additional URL :

http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/503350/description#description

Name of the research project :

OMEX

Funders :

CE - Commission Européenne

Commentary :

The authors thank Elsevier for their authorization.

Available on ORBi :

since 13 February 2009

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