Campaign archives

Analytical and Environmental Chemistry - Vrije Universiteit Brussel (ANCH-VUB)
Frank Dehairs, Nicolas Savoye, Stéphanie Jacquet, Anne Julie Cavagna

• ANT XXII/3
• Antarctic
• Polar Zone: Greenwich meridian and Weddell Sea
• Title: Dissolved barium distribution along the Prime Meridian and in the Weddell Gyre
• Summary: Although hydrodynamic control on the oceanic barium distribution is predominant, biogeochemical control is occasionally detectable, especially in the subsurface waters. However, there is need for further documenting the dissolved Ba distribution in the Southern Ocean. During the ANT XXII/3 cruise, about 1000 water samples from all through the water column were collected with the CTD rosette, for dissolved barium analysis. The sampling was focused on the Prime Meridian section, whereas in the western Weddell Sea only a few profiles were sampled. The objective is to better document the dissolved Ba distribution in the Atlantic sector and the Weddell Sea to help understanding water mass mixing in the area.
• Vessel: Polarstern
  

Belgian projects

Title : Dissolved barium distribution in the Weddell Gyre and Drake Passage

Summary :

Over the last decade it has become increasingly clear that Ba-barite has great potential as a proxy of oceanic export production and paleoproductivity, but in order to have this proxy tool fully operational, further research is needed, especially regarding the translocation between particulate and dissolved barium and the oceanic distribution of dissolved Ba.
The particulate Ba distribution in the water column of different subsystems of the Southern Ocean has been documented quite extensively and the relationship with export production and mesopelagic mineralization highlighted. Recently, we also documented further the dissolved Ba distribution in the Southern Ocean. Efforts were focused on the Indian Ocean (Crozet-Kerguelen Basin and along 30°E) and the Australian sector (along 145°E). Results indicate that although hydrodynamic control is predominant, biogeochemical control on the dissolved Ba is occasionally detectable, especially in the mesopelagic waters. However, there is need for further documenting the dissolved Ba distribution in the Southern Ocean, especially in the Weddell Gyre and Drake Passage, for which very few data exist.

Participants : N/A. Samples were provided by Mario Hoppema, AWI.

Complementary resources : www.awi-bremerhaven.de/Polar/Polarstern/ANT-XXII-3/Newsletters/report3-050207-d.htm