Abstract:
Trace elements can be used not only as tracers to provide information on dust deposition and anthropogenic inputs but also as paleoproxies for the reconstruction of paleoenvironment conditions. It is necessary to elucidate the processes controlling the distributions of trace elements in the ocean provide a better understanding of the trace elements cycling on the Earth.
Here I present the distributions of trace elements in the Eastern Tropical South Pacific Ocean, obtained as part of the 2013 U.S. GEOTRACES GP16 Eastern Pacific Zonal Transect from Peru to Tahiti. Many key findings include a strong westward transport of trace element-enriched hydrothermal plume waters from the East Pacific Rise, a deep Fe plume below the oxygen minimum zones near the Peru margins, a coincidence of various trace element enrichments/depletions with the secondary nitrite maximum. Compiling results from various groups participating in the GP16 published as a special issue in Marine Chemistry provides important insights for future study.