Does phosphate adsorption onto Saharan dust explain the unusual N/P ratio in the Mediterranean Sea ? - Université Pierre et Marie Curie Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Oceanologica Acta Année : 2003

Does phosphate adsorption onto Saharan dust explain the unusual N/P ratio in the Mediterranean Sea ?

Céline Ridame
Cécile Guieu

Résumé

A Saharan soil, considered as a proxy for Saharan aerosols, was used to perform radio-labelled phosphate adsorption experiments using 33PO43-: leached particles were exposed to poisoned western Mediterranean seawater for varying lengths of time. The measured adsorption capacity of Saharan dust for phosphate was 0.13 µmol.g-1. Considering this value and an annual Saharan dust deposition of 12.5 t.km-2.yr-1, we show that Saharan particles do not represent a significant sink for seawater phosphate in the western Mediterranean Sea. This result is in agreement with that determined from a similar approach conducted in the eastern basin. As a consequence, the unusual N/P ratio measured in the whole Mediterranean Sea (up to 29) can not be explained by the adsorption process of seawater phosphate onto Saharan dust.

Dates et versions

hal-00166835 , version 1 (10-08-2007)

Identifiants

Citer

Céline Ridame, Thierry Moutin, Cécile Guieu. Does phosphate adsorption onto Saharan dust explain the unusual N/P ratio in the Mediterranean Sea ?. Oceanologica Acta, 2003, 26 (5-6), pp.629-634. ⟨10.1016/S0399-1784(03)00061-6⟩. ⟨hal-00166835⟩
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