Table 1 Meta-analysis of median and inter-quartile ranges (IQR) stoichiometric ratios from phytoplankton, particles (with different lithogenic corrections applied), sediment trap fluxes (with local estimates of lithogenic Fe or applying a conservative 80% lithogenic correction) and below mixed layer regeneration rates from process studies

		Fe/C		P/C
	Detail	Median	IQR	Median	IQR
Phyto- plankton	South tropical Pacific	16.0	7.8–40.7
	South Pacific⁶⁶	15.3	9.7–26.5
	Equatorial Pacific⁶⁷	11.7	6.9–20.4
	North Pacific	20.2	9.8–55.0
	North Atlantic⁶⁸	31.3	19.8–59.9
Non-lithogenic Marine Particles^a	Using Ti endmember	48.21	2.67–204.76	12.73	11.38–14.55
	Using Al endmember	196.4	105.5–396.7
	Using Al/Ti endmember	103.35	56.69–175.83
Export^b	SAZ-Sense, Fe Cycle I and II sediment traps^44,45,46	141.6	84.9-275.4	5.6	2.9-6.4

		Fe rate
		Median	IQR
Regeneration^c	Experiments and budgets^45,47,48	485.5	257.3-1113.3

		Fe/C	Fe rate	P/C	P rate
Dissolved	Intermediate water (this study)	3.92 ± 0.99	2.34	11.48 ± 0.71	6.75

Median ratios and slopes are in units of μmol/mol (Fe/C) or mmol mol⁻¹ (P/C), whereas rates are either nmol dFe m⁻³ yr⁻¹ or μmol PO₄ m⁻³ yr⁻¹
^aParticles collected from bottles during GEOTRACES GP16 voyage between Ecuador and Tahiti in the south Pacific above the intermediate water layer and west of station 23 to avoid influence of low-oxygen waters (n = 54) with three different lithogenic end members applied to remove lithogenic particulate Fe. Note P/C ratio results are unaffected by the choice of lithogenic end member
^bCalculated non-lithogenic flux from sediment traps from the SAZ-Sense, Fe Cycle I and Fe Cycle II process studies, either by using local lithogenic corrections or a conservative estimate of 80% lithogenic Fe (n = 14 for Fe and 11 for P)
^cRegeneration rates are compiled from all direct measurements of solubilisation of particles collected from below the mixed layer and iron budget calculations of iron regeneration (n = 6)

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