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Reply to: No evidence for equatorial Pacific dust fertilization

Nature Geoscience volume 12, page 156 (2019)Cite this article

The Original Article was published on 27 February 2019

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replying to A. W. Jacobel et al. Nature Geoscience https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0304-z (2019)

We disagree with the arguments put forth by Jacobel et al.1 and stand by our original interpretations2. Jacobel et al.1 assert that no evidence of Fe fertilization by dust is provided by Loveley et al.2 and claim the same for their dataset from nearby Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1240. However, we interpret their dataset differently: there is a moderate, statistically strong positive correlation between the excess Ba (xsBa) and 232Th fluxes (coefficient of correlation, r = + 0.49, P < 0.01; fig. 1a in ref. 1). The relationship between their 232Th and Fe fluxes is even stronger (r = + 0.62, P < 0.01; Fig. 1b in ref. 1), indicating a significant influence of dust on Fe availability.

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology and Geophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    F. Marcantonio

  2. Zedi, Midland, TX, USA

    M. R. Loveley

  3. Department of Ocean, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA

    M. W. Schmidt & J. E. Hertzberg

Authors
  1. F. Marcantonio
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  2. M. R. Loveley
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  3. M. W. Schmidt
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  4. J. E. Hertzberg
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Contributions

F.M., M.R.L., M.W.S. and J.E.H. each contributed to the discussion, writing and editing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to F. Marcantonio.

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Marcantonio, F., Loveley, M.R., Schmidt, M.W. et al. Reply to: No evidence for equatorial Pacific dust fertilization. Nat. Geosci. 12, 156 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-019-0305-y

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