A study of a phytoplankton bloom in the Southern Ocean induced by the supply of iron from deep waters below finds that the efficiency of fertilization (the ratio of carbon exported to the ocean interior to the amount of iron supplied) is at least ten times higher than estimates from short-term experiments. This suggests that changes in the supply of iron from deep water to the surface ocean may have a greater effect on atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations than previously thought.
- Stéphane Blain
- Bernard Quéguiner
- Thibaut Wagener
