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Trace elements in the ocean attributed to a surprising source

The finding that the sea floor is a source of low-abundance elements in the ocean up-ends conventional views of marine biogeochemistry.
By
  1. Daniel Ohnemus

    1. Daniel Ohnemus is at the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Savannah, Georgia 31411, USA.

In the oceans, a near-ceaseless cascade of particles — most of which are produced by biological processes — sinks from the sunlit surface into the darkness of the abyss. This process, known as the ocean’s biological pump, transfers chemical energy and the elements required by life to the deep ocean, helping to control Earth’s climate and fuelling deep-sea ecosystems1. Writing in Nature, Du et al.2 effectively flip this view of the ocean upside down by reporting a biogeochemical framework in which multiple elements in the ocean are sourced from the sea floor.

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Nature 642, 575-576 (2025)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-025-01681-0

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Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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