Fig. 5: Summary of silicon cycling of Southwest Greenland.
From: Insights into silicon cycling from ice sheet to coastal ocean from isotope geochemistry
Subglacial weathering releases reactive particulate silica and dissolved silicon with a light isotopic composition. Glacial physical weathering products largely settle out of the water column; diagenetic reactions within the fjord sediment take up DSi, resulting in a relatively low benthic diffusive flux of DSi. Glacial particles that can escape the fjord supply reactive detrital material that can support diatom growth. Relatively high pore fluid [DSi] in coastal sediments results in a higher benthic diffusive flux of DSi into overlying waters. Virtual coring sites used in the modelling of the hypothetical fjord system are shown (proximal (A), mid-fjord (B), and distal (C) from fjord head to fjord opening) with pore fluid [DSi] profiles shown in side panels; key boundary conditions and assumptions are shown under the schematic. Image by Jamie Oliver, British Antarctic Survey.
