In open ocean areas such as the South Ocean, it is known that there is a shortage of iron (soluble iron) on the surface of the ocean that marine ecosystems use for photosynthesis, so the supply of iron deposited from the atmosphere to the ocean plays an important role. It is considered.However, it has not been well understood whether the origin of soluble iron deposited from the atmosphere to the ocean is mainly natural or anthropogenic.

 In order to clarify these points, the research group of Nagoya University and others analyzed new wide-area aircraft observations of anthropogenic iron and numerical simulations using a global climate model, and as a result, the atmosphere to the ocean in the South Ocean region. For the first time, it was revealed that anthropogenic iron can make a major contribution to the supply of iron to.According to this study, it is possible that the atmospheric concentration of anthropogenic iron in the Southern Ocean may be underestimated by an order of magnitude in conventional studies. Suppose that the amount of deposit may be 1 times or more.

 With this increase, the contribution of anthropogenic iron to the total deposition of soluble iron in the Southern Ocean is estimated to be 61%, so the deposition of anthropogenic iron is significantly higher than the deposition of naturally occurring iron. It will be.It is suggested that changes in anthropogenic iron may play a major role in future changes in the amount of soluble iron deposited.

 Anthropogenic iron is expected to decrease in the future due to restrictions on the emission of fine particles associated with human activities.From this, the Group also predicted that the future supply of iron from the atmosphere to the ocean would decrease significantly (21-55%) in this area.A decrease in iron supply may lead to a decrease in photosynthesis on the surface of the ocean, leading to a reduction in the absorption of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere into the ocean.That is, it may contribute to the acceleration of global warming.

 The results of this research are important findings that are closely related to future climate prediction, and it will be necessary to continue to improve the prediction of changes in the amount of soluble iron deposited and their impact on climate change.

Paper information:[Npj Climate and Atmospheric Science] The underappreciated role of anthropogenic sources in atmospheric soluble iron flux to the Southern Ocean

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