Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

About: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a nonprofit organization based out in Falmouth, Massachusetts, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Mantle (geology). The organization has 5685 authors who have published 18396 publications receiving 1202050 citations. The organization is also known as: WHOI.

Iron isotope constraints on the Archean and Paleoproterozoic ocean redox state.

Abstract: The response of the ocean redox state to the rise of atmospheric oxygen about 2.3 billion years ago (Ga) is a matter of controversy. Here we provide iron isotope evidence that the change in the ocean iron cycle occurred at the same time as the change in the atmospheric redox state. Variable and negative iron isotope values in pyrites older than about 2.3 Ga suggest that an iron-rich global ocean was strongly affected by the deposition of iron oxides. Between 2.3 and 1.8 Ga, positive iron isotope values of pyrite likely reflect an increase in the precipitation of iron sulfides relative to iron oxides in a redox stratified ocean.

Deep Circulation of the North Atlantic over the Last 200,000 Years: Geochemical Evidence

Abstract: Variations in the cadmium/calcium ratio of North Atlantic Deep Water are recorded in the fossil shells of benthic foraminifera. The oceanic distribution of cadmium is similar to that of the nutrients, hence the cadmium/calcium ratio in shells records temporal variations in nutrient distributions. Data from a North Atlantic sediment core show that over the past 200,000 years there has been a continuous supply of nutrient-depleted waters into the deep North Atlantic. The intensity of this source relative to nutrient-enriched southern waters diminished by about a factor of 2 during severe glaciations. This evidence combined with carbon isotope data indicates that the continental carbon inventory may have been less variable than previously suggested.

Increased particle flux to the deep ocean related to monsoons

Abstract: MONSOONS cause seasonal reversals in the surface circulation of the northern Indian Ocean1. In the Arabian Sea this results in the upwelling of nutrient-rich water along the coasts2–4, making it one of the highly productive regions of the world's oceans. To assess the impact of monsoon-driven processes on the downward particle flux variations in the open ocean we deployed three moored arrays consisting of six time-series sediment traps at selected locations in the western, central and eastern parts of the deep northern Arabian Sea. Strong seasonality was recorded in particle flux at all three sites with peaks during the south-west and northeast monsoons. High primary productivity during the monsoons resulting from wind-induced mixed-layer deepening and the associated nutrient injection to the euphotic zone appeared to be the main factor controlling the observed particle flux pattern. These findings may shed light on CO2 uptake during glaciation when wind speeds were higher.