Global Iron Connections Between Desert Dust, Ocean Biogeochemistry, and Climate

Science, Vol 308, No. 5718, p. 67-71, 2005

T.D. Jickells, A.R. Baker, N. Brooks and P.S. Liss
School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR47TJ, UK
Z.S. An and J.J. Cao
State Key Lab of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, AS, 10 Fenghui South Road, Post Office Box 17, China
K.K. Andersen
Ice and Climate, Niels Bohr Institutet, Københavns Universitet
G. Bergametti
Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmospherique, Universités Paris 7 and Paris 12, UMR CNRS 7583, Paris, France
P.W. Boyd
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Centre for Chemical and Physical Oceanography, Department of Chemistry
K.A. Hunter
Department of Chemistry, Post Office Box 56; University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
R.A. Duce
Departments of Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, TAMU 3146, College Station, TX 77843-3146, USA
H. Kawahata
Geological Survey of Japan, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Tsukubahigashi 1-1-1, Ibaraki 305-8567, Japan
N. Kubilay
Institute of Marine Sciences, Middle East Technical University, Post Office Box 28, Erdemli-Mersin 33731, Turkey
J. laRoche
Leibniz-Institute für Meereswissenchaften IFM-GEO-MAR, Marine Biogeochemistry, Gebäude Westufer, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany
N. Mahowald
National Center for Atmospheric Research, Post Office Box 3000, Boulder, CO 80307, USA
J.M. Prospero
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149-1089, USA
A.J. Ridgwell
Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia, 6339 Stores Road, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4, Canada
I. Tegen
Max-Planck-Institute for Biogeochemistry, Post Office Box 10, 01 64 07701 Jena, Germany
R. Torres
Universidad de Conception, Departamento de Oceanografia, Casilla 160C, Chile

ABSTRACT.
The environmental conditions of Earth, including the clinmate, are determined by physical, chemical, biological, and human interactions that transform and transport materials and energy. This is the "Earth system": a highly complex entity characterized by multiplenonlinear responses and thresholds, with linkages between disparate components. One important part of this system is the iron cycle, in which iron-containing soil dust is transported from land through the atmosphere to the oceans, affecting ocean biogeochemistry and hence having feedback effects on climnate and dust production. Here we review the key components of this cycle, identifying critical uncertainties and priorities for future research.