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Expedition to trace ocean's vital nutrients

8 October 2010

A new scientific expedition sets sail for the South Atlantic on 17 October to investigate the 'micronutrient' metals which are vital to marine life and also affect global climate and societies and economies around the world.

The 39-day mission, led by Oxford University scientists, will cruise from Cape Town to Montevideo studying the processes which supply metals, such as iron and zinc, that are essential 'fuel' for ocean ecosystems.

Twenty four scientists from ten UK institutes, all part of the UK-GEOTRACES consortium, will be aboard the Royal Research Ship Discovery, one of the Natural Environment Research Council's research vessels, to collect samples and carry out experiments.

"Metals such as iron and zinc are vital nutrients for marine life and, by controlling the abundance of this life, they indirectly control the carbon uptake of our oceans and so affect our climate," said Professor Gideon Henderson of Oxford University's Department of Earth Sciences and the Oxford Martin School, who is leading the consortium.

"Because they are present in seawater at such low concentrations they are difficult to measure, but with this new expedition we hope to revolutionise our understanding of the metal 'micronutrient' cycle and gain insights into the past, present and future of Earth's climate."

Dr Rachel Mills from the major consortium partner, the University of Southampton, explains, "Much of our understanding of past climate comes from measurements of marine sediments, but understanding how such climate information is reflected in the chemistry of the sediments is essential if we are to interpret this evidence correctly.

"Understanding the cycle is also vital if we are to assess whether proposed geo-engineering schemes, such as 'seeding' the oceans with iron to increase their carbon uptake, might work."

The RRS Discovery will head to the South Atlantic where the ocean is particularly rich in life, but where the sources of micronutrients are a mystery. By collecting samples, and making a wide range of measurements both onboard and back in the lab, the research team hopes to learn how the metals enter and leave the ocean, and how their abundance in seawater influences marine biology.

"Understanding changes in the productivity of our oceans will help us to understand global climate change," said Professor Henderson. "However, changes in marine ecosystems also have a wider impact: these ecosystems are vital for food production, biodiversity, international development, tourism, and pollution management.

"Any changes in the cycling of micronutrients in the South Atlantic will have an impact not just on the local area but also on the natural resources, economies and standard of living of countries around the world."

The cruise will leave Cape Town, South Africa, on 17 October 2010 and is scheduled to dock at Montevideo, Uruguay, on 25 November. The consortium website UK-GEOTRACES will feature a blog with daily reports of the mission's progress.

Further information

NERC Press Office
Natural Environment Research Council
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1EU
Tel: 01793 411561
Mob: 07917 557215

Professor Gideon Henderson
Department of Earth Sciences
Oxford University
Tel: 01865 282123
Mob: 07909 968804

Press Office
University of Oxford
Tel: 01865 283877
Mob: 07738 135619 (weekend)

Notes

1. More details can be found on the UK-GEOTRACES website.

2. The UK-GEOTRACES consortium is comprised of ten UK institutions: the universities of Oxford, Southampton, Edinburgh, East Anglia, Plymouth, Manchester, Cambridge, and Imperial College London, the National Oceanography Centre and Plymouth Marine Laboratory. A related NERC-funded project is being conducted by the universities of Oxford, Southampton, and Bristol.

3. Both the UK-GEOTRACES consortium and the related project are supported by NERC, which has also provided the research vessel RRS Discovery for the 17 October cruise.

NERC is the UK's main agency for funding and managing world-class research, training and knowledge exchange in the environmental sciences. It co-ordinates some of the world's most exciting research projects, tackling major issues such as climate change, environmental influences on human health, the genetic make-up of life on earth, and much more. NERC receives around £400m a year from the government's science budget, which it uses to fund independent research and training in universities and its own research centres.

Press release: 38/10

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