Description: Seawater rare earth element (REE) concentrations are increasingly applied to reconstruct water mass histories by exploiting relative changes in the distinctive normalised patterns. However, the mechanisms by which water masses gain their patterns are yet to be fully explained. To examine this, we collected water samples along the Extended Ellett Line (EEL), an oceanographic transect between Iceland and Scotland, and measured dissolved REE by offline automated chromatography (SeaFAST) and ICP-MS. The proximity to two continental boundaries, the incipient spring bloom coincident with the timing of the cruise, and the importance of deep water circulation in this climatically sensitive gateway region make it an ideal location to investigate sources of REE to seawater and the effects of vertical cycling and lateral advection on their distribution. The deep waters have REE concentrations closest to typical North Atlantic seawater and are dominated by lateral advection. Comparison to published seawater REE concentrations of the same water masses in other locations provides a first measure of the temporal and spatial stability of the seawater REE signal. We demonstrate the REE pattern is replicated for Iceland-Scotland Overflow Water (ISOW) in the Iceland Basin from adjacent stations sampled 16 years previously. A recently published Labrador Sea Water (LSW) dissolved REE signal is reproduced in the Rockall Trough but shows greater light and mid REE alteration in the Iceland Basin, possibly due to the dominant effect of ISOW and/or continental inputs. An obvious concentration gradient from seafloor sediments to the overlying water column in the Rockall Trough, but not the Iceland Basin, highlights release of light and mid REE from resuspended sediments and pore waters, possibly a seasonal effect associated with the timing of the spring bloom in each basin. The EEL dissolved oxygen minimum at the permanent pycnocline corresponds to positive heavy REE enrichment, indicating maximum rates of organic matter remineralisation and associated REE release. We tentatively suggest a bacterial role to account for the observed heavy REE deviations. This study highlights the need for fully constrained REE sources and sinks, including the temporary nature of some sources, to achieve a balanced budget of seawater REE.

Description: The Asian summer monsoon affects the lives of billions of people. With the aim of identifying geochemical tracers for the monsoon-related freshwater input from the major rivers draining into the Bay of Bengal (BoB) and the Andaman Sea (AnS), we have analyzed the yttrium and rare earth element (YREE) concentration of surface seawater samples from various locations spanning the Andaman Islands in 2011 to 2013. In some locations, samples have been taken in March, July, and November 2011, thus spanning the seasonal cycle and including different monsoon phases. Generally, the YREE patterns are similar to those reported for offshore samples from the BoB and AnS in January 1997, with seawater-normalized patterns of most samples characterized by middle REE enrichments. An enhancement of these middle REE bulges accompanies large increases in dissolved REE concentrations from streams and sediment-rich areas such as mangrove environments. Conversely, some samples, in particular those taken 1–2 days after heavy rainfall in March 2011, show pronounced REE scavenging accompanied by the preferential removal of dissolved light REEs (LREEs) and by higher Y/Ho ratios. The Nd isotope signature of the remaining dissolved REE phase of these low YREE samples is more radiogenic than local rocks and sediments. The time series at a location away from local input sources show remarkably similar REE patterns and concentrations in March and July. Then in October–November, following the peak in monsoon-induced river discharge, the dissolved REE concentrations increase by almost a factor of two, whereas Nd isotopes become less radiogenic by 1.5 εNd units. These unradiogenic values are found at the same site in the winter dry season of the following year, demonstrating the decoupling of sea surface salinity (SSS) and Nd. The large sub-annual variability of YREE concentrations and Nd isotopes encountered was likely caused by the conversion of YREE from the dissolved (probably colloidal) pool to the labile particulate fraction. The comparison of unfiltered and filtered sample concentrations reveals the existence of a large labile particulate pool in the BoB and AnS that most likely originates from the massive river sediment fluxes and is instrumental in the seasonal changes observed.