Beschreibung: Here we demonstrate enhanced natural community APase activity following iron amendment within the low zinc and moderately low iron Western North Atlantic. In contrast we find no evidence for trace metal limitation of APase activity beneath the Saharan dust plume in the Eastern Atlantic. Such intermittent iron limitation of microbial phosphorus acquisition provides an additional facet in the argument for iron controlling the coupling between oceanic nitrogen and phosphorus cycles.

Beschreibung: The intraseasonal evolution of physical and biogeochemical properties during a coastal trapped wave event off central Peru is analysed using data from an extensive shipboard observational programme conducted between April and June 2017, and remote sensing data. The poleward velocities in the Peru Chile Undercurrent were highly variable and strongly intensified to above 0.5 m s-1 between mid and end of May. This intensification was likely caused by a first baroclinic mode downwelling coastal trapped wave, excited by a westerly wind anomaly at the equator and originating at about 95° W. Local winds along the South American coast did not impact the wave. Although there is general agreement between the observed cross-shore-depth velocity structure of the coastal trapped wave and the velocity structure of first vertical mode solution of a linear wave model, there are differences in the details of the two flow distributions. The enhanced poleward flow increased water mass advection from the equatorial current system to the study site. The resulting shorter alongshore transit times between the equator and the coast off central Peru led to a strong increase in nitrate concentrations, less anoxic water, likely less fixed nitrogen loss to N2, and a decrease of the nitrogen deficit compared to the situation before the poleward flow intensification. This study highlights the role of changes in the alongshore advection due to coastal trapped waves for the nutrient budget and the cumulative strength of N-cycling in the Peruvian oxygen minimum zone. Enhanced availability of nitrate may impact a range of pelagic and benthic elemental cycles, as it represents a major electron acceptor for organic carbon degradation during denitrification and is involved in sulfide oxidation in sediments.

Beschreibung: A sensor package for measuring and autonomously logging oceanographical parameters was installed on the ROV-Squid during the METEOR research cruise M183. The suite of sensors included an RBR Concerto logger for measurements of pressure, temperature, dissolved O₂ concentration and turbidity, a Pyroscience AquapHOx-LX for measurements of pH and a Trios OPUS nitrate sensor. The duration and frequency of the sampling were defined on every dive in order to have the best sensors performance/battery usage combination. Generally RBR Concerto data were recorded every 10 seconds, pH data every 30 seconds while nitrate data every 5 minutes. Following sensor post-calibration, a maximum pH offset of -0.05 was applied. Nitrate data were processed according to Nehir et al., 2021. While the RBR Concerto logger recorded during the entire dives, data for both the pH and nitrate sensors include bottom time and ROV ascent only.