The solubility and deposition of aerosol Fe and other trace elements in the North Atlantic Ocean: Observations from the A16N CLIVAR/CO2 repeat hydrography section

Aerosol and precipitation sampling as part of the 2003 Climate Variability and Predictability (CLIVAR)-CO2 Repeat Hydrography trace element sampling program has produced an aerosol chemistry dataset for a region of the central Atlantic Ocean between 65 degrees N and 5 degrees S. This dataset includes analyses of aerosol particle chemistry as well as Fe and Al solubility (measured using a rapid, flow-through leaching technique). Several factors thought to influence aerosol Fe solubility including chemical weathering and aerosol source are evaluated as well. Air mass back-trajectories were used to characterize the atmospheric regime of each aerosol sample. Aerosol concentrations varied greatly with the highest concentrations observed between 23 degrees N and 8.7 degrees N. Aerosol Fe solubility was 9% +/- 5% in seawater and 15% +/- 8% in ultrapure deionized water. The concentration of soluble aerosol Fe in seawater was estimated with reasonable accuracy from the concentration of soluble aerosol Fe in deionized water by the relationship logFe(SW) = (0.85 +/- 0.039) logFe(DI) + log (1 +/- 1.2), (r(2) = 0.93). (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.