Atmospheric and marine controls on aerosol iron solubility in seawater

The fraction of atmospherically deposited iron which dissolves in seawater, or becomes available to phytoplankton for growth, is a key determinant of primary productivity in many open ocean regions. As such this parameter plays an important part in the global oceanic cycles of iron and carbon, and yet the factors that control iron dissolution from aerosol are very poorly understood. In this manuscript we seek to synthesise the available knowledge of these factors, which operate in the atmosphere and in seawater. A conceptual model of the overall aerosol iron solubility is presented, in which we liken the various controls on iron solubility to sets of parallel electrical resistors. We also discuss experimental methods for the determination of iron solubility and make recommendations for future studies in this area. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.