We participated in the first open ocean iron enrichment study by
establishing a Lagrangian reference frame for the experiment, and
identifying the physical processes contributing to the dispersion of
the SF6 tagged, iron enriched surface patch. A GPS
navigated, drogued drifter buoy defined the center of an 8 by 8 km
patch of trace iron and SF6 while the mixed layer patch was
being formed over a 24 hour period. The buoy telemetered its position
to a shipboard computer every 10 minutes allowing a Lagrangian
reference frame to be established for the patch formation and
subsequent patch mapping over the following 8 days. Continuous ADCP
measurements and daily towyo CTD and thermal microstructure
measurements helped define the processes responsible for vertical and
horizontal spreading of the patch.
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Last Reviewed: February 2003
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Martin, J. H., K. H. Coale, K.S. Johnson, S.E. Fitzwater, R M Gordon, S. J. Tanner, C. N. Hunter, V. A. Elrod, J. L. Nowicki, T. L. Coley, R. T. Barber, S. Lindley, A. J. Watson, K Van Scoy, C. S. Law, M. I. Liddicoat, R. Ling, T. Stanton, J. Stockel, C. Collins, A. Anderson, R. Bidgare, M. Ondrusek, M. Latasa, F. J. Millero, K. Lee, W. Yao, J. Z. Zhang, G. Friederich, C. Sakamoto, F. Chavez, K. Buck, Z. Kolber, R. Greene, P. Falkowski, S. W. Chisholm, F. Hoge, R. Swift, J. Yungel, S. Turner, P. Nightingale, A. Hatton, P. Liss, N. W. Tindale, 1994. Testing the Iron Hypothesis in Ecosystems of the Equatorial Pacific Ocean. Nature, 371, 123-120.
Law, C. S., A. J. Watson, M. I. Liddicoat and T. P. Stanton, 1997. "Sulphur Hexafluoride as a Tracer of Biogeochemical and Physical Processes in an Open Iron Fertilization Experiment. Deep Sea Research, in press.
Stanton, T. P., C. S. Law and A. J. Watson, 1997. Physical Evolution of the IRONEX-I Open Ocean Tracer Patch. Deep Sea Research, in Press.
Stanton, T. P. Dispersion of a Tracer Patch in an Open Ocean Mixed Layer. In prep