Mesoscale variability related to iron speciation in a coastal Ross Sea area (Antarctica) during summer 2014

Dissolved iron (Fe) distribution and speciation was determined in water samples (0–200 m) collected in a coastal area near Terra Nova Bay during the austral summer of 2014. Nutrients, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll-a, phytoplankton composition and prokaryotic biomass distribution were investigated in combination with measurements of the physical properties of the water columns and its dynamics. The dFe value was above the limiting growth concentration, ranging from 0.52 to 4.51 nM, and it showed a spatial variability with a horizontal length scale of about 10 km, according to the variability of the water column physical properties and to iron sources. The organic ligands (L) maintained the concentrations of dFe at levels much higher than the inorganic solubility of Fe, keeping it available for phytoplankton and the log K’FeL values found (from 22.1 to 23.6) highlighted the presence of complexes of differing stabilities.