Newly discovered ocean plume could be major source of iron

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=7545&tid=3622&cid=174589

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Newly discovered ocean plume could be major source of iron
Study reveals micronutrient riches rising from the Southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge[/font]

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[font size=3]Scientists have discovered a vast plume of iron and other micronutrients more than 1,000 km long billowing from hydrothermal vents in the South Atlantic Ocean. The finding, soon to be published in the journal Nature Geoscience, calls past estimates of iron abundances into question, and may challenge researchers’ assumptions about iron sources in the world’s seas.

“This study and other studies like it are going to force the scientific community to reevaluate how much iron is really being contributed by hydrothermal vents and to increase those estimates, and that has implications for not only iron geochemistry but a number of other disciplines as well,” says Mak Saito, a WHOI associate scientist and lead author of the study.

…

So Saito and his colleagues were surprised by what their samples revealed when later studied in the lab. Once filtered and analyzed, some of the seawater showed unexpectedly high levels of iron and manganese. When Abigail Noble, then a WHOI graduate student, and Saito plotted the sites where the iron-rich samples were taken, they realized the samples formed a distinct plume—a cloud of nutrients ranging in depth from 1,500 to 3,500 meters that spanned more than 1,000 km of the South Atlantic Ocean.

“We had never seen anything like it,” Saito says. “We were sort of shocked—there’s this huge bull’s-eye right in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean. We didn’t quite know what to do with it, because it went contrary to a lot of our expectations.”

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[Half-Century Man]

1. Oh look a geological singlarity....

....a unique chance to further our understanding of the machinations of our home planet.

Lets cut it up and sell it!!!!!

Okay I've got the mockery out of my system. I do hope however that we will study before consume.

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. The idea here is not that it is a source of iron for us to exploit.

It is a source of iron which is used by phytoplankton.

One “geoengineering” scheme involves dumping iron into the ocean to encourage the growth of phytoplankton. It appears there may already be more iron in the ocean than we were aware of.

[Half-Century Man]

3. Okay...I'm just used to those who sponsor research demanding a return.

If a resource is know, there will be exploiters slathering for it.

[OKIsItJustMe]

4. The researchers in this case are from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

http://www.whoi.edu/main/vision-mission

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Vision & Mission[/font]
[font size=3]The ocean is a defining feature of our planet and crucial to life on Earth, yet it remains one of the planet’s last unexplored frontiers. For this reason, WHOI scientists and engineers are committed to understanding all facets of the ocean as well as its complex connections with Earth’s atmosphere, land, ice, seafloor, and life—including humanity. This is essential not only to advance knowledge about our planet, but also to ensure society’s long-term welfare and to help guide human stewardship of the environment. WHOI researchers are also dedicated to training future generations of ocean science leaders, to providing unbiased information that informs public policy and decision-making, and to expanding public awareness about the importance of the global ocean and its resources.[/font]

[font size=4]Mission Statement[/font]
[font size=3]The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is dedicated to research and education to advance understanding of the ocean and its interaction with the Earth system, and to communicating this understanding for the benefit of society.[/font][/font]

[Half-Century Man]

5. Just saying...

...I'm pretty sure that somewhere there is a map named "future sites" with a location pin in it. After years of experience with the corporate mind, I have faith in their ability to distort science into profit.

Speaking personally, I want it to be left alone. Non-contact studies are fine, but I keep in mind that that act of studying something is an intrusion into the habitat.