An intermediate-depth source of hydrothermal 3He and dissolved iron in the North Pacific


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Reiner.Schlitzer [ at ] awi.de

Abstract

We observed large water column anomalies in helium isotopes and trace metal concentrations above the Loihi Seamount. The 3He/4He of the added helium was 27.3 times the atmospheric ratio, clearly marking its origin to a primitive mantle plume. The dissolved iron to 3He ratio (dFe:3He) exported to surrounding waters was 9.3±0.3×106. We observed the Loihi 3He and dFe “signal” at a depth of 1100 m at several stations within ∼100 – 1000 km of Loihi, which exhibited a distal dFe:3He ratio of ∼4×106, about half the proximal ratio. These ratios were remarkably similar to those observed over and near the Southern East Pacific Rise (SEPR) despite greatly contrasting geochemical and volcanic-tectonic origins. In contrast, the proximal and distal dMn:3He ratios were both ∼1×106, less than half of that observed at the SEPR. Dissolved methane was minimally enriched in waters above Loihi Seamount and was distally absent. Using an idealized regional-scale model we replicated the historically observed regional 3He distribution, requiring a hydrothermal 3He source from Loihi of 10.4 ± 4.2 mol a−1, ∼2% of the global abyssal hydrothermal 3He flux. From this we compute a corresponding dFe flux of ∼40 Mmol a−1. Global circulation model simulations suggest that the Loihi-influenced waters eventually upwell along the west coast of North America, also extending into the shallow northwest Pacific, making it a possibly important determinant of marine primary production in the subpolar North Pacific.



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Eprint ID
51575
DOI https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116223

Cite as
Jenkins, W. , Hatta, M. , Fitzsimmons, J. , Schlitzer, R. , Lanning, N. , Shiller, A. , Buckley, N. , German, C. , Lott, D. , Weiss, G. , Whitmore, L. , Casciotti, K. , Lam, P. , Cutter, G. and Cahill, K. (2020): An intermediate-depth source of hydrothermal 3He and dissolved iron in the North Pacific , Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 539 , p. 116223 . doi: https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116223


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