Concentration,vertical flux,and remineralization of particulate uranium in seawater

Concentrations and fluxes of particulate U were measured throughout the water column at several locations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans with in situ filtration systems and sediment traps. The results indicate that dissolved U is fixed to particles in surface seawater. Organic matter appears to be the carrier phase. Formation of particulate authigenic U below the surface waters could not be detected. Authigenic U is remineralized within the bathypelagic layers at the open ocean sites studied. In the Panama Basin, an upwelling area with high biological productivity, remineralization of authigenic U in the deep water column was not observed. The rate of remineralization of authigenic U in the deep sea is insufficient to produce a measurable concentration gradient between surface and deep waters within the mixing time of the oceans. Formation of authigenic U in the water column in areas such as the Panama Basin is not a significant sink for U on an ocean wide basis.