Vertical distribution of dissolved aluminium in the mediterranean sea |
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Authors: | Serge Caschetto Roland Wollast |
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Affiliation: | Laboratoire d''Océanographie, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles 1500 Belgium |
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Abstract: | The vertical distribution of dissolved aluminium in the Mediterranean Sea offshore of Corsica has been followed during a period of high biological activity (April–September). In May and August, the concentration of dissolved aluminium is at a relatively low (1.5 μg Al1?1) and rather constant value in the surface waters, while exhibiting minimum values of about 0.5 and 0.8 μg Al1?1 in April and September. It increases under the seasonal thermocline to a depth of 150–500 m. The bottom waters are characterized by a constant and relatively high value of 4 μg Al1?1.The observed concentrations of dissolved aluminium are not compatible with a precipitation-dissolution mechanism of clay minerals.The general distribution pattern and the seasonal changes of dissolved aluminium exhibit strong analogies with those of dissolved silica and nitrogen, suggesting a pre-dominant role of biological activity. It is not possible at this stage to attribute the aluminium uptake in the photic zone solely to the activity of diatoms, as suggested earlier. |
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