Particulate rare earth element behavior in the North Atlantic (GEOVIDE cruise)

Abstract

Particulate concentrations of the 14 Rare Earth Elements (PREE), yttrium, and 232-thorium were measured in 200 samples collected in the epipelagic (ca. 0–200 m) and mesopelagic (ca. 200–1500 m) zones of the North Atlantic during the GEOVIDE cruise (May/June 2014, R/V Pourquoi Pas?, GEOTRACES GA01), providing the most detailed snapshot of the PREE distribution in the North Atlantic so far. Concentrations of particulate cerium (PCe) varied between 0.2 and 16 pmol L−1, while particulate neodymium (PNd) concentrations ranged between 0.1 and 6.1 pmol L−1. Particulate ytterbium (PYb) concentrations ranged between 0.01 and 0.50 pmol L−1. In addition, this study showed that PREE distributions were also controlled by the biological production in the upper sunlit ocean and by remineralization processes in the mesopelagic area. Low surface concentrations combined with normalized PREE patterns displaying a negative Ce anomaly and HREE enrichments pointed to freshly formed biogenic particles imprinting the seawater signature. A significant relationship between biogenic silica (BSi) and PHREE was also observed in the Labrador and Irminger seas, due to the occurrence of strong diatom blooms at the sampling time. In order to identify dissolved-particulate processes independent of the ionic radius, we used PHo∕PY ratios and showed that absorption processes were predominant in the upper ocean, while adsorption processes dominated at deeper depths. This study highlighted different lithogenic fractions of PREE and dispersion depending on the shelf: off the Iberian margin, up to 100 % of the PREE were determined to have a lithogenic origin. This lithogenic input spread westward along an intermediate nepheloid layer (INL), following isopycnals up to 1700 km away from the margin. In contrast, along the Greenland and Newfoundland margins, the circulation maintained lithogenic inputs of PREE along the coasts.