Toggle Main Menu Toggle Search

Open Access padlockePrints

Kīlauea lava fuels phytoplankton bloom in the North Pacific Ocean

Lookup NU author(s): Professor Sam Wilson

Downloads

Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.


Abstract

© 2019 American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved.From June to August 2018, the eruption of Kīlauea volcano on the island of Hawai'i injected millions of cubic meters of molten lava into the nutrient-poor waters of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. The lava-impacted seawater was characterized by high concentrations of metals and nutrients that stimulated phytoplankton growth, resulting in an extensive plume of chlorophyll a that was detectable by satellite. Chemical and molecular evidence revealed that this biological response hinged on unexpectedly high concentrations of nitrate, despite the negligible quantities of nitrogen in basaltic lava. We hypothesize that the high nitrate was caused by buoyant plumes of nutrient-rich deep waters created by the substantial input of lava into the ocean. This large-scale ocean fertilization was therefore a unique perturbation event that revealed how marine ecosystems respond to exogenous inputs of nutrients.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Wilson ST, Hawco NJ, Armbrust EV, Barone B, Bjorkman KM, Boysen AK, Burgos M, Burrell TJ, Casey JR, DeLong EF, Dugenne M, Dutkiewicz S, Dyhrman ST, Ferron S, Follows MJ, Foreman RK, Funkey CP, Harke MJ, Henke BA, Hill CN, Hynes AM, Ingalls AE, Jahn O, Kelly RL, Knapp AN, Letelier RM, Ribalet F, Shimabukuro EM, Tabata RKS, Turk-Kubo KA, White AE, Zehr JP, John S, Karl DM

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Science

Year: 2019

Volume: 365

Issue: 6457

Pages: 1040-1044

Print publication date: 06/09/2019

Online publication date: 06/09/2019

Acceptance date: 17/07/2019

ISSN (print): 0036-8075

ISSN (electronic): 1095-9203

Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science

URL: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aax4767

DOI: 10.1126/science.aax4767

PubMed id: 31488692


Altmetrics

Altmetrics provided by Altmetric


Share