Vertical fluxes of iron and nitrate to the surface layers in the eastern Indian Ocean

Abstract

Nitrate in seawater is the primary limiting factor for primary production, but about 30% of the entire ocean is reported to be iron-limiting. Therefore, it is important to reveal the Fe supply process to the open ocean. Here, we calculated the vertical fluxes of iron and nitrate from deep layer to the surface. The vertical fluxes of iron were within the same range of the atmospheric iron deposition fluxes in this region.