Tracing the Agulhas leakage with lead isotopes
File(s)
Accepted version
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The transport of warm and salty waters from the Indian Ocean to the South Atlantic by the Agulhas Current constitutes a key return route of the meridional overturning circulation. Despite, the importance of the Agulhas Leakage on interoceanic exchange, its role on biogeochemical cycles is poorly documented. Here, we present the first lead (Pb) concentration and isotope data for surface seawater collected during the GEOTRACES cruise D357 in the Agulhas current system. Lead in surface waters of the Cape Basin is described by three distinct endmembers: the South African coast, open South Atlantic seawater, and Indian Ocean seawater. The latter stands out in its Pb isotopic composition and can be tracked within two distinct Agulhas rings. High Pb concentrations in the Agulhas rings further corroborate an Indian Ocean provenance of waters, and suggests that the Agulhas Leakage not only represents a major conduit for heat, but also for trace metals.
Date Issued
2015-10-28
Date Acceptance
2015-09-25
Citation
Geophysical Research Letters, 2015, 20, pp.8515-8521
ISSN
1944-8007
Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Start Page
8515
End Page
8521
Journal / Book Title
Geophysical Research Letters
Volume
20
Copyright Statement
©2015. The Authors.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
Subjects
GEOTRACES
Pb isotopes
seawater
Agulhas
Lead
1040 Radiogenic isotope geochemistry
1050 Marine geochemistry
4825 Geochemistry
4805 Biogeochemical cycles, processes, and modeling
4875 Trace elements
Publication Status
Published