Effect of Ocean Acidification on Iron Availability to Marine Phytoplankton
Entry by Angelo Mao, AP 225, Fall 2010
Title: Effect of Ocean Acidification on Iron Availability to Marine Phytoplankton
Authors: Dalin Shi, Yan Xu, Brian M. Hopkinson, François M. M. Morel
Journal: Science
Volume: Vol 327
Pages: 676-679
Summary
Increased concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere lowers the ocean pH, which may have effects on phytoplankton species that form the basis of food chains in the ocean. The researchers determined that lower pH lowers iron uptake by phytoplankton. They determined that pH does not alter phytoplankton food uptake, and that it is the effect of acidification on the acid-base chemistry of release of iron from chelators that leads to lower iron uptake by phytoplankton species.
soft matter keywords: colloid, solubility, pH