Fe(II) stability in seawater

Abstract. The speciation of dissolved iron (DFe) in the ocean is widely assumed to consist exclusively of Fe(III)-ligand complexes. Yet in most aqueous environments a poorly defined fraction of DFe also exists as Fe(II). Here we deploy flow injection analysis to measure in-situ Fe(II) concentrations during a series of mesocosm/microcosm experiments in coastal environments in addition to the decay rate of this Fe(II) when moved into the dark. During 5 mesocosm/microcosm experiments in Svalbard and Patagonia, where dissolved (0.2 µm) Fe and Fe(II) were quantified simultaneously, Fe(II) constituted 24–65 % of DFe suggesting that Fe(II) was a large fraction of the DFe pool. When this Fe(II) was allowed to decay in the dark, the vast majority of measured oxidation rate constants were retarded relative to calculated constants derived from ambient temperature, salinity, pH and dissolved O2. The oxidation rates of Fe(II) spikes added to Atlantic seawater more closely matched calculated rate constants. The difference between observed and theoretical decay rates in Svalbard and Patagonia was most pronounced at Fe(II) concentrations