Institute for the Dynamics of Environmental Processes-CNR, Via Torino 155, 30172, Venice, Italy.
Institute for the Dynamics of Environmental Processes-CNR, Via Torino 155, 30172, Venice, Italy; Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, University Ca' Foscari, Via Torino 155, 30172, Venice, Italy.
Chemosphere. 2017 Sep;183:444-453. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.05.142. Epub 2017 May 23.
The present essay contributes to the existing literature on rare earth elements (REEs) in the southern hemisphere by presenting the first data, to our knowledge, on the vertical profiles of dissolved REEs in 71 samples collected in the central-western sector of the Ross Sea (Southern Ocean-SO). The REEs were measured in the water samples collected during the 2002-2003 and 2005-2006 austral summers. 4 samples were collected and analysed in the framework of a test experiment, as part of the WISSARD Project (Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling). Our results show significant differences between the REE patterns of the main water masses present in the SO: we could observe specific signature in the High Salinity Shelf Water (HSSW), Ice Shelf Water (ISW) and Low Salinity Shelf Water (LSSW). A significant increase in Terbium (Tb) concentration was observed in the HSSW and ISW, the two principal water masses contributing to the formation of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) in the Ross Sea area, and in LSSW. Some of the HSSW samples show enrichment in Neodymium (Nd). Dissolved REE could therefore be used as tracers to understand the deep circulation of the SO (Pacific sector). We hypothesize that: (I) the characteristic dissolved REE pattern may derive from the composition of source area and from the hydrothermal activity of the central-western area of the Ross Sea; (II) the Tb anomaly observed in the AABW on the South Australian platform could be partially explained by the contribution of AABW generated in the Ross Sea region.
本文为南半球稀土元素（REEs）的现有文献做出了贡献，首次提供了我们所知的在罗斯海（南大洋-SO）中西区采集的 71 个水样中溶解 REE 垂直分布的第一组数据。REEs 是在 2002-2003 年和 2005-2006 年澳大利亚夏季采集的水样中测量的。4 个样本是作为 WISSARD 项目（Whillans 冰流次冰下进入研究钻探）的一部分，在测试实验中采集和分析的。我们的结果表明，在南大洋中存在的主要水团的 REE 模式之间存在显著差异：我们可以观察到高盐度陆架水（HSSW）、冰架水（ISW）和低盐度陆架水（LSSW）中存在特定的特征。在 HSSW 和 ISW 中观察到铽（Tb）浓度显著增加，这两个主要水团是形成罗斯海地区南极底层水（AABW）的主要原因，在 LSSW 中也有增加。一些 HSSW 样本显示出钕（Nd）的富集。因此，溶解的 REE 可以用作示踪剂来了解南大洋（太平洋区）的深层环流。我们假设：（I）特征溶解 REE 模式可能源自源区的组成和罗斯海中西区的热液活动；（II）在南澳大利亚台地的 AABW 中观察到的 Tb 异常可能部分可以解释为在罗斯海地区生成的 AABW 的贡献。
