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Key Points: - Bio-essential element concentrations in surface waters decreased from spring to summer with removal ratios reflecting biological uptake - Effects of volcanic inputs from Eyjafjallajökull in spring 2010 were pronounced for Al, Mn and Zn but returned to typical levels in summer - Deep winter convection dominated trace element supply to surface waters with minor contributions from atmospheric and diffusive mixing We present dissolved and total dissolvable trace elements for spring and summer cruises in 2010 in the high latitude North Atlantic. Surface and full depth data are provided for Al, Cd, Co, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn in the Iceland and Irminger Basins, and consequences of biological uptake and inputs by the spring Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption are assessed. Ash from Eyjafjallajökull resulted in pronounced increases in Al, Mn and Zn in surface waters in close proximity to Iceland during the eruption, whilst 3 months later during the summer cruise levels had returned to more typical values for the region. The apparent seasonal removal ratios of surface trace elements were consistent with biological export. Assessment of supply of trace elements to the surface mixed layer for the region, excluding volcanic inputs, indicated that deep winter mixing was the dominant source, with diffusive mixing being a minor source (between 13.5% (dissolved Cd (DCd)) and ‐2.43% (DZn) of deep winter flux), and atmospheric inputs being an important source only for DAl and DZn (DAl up to 42% and DZn up to 4.2% of deep winter+diffusive fluxes) and typically less than 1% for the other elements. Elemental supply ratios to the surface mixed layer through convection were comparable to apparent removal ratios we calculated between spring and summer. Given that deep mixing dominated nutrient and trace element supply to surface waters, predicted increases in water column stratification in this region may reduce supply, with potential consequences for primary production and the bio

Estimates of the amount of carbon sequestered in the ocean interior per unit iron (Fe) supplied, as quantified by the sequestration efficiency (Ceffx), vary widely. Such variability in Ceffx has frequently been attributed to estimate uncertainty rather than intrinsic variability. Here we derive new estimates of Ceffx for the subpolar North Atlantic, where Fe stressed conditions have recently been demonstrated. Derived values of Ceffx from across the region, including areas subject to atypical external Fe fertilization events during the year of sample collection (2010), ranged from 17 to 19 kmol C (mol Fe−1). Comparing these estimates with values from other systems, considered in the context of variable bloom durations in the different oceanographic settings, we suggest that apparent variability in Ceffx may be related to the mode of Fe delivery.

Aerosol deposition from the 2010 eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull resulted in significant dissolved iron (DFe) inputs to the Iceland Basin of the North Atlantic. Unique ship-board measurements indicated strongly enhanced DFe concentrations (up to 10 nM) immediately under the ash plume. Bioassay experiments performed with ash collected at sea under the plume also demonstrated the potential for associated Fe release to stimulate phytoplankton growth and nutrient drawdown. Combining Fe dissolution measurements with modeled ash deposition suggested that the eruption had the potential to increase DFe by >0.2 nM over an area of up to 570,000 km2. Although satellite ocean color data only indicated minor increases in phytoplankton abundance over a relatively constrained area, comparison of in situ nitrate concentrations with historical records suggested that ash deposition may have resulted in enhanced major nutrient drawdown. Our observations thus suggest that the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption resulted in a significant perturbation to the biogeochemistry of the Iceland Basin.