Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Understanding the transport of Patagonian dust and its influence on marine biological activity in the South Atlantic Ocean

Abstract. The supply of bioavailable iron to the high-nitrate low-chlorophyll (HNLC) waters of the Southern Ocean through atmospheric pathways could stimulate phytoplank-ton blooms and have major implications for the global carbon cycle. In this study, model results and remotely-sensed data are analyzed to examine the horizontal and vertical trans-port pathways of Patagonian dust and quantify the effect of iron-laden mineral dust deposition on marine biological pro-ductivity in the surface waters of the South Atlantic Ocean (SAO). Model simulations for the atmospheric transport and deposition of mineral dust and bioavailable iron are carried out for two large dust outbreaks originated at the source regions of northern Patagonia during the austral summer of 2009. Model-simulated horizontal and vertical transport pathways of Patagonian dust plumes are in reasonable agree