The trace metal geochemistry of suspended oceanic particulate matter. Thesis

Vertical profiles of suspended particulate trace metals were measured in the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda and in the California Current, northwest Pacific. Using a new in situ pump, sufficiently large samples of particulate matter (order 10mg) were collected to allow measurement of a suite of trace metals as well as major component elements, using several different leaching techniques on separate subsamples. Concentrations of particulate Cu, Zn, Co, Cd, Ni, and Pb near Bermuda were determined to be substantially lower than estimates based on previously published work. Concentrations of the more abundant elements Al, Fe, and Mn were similar to previous estimates. Vertical profiles of Mn, Co, Pb, Zn, Cu, and Ni (mol/1) at Bermuda dispayed similar features: a relative depletion in surface waters, a relative maximum in the upper thermocline, and relatively constant deep water concentrations. The similarity in the vertical variations o