ASPIRe · Atmospheric SPeciation of Iron : exploring the impact of wet and dry deposition to the SO marine productivity

The ASPIRe project will provide the experienced fellow, Dr Morgane M.G. Perron, expert in biogeochemistry at the air-sea interface, unique competences in organic Fe speciation in rainwater and aerosols, which are currently missing to the research field of atmospheric biogeochemistry, at the University of Western Brittany (UBO). A secondment at the University of Liverpool (Uni. Liv.) will teach her new skills in voltammetry techniques. The project will consolidate her scientific expertise and maturity and strengthen her scientific network with the goal of holding a permanent academic position in France. ASPIRe proposes to develop a new analytical method to measure the organic speciation of Fe in dry atmospheric samples collected over the largely understudied regions of the Atlantic and Indian sectors of the Southern Ocean. Atmospheric Fe measurements produced during the ASPIRe project will enable a comprehensive characterisation of Fe speciation in the atmosphere over the Southern Ocean, especially the fraction of aerosol Fe which is effectively bioavailable to marine phytoplankton. This is of key interest as the lack of bioavailable Fe drastically limits marine productivity in this vast oceanic region, impacting the extent and magnitude of atmospheric CO2 drawdown by the Southern Ocean. A multi-disciplinary synthesis of new atmospheric Fe measurements produced by the ASPIRe project and new and existing oceanic Fe measurements from the GEOTRACES, SOLAS and SANAP research programmes in the same study region will refine the link between atmospheric Fe deposition and oceanic productivity in the Southern Ocean in the present time. This work will open perspective collaborations to model the impact of atmospheric Fe deposition under future climate conditions. The ASPIRe project contributes to the EU and United Nations Decade of Ocean (2021-2030) objectives to preserve our oceans, to increase scientific cooperation and to raise public awareness on climate change.