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Radionuclides as Tracers for Particle Flux and Transport of Water Masses in the Atlantic Sector of the Southern Ocean

  • Chapter
The South Atlantic in the Late Quaternary

Abstract

The natural uranium decay series provide a suite of tracers to study transport processes in the ocean. We have used nuclides of the particle-reactive elements Th, Pa, Pb and Po for studies of particle flux in the Southern Ocean, whereas isotopes of the elements Ra and Ac served as tracers for the transport of water masses. Here we summarize the specific aspects of the behaviour of these nuclides in the Southern Ocean and give some examples of their application. We review the important influence of exchange between ocean basins by advection and upwelling on the long-lived nuclides. We show how the distribution of 234Th in surface waters across the ACC represents the export production, whereas in the benthic nepheloid layer this tracer is used to Ilustrate how the resuspension regime in the ACC is linked to the position of the oceanographic fronts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. RIKZ, P.O.Box 20907, 2500 Ex, Den Haag, The Netherlands

    M. van der Rutgers Loeff

  2. Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Columbusstraße, 27515, Bremerhaven, Germany

    M. van der Rutgers Loeff, J. Friedrich, W. Geibert, C. Hanfland & I. Vöge

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  1. M. van der Rutgers Loeff
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  2. J. Friedrich
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  3. W. Geibert
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  4. C. Hanfland
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  5. H. Höltzen
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  6. I. Vöge
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  7. H. J. Walter
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  1. DFG Research Center Ocean Margins, University of Bremen, Klagenfurter Straße, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Gerold Wefer , Stefan Mulitza  & Volker Ratmeyer ,  & 

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van der Rutgers Loeff, M. et al. (2003). Radionuclides as Tracers for Particle Flux and Transport of Water Masses in the Atlantic Sector of the Southern Ocean. In: Wefer, G., Mulitza, S., Ratmeyer, V. (eds) The South Atlantic in the Late Quaternary. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-18917-3_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-18917-3_3

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