Soil abrasion and eolian dust production: Implications for iron partitioning and solubility

Abstract

Eolian dust is a source of iron for phytoplankton in many ocean areas, and there are complex pathways of atmospheric processing from soil to ocean. Overlooked parts of the pathways are the impact of large (>10 μm) grains (including a role as proxies for the behavior of smaller grains) and the effect of multiple cycles of uplift and abrasion in the dust source region. Partitioning (readily released, acid-leachable and refractory) and dissolution rates of iron were determined for an artificial dust (produced by abrading an Australian soil), untreated soil, abraded soil (after production of the artificial dust), and a natural Australian eolian dust sample taken during a dust storm. Readily released iron is not created during abrasion, and therefore the amount of readily released iron in a dust or dust-derived soil depends on processing events since the dust or soil last experienced an abrasion event. Our study develops a method for the partitioning of iron within airborne dusts and appears to be the first to consider the effect of multiple uplift events on iron partitioning.