Baeyens et al. (2025): Prevalence of multi-micronutrient limitation of phytoplankton growth in the Southern Ocean
Willy Baeyens, Yue Gao, Eline De Bodt, Nils Van Oostende, Hélène Planquette, Hein de Baar, Xabier Irigoien, Rob Middag and Philippe Van den Bril, IN: One Earth, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2025.101354
The mitigation of the ongoing global waming might be possible if phytoplankton biomass is increased in the ocean, as this will remove additional atmospheric CO₂. In the Southern Ocean, Fe is a well-known growth-limiting element, but the role of the other micronutrients remains very unclear. The authors aim is to describe the evolution of each nutrient in the Southern Ocean throughout the year and to identify nutrients that limit phytoplankton growth. Therefore, they created a model that calculates nutrient consumption rates and available nutrient pools, fueled by deep winter mixing and diapycnal supply.