Iron limits phytoplankton primary production and the biological pump of carbon in the Southern Ocean with large consequences on the climate.
The accelerated melting of the Antarctic ice sheet represents a potential new source of iron to Southern Ocean microbial communities, but the bioavailability of glacial iron is poorly understood.
PIANO will investigate the bioavailability of glacial iron from a biological perspective by experimental studies using bacterial and phytoplankton model organisms and in situ observations of seasonal microbial dynamics in a glacial influenced coastal Antarctic environment. Physiological responses to different sources of iron, the expression of specific genes and mathematical modeling will inform on the bioavailability of iron to bacteria and phytoplankton and the mechanisms at play.