@article{fdi:010095457,
  title = {{W}estern {I}ndian subantarctic phytoplankton blooms fertilized by iron-enriched {A}gulhas water},
  author = {{B}ucciarelli, {E}. and {P}enven, {P}ierrick and {P}ous, {S}. and {T}agliabue, {A}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{A} phytoplankton bloom spanning 1 million km2 is consistently observed in the western {I}ndian {S}ubantarctic {Z}one. {T}his oceanic region between the {S}ubtropical and {S}ubantarctic fronts in the {I}ndian sector of the {S}outhern {O}cean contributes 20-40% of {S}outhern {O}cean carbon export to the deep ocean. {H}owever, aeolian inputs of iron, the key limiting nutrient for primary production, support only half of the phytoplanktonic iron demand of this bloom. {H}ere we show that primary production in the western {I}ndian {S}ubantarctic {Z}one is sustained by long-range transport of iron via the {A}gulhas {C}urrent, one of the strongest ocean currents, which flows southwestward along the southern {A}frican coast. {F}loat trajectories and high-resolution model diagnostics indicate that these waters, enriched with iron over the {A}frican margin, cross the {S}ubtropical {F}ront via the region's intense mesoscale eddy variability. {R}emoving the {A}frican sedimentary iron source in the model decreases surface iron concentrations in the western {I}ndian {S}ubantarctic {Z}one by 55%, reducing annual primary production and carbon export by 25% and 26%, respectively. {S}trengthening of the {A}gulhas {R}eturn {C}urrent over the past 130 kyr may therefore have increased iron supply and palaeoproductivity in the {I}ndian {S}ubantarctic {Z}one, potentially leading to enhanced atmospheric {CO}2 drawdown.},
  keywords = {{OCEAN} {INDIEN} ; {AFRIQUE} {DU} {SUD} ; {OCEAN} {ANTARCTIQUE} ; {AIGUILLES} {COURANT}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{N}ature {G}eoscience},
  volume = {[{E}arly access]},
  numero = {},
  pages = {[15 p.]},
  ISSN = {1752-0894},
  year = {2025},
  DOI = {10.1038/s41561-025-01823-z},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010095457},
}