Dust Deposition to the Sargasso Sea: A Comparison of Estimates Using Aluminum in the Surface Ocean Versus Aerosols and Rainwater

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Williams, TE, Sedwick, PN, Sohst, BM, Buck, KN, Caprara, S, Johnson, RJ, Ohnemus, DC, Resing, JA, Sofen, LE, Tagliabue, A ORCID: 0000-0002-3572-3634 et al (show 1 more authors) and Twining, BS (2025) Dust Deposition to the Sargasso Sea: A Comparison of Estimates Using Aluminum in the Surface Ocean Versus Aerosols and Rainwater GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, 52 (8). ISSN 0094-8276, 1944-8007

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Abstract

As a major component of mineral aerosol that partially dissolves in seawater, aluminum (Al) has been used to estimate time-averaged dust fluxes to the ocean, based on dissolved aluminum (DAl) concentrations and an assumed replacement time of DAl (τ<inf>DAl</inf>) in the surface mixed layer, along with the fractional solubility (Al<inf>s</inf>) and mass abundance of Al in dust. We apply this method in the Bermuda region using seasonal water-column DAl concentrations, and compare our results with fluxes estimated from Al measured in Bermuda aerosols and rain. Inventories of DAl over the maximum mixed-layer depth of 200 m and empirically derived Al<inf>s</inf> values yield mean dust fluxes of 5.3–11.2 g m⁻² yr⁻¹, around 4- to 9-fold higher than fluxes estimated from aerosols and rain, which average 1.2 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ over a 318-day sampling period. This discrepancy likely reflects an underestimate in τ<inf>DAl</inf> and lateral transport of DAl in the surface ocean.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	dust, aluminum, mineral aerosol, Bermuda, BATS, MADCOW model
Divisions:	Faculty of Science & Engineering Faculty of Science & Engineering > School of Environmental Sciences
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	30 Apr 2025 09:19
Last Modified:	16 Jun 2026 12:04
DOI:	10.1029/2024GL113217
Open Access URL:	https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113217
Related Websites:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3192141
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