Diatom Culturing and Isotope Fractionation Studies

MTEL is working to sustain diatom cultures under limited iron conditions for use in biological fractionation studies.  Currently we are culturing the diatoms T. pseudonana and T. oceanica.

Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, 701 Sumter Street, Rm 617  Columbia, SC  29208

Office:  803-777-7052/2757     Fax:  803-777-6610

Phytoplankton growth is dependent upon macronutrients, such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and silica, and micronutrients, such as iron, manganese, zinc, cobalt, copper, and molybdenum.  Macronutrients are usually found in high concentrations in the ocean and are generally highly soluble and nontoxic.  In contract, many essential trace metals (e.g. Zn, Co, Cu, Fe) are toxic at high concentrations and cause ferric oxide precipitates to form, which consequently absorb other essential metals and lower their availability.  Iron is an important nutrient for life in the ocean where low iron concentrations often limit the growth of marine phytoplankton.  Iron stable isotope ratios are a potentially valuable new tool to study the marine biological cycling and biological fractionation of iron in marine diatoms.