Abstract
Iron (Fe) availability impacts marine primary productivity, influencing
the efficiency of the biological pump. Stable Fe isotope analysis has
emerged as a tool to understand how Fe is sourced and cycled in the
water column. However, distinguishing the major Fe sources in sediment
records based on their Fe isotope compositions alone is challenging as
sources can exhibit overlapping values. To address this issue, we
studied three pelagic clay sequences spanning the past 90 million years.
First, we used osmium isotope chronostratigraphy to date the sequences.
Second, we analyzed leachates of the sediments for their multi-element
concentration and Fe isotope compositions. Third, we used statistical
modeling to reveal five principal Fe sources to the sites—dust, distal
background, two hydrothermal fluids, and a magnesium-rich volcanic
ash—which share similar depositional histories. Initially,
hydrothermal inputs dominated Fe deposition, shifting to increased
contributions from other sources as the sites migrated away from their
respective mid-ocean ridges. Notably, between 66–40 Ma, distal
background sources became significant, before the sites shifted to
increasing dust dominance around 30 million years ago. Our analysis
suggests that the modern South Pacific is the most dust-dominated it has
been in ≈90 million years, which is significant considering the low
rates of dust deposition to this region. Our approach establishes a
framework combining isotope measurements, geochemical analysis, and
statistical modeling to explore the history of Fe delivery to the ocean.
This approach holds potential for understanding the interplay between Fe
delivery, the biological pump, and Earth’s climate across geological
timescales.