1991/12/01 by François M. M. Morel, Robert J. Hudson, Neil M. Price · 2 citations
Environmental Science · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Heavy metals in environment #Mercury impact and mitigation studies #Marine and coastal ecosystems
paper · pdf · doi:10.4319/lo.1991.36.8.1742
openalex publication_date 1991/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/14
Some trace metals such as Fe, Ni, Cu, and Zn are essential for the growth of phytoplankton. The concentrations of these essential trace elements in seawater are so low as to limit their availability to aquatic microbiota. Trace element uptake is ultimately limited by kinetics of reaction with transport ligands or by diffusion to the cell. From what we know of the characteristics of the uptake systems of phytoplankton and their trace metal requirements we can estimate that Fe and Zn may at some times in some places limit phytoplankton productivity, which is in accord with available field data on trace metal enrichments.