Articles | Volume 23, issue 15
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-5571-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-5571-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
12 Aug 2026
Research article |
| 12 Aug 2026
| 12 Aug 2026
The Ni cycle in the Southern Ocean: insights from Ni concentrations, isotopes and metagenomics
LEGOS (CNRS/CNES/IRD/UT3), University of Toulouse, Toulouse, 31400, France
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
Emile Faure
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Station Biologique de Roscoff, CNRS/Sorbonne University, Roscoff, 29680, France
Univ Brest, CNRS, IFREMER, BEEP, Plouzané, 29280, France
BRIDGE, School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1SS, UK
Ricardo Zamora
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
Corey Archer
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
Matthias Sieber
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA
Michael Ellwood
Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, 2601, Australia
Christel Hassler
Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
School of Architecture, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Alpine and Polar Environmental Research Center, EPFL, 1951 Sion, Switzerland
Yajuan Lin
Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX 78412, USA
Division of Earth and Climate Sciences, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
CNRS, Univ Brest, IRD, Ifremer, LEMAR, Plouzané, 29280, France
Nicolas Cassar
Division of Earth and Climate Sciences, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
CNRS, Univ Brest, IRD, Ifremer, LEMAR, Plouzané, 29280, France
Lois Maignien
Univ Brest, CNRS, IFREMER, BEEP, Plouzané, 29280, France
Bay Paul Center, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
Derek Vance
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Institute of Geochemistry and Petrology, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
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Short summary
Nickel (Ni) is a micronutrient used by microorganisms in key metabolic processes. In the Southern Ocean, we observe heavy Ni isotope compositions in surface waters from lower latitudes and near the Mertz Glacier. Combined with metagenomics, we show that isotope variation may be due preferential uptake of Ni by microorganisms using Ni-SOD and Urease enzymes. This demonstrates how marine microbiology can influence the chemistry of the ocean.
Nickel (Ni) is a micronutrient used by microorganisms in key metabolic processes. In the...
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