Measurements of dissolved inorganic concentrations of nutrient iron and of iron limitation at selected stations and depths from CalCOFI cruises in the California Current System, Nov. 2002 - July 2004 (completed)

Measurements were made of iron (Fe) and the potential for phytoplankton iron limitation on CalCOFI survey cruises (2002-2004) in coastal transition zones of the southern California Current System. This is a weak upwelling regime that is relatively low in nutrients and chlorophyll. The majority of seawater samples from the mixed layer were collected using a pole sampler, others were collected using a trace metal clean Teflon pump system. Profiles for dissolved Fe analysis were collected using GO Flo bottles attached to a synthetic line and the seawater samples were filtered under ultra-pure conditions. Dissolved Fe was measured using an FeLume flow injection analysis system. Changes in phytoplankton (Chla response to Fe+) and nutrient parameters upon iron addition were also investigated.