Potential applicability of a high performance chelation ion chromatographic method to the determination of aluminium in antarctic surface seawater

In oceanography, aluminium is used as a tracer to fingerprint the location and magnitude of atmospheric dust deposition. Aluminium is particularly suitable as a tracer because of its short residence time in surface seawater, its relatively simple seawater chemistry and the fact that primary input to the open ocean is by atmospheric deposition. The information supplied by surface aluminium concentrations is vitally important to understanding the role that aeolian deposition plays in supplying trace elements to the surface ocean and subsequent effects on biological processes. The information is especially important for furthering knowledge of the biogeochemistry of iron. Iron is of particular interest because it is an essential element for the growth and metabolism of all marine organisms despite only being available in extremely low concentrations (0.1‚Äö-0.5 nM)1. Iron has been shown to limit phytoplankton growth, which in turn may have implications on global climate through drawdown of gases used in photosynthesis, such as carbon dioxide. An accurate and robust method for determining aluminium is thus vital for continuing studies into atmospheric deposition and subsequently climate control.