9301828 SWIFT Recent field studies have shown that atmospheric aerosol samples can stimulate the growth of natural phytoplankton populations, just as iron can, in locations that are depleted in iron but contain major nutrients at measurable levels. Computations indicated that atmospheric sources supply a significant amount of iron to the euphotic zone. Aerosol studies have shown that the composition of marine aerosols (remote from continents) includes many trace metals besides iron with biological significance, even though aerosols are not uniform in their composition. This career advancement for women project will undertake a pilot study examining laboratory growth of phytoplankton exposed to aerosol as an iron or trace metal source. Unique features of this project include: 1. the design of the growth medium and treatment of the sea water so that it can be chemically modeled for metal speciation, and 2. the use of algal growth (known cultures of phytoplankton) as a measure or assay of a particular metal content. The immediate goal is to quantify an aerosol as a source of biologically significant trace metals, particularly iron, for growth of phytoplankton. ***
