Project: Collaborative Research: GEOTRACES Pacific section: Spatial variability of lead concentrations and isotopic compositions in the Eastern Tropical South Pacific

Description from NSF award abstract:
​Scientists from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Santa Cruz, plan to measure lead (Pb) concentrations and Pb isotopes (204Pb, 206Pb, 207Pb and 208Pb) in seawater profiles, aerosols, and hydrothermal plume samples collected during the 2013 GEOTRACES cruise from Peru to Tahiti.

Not only will the data significantly add to the limited data set existing for the South Pacific Ocean, results will be used to further our knowledge on the cycling of this element in the marine environment, as well as improve our understanding of anthropogenic inputs of Pb to the region of interest which is important given increases in lead emissions from mining, smelting, and fossil fuel combustion. In addition, data from the East Pacific Rise plume will document whether hydrothermal vent systems contribute to the oceanic Pb budget.