Longitudinal distributions of dissolved barium, silica and alkalinity in the western and southern Indian Ocean

Dissolved Ba, Si and alkalinity contents are reported for 11 vertical profiles along a longitudinal section in the western Indian and Southern Oceans, sampled during 1985, 1986 and 1987 in the French expedition INDIGO. Barium concentrations increase from 30 nmol/kg at the surface to 100 nmol/kg at depth in the Southern Ocean. North of the Polar Front, Ba values range from 40 nmol/kg at the surface to 120 nmol/kg in the bottom waters. These vertical variations result from mixing of water masses as well as biologically controlled uptake/regeneration processes. By means of a water-mass mixing model, the non-conservative Ba signal was determined and compared to that of silica. The Δ Ba Δ Si uptake/regeneration molar ratio is 0.15 × 10 −3 in the south and 0.45 × 10 −3 in the north. In the south, curiously, no release of Ba is observed in Circumpolar Deep Waters, whereas Ba appears to be regenerated in the underlying Antarctic Bottom Waters. Thermodynamic calculations show that Ba is somewhat supersaturated with respect to barite in the upper 3000 m of the southern waters. Thus, whereas surface Ba uptake is probably governed by the biological activity, Ba regeneration in deep waters appears to be controlled by saturation. Barium is correlated linearly with alkalinity at each station, but the slopes of the regression line vary by a factor greater than 2 along the section. The variability of the Δ Ba Δ Alk ratio between the Southern Ocean and the subtropical and tropical areas raises questions about the validity of applying Δ Ba Δ Alk values established on a global scale to reconstruct paleo-alkalinity distributions in the Southern Ocean.