Trace Metals in the Central and Southern North Sea

Measurements of both dissolved and particulate trace metals (Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) were made on samples collected simultaneously in the central and southern North Sea (below 56 degree N), during four cruises covering the seasonal cycle. The data from this study give unique information concerning the contemporaneous distribution of dissolved and particulate trace metals in the southern North Sea and they provide a baseline against which the effects of reductions of inputs into the North Sea may be more accurately assessed. Viewed in combination, the dissolved and particulate data have yielded new insights into mechanisms affecting trace metal cycling and transport, essential in the development of coupled hydrodynamic-geochemical models.