Tracing the provenance of mineral dust over the northern and southern Indian Oceans during the GEOTRACES-India (GI-01, GI-02) expeditions

Abstract

Aeolian transport of mineral dust is an important carrier of nutrients and trace metals to the surface ocean and, hence, affects the biogeochemical cycles of C and N therein. Studies focusing on the provenances of dust across the latitudinal gradients over the open ocean waters are essential for better constraining the biogeochemical effects of dust deposition. Here, we analyzed the radiogenic isotope composition of Sr (87Sr/86Sr) and Nd (εNd(0)) in the silicate fraction of mineral aerosols collected over the pelagic northern and southern Indian ocean waters during the GEOTRACES-India research expeditions (GI-01: March-April 2014 and GI-02: April-May 2014). Both tracers, 87Sr/86Sr and εNd(0), exhibited marked spatial variability for dust deposition to different basins, including the Bay of Bengal (BoB), Arabian Sea (AS), equatorial Indian Ocean (EIO), and the southern sector of the Indian Ocean (SIO). The dust deposited in the AS showed a narrow spread in both 87Sr/86Sr (0.71520–0.71642) and εNd(0) (−10.9 to −10.1), along with the air mass back trajectories, indicating transport from the Arabian Peninsula. Likewise, the dust collected over the BoB was mainly sourced from the Thar Desert (87Sr/86Sr > 0.72, −16 < εNd(0) 〈 −1 3), whereas the EIO received mineral dust from the Thar Desert and sand dunes in northern Australia (87Sr/86Sr: 0.72, εNd(0): −11) and Indonesian Archipelago. In contrast, the SIO appeared to receive dust deposition from three different source regions, including dust from Antarctica, western Australia (87Sr/86Sr: 0.712, −20 < εNd(0) <−16, and South Africa/South America (87Sr/86Sr: 0.708–0.710; −24.5 < εNd(0) >−8.4). These results have important implications for modelling the dust transport to pelagic Indian and southern Indian Ocean waters.