Coupled Cycling of Trace Metals and Carbon
A special issue of Geosciences (ISSN 2076-3263).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2015)
Special Issue Editor
Interests: metal-ligand interactions; nanoparticles; natural organic matter; speciation; biogeochemistry; carbon cycling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The coupled cycling of carbon and trace elements is an integral component of global biogeochemical cycles. This sort of cycling is particularly relevant for metals and metalloids. Natural organic matter (NOM) is a ubiquitous component of both fresh and marine waters and extends a pervasive influence over metal transport and residence time, bioavailability, and capture by mineral phases. With respect to a given metal species, as much as 100% can be held in complexes with NOM. The chelating role of NOM is clearly significant for a range of questions: in mineral systems, NOM-metal dissociation kinetics will govern the partitioning of metals into the crystal lattice; in biological systems, the binding of metals by NOM competes with organisms for uptake of metals, with both synergistic and antagonistic consequences. Another intriguing element of these processes is the potential for trace metals to act as sentinels of the changing aquatic carbon cycle. By measuring the flux of NOM-complexed trace metals in natural waters, we may monitor the mass flux of organic carbon, and even gain information concerning the composition of the NOM ligand by considering the stoichiometry of the NOM-metal complexation reaction. Where metals are partitioned into accreting mineral phases, such as cave carbonates, we may reconstruct the historic flux of NOM from trace metal signals. The goal of this Special Issue is to gather recent advances in the coupled cycling of trace metals and carbon, with a focus on understanding ecosystem-level processes. We also welcome studies that advance methods used for characterizing NOM-metal complexes or for monitoring their fluxes in environmental systems.
Dr. Adam Hartland
Guest Editor
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