Project information
Project aim
SPEAK, an Australian contribution to the French-lead investigation of natural iron fertilization leeward of Kerguelen Island (KEOPS-II), identifies the main characters (diatoms) of the iron-fed annually recurring phytoplankton bloom. SPEAK follows a diatom bloom's trials and tribulations of dissolution, grazing and bacterial attack through the water column culminating with their tell-tale signatures trapped in the seafloor sediments. By detailing diatom species alterations (physical, community) at varying depths via a variety of sampling methods, SPEAK provides biological data to the accompanying chemical and oceanographic measurements of the international investigation that aims to model natural fertilization, export processes and carbon dioxide drawdown.