Microbial Fe(III) reduction as a potential iron source from Holocene sediments beneath Larsen Ice Shelf

Recent recession of the Larsen Ice Shelf C has revealed microbial alterations of illite in marine sediments, a process typically thought to occur during low-grade metamorphism. In situ breakdown of illite provides a previously-unobserved pathway for the release of dissolved Fe2+ to porewaters, thus enhancing clay-rich Antarctic sub-ice shelf sediments as an important source of Fe to Fe-limited surface Southern Ocean waters during ice shelf retreat after the Last Glacial Maximum. When sediments are underneath the ice shelf, Fe2+ from microbial reductive dissolution of illite/Fe-oxides may be exported to the water column. However, the initiation of an oxygenated, bioturbated sediment under receding ice shelves may oxidize Fe within surface porewaters, decreasing dissolved Fe2+ export to the ocean. Thus, we identify another ice-sheet feedback intimately tied to iron biogeochemistry during climate transitions. Further constraints on the geographical extent of this process will impact our understanding of iron-carbon feedbacks during major deglaciations. Recent recession of the Larsen Ice Shelf C has revealed that microbial alteration of illite can occur within marine sediments, a process previously thought to only occur abiotically during low-grade metamorphism. Here, the authors show that such microbial alteration of illite could provide a potential source of Fe release to Southern Ocean waters during Holocene glacial cycles.