A REASSESSMENT OF REDFIELD CORRELATIONS BETWEEN DISSOLVED IODINE AND NUTRIENTS IN OCEANIC WATERS AND A STRATEGY FOR FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS OF IODINE

The use of the Redfield nutrient model to explain the behaviour of iod ine in the oceanic water column is re-assessed using a rigorous theore tical approach together with existing hydrographic information. It is shown that tests of the model's applicability need to be based upon st ations which display a marked turning point in their nutrient profile. Stations that do not, e.g. North and South Atlantic, should be avoide d. The earlier use of mixtures of the two types is shown to have biase d the conclusion in favour of a fit with Redfield. Reasons are given f or believing that, in comparison with the plant nutrients, a greater p roportion of iodine is re-cycled in the shallow domain of the profile. The possible correlations between inorganic iodine and the Redfield v ariables are considered from both theoretical and empirical standpoint s.