The Crozet Natural Iron Bloom and Export Experiment (CROZEX)

This special issue describes the findings of the first planned natural iron fertilisation experiment in the Southern Ocean, the CROZet natural iron bloom and EXport experiment (CROZEX), which took place from November 2004 to January 2005. The bloom that occurs annually north of the Crozet Islands and Plateau (Crozet) was surveyed and compared with a high-nutrient low-chlorophyll (HNLC) region south of Crozet. Papers in this volume confirm that iron from Crozet fertilised the bloom and that phytoplankton production rates and most export flux estimates were much larger in the bloom area than in the HNLC control area. This introductory paper summarises the reasons for choosing the Crozet area, and provides an overview of the two cruises that comprised CROZEX and their major findings.