Fe analysis by the ferrozine method: Adaptation to FIA towards in situ analysis in hydrothermal environment

The target of this study is the adaptation of the ferrozine method to flow injection analysis (FIA) to perform iron analysis in situ using an in situ chemical analyser in hydrothermal environments. The adaptation of the method to FIA was followed by its optimisation using an experimental design screening method. The goals of the optimisation steps were to decrease the detection limit and to increase the measuring range to cope with the constraints of in situ analysis. The method allows the determination of iron in the mixing zone of hydrothermal fluid, enriched in iron, and seawater. A single manifold gives the possibility to analyse either Fe(II) or ΣFe [Fe(II) + Fe(III)] in situ, or ΣFe in the lab on hydrothermal seawater samples. The measuring range of the method was increased to up to 2000 μM, which is coherent with the study of the chemical environment of communities associated with deep-sea hydrothermal activity. Finally, the method was applied in situ using the chemical analyser Alchimist during the ATOS cruise on hydrothermal vent fields on the Mid Atlantic Ridge.