Ryan Cloete

Ryan Cloete is a corresponding author affiliated with the Centre for Trace Metal and Experimental Biogeochemistry (TracEx) at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, and the Laboratoire des Sciences de l'environnement Marin at University of Brest, France. His research focuses on trace metal biogeochemistry in marine systems, particularly nickel cycling in the Southern Ocean.

Key research areas include

• Seasonal dynamics of dissolved and particulate nickel in the Southern Ocean
• Biological uptake by phytoplankton versus physical mixing processes
• Vertical attenuation factors and remineralization length scales
• Water mass contributions to nutrient distributions

His 2024 Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans study on the GEOTRACES GIpr07 transect revealed that physical mixing dominates nickel distribution over biological processes in the Southern Ocean. This work analyzed winter dNi (1.98–8.21 nmol kg^-1) and pNi (5–49 pmol kg^-1) concentrations, highlighting diatom-dominated biogeochemical interactions and Antarctic Polar Front as a key boundary.

Scientific contributions include

• Developing methodologies for trace metal analysis in GEOTRACES programs
• Quantifying remineralization impacts via oxygen deficit modeling
• Comparative analysis of dNi:pP ratios across ocean basins

Honors and funding

• National Research Foundation (NRF) Innovation PhD Studentship
• Whales and Climate Change Program Postdoctoral Support
• European Union Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant