4/24/2023 0 Comments Iron marines guying![]() After many ocean experiments by the Martin team and many others that followed, it is clear that the Iron Hypothesis is no longer a hypothesis, it is now a paradigm. Besides his hypothesis about iron, one of the great legacies of this era was the beginning of large-scale experiments in the open ocean. In 1993, just months after his death, Kenneth and Ken Johnson (MLML and now at MBARI) led the first direct test of the Iron Hypothesis when they fertilized a portion of the ocean with iron and watched John’s vision turn the colors of productivity. Unfortunately, John did not live long enough to see his Iron Hypothesis tested in the field. Kenneth eventually used his command skills to guide MLML as Director for 12 years. The group also included Kenneth Coale, who as a post-doc from UCSC had many of the necessary traits to be the second in command. The crew included Steve Fitzwater the guy who did everything, Mike Gordon who was the analytical mastermind, Sara Tanner who brought a botanist’s perspective, and Craig Hunter who seemingly was able to build whatever was needed. Many of these people were former MLML graduate students that gravitated to the engaging, brilliant, and supportive scientist. John Martin had a great crew to help him develop and test his hypothesis. Yet, they were having a hard time explaining why productivity was not greater than would be expected given the abundance of light and nutrients in these places. You see, his colleagues had been sampling the oceans for many years and had data that indicated there was plenty of iron to allow increased productivity in most places. But probably most important was his hypothesis that iron was a limiting element in some parts of the oceans, an expectation that ran counter to the beliefs of most of his colleagues. He led a number of significant research projects, including Vertex. ![]() ![]() John Martin was a pioneer in his field, and was the Director of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories/San José State University for 17 years (1976 - 1993) after a few years as a Professor. On 20 February 2020, Heather Stoll published a paper in Nature chronicling the history of the Iron Hypothesis, which was proposed by Dr.
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