Between the 1930s and '80s, it was hypothesized that iron is a limiting ocean micronutrient, but there were not sufficient methods to reliably detect iron in seawater to confirm this hypothesis. In 1989, high concentrations of iron-rich sediments in nearshore coastal waters off the Gulf of Alaska were detected. However, offshore waters had lower iron concentrations and lower productivity despite macronutrient availability for phytoplankton growth. This pattern was observed in other oceanic regions and led to the naming of three major HNLC zones: the North Pacific Ocean, the Equatorial Pacific Ocean, and the Southern Ocean.