TITLE: Mordell-Weil rank in elliptic surfaces
QUESTION [5 upvotes]: Suppose that an elliptic smooth K3 surface $X$ defined over a number field $k$ has arithmetic Picard rank $r$ and assume that it is equipped with a $k$ fibration over $\mathbb{P}^1$ that has a section over $k$, i.e. $f:X\to \mathbb{P}^1$ is a dominant map with the generic fiber $f^{-1}(\eta)$ being an elliptic curve. Is there a relation between the Mordell-Weil rank of the generic fiber and $r$ ?

REPLY [5 votes]: I believe you are looking for the Shioda-Tate formula. See Corollary VII.2.4 in page 70 of Miranda's "The basic theory of elliptic surfaces", or here.
Note: let $k$ be a
field and let $C/k$ be a smooth projective curve defined over the
field $k$ and has genus $g$. The function field of $C/k$ will be
denoted by $K=k(C)$. An elliptic surface $\mathcal{E}$ over the curve $C$
is, by definition, a two-dimensional projective variety together
with (i) a morphism $\pi: \mathcal{E} \to C$ such that for all but
finitely many points $t\in C(\overline{k})$, the fiber
$\mathcal{E}_t=\pi^{-1}(t)$ is a non-singular curve of genus $1$, and (ii) a section to $\pi$ (the zero section) $\sigma_0: C \to
\mathcal{E}$. With this
definition, the generic fibre of $\pi$, $E/K$, may be regarded as
an elliptic curve over the field $K$.