Plankton community structure during KOSMOS 2011 mesocosm experiment in the Raunefjord ...
About 50 Gt of carbon is fixed photosynthetically by surface ocean phytoplankton communities every year. Part of this organic matter is reprocessed within the plankton community to form aggregates which eventually sink and export carbon into the deep ocean. The fraction of organic matter leaving the...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
PANGAEA
2017
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.873742 https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.873742 |
| Summary: | About 50 Gt of carbon is fixed photosynthetically by surface ocean phytoplankton communities every year. Part of this organic matter is reprocessed within the plankton community to form aggregates which eventually sink and export carbon into the deep ocean. The fraction of organic matter leaving the surface ocean is partly dependent on aggregate sinking velocity which accelerates with increasing aggregate size and density, where the latter is controlled by ballast load and aggregate porosity. In May 2011, we moored nine 25 m deep mesocosms in a Norwegian fjord to assess on a daily basis how plankton community structure affects material properties and sinking velocities of aggregates (Ø 80–400 µm) collected in the mesocosms' sediment traps. We noted that sinking velocity was not necessarily accelerated by opal ballast during diatom blooms, which could be due to relatively high porosity of these rather fresh aggregates. Furthermore, estimated aggregate porosity (Pestimated) decreased as the picoautotroph ... : Supplement to: Bach, Lennart Thomas; Boxhammer, Tim; Larsen, Aud; Hildebrandt, Nicole; Schulz, Kai Georg; Riebesell, Ulf (2016): Influence of plankton community structure on the sinking velocity of marine aggregates. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 30(8), 1145-1165 ... |
|---|