KOSMOS 2014 mesocosm study: The influence of plankton community structure on sinking velocity and remineralization rate of marine aggregates ...

• Main Author: Bach, Lennart Thomas
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2019
• Subjects: Biological Impacts of Ocean Acidification BIOACID; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.902901; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.902901

Gravitational sinking of photosynthetically fixed particulate organic carbon (POC) constitutes a key component of the biological carbon pump. The fraction of POC leaving the surface ocean depends on POC sinking velocity (SV) and remineralization rate (Cremin), both of which depend on plankton community structure. However, the key drivers in plankton communities controlling SV and Cremin are poorly constrained. In fall 2014, we conducted a 6 weeks mesocosm experiment in the subtropical NE Atlantic Ocean to study the influence of plankton community structure on SV and Cremin. Oligotrophic conditions prevailed for the first 3 weeks, until nutrient‐rich deep water injected into all mesocosms stimulated diatom blooms. SV declined steadily over the course of the experiment due to decreasing CaCO3 ballast and – according to an optical proxy proposed herein – due to increasing aggregate porosity mostly during an aggregation event after the diatom bloom. Furthermore, SV was positively correlated with the contribution ... : Supplement to: Bach, Lennart Thomas; Stange, Paul; Taucher, Jan; Achterberg, Eric Pieter; Algueró-Muñiz, Maria; Horn, H; Esposito, Mario; Riebesell, Ulf (2019): The Influence of Plankton Community Structure on Sinking Velocity and Remineralization Rate of Marine Aggregates. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 33(8), 971-994 ...