Composition and Characteristics of Particles in the Ocean: Evidence for Present Day Resuspension.

• Main Author: Richardson,Mary Josephine
• Other Authors: WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTION MASS
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1980
• Subjects: Biological Oceanography; Physical and Dynamic Oceanography; *PARTICULATES; LIGHT SCATTERING; SIZES(DIMENSIONS); THESES; IDENTIFICATION; SAMPLING; NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN; SEDIMENTS; OCEAN BOTTOM; MINERALS; DISPERSIONS; PLANKTON; Resuspension; WUNR083004; Norwegian Sea; Iceland; Neogloboquadrina pachyderma; North Atlantic; Planktonic foraminifera
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA092231; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA092231

This study of particulate matter in the water column and the underlying surface sediments verifies the occurrence of local, present-day resuspension in the deep sea. The location of the major portion of this work was the South Iceland Rise, a region influenced by the flow of Norwegian Sea Overflow Water. Measured current velocities exceeded 20 cm/sec in the axis of the bottom current for the duration of the deployments, approximately two weeks. Suspended particulate matter (SPM) and light-scattering studies demonstrate that in the Iceland Rise area the correlation of the L-DGO nephelometer to concentration of SPM differs between clear water and the nepheloid layer. Correlations of light scattering to SPM concentration also differ regionally, but for predicting concentration from light scattering, regression lines at two locations are indistinguishable. A comparison of sediment-trap samples with box-core surface samples further supports present-day resuspension. Benthic foraminifera, iron-oxide coated planktonic foraminifera and the glacial, subpolar planktonic foraminifera (Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral)) in traps at 10, 100 and a few specimens at 500 mab, provide conclusive evidence for local resuspension. Sponsored in part by contract N00014-75-C-0291.