Marine particle dynamics : sinking velocities, size distributions, fluxes, and microbial degradation rates
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2011. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references. The sinking flux of particulate...
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ftmit:oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/65326 2023-06-11T04:06:24+02:00 Marine particle dynamics : sinking velocities, size distributions, fluxes, and microbial degradation rates McDonnell, Andrew M. P Ken 0. Buesseler. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Joint Program in Oceanography Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences 2011 210 p. application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/65326 eng eng Massachusetts Institute of Technology http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/65326 746084699 M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 Joint Program in Oceanography Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Sediment transport Carbon cycle (Biogeochemistry) Thesis 2011 ftmit 2023-05-29T08:49:30Z Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2011. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references. The sinking flux of particulate matter into the ocean interior is an oceanographic phenomenon that fuels much of the metabolic demand of the subsurface ocean and affects the distribution of carbon and other elements throughout the biosphere. In this thesis, I use a new suite of observations to study the dynamics of marine particulate matter at the contrasting sites of the subtropical Sargasso Sea near Bermuda and the waters above the continental shelf of the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). An underwater digital camera system was employed to capture images of particles in the water column. The subsequent analysis of these images allowed for the determination of the particle concentration size distribution at high spatial, depth, and temporal resolutions. Drifting sediment traps were also deployed to assess both the bulk particle flux and determine the size distribution of the particle flux via image analysis of particles collected in polyacrylamide gel traps. The size distribution of the particle concentration and flux were then compared to calculate the average sinking velocity as a function of particle size. I found that the average sinking velocities of particles ranged from about 10-200 m d- and exhibited large variability with respect to location, depth, and date. Particles in the Sargasso Sea, which consisted primarily of small heterogeneous marine snow aggregates, sank more slowly than the rapidly sinking krill fecal pellets and diatom aggregates of the WAP. Moreover, the average sinking velocity did not follow a pattern of increasing velocities for the larger particles, a result contrary to what would be predicted from a simple formulation of Stokes' Law. At each location, I derived a best-fit fractal correlation between the flux ... Thesis Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula |
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DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) |
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language |
English |
topic |
Joint Program in Oceanography Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Sediment transport Carbon cycle (Biogeochemistry) |
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Joint Program in Oceanography Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Sediment transport Carbon cycle (Biogeochemistry) McDonnell, Andrew M. P Marine particle dynamics : sinking velocities, size distributions, fluxes, and microbial degradation rates |
topic_facet |
Joint Program in Oceanography Earth Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Sediment transport Carbon cycle (Biogeochemistry) |
description |
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2011. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references. The sinking flux of particulate matter into the ocean interior is an oceanographic phenomenon that fuels much of the metabolic demand of the subsurface ocean and affects the distribution of carbon and other elements throughout the biosphere. In this thesis, I use a new suite of observations to study the dynamics of marine particulate matter at the contrasting sites of the subtropical Sargasso Sea near Bermuda and the waters above the continental shelf of the Western Antarctic Peninsula (WAP). An underwater digital camera system was employed to capture images of particles in the water column. The subsequent analysis of these images allowed for the determination of the particle concentration size distribution at high spatial, depth, and temporal resolutions. Drifting sediment traps were also deployed to assess both the bulk particle flux and determine the size distribution of the particle flux via image analysis of particles collected in polyacrylamide gel traps. The size distribution of the particle concentration and flux were then compared to calculate the average sinking velocity as a function of particle size. I found that the average sinking velocities of particles ranged from about 10-200 m d- and exhibited large variability with respect to location, depth, and date. Particles in the Sargasso Sea, which consisted primarily of small heterogeneous marine snow aggregates, sank more slowly than the rapidly sinking krill fecal pellets and diatom aggregates of the WAP. Moreover, the average sinking velocity did not follow a pattern of increasing velocities for the larger particles, a result contrary to what would be predicted from a simple formulation of Stokes' Law. At each location, I derived a best-fit fractal correlation between the flux ... |
author2 |
Ken 0. Buesseler. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Joint Program in Oceanography Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences |
format |
Thesis |
author |
McDonnell, Andrew M. P |
author_facet |
McDonnell, Andrew M. P |
author_sort |
McDonnell, Andrew M. P |
title |
Marine particle dynamics : sinking velocities, size distributions, fluxes, and microbial degradation rates |
title_short |
Marine particle dynamics : sinking velocities, size distributions, fluxes, and microbial degradation rates |
title_full |
Marine particle dynamics : sinking velocities, size distributions, fluxes, and microbial degradation rates |
title_fullStr |
Marine particle dynamics : sinking velocities, size distributions, fluxes, and microbial degradation rates |
title_full_unstemmed |
Marine particle dynamics : sinking velocities, size distributions, fluxes, and microbial degradation rates |
title_sort |
marine particle dynamics : sinking velocities, size distributions, fluxes, and microbial degradation rates |
publisher |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/65326 |
geographic |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/65326 746084699 |
op_rights |
M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 |
_version_ |
1768378353908187136 |