| Summary: | Program year: 1996/1997 Digitized from print original stored in HDR Diatoms (marine algae) are the largest contributor of biological productivity in the Antarctic. As the siliceous diatoms die their tests begin to accumulate on the sea floor, and preserve a record of how environmental conditions change through time. However, studies of diatom tests in seafloor sediments are hindered by a significant problem: the uncertainty about the relationship between diatom growth rates, diatom test characteristics and environmental conditions. A continuously culturing turbidostat was built in order help solve this problem. Continuous culturing provides critical advantages over commonly employed batch culturing. It allows for the diatom growth rate and seawater constituents to be maintained precisely at desired levels, and it yields enough diatom tests for geochemical analysis. Conditions that can be tested include temperature, nutrient levels, isotopic and trace metal levels, light intensity, day/night patterns, or other environmental conditions that occur, or could occur in nature with such factors as ozone depletion or global warming can be explored.
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