Ascending marine particles: Significance of transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) in the upper ocean

Azetsu-Scott, Kumiko; Passow, Uta

doi:10.4319/lo.2004.49.3.0741

Cited by 222 publications

(167 citation statements)

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“…The relatively lower TEP content (Engel and Schartau 1999;Azetsu-Scott and Passow 2004) and the higher illite content (Ploug et al 2008a,b;Fischer and Karakas 2009;Iversen and Ploug 2010) of the aggregates formed at high initial suspended concentrations of illite should have increased excess density and hence sinking velocity of aggregates in the high-clay treatments. But incorporation of minerals also reduces the size of aggregates (Passow and De La Rocha 2006;De La Rocha et al 2008), which diminishes sinking velocity (McCave 1975;Hamm 2002;De La Rocha and Passow 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aggregation as a function of and mineral particles

Passow¹,

Rocha²,

Fairfield³

et al. 2014

Limnology & Oceanography

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A laboratory experiment was designed to investigate the effects of ocean acidification (three levels) in the presence or absence of the clay mineral illite (five concentrations) on the coagulation of organic particles. The formation of aggregates . 1 mm from marine detritus and phytoplankton, and their characteristics and sinking velocity, were monitored during the 48 h experiment. Aggregation of particulate organic carbon (POC) was independent of both partial pressure of carbon dioxide (P CO2 ) and illite addition, implying that the fraction of POC available for export is not affected by either mineral supply or ocean acidification conditions up to ambient + 52.7 Pa P CO2 (+ 520 ppm). This was true even though the illite appreciably influenced aggregate size, number, and characteristics, including the percentage of transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) incorporated in aggregates. Carbonate chemistry, in the presence of illite, did affect particle formation by clay, carbon, and TEP at the micrometer scale (allocation between dissolved and particulate pools). Our experiment did not resolve processes on this scale well and it remains to be seen if such shifts in the size spectrum of organic carbon and minerals are relevant for the biological pump. High illite content led to small aggregates with a low average sinking velocity. In the absence of biological changes to particle production or loss, coagulation of POC, which is central to the biological pump, is not influenced by ocean acidification or dust input, but sinking velocity and, hence, flux attenuation of POC are likely to be affected by changes in dust input.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aggregation as a function of and mineral particles

Passow¹,

Rocha²,

Fairfield³

et al. 2014

Limnology & Oceanography

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“…Organic materials are transported upward from bulk water to the SML through diffusion, positively buoyant particles (Azetsu-Scott and Passow, 2004), and rising air bubbles (Gershey, 1983). In addition to the direct net production of organic matter within the SML (Wurl et al, 2016), upward transport of organic matter from bulk water explains the typical enrichment of organic matter in the SML (Obernosterer et al, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-resolution variability of the enrichment of fluorescence dissolved organic matter in the sea surface microlayer of an upwelling region

Mustaffa¹,

Ribas-Ribas²,

Wurl³

2017

Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene

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Mustaffa, NIH, et al 2017 High-resolution variability of the enrichment of fluorescence dissolved organic matter in the sea surface microlayer of an upwelling region. Elem Sci Anth, 5: 52, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.242 IntroductionThe uppermost part of the ocean, covering approximately 70% of the surface is defined as the sea surface microlayer (SML) (Liss and Duce, 2005). Due to its unique position between the atmosphere and ocean, the SML plays an important role in biogeochemical processes, including the marine carbon cycle, photochemistry and air-sea exchange of climate-relevant gases. All materials exchanged between the ocean and atmosphere, including gases, particulate organic matter, and sea salt, have to pass through the SML (Liss and Duce, 2005). With a total thickness between 1 µm and 1000 µm, depending on the sampling technique (Shinki et al., 2012) and region of interest (Hardy, 1982), the SML remains sufficiently stable at a global average wind speed of 6.6 m s -1 (Wurl et al., 2011b) to control the rate of air-sea exchange of gases and heat, highlighting its global relevance. It is well established that the SML has unique physical, chemical, and biological properties that differ from those of the wellmixed underlying water masses (Hardy, 1982;Cunliffe et al., 2013). Biological and physical processes in the water column, such as primary productivity, diffusion, buoyancy flux, and rising bubbles, are the main factors determining the enrichment of chemical compounds and microbes in the SML (Wurl et al., 2009;Stolle et al., 2010). Enriched materials include surface-active dissolved organic matter (DOM) (e.g., carbohydrates, proteins and lipids) and particulate organic matter (POM), as well as autotrophic and heterotrophic cells (Williams et al., 1986;Cunliffe et al., 2009). Fluorescence dissolved organic matter (FDOM) is a fraction of chromophoric DOM (CDOM) which not only absorbs but also emits a blue fluorescence when it is irradiated with ultraviolet (UV) light (Coble, 2007). FDOM is often used as an indicator for humic-like marine DOM (Yamashita and Tanoue, 2009) and frequently enriched in the SML (Zhang and Yang, 2013) due to its hydrophobic properties.CDOM enrichment in the SML is of particular interest due to its active role in photochemistry (de Bruyn et al., 2011), as the SML is the part of the ocean with the highest exposure to radiation. For this reason, some photochemical reactions in the SML can be unique (Carlson, 1993), and the SML may act as microreactor (Blough, 2005), including changing the composition of surface active species RESEARCH ARTICLEHigh-resolution variability of the enrichment of fluorescence dissolved organic matter in the sea surface microlayer of an upwelling region Nur Ili Hamizah Mustaffa, Mariana Ribas-Ribas and Oliver Wurl Enrichment of fluorescence dissolved organic matter (FDOM) in the sea surface microlayer (SML) provides insights into biogeochemical processes occurring at the sea surface, including cycling of organic matter, photochemistry, and air-se...

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“…A process involving the coupling of bacteria with detritus, production of bubbles by metabolic activity, and floatability has been proposed (Haury et al, 1994). Recently, it has been shown that transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) could ascend to the upper ocean (Azetsu-Scott and Passow, 2004). TEP make up a large part of organic matter in the sea.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The observation by Azetsu-Scott and Passow (2004) shows that positively buoyant TEPs, which agglomerate some bacteria and protozoans, could be the vehicle for an upward flux of food for the ecosystem that grows at the surface.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…FBM offers a different pathway : it rises to the surface, at a speed of about 14 m d -1 (Azetsu-Scott and Passow, 2004), and may serve as food for an ecosystem that lives near the surface. More interestingly, the resulting biomass remains at the surface, either because of its low density, or because of its swimming behaviour, and consequently, it does not follow the water masses when they are downwelled.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Concentration of floating biogenic material in convergence zones

Dandonneau¹,

Menkès²,

Duteil³

et al. 2008

Journal of Marine Systems

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:Some organisms that live just below the sea surface (the neuston) are known more as a matter of curiosity than as critical players in biogeochemical cycles. The hypothesis of this work is that their existence implies that they receive some food from an upward flux of organic matter. The behavior of these organisms and of the associated organic matter, hereafter mentioned as floating biogenic material (FBM) is explored using a global physicalbiogeochemical coupled model, in which its generation is fixed to 1% of primary production, and decay rate is of the order of one month. The model shows that the distribution of FBM should depart rapidly from that of primary production, and be more sensitive to circulation patterns than to the distribution of primary production. It is trapped in convergence areas, where it reaches concentrations larger by a factor 10 than in divergences, thus enhancing and inverting the contrast between high and low primary productivity areas. Attention is called on the need to better understand the biogeochemical processes in the first meter of the ocean, as they may impact the distribution of food for fishes, as well as the conditions for air-sea exchange and for the interpretation of sea color.

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Ascending marine particles: Significance of transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) in the upper ocean

Cited by 222 publications

References 35 publications

Aggregation as a function of and mineral particles

Aggregation as a function of and mineral particles

High-resolution variability of the enrichment of fluorescence dissolved organic matter in the sea surface microlayer of an upwelling region

Concentration of floating biogenic material in convergence zones

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