The origin of Bahamian Whitings revisited

Broecker, W. S.; Sanyal, Abhijit; Takahashi, Taro

doi:10.1029/2000gl011872

Cited by 54 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 5 publications

(5 reference statements)

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“…Moreover, resuspension mechanisms involving tidal forcing are not consistent with the observed seasonal patterns of whitings (Robbins et al, 1997). The possibility that resuspension is caused by fish activity has also been proposed in the literature (Broecker et al, 2000). However, from sidescan sonar and fathometer imaging, trawls, remote video and scuba observations coupled with 25 years of casual observation, Shinn et al (1989) contend that fish are not involved in the formation of most Bahamian whitings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…Radiocarbon data of whitings allow for some (less than ∼15%) new carbonate material (i.e., recent precipitates), but most is "older" material consistent with the radiocarbon age of the underlying sediments (Broecker et al, 2000;Bustos-Serrano et al, 2009). No single hypothesis for sediment resuspension has been widely accepted by the scientific community.…”

Section: Whitings and Wind-driven Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…No plausible and consistent mechanism has been put forth to describe the forces responsible for sediment resuspension in whitings (e.g., see discussion in Broecker et al, 2000). Measured current velocities within whiting areas tend to be well below those required to erode and suspend bottom sediment, and are often of similar magnitude to those in adjacent regions outside the whiting areas (Shinn, et al, 1989).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some have suggested that Bahamian whitings are Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. 488 H. M. Dierssen et al: Optics and remote sensing of Bahamian sediment whitings spontaneous precipitates of aragonite (Smith, 1940;Cloud, 1962) while others contend that whitings are resuspended sediment (Broecker et al, 2000;Bustos-Serrano et al, 2009). Over 70 years ago, Smith (1940) suggested that supersaturated water flowing onto the bank from the adjacent open ocean encountered condensation nuclei provided by resuspension of sediment and spontaneously precipitated calcium carbonate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Optics and remote sensing of Bahamian carbonate sediment whitings and potential relationship to wind-driven Langmuir circulation

2009

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Abstract.Regions of milky white seas or "whitings" periodically occur to the west of Andros Island along the Great Bahama Bank where the bottom sediment consists of finegrained aragonite mud. We present measurements of inherent optical properties within a sediment whiting patch and discuss the potential for monitoring the frequency, extent, and quantity of suspended matter from ocean colour satellite imagery. Sea spectral reflectance measured in situ and remotely from space revealed highly reflective waters elevated across the visible spectrum (i.e., "whitened") with a peak at 490 nm. Particulate backscattering was an order of magnitude higher than that measured at other stations throughout the region. The whiting also had one of the highest backscattering ratios measured in natural waters (0.05-0.06) consistent with water dominated by aragonite particles with a high index of refraction. Regular periodicity of 40 and 212 s evident in the light attenuation coefficient over the sampling period indicated patches of fluctuating turbidity on spatial scales that could be produced from regular rows of Langmuir cells penetrating the 5-m water column. We suggest that previously described mechanisms for sediment resuspension in whitings, such as tidal bursting and fish activity, are not fully consistent with these data and propose that wind-driven Langmuir cells reaching the full-depth of the water column may represent a plausible mechanism for sediment resuspension and subsequent whiting formation. Optics and remote sensing provide important tools for quantifying the linkages between physical and biogeochemical processes in these dynamic shallow water ecosystems.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Section: Whitings and Wind-driven Processesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Optics and remote sensing of Bahamian carbonate sediment whitings and potential relationship to wind-driven Langmuir circulation

2009

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“…[6] Effects of shallow water heating with its associated salinity variations have important chemical and biologic consequences, like the formation of ''whitings'', aragonite precipitation [Broecker et al, 2000], influence of the warmer brine waters on coral population [Lang et al, 1988] etc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Production of hypersaline pools in shallow basins by evaporation

Warrior

Carder

2005

Geophysical Research Letters

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[1] This paper incorporates a correction to the heat balance equation in the general ocean models by properly quantifying the sun's light that penetrates the ocean surface and reaches the bottom. Part of the light that hits the bottom in shallow pools of water gets absorbed (depending on the albedo of the bottom) and is reradiated as heat thus warming up the waters there significantly. The light that is not absorbed gets reflected back up, and a part of it is absorbed by the water constituents on its way up, while the remaining light leaves the water surface. It was found from our simulations that the temperatures attained by shallow pools depend upon the water depth and bottom albedo. Increased evaporation associated with such shallow water warming leads to the formation of hypersaline waters. This natural salination is found to occur in the shallow basin near the Andros Island in the Bahamas, where the waters are less than 7 m deep. The maximum salinity of these waters is as high as 46 psu in summer. These hypersaline waters being denser than the nearby deep ocean advect, down to depths of 50 m in summer and 75 m in winter.

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Bacterial Biomineralization

Konhauser

Riding

2012

Fundamentals of Geobiology

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A number of living organisms form mineral phases through a process termed biomineralization. Two end member mechanisms exist depending on the level of biological involvement. The first involves mineral formation without any apparent regulatory control. Termed 'biologically induced biomineralization' by Lowenstam (1981), biominerals form as incidental byproducts of interactions between the organisms and their immediate environment. The minerals that form through this passive process have crystal habits and chemical compositions similar to those produced by precipitation under inorganic conditions. By contrast, 'biologically controlled biomineralization', the subject of Chapter 10, is much more closely regulated, and organisms precipitate minerals that serve physiological and structural roles. This process can include the development of intracellular or epicellular organic matrices into which specific ions are actively introduced and their concentrations regulated such that appropriate mineral saturation states are achieved. Accordingly, minerals can be formed within the organism even when conditions in the bulk solution are thermodynamically unfavourable. In this chapter we focus on the role of bacteria. Specifically, we examine the formation of iron oxyhydroxides and calcium carbonates throughout geological time, and explore how our understanding of modern biomineralization processes is shedding new insights into the evolution of the Earth's hydrosphere-atmosphere-biosphere over long time scales.

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The origin of Bahamian Whitings revisited

Abstract: whitings are dominated by re-suspended sediment. We offer a new and highly speculative mechanism for this re-suspension. Black-tipped sharks which inhabit whitings purposefully stir up the sediment in order to create a trap for fish, much as spiders construct webs as traps for insect prey.

Cited by 54 publications

References 5 publications

Optics and remote sensing of Bahamian carbonate sediment whitings and potential relationship to wind-driven Langmuir circulation

Optics and remote sensing of Bahamian carbonate sediment whitings and potential relationship to wind-driven Langmuir circulation

Production of hypersaline pools in shallow basins by evaporation

Bacterial Biomineralization

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