Plankton community structure during KOSMOS 2011 mesocosm experiment in the Raunefjord

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Auteurs principaux: Bach, Lennart Thomas, Boxhammer, Tim, Hildebrandt, Nicole, Schulz, Kai Georg, Riebesell, Ulf
Format: Dataset Open Access
Langue:en
Publié: PANGAEA 2017
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author Bach, Lennart Thomas
Boxhammer, Tim
Hildebrandt, Nicole
Schulz, Kai Georg
Riebesell, Ulf
author_facet Bach, Lennart Thomas
Boxhammer, Tim
Hildebrandt, Nicole
Schulz, Kai Georg
Riebesell, Ulf
collection Datos científicos de ciencias marinas y ambientales
contents About 50 Gt of carbon is fixed photosynthetically by surface ocean phytoplankton communities every year. Part of this organic matter is reprocessed within the plankton community to form aggregates which eventually sink and export carbon into the deep ocean. The fraction of organic matter leaving the surface ocean is partly dependent on aggregate sinking velocity which accelerates with increasing aggregate size and density, where the latter is controlled by ballast load and aggregate porosity. In May 2011, we moored nine 25 m deep mesocosms in a Norwegian fjord to assess on a daily basis how plankton community structure affects material properties and sinking velocities of aggregates (Ø 80–400 µm) collected in the mesocosms' sediment traps. We noted that sinking velocity was not necessarily accelerated by opal ballast during diatom blooms, which could be due to relatively high porosity of these rather fresh aggregates. Furthermore, estimated aggregate porosity (Pestimated) decreased as the picoautotroph (0.2–2 µm) fraction of the phytoplankton biomass increased. Thus, picoautotroph‐dominated communities may be indicative for food webs promoting a high degree of aggregate repackaging with potential for accelerated sinking. Blooms of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi revealed that cell concentrations of ~1500 cells/mL accelerate sinking by about 35–40%, which we estimate (by one‐dimensional modeling) to elevate organic matter transfer efficiency through the mesopelagic from 14 to 24%. Our results indicate that sinking velocities are influenced by the complex interplay between the availability of ballast minerals and aggregate packaging; both of which are controlled by plankton community structure.
format Dataset Open Access
id pangaea_https___doi_org_10_1594_PANGAEA_873742
institution PANGAEA
language en
publishDate 2017
publisher PANGAEA
record_format pangaea
spellingShingle Plankton community structure during KOSMOS 2011 mesocosm experiment in the Raunefjord
Bach, Lennart Thomas
Boxhammer, Tim
Hildebrandt, Nicole
Schulz, Kai Georg
Riebesell, Ulf
BIOACID; Biological Impacts of Ocean Acidification; KOSMOS_2011_Bergen; MESO; Mesocosm experiment; Raunefjord
About 50 Gt of carbon is fixed photosynthetically by surface ocean phytoplankton communities every year. Part of this organic matter is reprocessed within the plankton community to form aggregates which eventually sink and export carbon into the deep ocean. The fraction of organic matter leaving the surface ocean is partly dependent on aggregate sinking velocity which accelerates with increasing aggregate size and density, where the latter is controlled by ballast load and aggregate porosity. In May 2011, we moored nine 25 m deep mesocosms in a Norwegian fjord to assess on a daily basis how plankton community structure affects material properties and sinking velocities of aggregates (Ø 80–400 µm) collected in the mesocosms' sediment traps. We noted that sinking velocity was not necessarily accelerated by opal ballast during diatom blooms, which could be due to relatively high porosity of these rather fresh aggregates. Furthermore, estimated aggregate porosity (Pestimated) decreased as the picoautotroph (0.2–2 µm) fraction of the phytoplankton biomass increased. Thus, picoautotroph‐dominated communities may be indicative for food webs promoting a high degree of aggregate repackaging with potential for accelerated sinking. Blooms of the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi revealed that cell concentrations of ~1500 cells/mL accelerate sinking by about 35–40%, which we estimate (by one‐dimensional modeling) to elevate organic matter transfer efficiency through the mesopelagic from 14 to 24%. Our results indicate that sinking velocities are influenced by the complex interplay between the availability of ballast minerals and aggregate packaging; both of which are controlled by plankton community structure.
title Plankton community structure during KOSMOS 2011 mesocosm experiment in the Raunefjord
topic BIOACID; Biological Impacts of Ocean Acidification; KOSMOS_2011_Bergen; MESO; Mesocosm experiment; Raunefjord
url https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.873742