Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• BATHMANN, U. V
• PEINERT, R
• NOJI, T. T
• BODUNGEN, B. V

Titel

Pelagic origin and fate of sedimenting particles in the Norwegian Sea

Ist Teil von

• Progress in oceanography, 1990, Vol.24 (1-4), p.117-125

Ort / Verlag

Oxford: Elsevier

Erscheinungsjahr

1990

Quelle

Elsevier Journal Backfiles on ScienceDirect (DFG Nationallizenzen)

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• A 17 month record of vertical particle flux of dry weight, carbonate and organic carbon were 25.8, 9.4 and 2.4 g m super(-2)/y, respectively. Parallel to trap deployments, pelagic system structure was recorded with high vertical and temporal resolution. Within a distinct seasonal cycle of vertical particle flux, zooplankton faecal pellets of various size, shapes and contents were collected by the traps in different proportions and quantities throughout the year (range: 0-4,500 10 super(3) m super(-2)/d). The remains of different groups of organisms showed distinct seasonal variations in abundance. In early summer there was a small maximum in the diatom flux and this was followed by pulses of tinntinids, radiolarians, foraminiferans and pteropods between July and November. Food web interactions in the water column were important in controlling the quality and quantity of sinking materials. These data from the Norwegian Sea indicate those mechanisms which either accelerate or counteract loss of material via sedimentation. Connecting investigation of the water column with a high resolution in time parallel with drifting sediment trap deployments and shipboard experiments with the dominant zooplankters is a promising approach for giving a better understanding of both the origin and the fate of material sinking to the sea floor.