OB13B:
Marine Snow and Associated Small-Scale Processes with Large-Scale Implications I
OB13B:
Marine Snow and Associated Small-Scale Processes with Large-Scale Implications I
Marine Snow and Associated Small-Scale Processes with Large-Scale Implications I
Session ID#: 93157
Session Description:
Marine aggregates of phytoplankton, detritus, and inorganic matter, known as marine snow, play a crucial role in global ocean dynamics in many ways. Marine snow aggregates represent fast sinking vehicles of particulate organic matter, accelerating the vertical downward flux of photosynthetically-fixed carbon to the deep ocean. Sinking aggregates are often densely colonized by highly active heterotrophic microbial communities and serve as a food source for zooplankton, making them hotspots for elemental cycling and trophic interactions in the water column. In addition marine snow aggregates also play an important role in the fate of contaminants, such as plastics and spilled oil, as they may incorporate these substances during formation and sinking through the water column. Through all of these small-scale processes, marine snow can have important implications for biogeochemical and ecological dynamics at much larger scales. This session welcomes presentations on marine snow research (including laboratory, field, and modeling studies) focusing on any biological, physical, or chemical processes involving marine snow, such as: 1) formation, sinking, and fragmentation processes of marine snow; 2) biogeochemical cycling of marine snow-associated organic matter; 3) interactions between marine snow and zooplankton grazers; or 4) marine snow processes involving oil, plastics, or other contaminants.
Co-Sponsor(s):
- PI - Physical-Biological Interactions
Index Terms:
4805 Biogeochemical cycles, processes, and modeling [OCEANOGRAPHY: CHEMICAL]
4806 Carbon cycling [OCEANOGRAPHY: BIOLOGICAL]
4817 Food webs, structure, and dynamics [OCEANOGRAPHY: BIOLOGICAL]
4840 Microbiology and microbial ecology [OCEANOGRAPHY: BIOLOGICAL]
Primary Chair: Jennifer C. Prairie, University of San Diego, Environmental and Ocean Sciences, San Diego, CA, United States
Co-chairs: Uta Passow, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, United States and Kai Ziervogel, University of New Hampshire, Ocean Process Analysis Laboratory, Durham, NH, United States
Primary Liaison: Jennifer C. Prairie, University of San Diego, Environmental and Ocean Sciences, San Diego, CA, United States
Moderators: Jennifer C. Prairie, University of San Diego, Environmental and Ocean Sciences, San Diego, CA, United States and Kai Ziervogel, University of New Hampshire, Ocean Process Analysis Laboratory, Durham, NH, United States
Student Paper Review Liaison: Jennifer C. Prairie, University of San Diego, Environmental and Ocean Sciences, San Diego, CA, United States
Abstracts Submitted to this Session:
See more of: Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry