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Can I read Flocculation and phytoplankton cell size can alter 234Th-based estimates of the vertical flux of particulate organic carbon in the sea on EtoBox?
Flocculation and phytoplankton cell size can alter 234Th-based estimates of the vertical flux of particulate organic carbon in the sea by Anya M. Waite; Paul S. Hill is a Earth and Planetary Sciences article available to read on EtoBox.
What is Flocculation and phytoplankton cell size can alter 234Th-based estimates of the vertical flux of particulate organic carbon in the sea about?
The deficit of 234 Th relative to its radioactive parent 238 U in the surface ocean can yield reliable estimates of vertical Particulate Organic Carbon (POC) fluxes to deeper waters, but only when coupled with an accurate ratio of POC concentration to activity of 234 Th on sinking matter. Assuming a simple partitioning of suspended phytoplankton mass between single cells and flocs, we calculate the ratio of the POC flux estimated from 234 Th deficit to the actual POC flux ( p ratio, Smith, J.N., Moran, S.B., Speicher, E.A., in press). The p ratios are calculated under the assumption that particle surface area is correlated with 234 Th activity and particle volume is correlated with POC concentration. The value of the p ratio depends on the relative contributions of single cells and flocs to the vertical flux. When large single cells make up a significant fraction of the vertical flux, p ratios are less than one, meaning POC fluxes estimated from 234 Th deficits underestimate actual POC fluxes. When large single cells are abundant but do not sink fast enough to contribute to vertical POC flux, p ratios are greater than one (up to 3 Â overestimate). Factor analysis of the model indic
Who reads Flocculation and phytoplankton cell size can alter 234Th-based estimates of the vertical flux of particulate organic carbon in the sea?
It is typically read by researchers, students, and practitioners in Earth and Planetary Sciences.
- Author
- Anya M. Waite; Paul S. Hill
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science; Elsevier ; Elsevier BV (ISSN 0304-4203)
- Published
- 2006
- Language
- EN
- Field
- Earth and Planetary Sciences (Physical Sciences)