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Sinking Versus Suspended Particle Size Distributions in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre
Author(s) -
Cael B. B.,
White Angelicque E.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2020gl087825
Subject(s) - ocean gyre , marine snow , sediment trap , oceanography , particle (ecology) , scaling , sediment , power law , particle size distribution , environmental science , particulates , particle size , atmospheric sciences , subtropics , phytoplankton , physics , geology , ecology , water column , geomorphology , biology , paleontology , statistics , geometry , mathematics , nutrient
The particle size distribution (PSD) is a fundamental property that influences all aspects of phytoplankton ecology. In particular, the size (e.g., diameter d [μm]) and sinking speed w (m/day) of individual particles are inextricable, but much remains unknown about how d and w are related quantitatively for bulk particulate matter. There is significant interest in inferring sinking mass fluxes from PSDs, but doing so requires knowing how both mass and w scale with d . To this end, using both laser diffraction and imaging, we characterized for the first time both sinking and suspended PSDs in the oligotrophic North Pacific subtropical gyre. Comparing these PSDs via a power law parameterization indicates an approximately linear w ‐to‐ d scaling, suggesting particles are more fractal‐like than sphere‐like in this respect. This result is robust across multiple instruments, depths, and sediment trap deployments and is made comparatively precise by a high degree of replication.