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Surface potential and film pressure measurements in seawater systems 1
Author(s) -
Van Vleet Edward S.,
Williams Peter M.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1983.28.3.0401
Subject(s) - seawater , wax , monolayer , phytoplankton , carbon fibers , surface pressure , chemistry , environmental chemistry , materials science , chemical engineering , mineralogy , oceanography , organic chemistry , geology , nutrient , nanotechnology , composite material , composite number , engineering
Surface potential (ΔV s ) and film pressure (γ f ) measurements of monolayers of standard compounds spread on organic carbon‐free seawater were compared to ΔV s and γ f values for natural films. The results suggest that natural seawater films most resemble films composed of proteins, polysaccharides, humic‐type material, and waxes. They contain relatively small amounts of free fatty acids, free fatty alcohols, or triglycerides, but the presence of relatively small amounts of these can strongly affect the resultant surface potential and film pressure of multicomponent films. Films formed very rapidly initially and formation rates decreased with time. Nevertheless, the potential for generating new films in 72‐liter natural seawater samples did not markedly decrease with time. Surface films derived from marine phytoplankton cultures had ΔV s and γ f properties similar to those of naturally occurring sea‐surface films. Cultures of marine bacteria contributed much less surface‐active material for film formation than did those of phytoplankton.