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Organic C, N, and stable isotopic composition of particulate matter collected on glass‐fiber and aluminum oxide filters
Author(s) -
Altabet Mark A.
Publication year - 1990
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.1990.35.4.0902
Subject(s) - particulates , fraction (chemistry) , filtration (mathematics) , photic zone , particle (ecology) , composition (language) , base (topology) , particle size , aluminium , analytical chemistry (journal) , aluminum oxide , filter (signal processing) , fiber , particulate organic matter , mineralogy , chemistry , environmental chemistry , chromatography , geology , oceanography , nutrient , organic chemistry , mathematical analysis , linguistics , statistics , mathematics , philosophy , phytoplankton , computer science , computer vision
There is recent evidence that commonly used glass‐fiber filters do not quantitatively sample suspended particles in the open ocean. To test for potential artifacts, I compared the quantity and composition of particles retained on glass‐fiber (Whatman GF/F, QM‐A, and GF/D) and aluminum oxide filters (Anotec Anopore, 0.2‐ µ m pore size). At a site off Bermuda, most of the particles passed GF/D and QM‐A filters. At both this site and the site of the JGOFS North Atlantic bloom experiment, the majority was retained on GF/F filters but a significant fraction passed through to be retained by Anopore filters (∼30% of total). This fraction increased at and below the base of the euphotic zone. For the North Atlantic experiment, particles passing GF/F filters also accounted for up to 60% of the NH 4 + and 80% of the NO 3 − uptake into particle uptake. Uptake integrated over the upper 60 m, however, was not significantly underestimated by the GF/F filters. At the Bermuda site, significant and consistent variations in C: N, δ 15 N, and δ 13 C values occurred among the various filter fractions. GF/F filters, however, did not appear to produce significant artifacts in these quantities relative to particles collected by Anopore filters.