Influence of transparent expolymer particles (TEP) on sinking velocity of Nitzschia closterum aggregates.

Engel, Anja and Schartau, Markus (1999) Influence of transparent expolymer particles (TEP) on sinking velocity of Nitzschia closterum aggregates. Open Access Marine Ecology Progress Series, 182 . pp. 69-76. DOI 10.3354/meps182069.

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Abstract

Sinking velocities of more than 300 Nitzschia closterium aggregates were determined during roller table incubation using digital image analysis. To examine the influence of transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) on aggregate settling speed, 3 experiments with different ratios of TEP to cell volume concentration were conducted. The results showed that, for N. closterium aggregates without TEP, sinking velocity (U) was significantly related to the equivalent spherical diameter (ESD) of the aggregates, yielding U (cm s-1) = 1.89 (ESD, cm)0.55. The higher was the specific TEP content of an aggregate, the lower was the sinking velocity and the less pronounced was the size versus velocity relationship. Excess densities (Δρ) of aggregates were derived from velocity measurements and 3-dimensional fractal dimensions (D3) of aggregates were calculated from scaling properties of Δρ. Values for D3 never exceeded 2 and fit well to values of the 2-dimensional fractal dimension (D2) attained from image analysis.

Document Type: Article
Keywords: Marine Biology; Phytoplankton; Aggregates; TEP; Nitzschia closterium; Sinking velocity; Fractal dimension
Research affiliation: OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB2 Marine Biogeochemistry > FB2-BI Biological Oceanography
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: No
Publisher: Inter Research
Date Deposited: 18 Feb 2008 17:24
Last Modified: 08 May 2018 09:19
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/1276

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