Thoms, S. and Engel, Anja (2004) Modeling the formation of transparent exopolymer particles during a bloom of the coccolithophorid Emiliania huxleyi. [Talk] In: ASLO/TOS Ocean Research Conference 2004. , 15.-20.02.2004, Honolulu, USA .

Abstract

A simple two-size-class aggregation model is developed to describe the time-dependent carbon content of dissolved polysaccharides (PCHO) and of transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) during the bloom. A conservative estimate for the effective collision kernel is obtained from the Smoluchowski equation under the assumption that the growth of aggregates is controlled by a Brownian process near the scaling regime. In the model, PCHO are assumed to represent a fraction of the photosynthetic carbon, which is not used for net algal growth. Time dependence of chlorophyll a and of cellular carbon during the bloom is modelled in terms of algal growth and sinking of single and aggregated algal cells. The aggregation of exopolysaccharides into TEP may have important implications for the organic carbon cycle in
the ocean, as TEP promote the aggregation of algae during a bloom.

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