Sink or break: Oil increases resistance of phytoplankton aggregates to fragmentation
Abstract Fragmentation of marine snow affects the downward flux of organic matter, and other aggregate‐associated compounds such as oil. Using phytoplankton aggregates, we demonstrate that marine snow with oil, termed marine oil snow, had a higher resistance to fragmentation compared to marine snow...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Limnology and Oceanography Letters |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.10454 |
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| _version_ | 1832592164411932672 |
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| author | Kai Ziervogel Julia A. Sweet Yixuan Song Laura Bretherton Matthew J. Rau Antonietta Quigg Uta Passow |
| author_facet | Kai Ziervogel Julia A. Sweet Yixuan Song Laura Bretherton Matthew J. Rau Antonietta Quigg Uta Passow |
| author_sort | Kai Ziervogel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Fragmentation of marine snow affects the downward flux of organic matter, and other aggregate‐associated compounds such as oil. Using phytoplankton aggregates, we demonstrate that marine snow with oil, termed marine oil snow, had a higher resistance to fragmentation compared to marine snow without oil when exposed to turbulence ex situ. At moderate shear levels, typical of the ocean mixed layer, 17% of marine snow without oil broke, whereas 63% of marine snow fragmented at intermediate shear. In contrast, only 17% and 33% of marine oil snow fragmented at the intermediate and highest shear levels, respectively. Our results suggest that oil increases the cohesion and stability of aggregates making them less susceptible to breaking. This work contributes toward explaining the exceptional oil sedimentation event following the 2010 spill in Gulf of Mexico. It also enhances our understanding of the factors that determine the probability of sinking aggregates to fragment. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a4a3c34c5bb949bcbcf2141c435ec2cc |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2378-2242 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Limnology and Oceanography Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-a4a3c34c5bb949bcbcf2141c435ec2cc2025-01-21T13:51:57ZengWileyLimnology and Oceanography Letters2378-22422025-02-01101738110.1002/lol2.10454Sink or break: Oil increases resistance of phytoplankton aggregates to fragmentationKai Ziervogel0Julia A. Sweet1Yixuan Song2Laura Bretherton3Matthew J. Rau4Antonietta Quigg5Uta Passow6Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, Ocean Process Analysis Laboratory University of New Hampshire Durham New Hampshire USAMarine Science Institute University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California USADepartment of Mechanical Engineering The Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania USADepartment of Geography and Environment Mount Allison University Sackville New Brunswick CanadaDepartment of Mechanical Engineering The Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania USADepartment of Marine Biology Texas A&M University at Galveston Galveston Texas USAMarine Science Institute University of California Santa Barbara Santa Barbara California USAAbstract Fragmentation of marine snow affects the downward flux of organic matter, and other aggregate‐associated compounds such as oil. Using phytoplankton aggregates, we demonstrate that marine snow with oil, termed marine oil snow, had a higher resistance to fragmentation compared to marine snow without oil when exposed to turbulence ex situ. At moderate shear levels, typical of the ocean mixed layer, 17% of marine snow without oil broke, whereas 63% of marine snow fragmented at intermediate shear. In contrast, only 17% and 33% of marine oil snow fragmented at the intermediate and highest shear levels, respectively. Our results suggest that oil increases the cohesion and stability of aggregates making them less susceptible to breaking. This work contributes toward explaining the exceptional oil sedimentation event following the 2010 spill in Gulf of Mexico. It also enhances our understanding of the factors that determine the probability of sinking aggregates to fragment.https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.10454 |
| spellingShingle | Kai Ziervogel Julia A. Sweet Yixuan Song Laura Bretherton Matthew J. Rau Antonietta Quigg Uta Passow Sink or break: Oil increases resistance of phytoplankton aggregates to fragmentation Limnology and Oceanography Letters |
| title | Sink or break: Oil increases resistance of phytoplankton aggregates to fragmentation |
| title_full | Sink or break: Oil increases resistance of phytoplankton aggregates to fragmentation |
| title_fullStr | Sink or break: Oil increases resistance of phytoplankton aggregates to fragmentation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sink or break: Oil increases resistance of phytoplankton aggregates to fragmentation |
| title_short | Sink or break: Oil increases resistance of phytoplankton aggregates to fragmentation |
| title_sort | sink or break oil increases resistance of phytoplankton aggregates to fragmentation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/lol2.10454 |
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