Ballasted Flocs Capture Pelagic Primary Production and Alter the Local Sediment Characteristics in the Coastal German Bight (North Sea)
Suspended, organic matter, especially in the form of adhesive extracellular polymers (EPS), tends to form flocs, which may also incorporate suspended lithogenic particles in coastal environments. With an increased settling velocity, these ballasted flocs form in a narrow zone along the coast and pot...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2019-08-01
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| Series: | Geosciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/9/8/344 |
| _version_ | 1811275950237679616 |
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| author | Andreas Neumann H. Christian Hass Jürgen Möbius Céline Naderipour |
| author_facet | Andreas Neumann H. Christian Hass Jürgen Möbius Céline Naderipour |
| author_sort | Andreas Neumann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Suspended, organic matter, especially in the form of adhesive extracellular polymers (EPS), tends to form flocs, which may also incorporate suspended lithogenic particles in coastal environments. With an increased settling velocity, these ballasted flocs form in a narrow zone along the coast and potentially represent a major source of pelagic primary production for the benthic community. We sought support for this hypothesis by examining our measurements of the mud content, porosity, permeability, pigment content, and specific respiration rate of sediment from the German Bight (North Sea) for signs that the pelagic zone of ballasted floc formation is affecting the local sediment characteristics. Based on a simple bottom-shear stress model and by employing empirical correlations of sediment characteristics we were able to find strong indications that this is actually the case. Our results demonstrate how ballasted flocs contribute to the benthic pelagic coupling in a high turbulence environment. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T23:47:49Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-232974fe8fff421cb1020739de372fd7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3263 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T23:47:49Z |
| publishDate | 2019-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geosciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-232974fe8fff421cb1020739de372fd72022-12-22T03:11:47ZengMDPI AGGeosciences2076-32632019-08-019834410.3390/geosciences9080344geosciences9080344Ballasted Flocs Capture Pelagic Primary Production and Alter the Local Sediment Characteristics in the Coastal German Bight (North Sea)Andreas Neumann0H. Christian Hass1Jürgen Möbius2Céline Naderipour3Institut für Küstenforschung, Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, 21502 Geesthacht, GermanyMarine Geologie, Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar-und Meeresforschung, 27570 Bremerhaven, GermanyInstitut für Geologie, Universität Hamburg, 21073 Hamburg, GermanyInstitut für Küstenforschung, Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, 21502 Geesthacht, GermanySuspended, organic matter, especially in the form of adhesive extracellular polymers (EPS), tends to form flocs, which may also incorporate suspended lithogenic particles in coastal environments. With an increased settling velocity, these ballasted flocs form in a narrow zone along the coast and potentially represent a major source of pelagic primary production for the benthic community. We sought support for this hypothesis by examining our measurements of the mud content, porosity, permeability, pigment content, and specific respiration rate of sediment from the German Bight (North Sea) for signs that the pelagic zone of ballasted floc formation is affecting the local sediment characteristics. Based on a simple bottom-shear stress model and by employing empirical correlations of sediment characteristics we were able to find strong indications that this is actually the case. Our results demonstrate how ballasted flocs contribute to the benthic pelagic coupling in a high turbulence environment.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/9/8/344particulate suspended matterballasted flocssedimentbenthic pelagic couplingNorth Sea |
| spellingShingle | Andreas Neumann H. Christian Hass Jürgen Möbius Céline Naderipour Ballasted Flocs Capture Pelagic Primary Production and Alter the Local Sediment Characteristics in the Coastal German Bight (North Sea) Geosciences particulate suspended matter ballasted flocs sediment benthic pelagic coupling North Sea |
| title | Ballasted Flocs Capture Pelagic Primary Production and Alter the Local Sediment Characteristics in the Coastal German Bight (North Sea) |
| title_full | Ballasted Flocs Capture Pelagic Primary Production and Alter the Local Sediment Characteristics in the Coastal German Bight (North Sea) |
| title_fullStr | Ballasted Flocs Capture Pelagic Primary Production and Alter the Local Sediment Characteristics in the Coastal German Bight (North Sea) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ballasted Flocs Capture Pelagic Primary Production and Alter the Local Sediment Characteristics in the Coastal German Bight (North Sea) |
| title_short | Ballasted Flocs Capture Pelagic Primary Production and Alter the Local Sediment Characteristics in the Coastal German Bight (North Sea) |
| title_sort | ballasted flocs capture pelagic primary production and alter the local sediment characteristics in the coastal german bight north sea |
| topic | particulate suspended matter ballasted flocs sediment benthic pelagic coupling North Sea |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/9/8/344 |
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