| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11401/77791 | |
| dc.description.sponsorship | This work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree. | en_US |
| dc.format | Monograph | |
| dc.format.medium | Electronic Resource | en_US |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY. | |
| dc.type | Dissertation | |
| dcterms.abstract | Marine gels are essential catalysts of aggregation and a significant component of the organic carbon pool. There is evidence showing that dissolved organic carbon (DOC) can self-assemble and form porous microgels that can reversibly exchange material with DOC and particulate organic carbon (POC). This abiotic self-assembly of materials results in particles that can sink and eventually sequester organic carbon into the deep ocean; the dissolution and remineralization of POM have important implications for ocean productivity and carbon cycling. Marine gels are hydrogels formed by a three-dimensional network of polymers and seawater. Operationally, transparent gel particles are defined as discrete particles, larger than 0.2 ï m or 0.4 ï m, that are present in seawater and phytoplankton cultures, and that can be visualized after staining with a specific dye. The origins of marine gel particles are diverse; however, a major source of gel particles is from exudates of phytoplankton and bacteria. This research focuses on polysaccharide-rich gel particles called Transparent Exopolymeric Particles (TEP) and protein-rich gel particles called Coomassie Blue Stainable Particles (CSP). TEP and CSP are known to be abundant and ubiquitous in seawater and they contribute significantly to the formation of sinking aggregates; therefore, understanding the effect of elevated CO2 and temperature on these particles is vital to predicting changes in the biological pump efficiency of the future ocean. This study investigates important uncertainties regarding gel particles from three different perspectives. First, a new technique for the semi-quantitative analysis of protein-rich CSP was developed. Using this new method to study TEP and CSP in parallel samples from the natural environment and from laboratory experiments, it was found that TEP and CSP are both produced during the phytoplankton bloom but that their maximum abundance occurs at different stages of growth; moreover TEP and CSP have different vertical distributions in the ocean. Second, the standard visualization technique using the FlowCAM and a new technique developed during this study indicated that TEP and CSP have different particle association behavior; that is, TEP were more abundant on aggregates formed by diatoms, while CSP were more abundant on aggregates dominated by cyanobacteria. Third, the effect of higher temperature and CO2 was studied in indoor-mesocosm experiments with natural assemblages of coastal phytoplankton that were dominated by diatoms and in aggregation experiments using roller tanks. Photosynthesis and gel particle production were not significantly different between treatments in the mesocosm experiment. However, the roller tank experiments showed that aggregates formed at higher CO2 were smaller and had lower sinking velocity than aggregates formed under present CO2 conditions. The results of this dissertation provide new information about differences in origin, particle association and distribution of gel particles in the ocean. This is especially novel for the case of CSP, a protein-containing gel particle that has been seldom studied because of the lack of a semi-quantitative method. The method developed here provides an efficient tool to broaden the study of CSP in aquatic environments. | |
| dcterms.available | 2017-09-20T16:53:35Z | |
| dcterms.contributor | Lee, Cindy | en_US |
| dcterms.contributor | Taylor, Gordon | en_US |
| dcterms.contributor | Collier, Jackie | en_US |
| dcterms.contributor | Engel, Anja | en_US |
| dcterms.contributor | Mari, Xavier. | en_US |
| dcterms.creator | Cisternas Novoa, Carolina Andrea | |
| dcterms.dateAccepted | 2017-09-20T16:53:35Z | |
| dcterms.dateSubmitted | 2017-09-20T16:53:35Z | |
| dcterms.description | Department of Marine and Atmospheric Science. | en_US |
| dcterms.extent | 233 pg. | en_US |
| dcterms.format | Monograph | |
| dcterms.format | Application/PDF | en_US |
| dcterms.identifier | http://hdl.handle.net/11401/77791 | |
| dcterms.issued | 2015-12-01 | |
| dcterms.language | en_US | |
| dcterms.provenance | Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-20T16:53:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1
CisternasNovoa_grad.sunysb_0771E_12429.pdf: 6340337 bytes, checksum: 9bd0661ef34f861ef9302328be1c56b5 (MD5)
Previous issue date: 1 | en |
| dcterms.publisher | The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY. | |
| dcterms.subject | Chemical oceanography | |
| dcterms.subject | Coomassie stainable particles (CSP), Marine Aggregates, Marine gel particles, Marine snow, Particulate Organic Carbon (POC), Transparent exopolymeric particles (TEP) | |
| dcterms.title | Effects of a Changing Ocean on Marine Gel Particles and Implications for Aggregation Processes and POC export | |
| dcterms.type | Dissertation | |
