Reconciling the Size‐Dependence of Marine Particle Sinking Speed
Name
Geophysical Research Letters - 2021 - Cael - Reconciling the Size‐Dependence of Marine Particle Sinking Speed.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
1.13 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
3716fd56752b662d84076051efcb833d
Author(s)
Cael, BB
Cavan, Emma L
Britten, Gregory L
Date Issued
February 1, 2021
Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Publisher
American Geophysical Union
Citation
Cael, B. B., Cavan, E. L., & Britten, G. L. (2021). Reconciling the sizedependence of marine particle sinking speed. Geophysical Research Letters, 48, e2020GL091771.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Sinking particles are critical to the ocean's “biological pump,” sequestering carbon from the atmosphere. Particles' sinking speeds are a primary factor determining fluxes and subsequent ecological and climatic impacts. While size is a key determinant of particles' sinking speeds, observations suggest a variable size-sinking relationship, affected by other particle properties, resulting in substantial spread in parameterizations of particle sinking and fluxes. We compile particle size-sinking observations and apply hierarchical Bayesian statistical models to resolve the size-sinking relationship while accounting for other factors. We find an overall scaling close to the general Navier-Stokes drag equation, and differences between particle types, open ocean versus coastal/laboratory particles, and in situ versus ex situ methods. These results can help harmonize how Earth system models parameterize particle fluxes and support a weaker size-dependence than often assumed, with implications for the flux contribution of small particles and the predicted future shrinking of marine particle populations.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Program in Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1029/2020gl091771
