Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026

Visualization of Productivity Zones Based on Nitrogen Mass Balance Model in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island
Published on: July 14, 2023
Nutrient fluxes toward phytoplankton: is it useful to consider turbulence intermittency?
1Université de Rennes 1, UMR CNRS ECOBIO, FR/IFR CAREN, Campus de Beaulieu, 35042, Rennes Cedex, France. yvan.lagadeuc@univ-rennes1.fr
Abstract:
The Influence of turbulence on nutrient fluxes towards phytoplankton cells has been previously estimated, but those studies did not take into account the intermittent nature of turbulent processes. This has been investigated here comparing the nutrient fluxes obtained using both mean and instantaneous turbulent energy dissipation rates. This approach shows that the size of cell potentially influenced by turbulence is lower than previously indicated, and that the spectral average estimate of the turbulence effect overestimates the flux. The capacity of cell to use such intermittent flux is then discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Primary Production
Laminar and Turbulent Flow
Turbulent Flow
Freshwater Microbial Ecology
Poiseuille's Law and Reynolds Number
Rapidly Varying Flow

