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Unraveling the Unseen Players in the Ocean - A Field Guide to Water Chemistry and Marine Microbiology
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Microbial alignment in flow changes ocean light climate.

Marcos1, Justin R Seymour, Mitul Luhar

  • 1Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|March 4, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Microbial swirls in labs reveal how ocean fluid motion affects light scattering. This phenomenon, caused by microorganism alignment, impacts marine optics and carbon fixation estimates.

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Area of Science:

  • Marine Optics
  • Microbiology
  • Fluid Dynamics

Background:

  • Microbial growth is often assessed by observing "swirls" in agitated cultures.
  • The ocean exhibits intense fluid motion and abundant microorganisms, similar to laboratory cultures.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To rationalize the mechanism behind microbial swirls.
  • To investigate the effect of fluid motion on light propagation in the upper ocean.

Main Methods:

  • Combination of laboratory experiments and mathematical modeling.
  • Analysis of microorganism alignment and light scattering under varying shear rates.

Main Results:

  • Elongated microorganisms align with fluid flow, altering light scattering.
  • Moderate shear rates (0.1 s⁻¹) increased optical backscattering by over 20%.
  • Small shear rates (0.001 s⁻¹) increased backscattering from phytoplankton blooms by over 30%.

Conclusions:

  • Fluid flow significantly impacts marine optics by influencing light scattering.
  • This phenomenon, previously neglected in models, affects global carbon fixation estimates and remote sensing.
  • Microorganism alignment in response to fluid shear is a key factor in marine light dynamics.