Assessing Marine Snow Dynamics During the Demise of the North Atlantic Spring Bloom Using In Situ Particle Imagery

Abstract The ocean's biological pump, a critical component of the Earth's carbon cycle, transports organic matter from the surface ocean to depth and is dominated by sinking particles, often in the form of marine snow‐sized (diameter ≥0.5 mm) aggregates. Controls of sinking particle carbon export are thought to be driven largely using ecological processes that create and transform sinking particles. We diagnose the importance of both biotic and abiotic processes in the dynamics of marine snow and other suspended particles using image‐based determination of their size distribution. These observations were made during the demise of the North Atlantic spring bloom in May 2021 as part of the Export Processes in the Ocean from RemoTe Sensing‐North Atlantic (EXPORTS‐NA) field campaign. We show that intense storm events generated high turbulent mixing rates in the upper ocean that impacted the abundance, size distribution, porosity and sinking of marine snow. Mixed‐layer turbulence levels both created and destroyed marine snow and the sequence of entrainment and detrainment of the mixed layer induced by repeated storm forcings enhanced the vertical transport of aggregates to depth. Evidence of biological transformations was also observed at mesopelagic depths, both for the consumption of particulate matter and in the creation of smaller particles from larger ones, likely due to interactions with zooplankton. Collectively, these results illustrate the complex interplay of physical and biological processes regulating the dynamics of marine snow and suggest their inclusion in predictive models of the ocean's biological pump.

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Publication Details

Journal
Global Biogeochemical Cycles
Published
2025-11-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2025gb008676
Citations
3
Primary Topic
Marine and coastal ecosystems
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
5.38

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article

Assessing Marine Snow Dynamics During the Demise of the North Atlantic Spring Bloom Using In Situ Particle Imagery

Sasha J. Kramer, Deborah K. Steinberg, Elisa Romanelli, Ken O. Buesseler et al.
3 citations
Global Biogeochemical Cycles
Marine and coastal ecosystems
5.38
article

Assessing Marine Snow Dynamics During the Demise of the North Atlantic Spring Bloom Using In Situ Particle Imagery

Sasha J. Kramer, Deborah K. Steinberg, Elisa Romanelli, Ken O. Buesseler, David A. Siegel, Leah R. Johnson, Margaret Estapa, Adrian Burd, Samantha J. Clevenger, Uta Passow, Melissa Omand, Erik Fields, Rainer Kiko, Mark A. Brzezinski, Colleen A. Durkin, Laetitia Drago, Amy E. Maas, Ivona Cetinić
article en
3 citations

Abstract

Abstract The ocean's biological pump, a critical component of the Earth's carbon cycle, transports organic matter from the surface ocean to depth and is dominated by sinking particles, often in the form of marine snow‐sized (diameter ≥0.5 mm) aggregates. Controls of sinking particle carbon export are thought to be driven largely using ecological processes that create and transform sinking particles. We diagnose the importance of both biotic and abiotic processes in the dynamics of marine snow and other suspended particles using image‐based determination of their size distribution. These observations were made during the demise of the North Atlantic spring bloom in May 2021 as part of the Export Processes in the Ocean from RemoTe Sensing‐North Atlantic (EXPORTS‐NA) field campaign. We show that intense storm events generated high turbulent mixing rates in the upper ocean that impacted the abundance, size distribution, porosity and sinking of marine snow. Mixed‐layer turbulence levels both created and destroyed marine snow and the sequence of entrainment and detrainment of the mixed layer induced by repeated storm forcings enhanced the vertical transport of aggregates to depth. Evidence of biological transformations was also observed at mesopelagic depths, both for the consumption of particulate matter and in the creation of smaller particles from larger ones, likely due to interactions with zooplankton. Collectively, these results illustrate the complex interplay of physical and biological processes regulating the dynamics of marine snow and suggest their inclusion in predictive models of the ocean's biological pump.

Global Biogeochemical CyclesVol. 39(11)
Boston University (US), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Memorial University of Newfoundland (CA), Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (BM), Goddard Space Flight Center (US), Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (US), University of California, Santa Barbara (US), University of Georgia (US), University of Rhode Island (US), GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (DE), ETH Zurich (CH), Sorbonne Université (FR), University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory (US), Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat : Expérimentations et Approches Numériques (FR), Laboratoire d’Océanographie de Villefranche (FR), Virginia Sea Grant (US), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (US), University of Maine (US), Morgan State University (US)
National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Openalex Percentile: Top 4%
Marine and coastal ecosystems
5.38
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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