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Phytoplankton (/ ˌfaɪtoʊˈplæŋktən /) are the autotrophic (self-feeding) algae component of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words φυτόν (phyton), meaning ' plant ', and πλαγκτός (planktos), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'. [1][2][3] Phytoplankton obtain ...
Biological pump. The biological pump (or ocean carbon biological pump or marine biological carbon pump) is the ocean's biologically driven sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere and land runoff to the ocean interior and seafloor sediments. [1] In other words, it is a biologically mediated process which results in the sequestering of carbon ...
The Redfield ratio or Redfield stoichiometry is the consistent atomic ratio of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus found in marine phytoplankton and throughout the deep oceans. The term is named for American oceanographer Alfred C. Redfield who in 1934 first described the relatively consistent ratio of nutrients in marine biomass samples collected ...
In biogeochemistry, remineralisation (or remineralization) refers to the breakdown or transformation of organic matter (those molecules derived from a biological source) into its simplest inorganic forms. These transformations form a crucial link within ecosystems as they are responsible for liberating the energy stored in organic molecules and ...
The iron cycle (Fe) is the biogeochemical cycle of iron through the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and lithosphere. While Fe is highly abundant in the Earth's crust, [10] it is less common in oxygenated surface waters. Iron is a key micronutrient in primary productivity, [11] and a limiting nutrient in the Southern ocean, eastern equatorial ...
The Martin curve is a power law used by oceanographers to describe the export to the ocean floor of particulate organic carbon (POC). The curve is controlled with two parameters: the reference depth in the water column, and a remineralisation parameter which is a measure of the rate at which the vertical flux of POC attenuates. [1]
The organisms responsible for primary production are called primary producers or autotrophs. Most marine primary production is generated by a diverse collection of marine microorganisms called algae and cyanobacteria. Together these form the principal primary producers at the base of the ocean food chain and produce half of the world's oxygen.
Marine ciliates are major grazers of the phytoplankton. [97] [98] Phytoplankton primary production supports higher trophic levels and fuels microbial remineralization. [99] [100] The dominant pelagic grazers of phytoplankton are typically associated with distinct operating modes of the food web compartments and nutrient cycling.