California Current Ecosystem LTER

Biogenic Silica Export (Process Cruise, Sediment Trap)

Title
Biogenic silica standing stock and its rate of production and export in the offshore Southern California Current Ecosystem, 2011 - 2016.

Abstract
Here we report the complete results of a study on the cycling of biogenic silica (bSiO2) during the P1106 CCE Long Term Ecological Research process cruise examining process related to offshore fronts. Concentrations of bSiO2 varied by 25-fold across the front, with concentrations in frontal waters 20–25% of those in coastal waters. Rates of biogenic silica production spanned an equally large range, with rates within the frontal region that were half those in the coastal regions. The results suggest that the regions of frontal interactions between eddies in the southern CCE can account for variability in diatom biomass, productivity and export over very short spatial scales that is comparable to the variability observed across the Pacific basin.

Keywords
sediments, silica, diatoms, silicon, nutrients

LTER Data System Record
http://dx.doi.org/10.6073/pasta/0a0dd6bb9680667ca52a71868b5c2019
Projects
California Current Ecosystem LTER

Creators
Krause, Jeffrey (jeffrey.krause@lifesci.ucsb.edu)

Contact
CCE LTER Information Manager (ccelter.im@gmail.com)

Data

table BiogenicSilicaExportSedimentTrap
Main data table for dataset
Rows: 63
Columns: 12
View / Download

Methods


Biogenic silica export
Laboratody analysis of particulate material collected in sediment traps using sodium hydroxide digestion followed by manual silicic acid analysis of solubilized biogenic silica.

References


Krause, J. W., M. A. Brzezinski, R. Goericke, M. R. Landry, M. D. Ohman, M. R. Stukel, and A. G. Taylor (2015), Variability in diatom contributions to biomass, organic matter production and export across a frontal gradient in the California Current Ecosystem, J. Geophys. Res. Oceans, 120, doi:10.1002/2014JC010472.