Abstract
Muddy marine snowflakes initially settle faster than clean ones. Howeverthe strong circulation in the wake of a settling, muddy, marine snowflakeresults in the formation of a vortex ring and its subsequent rapid breakup intotwo or three smaller flakes. Their settling velocity is much smaller than thatof the original flake. Thus the addition of mud may actually slow down thesettling of marine snow in wetland-fringed coastal waters.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alldredge A.L. and Silver M.W. 1988. Characteristics dynamics and significance of marine snow. Progress in Oceanography 20: 41–82.
Alldredge A.L., Passow U. and Logan B.E. 1993. The abundance and significance of a class of large, transparent organic particles in the ocean. Deep-Sea Research 40: 1131–1140.
Armstrong R.A., Lee C., Hedges J.I., Honjo S. and Wakeham S.G. 2001. A new, mechanistic model for organic carbon fluxes in the Ocean Based on the quantitative association of POC with ballast minerals. Deep-Sea Research (in press).
Ayukai T. and Wolanski E. 1997. Importance of biologically mediated removal of fine sediments from the Fly River plume, Papua New Guinea. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 44: 629–639.
Berhane I., Sternberg R.W., Kineke C.G., Milligan T.G. and Kranck K. 1997. The variability of suspended aggregates on the Amazon Continental Shelf. Continental Shelf Research 17: 267–285.
Bruland K.W. and Silver M.W. 1981. Sinking rates of fecal pellets from gelatinous zooplankton (slaps, pteropods, doliolids). Marine Biology 63: 295–300.
Churchill S.W. 1988. Viscous Flows, The Practical Use of Theory. Butterworths.
Eisma D. 1986. Flocculation and de-flocculation of suspended matter in estuaries. Netherlands Journal of Sea Research 20: 183–189.
Fabricius K.E. and Wolanski E. 2000. Rapid smothering of coral reef organisms by muddy marine snow. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 50: 115–120.
Hill P.S. and Nowell A.R. 1990. The potential role of large, fast-sinking particles in clearing nepheloid layers. Philosophical Transactions of Royal Society of London A331: 103–117.
Honjo S. and Roman M.R. 1977. Marine copepod fecal pellets: production, preservation and sedimentation. Journal of Marine Research 36: 45–57.
Komar P.D., Morse A.P., Small L.F. and Fowler S.W. 1981. An analysis of sinking rates of natural copepod and euphausiid fecal pellets. Limnology and Oceanography 26: 172–180.
Maxworthy T. 1972. The structure and stability of vortex rings. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 51: 15–32.
Morton B.R. 1960. Weak thermal vortex ring. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 9: 107–118.
Robinson B.H. and Bailey T.G. 1981. Sinking rates and dissolution of midwater fish fecal matter. Marine Biology 65: 135–142.
Scorer R. 1978. Environmental Aerodynamics. Wiley.
Taghon G.L., Novell A.R. and Jumars P.A. 1984. Transport and breakdown of fecal pellets: Biological and sedimentation consequences. Limnology and Oceanography 29: 64–72.
Turner J.S. 1964a. The flow into an expanding spherical vortex. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 18: 195–208.
Turner J.S. 1964b. The dynamics of spheroidal masses of buoyant fluid. Journal of Fluid Mechanics 19: 481–490.
Wanless H.R., Burton E.A. and Dravis J. 1981. Hydrodynamics of carbonate fecal pellets. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 51: 27–36.
Wolanski E. and Gibbs R.J. 1995. Flocculation of suspended sediment in the Fly River estuary, Papa New Guinea. Journal of Coastal Research 11: 754–762.
Wolanski E., Spagnol S. and Lim E.B. 1997. The importance of mangrove flocs in sheltering seagrass in turbid coastal waters. Mangroves and Salt Marshes 1: 187–191.
Wolanski E., Spagnol S. and Ayukai T. 1998. Field and model studies of the fate of particulate carbon in mangrove-fringed. Hinchinbrook Channel Australia, Mangroves and Salt Marshes 2: 205–221.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Asaeda, T., Wolanski, E. Settling of muddy marine snow. Wetlands Ecology and Management 10, 283–287 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020348918829
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020348918829