Size structure and sedimentation of biogenic microparticulates in a subarctic ecosystem

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Abstract
Data describing sinking rates and size structure of microparticulate material were collected from Resurrection Bay, Alaska [USA] during the summer. Spring conditions were inferred from similar data obtained from a large outdoor pond supplied with nutrient-rich deep water. Size structure of chlorophyll and photosynthesis were clearly different in the 2 assemblages. In the summer assemblage, the majority of particulate chlorophyll, C, P, N, silica, and photosynthesis occurred in the < 5 .mu.m fraction. Average sinking rates of the various constituents of the total suspended material differed substantially and ranged from 0.07 to 0.63 m day-1. The total downward flux of C was 13% of daily primary production and the sinking of material greater than 20 .mu.m accounted for nearly all of the downward flux. Sinking rates of actively growing spring assemblages differed from the smaller assemblages by only a few tenths of a meter per day.

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