Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Vertical Marine Snow Distribution In The Stratified Hypersaline, And Anoxic Orca Basin (Gulf Of Mexico), Arne Diercks, Kai Ziervogel, Ryan Sibert, Samantha B. Joye, Vernon Asper

Faculty Publications

We present a complete description of the depth distribution of marine snow in Orca Basin (Gulf of Mexico), from sea surface through the pycnocline to within 10 m of the seafloor. Orca Basin is an intriguing location for studying marine snow because of its unique geological and hydrographic setting: the deepest ~200 m of the basin are filled with anoxic hypersaline brine. A typical deep ocean profile of marine snow distribution was observed from the sea surface to the pycnocline, namely a surface maximum in total particle number and midwater minimum. However, instead of a nepheloid (particle-rich) layer positioned near …