Trace Metal Associations in Oceanic Particulate Matter

基于支持这样一种假设的证据，提出了一种新的对微量金属-粒子关联的检验，即溶解的钡在海洋中获得其类似营养的分布，不是通过光合作用期间浮游植物的主动吸收，而是通过含有腐烂的有机质和硅质浮游生物残留物的颗粒微环境中的重晶石沉淀。硅藻培养(生长和死亡)实验旨在检验重晶石沉淀主要发生在颗粒物微环境中的假设，将构成本研究的基础。这项研究将有助于建立解释现有痕量金属剖面所需的机制框架，并为今后在世界海洋中测量微粒和溶解的痕量金属提供更多的理论依据。

A new examination of trace metal-particle associations is proposed based on evidence supporting the hypothesis that dissolved barium gets its "nutrient like" distribution in the ocean, not through active uptake by phytoplankton during photosynthesis, but through barite precipitation in particulate microenvironment containing decaying organic matter and the remains of siliceous plankton. Diatom culturing (growth and death) experiments designed to test the hypothesis that barite precipitation dominantly occurs in particulate matter micro- environments will form the basis for this study. This study will contribute to the mechanistic framework needed for interpretation of existing trace metal profiles and provide additional rationale for future particulate and dissolved trace metal measurements in the worlds's oceans.