The Ecology of Marine Snow

海洋雪是水柱中直径大于或等于500微米的所有聚集颗粒的总称。在世界各大洋中，这种大小范围的集料十分丰富。它们由藻类、细菌、原生动物、有机和无机碎屑组成，通常嵌入粘液基质中。海洋中的大部分表面衍生物质以海洋雪的大颗粒形式流入海洋内部和海底。Alldredge博士将继续她在海洋雪形成方面的工作。该主题在海洋中的营养再生以及这些颗粒作为潜在食物来源的作用方面具有重大意义。她将从事两个领域的工作。第一个是表征微环境中的营养再生，第二个是调查硅藻（浮游植物）在絮凝中的作用。这项研究是一个非常成功的研究项目的延续，该项目在过去三年中得到了资助。

Marine snow is a generic term for all aggregated particles in the water column which are 500um or larger in diameter. Aggregates in this size range are abundant throughout the world's oceans. They are composed of algae, bacteria protozoa, detritus organic and inorganic debris often embedded in a mucus matrix. Much of the surface derived matter in the ocean fluxes to the ocean interior and sea floor as large particles of marine snow. Dr. Alldredge will continue her work on marine snow formation. The topic is of significant interest in terms of nutrient regeneration in the ocean and the role of these particles as a potential as a food source. There are two areas of work which she will pursue. The first is to characterize the nutrient regeneration in the microenvironments and the second is to investigate the role of diatoms (phytoplankton) in flocculation. This research is a continuation of a very successful research project which has been funded for the last three years.