Bacterial Control of Silicon Regeneration in the Ocean

海洋中生物硅和有机物的向下通量中有很大一部分来自海洋表层硅藻的生产力。 因此，毫不奇怪，人们对了解控制硅藻生产力的因素很感兴趣，包括从下沉中回收二氧化硅的机制，分解颗粒回到生长的硅藻。 在这个项目中，来自斯克里普斯海洋研究所和加州大学圣巴巴拉分校的研究人员将通过在细菌过程被选择性抑制的条件下测量硅溶解来研究细菌介导的硅溶解对总生物硅溶解的贡献。 同时确定细菌介导的溶解对生物二氧化硅生产的贡献。 通过最近的NSF赠款开发的放射性（32 Si）和稳定同位素技术将用于实现高灵敏度和精度。

ABSTRACTOCE-9819603 A very large fraction of the downward fluxes of biogenic silica and organic matter in the ocean are derived from the productivity of diatoms in the surface ocean. Not surprisingly then, there is much interest in understanding what controls diatom productivity, including mechanisms for recycling silica from sinking, decomposing particles back to growing diatoms. In this project researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the University of California at Santa Barbara will study contribution of bacteria-mediated silica dissolution to total biogenic silica dissolution by measuring Si dissolution under conditions where bacterial processes have been selectively inhibited. The contribution of bacteria-mediated dissolution to biogenic silica production would be determined at the same time. Radio- (32Si) and stable isotope techniques developed through recent NSF grants would be used to attain high sensitivity and precision.