Bacterial Control of Silicon Regeneration in the Ocean

海洋中生物源二氧化硅和有机物的下行通量中有很大一部分来自海洋表面硅藻的生产力。毫不奇怪，人们对了解控制硅藻生产力的因素非常感兴趣，包括从下沉、分解颗粒中回收二氧化硅的机制，使其重新生长到硅藻中。在这个项目中，来自斯克里普斯海洋学研究所和加州大学圣巴巴拉分校的研究人员将通过测量在细菌过程被选择性抑制的条件下的硅溶解来研究细菌介导的二氧化硅溶解对生物源二氧化硅溶解总量的贡献。同时，还将确定细菌介导的溶解对生物源二氧化硅生产的贡献。通过最近的NSF资助开发的放射性（32Si）和稳定同位素技术将用于获得高灵敏度和精度。

ABSTRACTOCE-9904410A 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.