Remineralisation, Optics & Marine Particle Size

Studying marine particles and interactions with light to understand key biogeochemical processes in the ocean such as particle remineralisation

Thanks to REOPTIMIZE, at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), we will study the relationships between the size of marine particles and how they interact with light, using various methodological approaches: from oceanographic cruises to autonomous profiling platforms such as the Bio-Argo floats.

Monitoring the modifications in size of living and non-living particles over the time and the space will help us to constrain better a key process of marine ecosystems called “particle remineralisation”.

The remineralisation is the conversion back to CO2 of the sinking particles such as the phytoplankton. Knowing the depth at which the remineralisation occurs is critical to predict how fast the remineralised CO2 will be re-exchanged with the atmosphere. This is essential to understand better the Earth’s climate change.

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