Maximum sinking velocities of suspended particulate matter in a coastal transition zone

Maerz, Joeran; Hofmeister, Richard; van der Lee, Eefke M.; Gräwe, Ulf; Riethmüller, Rolf; Wirtz, Kai W.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4863-2016

Articles | Volume 13, issue 17

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4863-2016

© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Special issue:

COSYNA: integrating observations and modeling to understand...

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-4863-2016

© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Articles | Volume 13, issue 17

Research article

|

05 Sep 2016

Research article |

| 05 Sep 2016

Maximum sinking velocities of suspended particulate matter in a coastal transition zone

Joeran Maerz, Richard Hofmeister, Eefke M. van der Lee, Ulf Gräwe, Rolf Riethmüller, and Kai W. Wirtz

Data sets

Accessing diverse data comprehensively – CODM, the COSYNA data portal (http://codm.hzg.de/codm/) G. Breitbach, H. Krasemann, D. Behr, S. Beringer, U. Lange, N. Vo, and F. Schroede https://doi.org/10.5194/os-12-909-2016

Short summary

We investigated sinking velocity (w_s) of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the German Bight. By inferring w_s indirectly from an extensive turbidity data set and hydrodynamic model results, we found enhanced w_s in a coastal transition zone. Combined with known residual circulation patterns, this led to a new conceptual understanding of the retention of fine minerals and nutrients in shallow coastal areas. The retention is likely modulated by algal excretions enhancing flocculation of SPM.