Particles in the North Sea: Final report. (New RV Belgica specific call 2021)
Fettweis, M.; Silori, S.; Desmit, X. (2026). Particles in the North Sea: Final report. (New RV Belgica specific call 2021). Belgian Science Policy Office: Brussels. 33 pp.
Suspended particulate matter (SPM) is composed of minerals and organic matter (OM). Their interactions are driven by physical, chemical and biological processes, such as sorption of organic molecules to mineral surfaces, inclusion of smaller organic particles into small clay mineral aggregates, incorporation of organic particles into flocs. These processes vary along the land-ocean transition, leading to spatial and temporal variability in the size, shape, composition, concentration and transport pathways of the SPM. We have collected in situ data in the North Sea to characterise the SPM composition and concentration. Measurements of SPM, particulate organic carbon (POC), nitrogen (PON), transparent exopolymer particles (TEP), pigment and nutrient concentrations and mineralogical composition have been used to provide complementary information on the POC composition, such as the fresh, mineral-associated, detritus, slowly degrading, phytoplankton and heterotrophic fractions. Further a new approach of combining a pair of optical-acoustic sensors to estimate the total concentration and sand/mud composition of the SPM has been applied to long- term sensor data. The aim of the proposal is to change the scope of in situ observations from merely the collection of data towards the improvement and validation of mechanical or empirical models that describe fundamental aspects of SPM composition and its fluxes in whole the North Sea and the English Channel.
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