A mesocosm experiment of suspended particulate matter dynamics in nutrient- and biomass-affected waters

•The increase of nutrient availability and biomass growth enhanced SPM flocculation.•Biomass-affected aggregates had size 60% greater than biomass-free aggregates.•Biomass presence had only minor effect on SPM compactness and settling velocity.•Characteristics of biomass-affected SPM were affected by turbulence shear.•No correlation was found between sediment concentration and SPM characteristics.

An experimental study was conducted to test the hypothesis that the biomass growing after an increase in available nutrient in an aquatic ecosystem affects the flocculation dynamics of suspended particulate matter (SPM). The experiment was carried out in a settling column equipped with a turbulence generating system, a water quality monitoring system, and an automated μPIV system to acquire micro photographs of SPM. Three SPM types were tested combinatorially at five turbulence shear rates, three nutrient concentrations, and three mineral concentrations. Analyses of experimental data showed that nutrient availability together with the presence of biomass increased the SPM size by about 60% at low shear as compared to nutrient- and biomass-free conditions; a lower increase was observed at higher shears. In contrast, only 2% lower fractal (capacity) dimension and nearly invariant settling velocity were observed than in nutrient- and biomass-free conditions. Likewise, SPM size and capacity dimension were found to be insensitive to the SPM concentration. Although limited to nearly homogeneous mineral mixes (kaolinite), these experimental findings not only reject the hypothesis that SPM in natural waters can be dealt with as purely mineral systems in all instances, but also anticipate that SPM dynamics in natural waters increasingly exposed to the threat of anthropogenic nutrient discharge would lead to an increased advective flow of adsorbed chemicals and organic carbon.