An investigation of diel synchronicity between water column marine snow concentration and the flux of organic matter in the Santa Barbara Channel, California

Diel variation in the concentration of marine snow (detrital aggregates >0.5 mm) in the surface ocean has been documented at several locations, but it is not clear whether this water column signal translates into a diel pulse in particle flux out of the upper mixed layer. In this field study we investigated the temporal relationship between the concentration of marine snow in the upper water column and carbon (C) flux as measured by a sediment trap at 100 m in the Santa Barbara Channel, CA. Camera profiles of marine snow displayed two opposing patterns: (1) higher nighttime total (i.e. cumulative) aggregate volume and (2) higher midday total aggregate volume. Increased nighttime total aggregate volume was only observed during a brief study in 1999 and was associated with increased daytime C flux. For the remaining deployments midday increases in total aggregate volume were observed but, depending on the deployment, were associated with (a) higher nighttime C flux, (b) higher daytime C flux, or (c) no diel pattern. Correspondence between water column aggregate concentration and sediment trap flux increased when average aggregate size exceeded a threshold volume of 0.5 mm3 (1.0 mm in diameter). Particles caught in sediment traps generally accounted for a small percentage of decreased marine snow particulate organic carbon (POC) in the upper 100 m. Other aggregate loss terms such as macrozooplankton grazing may dominate. When diel patterns in particle flux did occur, changes between day and night samples ranged from small (14%) to large (>200%). Diel variations in particle flux may impact mid-water and benthic ecology particularly animal grazing strategies, waste production, and reproductive cycles. Pulsed sedimentation may also create patchy vertical distributions of particle-associated biota and remineralization products and pulsed food delivery to the benthos.