Particle flux measured on deep sea sediment trap VP-2_trap (Appendix A2.7)

A 17 month record of vertical particle flux of dry weight, carbonate and organic carbon were 25.8, 9.4 and 2.4g/m**2/y, respectively. Parallel to trap deployments, pelagic system structure was recorded with high vertical and temporal resolution.
Within a distinct seasonal cycle of vertical particle flux, zooplankton faecal pellets of various sizes, shapes and contents were collected by the traps in different proportions and quantities throughout the year (range: 0-4,500 10**3/m**2/d). The remains of different groups of organisms showed distinct seasonal variations in abundance. In early summer there was a small maximum in the diatom flux and this was followed by pulses of tinntinids, radiolarians, foraminiferans and pteropods between July and November.
Food web interactions in the water column were important in controlling the quality and quantity of sinking materials. For example, changes in the population structure of dominant herbivores, the break-down of regenerating summer populations of microflagellates and protozooplankton and the collapse of a pteropod dominated community, each resulted in marked sedimentation pulses.
These data from the Norwegian Sea indicate those mechanisms which either accelerate or counteract loss of material via sedimentation. These involve variations in the structure of the pelagic system and they operatè on long (e.g. annual plankton succession) and short (e.g. the end of new production, sporadic grazing of swarm feeders) time scales. Connecting investigation of the water column with a high resolution in time in parallel with drifting sediment trap deployments and shipboard experiments with the dominant zooplankters is a promising approach for giving a better understanding of both the origin and the fate of material sinking to the sea floor.

本数据集包含17个月的垂直颗粒通量观测记录，其中干重、碳酸盐与有机碳的通量分别为25.8、9.4和2.4 g·m⁻²·a⁻¹。同步开展沉积物捕集器（sediment trap）布设期间，研究团队以高垂直分辨率与时间分辨率记录了中上层水体生态系统结构。
在垂直颗粒通量的显著季节循环中，沉积物捕集器全年以不同比例和通量捕获了不同尺寸、形态与组分的浮游动物粪球粒（zooplankton faecal pellet），其丰度变化范围为0~4500×10³个·m⁻²·d⁻¹。不同类群生物残体的丰度亦呈现显著季节变化。初夏时段硅藻（diatom）通量出现小幅峰值，随后在7月至11月间，铃纤虫（tintinnids，原文笔误为tinntinids）、放射虫（radiolarians）、有孔虫（foraminiferans）与翼足类（pteropods）依次出现生物量脉冲事件。
水层食物网相互作用对沉降物质的质量与通量具有关键调控作用。例如，优势植食动物种群结构改变、夏季再生型微鞭毛虫（microflagellates）与原生浮游动物（protozooplankton）种群的解体，以及翼足类主导群落的崩溃，均会引发显著的沉降脉冲事件。
本挪威海观测数据揭示了两类调控沉降物质损失的机制：一类加速物质沉降过程，另一类则抵消沉降损失。上述机制与中上层水体生态系统结构的变化密切相关，且作用时间尺度涵盖长周期（如年度浮游生物演替（plankton succession））与短周期（如新生生产（new production）终结、集群摄食者的零星放牧）。结合高时间分辨率的水层调查、漂流式沉积物捕集器布设，以及针对优势浮游动物的船基实验，是深入理解沉降至海底的物质来源与归宿的高效研究路径。