RECEIVER Theme 1

The transfer and transformation of sinking particles

RECEIVER Theme 1 will strive to increase our mechanistic understanding of the biological carbon pump, a key process in marine biogeochemical cycling. Combining challenging in situ observation and innovative modeling approaches, we will unravel the controls on particle formation and sinking, including the role of marine life. Microbial transformation of the particle flux makes the ocean a "gigantic heterotrophic digester" that converts organic matter into CO₂ through respiration. Moreover, the water depth at which mineralization of organic carbon to CO₂ occurs determines the efficiency of the biological pump and its role in the global carbon cycle.As it is unclear how microbes achieve this transformation of matter, we will track the alteration of representative organic molecules through the water column to their incorporation in the sediments.