Nature 323, 435 - 437 (02 October 1986); doi:10.1038/323435a0

Oceanographic implications of non-newtonian properties found in phytoplankton cultures

Ian R. Jenkinson

Université de Nice, Groupe de Recherches marines, Laboratoire de Biologic et d'Ecologie marines, 28 avenue de Valrose, 06034 Nice Cedex, France

Bulk rheological properties of sea water sometimes change in phytoplankton blooms¹⁻⁷, when the water has been described as viscous¹, slimey^2,3, ropey²⁻⁴ or like egg white⁴. Fishing nets have been clogged^2,5,7 and broken², and bubbles⁶ or solids^2,4,5 have been trapped. Turbulent viscosity, however, can be reduced⁸. It has been suggested^1,2,6 that phytoplankton mucus may kill marine animals by 'clogging' their gills. Yet oceanographers consider the sea to be newtonian, that is without rigidity and with dynamic viscosity, , independent of shear rate, . I show here that out of eight phytoplankton cultures investigated, increased with decreasing in three, and the highest value of , found at = 0.017 s^-1, was 400 times that found at unstated but probably high (10²-5 x 10³ s^-1) values of by Miyaki and Koizumi⁹. Finite values of dynamic rigidity, G'', were also observed. The characteristic length, L, and time, t, of Kolmogorov eddies¹⁰ are extremely sensitive to simulated -dependent , and as the scales of many oceanic processes depend on L and r, the lack of rheometrical data at ambient could be detrimental to the modelling of these processes.

[Corrected for scanning errors by Ian Jenkinson, December 2008]

References

1.	Matsusato, T. & Kobayashi, H. Bull. Nansei reg. Fish. Res. Lab. No. 7, 43−67 (1974).
2.	Subrahmanyan, R. Ind. J. Fish. 1, 182−203 (1954).
3.	Hollande, A. & Enjumet, M. Bull. Stn Aquic. Peche Castiglione, N. Sér. No. 8, 271−280 (1956).
4.	Dreyfuss, R. Cah. Cent. Etud. Rech. Biol. Océanogr. méd., Nice No. 1, 14−15 (1962).
5.	Boalch, G. T. & Harbour, D. S. Nature 269, 687−688 (1977). | ISI |
6.	Jenkinson, I. R. & Connors, P. P. J. Sherkin Island 1(2), 1−19 (1980).
7.	Chang, F. H. N. Z. J. mar. freshwat. Res. 17, 165−168 (1983). | ISI |
8.	Hoyt, J. W. Mar. Biol. Berlin. 7, 93−99 (1970).
9.	Miyake, Y. & Koizumi, M. J. mar. Res. 7, 63−66 (1948). | ISI | ChemPort |
10.	Batchelor, G. K. The Theory of Homogeneous Turbulence (Cambridge University Press, 1970).
11.	Van Leer, J. C. & Rooth, C. G. Deep-Sea Res. 22, 831−836 (1975). | Article |
12.	Kitaigorodskii, S. A. J. phys. Oceanogr. 14, 960−972 (1984). | Article | ISI |
13.	Crochet, M. J., Davies, A. R. & Walters, K. Numerical Simulation of Non-Newtonian Flow (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1984).
14.	Horne, R. A. Marine Chemistry (Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1969).
15.	Beasley, K. M. in Rheometry: Industrial Applications (ed. Walters, K.) 339−413 (Research Studies Press, Chichester, 1980).
16.	Oakey, N. S. J. phys. Oceanogr. 12, 256−271 (1982). | Article | ISI |
17.	Gadd, G. E. Nature 206, 463−467 (1965). | ISI |
18.	Mitchell, J. G., Okubo, A. & Fuhrman, J. A. Nature 316, 58−59 (1985). | ISI | ChemPort |
19.	Margalef, R., Estrada, M. & Blasco, D. in Toxic Dinoflagellate Blooms (eds. Taylor, D. L. & Seliger, H. H.) 89−94 (Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1979).
20.	Lancelot, C. Estuar. coast. Shelf Sci. 18, 593−600 (1984). | ISI | ChemPort |
21.	Fryxell, G. A., Gould, R. W. Jr, Balmori, E. R. & Theriot, E. C. J. Plankton Res. 7, 339−364 (1985). | ISI |
22.	Smetacek, V. S. Mar. Biol. Berlin 84, 239−251 (1985).
23.	Jenkinson, I. R. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 3, 102−105 (1972). | Article | ChemPort |
24.	Sharp, J. H. Limnol. Oceanogr. 22, 381−399 (1977). | ISI | ChemPort |
25.	Mague, J. H., Friberg, E., Hughes, D. J. & Morris, I. Limnol. Oceanogr. 25, 262−279 (1980). | ISI |
26.	Williams, P. J. LeB. in (eds Riley, J. P. & Skirrow, G.) Chemical Oceanography (2nd edn) 301−363 (Academic, London, 1975). | ChemPort |
27.	Ogura, N. Mar. Biol., Berlin 24, 305−312 (1974). | ChemPort |
28.	Ogura, N. Mar. Biol, Berlin 31, 101−111 (1975). | ChemPort |
29.	Williams, P. M., Oescher, H. & Kinney, P. J. Nature 224, 256−258 (1969). | ISI | ChemPort |
30.	Jensen, L. M. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 11, 39−48 (1983). | ISI | ChemPort |
31.	Oakey, N. S. J. phys. Oceanogr. 15, 1662−1675 (1985). | Article | ISI |
32.	Thorpe, S. A. Nature 318, 519−522 (1985). | Article | ISI |
33.	Parke, M. & Dixon, P. S. J. mar. biol. Ass. U.K. 56, 527−594 (1976).
34.	Strathmann, R. R. Limnol. Oceanogr. 12, 411−418 (1967). | ISI | ChemPort |
35.	Starr, R. C. Am. J. Bot. 51, 1013−1044 (1964). | ISI |