The role of morphology in setting the fate of marine snow in the open ocean

The role of morphology in setting the fate of marine snow in the open ocean | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article The role of morphology in setting the fate of marine snow in the open ocean Lars Stemmann, Ariadna Nocera, Marin Arlaud, Joelle Habib, Alberto Baudena, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9280596/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Most of the oceanic primary production is lost from surface marine food webs into the deep ocean as waste sinking particles, known as marine snow. Their morphology influences biogeochemical cycles, yet the fate of various types remains poorly understood. We analyzed four annual time-series of in situ images acquired using UVP6 camera systems mounted on robotic floats at different latitudes between 0 to 50°S. Images were objectively classified to define distinct morphotypes within the continuum of observed morphologies. At high latitudes, surface marine snow was seasonally dominated by elongated morphotypes, possibly fresh phytoplankton-chains, whereas at low latitudes more circular morphotypes predominated possibly as a result of biologically mediated coagulation. Transfer efficiency to the mesopelagic varied substantially between morphotypes. Surface-produced marine snow, predominantly transparent, is replaced by spherical and opaque aggregates below the mixed layer. Given the wide latitudinal range, we propose that marine snow aggregation via coagulation in the mixed layer, followed by zooplankton-mediated control of vertical export at depth, represents a general sequence of particle transformations reflected by shifts in marine snow morphologies. Earth and environmental sciences/Ocean sciences/Marine biology Earth and environmental sciences/Ecology/Biooceanography Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files Stemmann2025suppMatFinal.pdf Supplementary: The role of morphology in setting the fate of marine snow in the open ocean Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9280596","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":616138663,"identity":"78e1cd33-f920-499e-a8a7-a742cf05a975","order_by":0,"name":"Lars 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