Uta Passow

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Uta Passow
Alma materInst. für Meereskunde, Abt. Marine Planktologie, Kiel
Scientific career
Thesis Vertikalverteilung und Sedimentation von Phytoplanktonarten in der mittleren Ostsee während des Frühjahres 1986  (1990)

Uta Passow is a marine scientist known for her work on the biological carbon pump. She is a Canadian Research Chair at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, and the 2022 recipient of the A.G. Huntsman Award for Excellence in the Marine Sciences.

Contents

Education and career

Passow has a bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry from University of Freiburg. [1] Passow received her diplom (1985) [2] and Ph.D. (1989) [3] from Kiel University. She then moved to the University of California, Santa Barbara where she remained until 2000 when she moved to the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. In 2001 she received her habilitation, and became a full professor. In 2008 she moved back to the University of California, Santa Barbara where she remained until 2018 when she became a Canada Research Chair at Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada. [4]

Research

Passow's early research examined the spring bloom [5] and the abundance of organic particles in the ocean. [6] [7] She developed a means to use dyes to quantify transparent exopolymer particles [8] and went on to define the processes forming these particles. [9] [10] Passow also examined carbon cycling in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. [11]

Selected publications

Awards and honors

In 2022 Passow received the A.G. Huntsman Award for Excellence in the Marine Sciences. [12]

Related Research Articles

An exopolymer is a biopolymer that is secreted by an organism into the environment. These exopolymers include the biofilms produced by bacteria to anchor them and protect them from environmental conditions. One type of expolymer, Transparent Exopolymers (TEP), found in both marine and aquatic ecosystems, are planktonic acidic polysaccharides of a gel-like consistency, originally defined by their ability to be stained visible by acidic Alcian Blue. Their free-floating characteristic sets TEPs aside from other extracellular polymeric substance subgroups where exopolymers exists as cell coating, dissolved slime or as part of biofilm matrices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sea surface microlayer</span> Boundary layer where all exchange occurs between the atmosphere and the ocean

The sea surface microlayer (SML) is the boundary interface between the atmosphere and ocean, covering about 70% of Earth's surface. With an operationally defined thickness between 1 and 1,000 μm (1.0 mm), the SML has physicochemical and biological properties that are measurably distinct from underlying waters. Recent studies now indicate that the SML covers the ocean to a significant extent, and evidence shows that it is an aggregate-enriched biofilm environment with distinct microbial communities. Because of its unique position at the air-sea interface, the SML is central to a range of global marine biogeochemical and climate-related processes.

The deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM), also called the subsurface chlorophyll maximum, is the region below the surface of water with the maximum concentration of chlorophyll. The DCM generally exists at the same depth as the nutricline, the region of the ocean where the greatest change in the nutrient concentration occurs with depth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine snow</span> Shower of organic detritus in the ocean

In the deep ocean, marine snow is a continuous shower of mostly organic detritus falling from the upper layers of the water column. It is a significant means of exporting energy from the light-rich photic zone to the aphotic zone below, which is referred to as the biological pump. Export production is the amount of organic matter produced in the ocean by primary production that is not recycled (remineralised) before it sinks into the aphotic zone. Because of the role of export production in the ocean's biological pump, it is typically measured in units of carbon. The term was coined by explorer William Beebe as observed from his bathysphere. As the origin of marine snow lies in activities within the productive photic zone, the prevalence of marine snow changes with seasonal fluctuations in photosynthetic activity and ocean currents. Marine snow can be an important food source for organisms living in the aphotic zone, particularly for organisms that live very deep in the water column.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelly Benoit-Bird</span> Marine scientist

Kelly Benoit-Bird is a marine scientist and senior scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. Benoit-Bird uses acoustics to study marine organisms and was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2010.

Alice Alldredge is an American oceanographer and marine biologist who studies marine snow, carbon cycling, microbes and plankton in the ecology of the ocean. She has been one of the most cited scientific researchers since 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Particulate organic matter</span>

Particulate organic matter (POM) is a fraction of total organic matter operationally defined as that which does not pass through a filter pore size that typically ranges in size from 0.053 millimeters (53 μm) to 2 millimeters.

Calanus pacificus is a species of copepod found in the Pacific Ocean. The female has an average length of about 3.1 millimetres (0.12 in), and the male has a value of about 2.9 millimetres (0.11 in).

Transparent exopolymer particles (TEPs) are extracellular acidic polysaccharides produced by phytoplankton and bacteria in saltwater, freshwater, and wastewater. They are incredibly abundant and play a significant role in biogeochemical cycling of carbon and other elements in water. Through this, they also play a role in the structure of food webs and trophic levels. TEP production and overall concentration has been observed to be higher in the Pacific Ocean compared to the Atlantic, and is more related to solar radiation in the Pacific. TEP concentration has been found to decrease with depth, having the highest concentration at the surface, especially associated with the SML, either by upward flux or sea surface production. Chlorophyll a has been found to be the best indicator of TEP concentration, rather than heterotrophic grazing abundance, further emphasizing the role of phytoplankton in TEP production. TEP concentration is especially enhanced by haptophyte phytoplanktonic dominance, solar radiation exposure, and close proximity to sea ice. TEPs also do not seem to show any diel cycles. High concentrations of TEPs in the surface ocean slow the sinking of solid particle aggregations, prolonging pelagic residence time. TEPs may provide an upward flux of materials such as bacteria, phytoplankton, carbon, and trace nutrients. High TEP concentrations were found under arctic sea ice, probably released by sympagic algae. TEP is efficiently recycled in the ocean, as heterotrophic grazers such as zooplankton and protists consume TEP and produce new TEP precursors to be reused, further emphasizing the importance of TEPs in marine carbon cycling. TEP abundance tends to be higher in coastal, shallow waters compared to deeper, oceanic waters. Diatom-dominated phytoplankton colonies produce larger, and stickier, TEPs, which may indicate that TEP size distribution and composition may be a useful tool in determining aggregate planktonic community structure.

Cindy Lee is a retired Distinguished Professor known for her research characterizing the compounds that comprise marine organic matter.

Mary Jane Perry is an American oceanographer known for the use of optics to study marine phytoplankton.

Patricia Marguerite Glibert is a marine scientist known for her research on nutrient use by phytoplankton and harmful algal blooms in Chesapeake Bay. She is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

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Claire Beatrix Paris-Limouzy, also known as Claire Paris, is marine scientist known for her research on fish larvae and tracking particles in the ocean. She also holds United States national records in freediving.

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References

  1. "Dr. Uta Passow: Ocean Sciences". Memorial University of Newfoundland. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  2. Passow, Uta. Wechselwirkungen zwischen Pelagial und Benthal während der Herbstblüte in der Kieler Bucht Hydrographie, Planktonsukzession und Primärproduktion. search.worldcat.org (Thesis) (in German). Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  3. Passow, Uta. Vertikalverteilung und Sedimentation von Phytoplanktonarten in der mittleren Ostsee während des Frühjahres 1986. search.worldcat.org (Thesis) (in German). Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  4. "Uta Passow | Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Marine Science | UC Santa Barbara". www.igpms.ucsb.edu. Retrieved 2024-11-04.
  5. Smetacek, Victor; Passow, Uta (1990). "Spring bloom initiation and Sverdrup's critical-depth model". Limnology and Oceanography. 35 (1): 228–234. Bibcode:1990LimOc..35..228S. doi:10.4319/lo.1990.35.1.0228.
  6. Passow, U.; Alldredge, A. L. (1994). "Distribution, size and bacterial colonization of transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) in the ocean". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 113 (1/2): 185–198. Bibcode:1994MEPS..113..185P. doi:10.3354/meps113185. ISSN   0171-8630. JSTOR   24849588.
  7. Passow, Uta; Alldredge, Alice L.; Logan, Bruce E. (1994-02-01). "The role of particulate carbohydrate exudates in the flocculation of diatom blooms". Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers. 41 (2): 335–357. Bibcode:1994DSRI...41..335P. doi:10.1016/0967-0637(94)90007-8. ISSN   0967-0637.
  8. Passow, U.; Alldredge, A. L. (1995). "A dye-binding assay for the spectrophotometric measurement of transparent exopolymer particles (TEP)". Limnology and Oceanography. 40 (7): 1326–1335. Bibcode:1995LimOc..40.1326P. doi:10.4319/lo.1995.40.7.1326. ISSN   0024-3590.
  9. Passow, U (2000). "Formation of transparent exopolymer particles, TEP, from dissolved precursor material". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 192: 1–11. Bibcode:2000MEPS..192....1P. doi:10.3354/meps192001. ISSN   0171-8630.
  10. Passow, U (2002). "Production of transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) by phyto- and bacterioplankton". Marine Ecology Progress Series. 236: 1–12. Bibcode:2002MEPS..236....1P. doi:10.3354/meps236001. ISSN   0171-8630.
  11. Frost, Emily. "Five Questions with Uta Passow, How An Oil Spill Affects the Movement of Carbon In the Ocean | Smithsonian Ocean". ocean.si.edu. Retrieved 2024-11-05.
  12. "2022 recipient: UtaPassow". huntsmanaward.org. Retrieved 2024-11-04.