Whiting event

An aerial view of a whiting event precipitation cloud in Lake Ontario.

A whiting event is a phenomenon that occurs when a suspended cloud of fine-grained calcium carbonate precipitates in water bodies, typically during summer months, as a result of photosynthetic microbiological activity or sediment disturbance.[1][2][3] The phenomenon gets its name from the white, chalky color it imbues to the water. These events have been shown to occur in temperate waters as well as tropical ones, and they can span for hundreds of meters.[3] They can also occur in both marine and freshwater environments.[4] The origin of whiting events is debated among the scientific community, and it is unclear if there is a single, specific cause. Generally, they are thought to result from either bottom sediment re-suspension or by increased activity of certain microscopic life such as phytoplankton.[5][6][1] Because whiting events affect aquatic chemistry, physical properties, and carbon cycling, studying the mechanisms behind them holds scientific relevance in various ways.[7][2][8][9][10]

  1. ^ a b "Whiting Event, Lake Ontario". NASA Earth Observatory. 2 September 2013.
  2. ^ a b Larson, Erik B.; Mylroie, John E. (2014). "A review of whiting formation in the Bahamas and new models". Carbonates and Evaporites. 29 (4): 337–347. doi:10.1007/s13146-014-0212-7. ISSN 0891-2556. S2CID 128695792.
  3. ^ a b Sondi, Ivan; Juračić, Mladen (2010). "Whiting events and the formation of aragonite in Mediterranean Karstic Marine Lakes: new evidence on its biologically induced inorganic origin". Sedimentology. 57 (1): 85–95. Bibcode:2010Sedim..57...85S. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3091.2009.01090.x. ISSN 1365-3091. S2CID 129052529.
  4. ^ Long, Jacqueline S.; Hu, Chuanmin; Robbins, Lisa L.; Byrne, Robert H.; Paul, John H.; Wolny, Jennifer L. (2017). "Optical and biochemical properties of a southwest Florida whiting event". Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 196: 258–268. Bibcode:2017ECSS..196..258L. doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2017.07.017. ISSN 0272-7714.
  5. ^ Thompson, Joel B.; Schultze-Lam, Susanne; Beveridge, Terrance J.; Des Marais, David J. (1997). "Whiting events: Biogenic origin due to the photosynthetic activity of cyanobacterial picoplankton". Limnology and Oceanography. 42 (1): 133–41. Bibcode:1997LimOc..42..133S. doi:10.4319/lo.1997.42.1.0133. PMID 11541205. S2CID 139114.
  6. ^ "Whiting in Lake Michigan". NASA Earth Observatory. 18 September 2001.
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