A firm grasp of the processes governing transport of particles in the sea forms a basis for understanding key aspects of the marine carbon cycle, ocean productivity, and pollutant dispersal. It is also fundamental to the interpretation of ancient and modern sedimentary deposits. To build understanding of marine particles this class explores the various roles of particles in the sea and the processes that govern them. Topics to be covered include sources and types of marine particles, methods of particle characterization, patterns of vertical flux, vertical distribution of particles in the ocean, particle size distributions, settling velocities, mass transfer to and from small particles, mechanics of particle contact, surface chemistry, and erosion, deposition and transport.
