TEP AND COAGULATION DURING A MESOCOSM EXPERIMENT

Transparent exo-polymeric particles (TEP) have been associated with th e aggregation of diatoms. Comparisons of TEP concentrations to those o f conventionally-determined particles during a mesocosm experiment sho w that particles larger than about 30 mu m had concentrations very sim ilar to, if not the same as, those of conventionally-determined partic les. Smaller TEP were present mostly at concentrations less than those of non-TEP. Furthermore, their relative concentrations decreased over the course of the experiment. These comparisons suggest that the domi nant interaction of TEP with algae in marine snow formation is to affe ct general particle stickiness rather than to aggregate by themselves.