Articles | Volume 9, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-1455-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-9-1455-2016
© Author(s) 2016. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Model description paper
| 
19 Apr 2016
Model description paper |
| 19 Apr 2016
A stochastic, Lagrangian model of sinking biogenic aggregates in the ocean (SLAMS 1.0): model formulation, validation and sensitivity
Tinna Jokulsdottir
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago,
Chicago, IL 60637, USA
David Archer
Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago,
Chicago, IL 60637, USA
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- The Route to Spring Phytoplankton Blooms Simulated by a Lagrangian Plankton Model K. Noh et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JC016753
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45 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Progress in Operational Modeling in Support of Oil Spill Response C. Barker et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse8090668
- Scavenging processes in multicomponent medium with first-order reaction kinetics: Lagrangian and Eulerian modeling V. Maderich et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10652-021-09799-1
- Marine particles and their remineralization buffer future ocean biogeochemistry response to climate warming J. Maerz et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-1897-2026
- Seasonal variations of sinking velocities in Austral diatom blooms: Lessons learned from COMICS M. Villa-Alfageme et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2023.105353
- Simulating aerosol chamber experiments with the particle-resolved aerosol model PartMC J. Tian et al. https://doi.org/10.1080/02786826.2017.1311988
- Global evaluation of particulate organic carbon flux parameterizations and implications for atmospheric pCO2 L. Gloege et al. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GB005535
- Coalescence of rising oil droplets – A combined experimental and modelling study to investigate the influence of surface active components on oil droplet coalescence T. Nordam et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2026.119847
- A microscopic simulation of particle flux in ocean waters: Application to radioactive pair disequilibrium F. De Soto et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2018.07.031
- Transport Bias by Ocean Currents in Sedimentary Microplankton Assemblages: Implications for Paleoceanographic Reconstructions P. Nooteboom et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019PA003606
- Modeling the Vertical Flux of Organic Carbon in the Global Ocean A. Burd https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-marine-022123-102516
- New Insight on the Stratigraphic-Diffusive Gas Hydrate System since the Pleistocene in the Dongsha Area of the Northeastern South China Sea J. Guan et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10030434
- The role of environmental factors in the long-term evolution of the marine biological pump M. Fakhraee et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-020-00660-6
- Carbon dioxide removal through manipulation of the ocean carbonate system: Fundamentals, opportunities, and challenges C. Reinhard et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crsus.2026.100858
- Impact of mesoscale eddies on the source funnel of sediment trap measurements in the South China Sea W. Ma et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2021.102566
- Transport of dispersed oil compounds to the seafloor by sinking phytoplankton aggregates: A modeling study S. Francis & U. Passow https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2019.103192
- Effects of coagulation processes on phytoplankton mortality in the Elbe estuary from a Lagrangian perspective L. Steidle et al. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2025.1624762
- Microstructure and composition of marine aggregates as co-determinants for vertical particulate organic carbon transfer in the global ocean J. Maerz et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1765-2020
- Breakups are complicated: an efficient representation of collisional breakup in the superdroplet method E. de Jong et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-4193-2023
- Proterozoic coevolution of phytoplankton and the surface Earth redox landscape T. Huang & B. Shen https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-026-03531-x
- Lagrangian and Eulerian modelling of river plumes in the Great Barrier Reef system, Australia S. Aijaz et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocemod.2023.102310
- Modelling and Simulation of Marine Oil Snow Formation T. Akshaya et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2025.118526
- Seasonal cycles of the carbon export flux in the ocean: insights from the SISSOMA mechanistic model A. Kandylas & A. Visser https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-93-2026
- Effect of biopolymer concentration on the kinetics of marine snow formation T. Akshaya et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr.2024.104291
- Modelling the effects of copepod diel vertical migration and community structure on ocean carbon flux using an agent-based model C. Countryman et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2022.110003
- Predicting particle catchment areas of deep-ocean sediment traps using machine learning T. Picard et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/os-20-1149-2024
- Estimating the variability of deep-ocean particle flux collected by sediment traps using satellite data and machine learning T. Picard et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-4309-2025
- New guidelines for the application of Stokes' models to the sinking velocity of marine aggregates E. Laurenceau‐Cornec et al. https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.11388
- Assessment of transparent exopolymer particles in the Arctic Ocean implemented into the coupled ocean–sea ice–biogeochemistry model FESOM2.1–REcoM3 M. Zeising et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-19-2077-2026
- Simple Eulerian–Lagrangian approach to solving equations for sinking particulate organic matter in the ocean V. Maderich et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-7373-2025
- PIBM 1.0: an individual-based model for simulating phytoplankton acclimation, diversity, and evolution in the ocean I. Sala & B. Chen https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-4155-2025
- Sensitivity of atmospheric CO2 to regional variability in particulate organic matter remineralization depths J. Wilson et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2923-2019
- Sinking Organic Particles in the Ocean—Flux Estimates From in situ Optical Devices S. Giering et al. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00834
- Distribution of transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) across an organic carbon gradient in the western North Atlantic Ocean M. Jennings et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2017.01.002
- The dissolution behavior of biogenic calcites in seawater and a possible role for magnesium and organic carbon A. Subhas et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2018.08.001
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- A biogeochemical model of mineral-based ocean alkalinity enhancement: impacts on the biological pump and ocean carbon uptake M. Fakhraee et al. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acc9d4
- Variable reactivity of particulate organic matter in a global ocean biogeochemical model O. Aumont et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-2321-2017
- Variable particle size distributions reduce the sensitivity of global export flux to climate change S. Leung et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-229-2021
- From Nano-Gels to Marine Snow: A Synthesis of Gel Formation Processes and Modeling Efforts Involved with Particle Flux in the Ocean A. Quigg et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/gels7030114
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- Controls over Ocean Mesopelagic Interior Carbon Storage (COMICS): Fieldwork, Synthesis, and Modeling Efforts R. Sanders et al. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2016.00136
- The Route to Spring Phytoplankton Blooms Simulated by a Lagrangian Plankton Model K. Noh et al. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JC016753
- A discrete interaction numerical model for coagulation and fragmentation of marine detritic particulate matter (Coagfrag v.1) G. Gremion et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-4535-2021
- Sinking enhances the degradation of organic particles by marine bacteria U. Alcolombri et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-021-00817-x
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 06 Oct 2026
Short summary
To better understand what controls the flux of organic and inorganic material down the water column we developed a numerical model that simulates coagulation, settling and bio-chemical transformation of particles in the ocean. To simulate the many types of material the particles constitute, we took a Lagrangian approach. Our results suggest the flux is most sensitive to environmental change in polar regions. We found that zooplankton are the biggest unknown when predicting the flux.
To better understand what controls the flux of organic and inorganic material down the water...
