Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Marcos
PROVIDER: S-EPMC3054027 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20110222 10
The growth of microbial cultures in the laboratory often is assessed informally with a quick flick of the wrist: dense suspensions of microorganisms produce translucent "swirls" when agitated. Here, we rationalize the mechanism behind this phenomenon and show that the same process may affect the propagation of light through the upper ocean. Analogous to the shaken test tubes, the ocean can be characterized by intense fluid motion and abundant microorganisms. We demonstrate that the swirl pattern ...[more]