User:Gtssamie3/sandbox

Article Evaluation: "Whiting Event"

Content:

The content is all relevant to the article topic as it briefly lists what causes whiting events. There's nothing I find distracting, but the article is severely lacking. It would be helpful to add the following information:

• What are the specifics of whiting events? List relevant chemistry behind them.
• Give a detailed overview of why, when, and where whiting events occur
• Why are whiting events significant?
• Examples of extreme whiting events/data upkeep on them
• What, if anything, is being done to prevent or combat whiting events?

Aside from adding the aforementioned content, it would also be good to add relevant pictures to provide a visual component. Scientific jargon is mostly avoided, but a link to an article on calcium carbonate would be helpful. Similarly, I feel the article links on some other terms, such as "water," "temperature," and "summer," are unnecessary. Most of the sources the article uses are fairly old, but because the information deals with chemical principles that don't change frequently, it's reasonable to assume that the information given still holds true.

Tone:

The article is very neutral as it's only two sentences long and just states a very basic definition of the topic. A viewpoint on whiting events in relation to global warming may be warranted once I conduct further research on the topic.

Sources:

The citation links and Wikipedia article links work, and the sources are reliable journal entries and NASA data logs. These sources are neutral and provide the basis for all the article's claims.

Talk Page:

There are no conversations on the talk page. The article is of low-importance and stub-class. It belongs to the Limnology and Oceanography WikiProject.

Sources: "Whiting Event"

1. Camacho, Antonio; Picazo, Antonio; Miracle, Maria R.; Vicente, Eduardo (2003). "Spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of picocyanobacteria in a meromictic karstic lake". Algological Studies. 109: 171–84. doi:10.1127/1864-1318/2003/0109-0171. INIST:15194875.
2. Dittrich, Maria; Obst, Martin (2004-12). "Are Picoplankton Responsible for Calcite Precipitation in Lakes?". AMBIO: A Journal of the Human Environment. 33 (8): 559–564. doi:10.1579/0044-7447-33.8.559. ISSN 0044-7447. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4315546
3. Effler, Steven W.; Perkins, Mary Gail; Greer, Harry; Johnson, David L. (1987-4). "Effect of 'Whiting' on Optical Properties and Turbidity in Owasco Lake, New York". Journal of the American Water Resources Association. 23 (2): 189–196. doi:10.1111/j.1752-1688.1987.tb00796.x. ISSN 1093-474X. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-1688.1987.tb00796.x
4. Larson, E. B., & Mylroie, J. 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. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13146-014-0212-7
5. Long, Jacqueline S.; Hu, Chuanmin; Wang, Mengqiu (2018-2). "Long-Term Spatiotemporal Variability of Southwest Florida Whiting Events from MODIS Observations". International Journal of Remote Sensing. 39 (3): 906–923. doi:10.1080/01431161.2017.1392637. ISSN 0143-1161. https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2017.1392637
6. Long, Jacqueline S.; Hu, Chuanmin; Robbins, Lisa L.; Byrne, Robert H.; Paul, John H.; Wolny, Jennifer L. (2017-9). "Optical and Biochemical Properties of a Southwest Florida Whiting Event". Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 196: 258–268. doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2017.07.017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2017.07.017
7. Long, Jacqueline; Hu, Chuanmin; Robbins, Lisa (2014-06-03). "Whiting Events in SW Florida Coastal Waters: A case study using MODIS medium-resolution data". Remote Sensing Letters. 5 (6): 539–547. doi:10.1080/2150704X.2014.933275. https://doi.org/10.1080/2150704X.2014.933275
8. Morse, John W.; Gledhill, Dwight K.; Millero, Frank J. (2003-08-01). "CaCO3 Precipitation Kinetics in Waters from the Great Bahama Bank:: Implications for the relationship between bank hydrochemistry and whitings". Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 67 (15): 2819–2826. doi:10.1016/S0016-7037(03)00103-0. ISSN 0016-7037. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7037(03)00103-0
9. Sondi, Ivan; JuraäŒIä†, Mladen (2010-1). "Whiting Events and the Formation of Aragonite in Mediterranean Karstic Marine Lakes: New evidence on its biologically induced inorganic origin: Whiting events and aragonite". Sedimentology. 57 (1): 85–95. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3091.2009.01090.x. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3091.2009.01090.x
10. Turpin, Mélanie; Emmanuel, Laurent; Reijmer, John J. G.; Renard, Maurice (2011-11). "Whiting-Related Sediment Export Along the Middle Miocene Carbonate Ramp of Great Bahama Bank". International Journal of Earth Sciences. 100 (8): 1875–1893. doi:10.1007/s00531-010-0627-x. ISSN 1437-3254. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-010-0627-x
11. Watkins, James M., et al. "Is Reduced Benthic Flux Related to the Diporeia Decline? Analysis of Spring Blooms and Whiting Events in Lake Ontario." Journal of Great Lakes Research 39.3 (2013): 395-403. https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/40084640/Is_reduced_benthic_flux_related_to_the_D20151116-12293-1ifbccb.pdf?response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DIs_reduced_benthic_flux_related_to_the_D.pdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A%2F20190913%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20190913T220047Z&X-Amz-Expires=3600&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=32f8a6c24a7e65b04930ab9ace373e1c3417c66e7c064fdf9bf476c65ff01987
12. Shinn, Eugene A.; St.C. Kendall, Christopher G. (2011-12-01). Day-Stirrat, Ruarri; Janson, Xavier; Wright, Wayne (eds.). "Back to the Future" (PDF). The Sedimentary Record. 9 (4): 4–9. doi:10.2110/sedred.2011.4.4.

Source Notes

Source Sondi et. al Notes:

• Whiting events typically span hundreds of meters
• Whitings in the study shown to have high organic matter and crystalline aragonite (type of carbonate) content
• It is debated whether whiting events are biological in origin or not, as some studies hypothesize storms and other events that disturb marine sediments to be the root cause; the study proposes biological origins for bodies of water that are relatively small and closed-off from the open ocean
• Phytoplankton blooms coincide with whiting events; their biological activity may create favorable chemical conditions that trigger inorganic carbonate precipitations
• Whitings can occur in temperate waters as well as tropical

Dittrich & Obst Notes:

• lake-residing algae, who can raise water pH as a result of photosynthesis to a level that favors carbonate precipitation, likely do not cause whiting events because blooms and whitings don't occur together
• autotrophic picoplankton blooms coincide with calcite precipitation as a result of their inorganic carbon uptake; these picoplankton are known to calcify under certain conditions, which may be the cause in part for whiting events, but the exact mechanism in which precipitation occurs is still unknown
• picocyanobacteria may also play a key role inducing or deterring whiting events via their extracellular polymeric substances
• these findings apply to oligotrophic and mesotrophic lakes

Larson & Mylroie Notes:

• whitings believed to result from biological processes, bottom sediment re-suspension (due to fish activity or circulations), or direct precipitation
  • bottom sediment resuspension due to fish makes sense in waters <5m deep; biological makes sense due to picoplankton and phytoplankton
• pico and phytoplankton are hypothesized to create seed crystals of carbonate and change water chemistry (in particular pH and alkalinity), which in turn creates favorable carbonate precipitation conditions
• whitings last for a few days in waters >5m, but less than a day in <5m water

• shallow whitings are tanner and do not have specific point sources

Effler et. al Notes:

• hard water is more conducive to whiting events
• whiting events increase turbidity, negatively impacting photosynthesis (in turn reduces whiting that indirectly results from photosynthesis)
  • hypothesized to be a natural eutrophication inhibitor

Long et. al 2017 Notes:

• whitings occur in lakes and marine environments
• light is reflected off water more strongly due to whiting events
• cyanobacteria and chlorophyll have been shown to be more abundant in whitened waters in some cases
  • calcium carbonate found on cyanobacteria membranes also present in whiting precipitate
• more basic pH and lower CO2 concentrations in whiting areas
• calcium carbonate and aragonite supersaturated
• Whitings can potentially be studied in regards to their role in carbon cycling as a means of gauging global warming (Yates & Robbins, 2001 citation)

Watkins et al. Notes:

• whiting events act as transport mechanism for organic carbon to benthic layer (Hoddell and Schelske, 1998 citation)
• lack of whiting event likely didn't contribute to Diporeia decline as its organic carbon content and nutritional value is low and Diporeia were present in the lake prior to whiting events appearing

Morse et al. Notes:

• whiting events are rare
• in the Bahamas, biologically mediated whitings are unlikely as nutrients are low, there's no significant shift in alkalinity of whiting waters (as seen in the Long et al. 2017 study), and carbon isotopes in the precipitates match carbon isotopes in the benthic layer
  • favors suspended sediment formation, particularly for the northern Great Bahama Bank the study focuses on (see Schinn et. al study the paper cites)

Shinn & Kendall Notes:

• because whiting events are abundant in cyanobacteria, they can be used to study cyanobacteria and potentially find carbon-rich petroleum source rocks

Long et al. 2018 Notes:

• confirms the three major hypotheses for causes of whiting events
• Whitings in the same region can possibly be caused by different factors
  

Whiting Events: DRAFT

Whiting events are a phenomenon in which white, calcium carbonate precipitate clouds spanning several hundred meters are present in a water body.

Characteristics of a whiting event

Whiting event clouds consist of calcium carbonate polymorphs; aragonite tends to be the dominant precipitate, but some studies in oligotrophic and mesotrophic lakes favor calcite.Whiting events have been observed in tropical as well as temperate waters and can potentially cover hundreds of meters. They tend to occur more often in summer months, as warmer waters promote calcium carbonate precipitation, and in hard waters. Whitings are typically characterized by cloudy, white patches of water, but they have been observed to be tanner in hue in very shallow waters (less than 5m deep). These shallow water whiting events also tend to last less than a day in comparison to deeper water events that can last for several days up to several weeks. Regardless of the event's lifespan, the clouds it produces increase turbidity and hamper light penetration.

Potential causes

Some debate exists surrounding the exact cause of whiting events. And although much research exists on the subject, there is still no definitive consensus on the chemical mechanisms behind it. The three most common suggested causes for the phenomenon are: microbiological processes, re-suspension of marine or bottom sediments, and spontaneous direct precipitation from water. Of these three, the last has been ruled unlikely due to the unfavorable reaction kinetics of spontaneous calcium carbonate precipitation.

Microbiological processes

Substantial findings indicate photosynthetic picoplankton, picocyanobacteria, and phytoplankton activity creates favorable conditions for carbonate precipitation. This link arises as a result of planktonic blooms being observed coinciding with the events. Subsequently, via photosynthesis, these organisms uptake inorganic carbon, raise water pH, and alter water alkalinity, which promotes calcium carbonate precipitation. Furthermore, cases exist in which the type of calcium carbonate found in the whiting cloud matches the type found on local cyanobacteria membranes. It's hypothesized that the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) these microorganisms produce can act as seed crystals that provide a start for the precipitation process. Current research on the specifics of these EPS and the exact physiological mechanisms of carbon uptake, however, are limited.

Sediment re-suspension

In shallower waters, evidence supports that activity of local fisherman and marine life such as fish and certain shark species can disturb bottom sediments containing calcium carbonate particles and lead to their suspension. In addition, as microorganisms impact water chemistry in observable ways and require certain nutrient levels to thrive, whiting events found occurring in nutrient-poor waters where no significant alkalinity difference exists between whiting and non-whiting waters support the idea of sediment re-suspension as a primary cause.

Relevance

Whiting events have a unique effect on the waters around them. The fact that calcium carbonate clouds increase turbidity and light reflectance holds implications for organisms and processes that depend on light. In addition, whiting events can function as a transport mechanism for organic carbon to the benthic zone, which is relevant to nutrient cycling. The cyanobacteria abundant clouds also hold the potential to act as a means to study the microorganism's role in carbon cycling (especially in relation to climate change) and possible role as petroleum source rocks.