Theory 10/Marine snow/Rate lens
Flux Follows Aggregation
The claim
Marine snow flux is set by the aggregation rate of particles rather than by surface production, so a productive but dispersed bloom exports little.
01Mechanism
Sinking requires particles to clump; aggregation depends on collision frequency, which is set by turbulence and stickiness rather than by biomass.
02Prediction
Flux should track aggregation rate at equal production.
03Refutation
Flux tracking production would remove aggregation.