220 RILEY 



adsorbed organic material? What do you think of this as a means of de novo 

 formation of organic particles in the deep ocean? 



Riley: Well, it would be ideal. It is a possibility. We have a real problem here 

 in that we do find flakes in the deep sea, and we know that they are readily 

 decomposed by bacteria. 



Cooke: Once a lipophilic surface is produced, further accretions of material 

 can certainly occur on it. Calcium carbonate produced in surface waters may 

 indeed have some scouring effect on some classes of organic material in the sea, 

 taking it to the bottom. This does not prevent the calcium carbonate from being 

 dissolved; it only retards or alters the kinetics of the dissolution. 





