Editing Silicon (section)

===Marine microbial influences ===
Diatoms use silicon in the [[biogenic silica]] (bSi) form,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bidle|first1=Kay D.|last2=Manganelli|first2=Maura|last3=Azam|first3=Farooq|date=2002-12-06|title=Regulation of Oceanic Silicon and Carbon Preservation by Temperature Control on Bacteria|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1076076|journal=Science|language=en|volume=298|issue=5600|pages=1980–1984|doi=10.1126/science.1076076|issn=0036-8075|pmid=12471255|bibcode=2002Sci...298.1980B|s2cid=216994}}</ref> which is taken up by the silicon transport protein (SIT) to be predominantly used in the cell wall structure as frustules.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Durkin|first1=Colleen A.|last2=Koester|first2=Julie A.|last3=Bender|first3=Sara J.|last4=Armbrust|first4=E. Virginia|date=2016|title=The evolution of silicon transporters in diatoms|url=|journal=Journal of Phycology|language=en|volume=52|issue=5|pages=716–731|doi=10.1111/jpy.12441|issn=1529-8817|pmc=5129515|pmid=27335204|bibcode=2016JPcgy..52..716D }}</ref>  Silicon enters the ocean in a dissolved form such as silicic acid or silicate.<ref name="Dugdale-2001">{{Cite journal|last1=Dugdale|first1=R. C.|last2=Wilkerson|first2=F. P.|date=2001-12-30|title=Sources and fates of silicon in the ocean: the role of diatoms in the climate and glacial cycles|journal=Scientia Marina|volume=65|issue=S2|pages=141–152|doi=10.3989/scimar.2001.65s2141|issn=1886-8134|doi-access=free|bibcode=2001ScMar..65S.141D }}</ref>  Since diatoms are one of the main users of these forms of silicon, they contribute greatly to the concentration of silicon throughout the ocean. Silicon forms a nutrient-like profile in the ocean due to the diatom productivity in shallow depths.<ref name="Dugdale-2001" /> Therefore, concentration of silicon is lower in the shallow ocean and higher in the deep ocean.

Diatom productivity in the upper ocean contributes to the amount of silicon exported to the lower ocean.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Baines|first1=Stephen B.|last2=Twining|first2=Benjamin S.|last3=Brzezinski|first3=Mark A.|last4=Krause|first4=Jeffrey W.|last5=Vogt|first5=Stefan|last6=Assael|first6=Dylan|last7=McDaniel|first7=Hannah|date=December 2012|title=Significant silicon accumulation by marine picocyanobacteria|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/ngeo1641|journal=Nature Geoscience|language=en|volume=5|issue=12|pages=886–891|doi=10.1038/ngeo1641|bibcode=2012NatGe...5..886B|issn=1752-0908}}</ref>  When diatom cells are [[Lysis|lysed]] in the upper ocean, their nutrients such as iron, zinc, and silicon, are brought to the lower ocean through a process called [[marine snow]]. Marine snow involves the downward transfer of particulate organic matter by vertical mixing of dissolved organic matter.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Turner|first=Jefferson T.|date=January 2015|title=Zooplankton fecal pellets, marine snow, phytodetritus and the ocean's biological pump|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2014.08.005|journal=Progress in Oceanography|volume=130|pages=205–248|doi=10.1016/j.pocean.2014.08.005|bibcode=2015PrOce.130..205T|issn=0079-6611}}</ref>  It has been suggested that silicon is considered crucial to diatom productivity and as long as there is silicic acid available for diatoms to use, the diatoms can contribute to other important nutrient concentrations in the deep ocean as well.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Yool|first1=Andrew|last2=Tyrrell|first2=Toby|date=2003|title=Role of diatoms in regulating the ocean's silicon cycle|url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2002GB002018|journal=Global Biogeochemical Cycles|language=en|volume=17|issue=4|pages=n/a|doi=10.1029/2002GB002018|bibcode=2003GBioC..17.1103Y|s2cid=16849373|issn=1944-9224|citeseerx=10.1.1.394.3912}}</ref>

In coastal zones, diatoms serve as the major phytoplanktonic organisms and greatly contribute to biogenic silica production. In the open ocean, however, diatoms have a reduced role in global annual silica production. Diatoms in North Atlantic and North Pacific subtropical gyres only contribute about 5–7% of global annual marine silica production. The [[Southern Ocean]] produces about one-third of global marine biogenic silica.<ref name="The World Ocean Silica Cycle" /> The Southern Ocean is referred to as having a "biogeochemical divide"<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Marinov |first1=I. |last2=Gnanadesikan |first2=A. |last3=Toggweiler |first3=J. R. |last4=Sarmiento |first4=J. L. |title=The Southern Ocean biogeochemical divide |journal=Nature |date=June 2006 |volume=441 |issue=7096 |pages=964–967 |doi=10.1038/nature04883|pmid=16791191 |bibcode=2006Natur.441..964M |s2cid=4428683 }}</ref> since only minuscule amounts of silicon are transported out of this region.