This study investigates transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) distribution, seasonal variability and its sinking flux in a shallow coastal sea, Jiaozhou Bay, China. The TEP concentrations in the bay ranged from 75 to 553 μg xanthum gum equivalents per liter (Xeq. L⁻¹), which was within the range of values reported in other coastal seas. Spatially, high levels of TEP were always observed in the northern bay during all four seasons. In the southern and outer bay, TEP levels were relatively low. Significant positive correlations were observed between TEP and chlorophyll a during spring, summer and fall, suggesting that phytoplankton was the primary source of TEP during these three seasons. Seasonally, TEP concentrations were highest in summer (mean = 275 ± 142 μg Xeq. L⁻¹), followed by winter (mean = 209 ± 53 μg Xeq. L⁻¹), and lowest in spring (mean = 142 ± 43 μg Xeq. L⁻¹) and fall (mean = 180 ± 49 μg Xeq. L⁻¹). High phytoplankton biomass and temperature contributed to the high TEP levels in summer, while the relatively high amount of TEP in winter was most probably derived from re-suspension of sedimentary particles. For the whole year, TEP carbon (TEP-C) contributed to a mean of ~26% of POC in the bay, representing the second most important contributor to POC pool after phytoplankton (mean: 38%). Sinking flux of TEP was measured with sediment trap, and the results revealed that sinking TEP contributed to a mean of 20% of total POC flux for the four seasons in the bay. This study highlights the fact that TEP-C could represent a significant fraction of the POC pool in the coastal sea, and their sedimentation could play an important role in the carbon sedimentation in these areas.

本研究调查了胶州湾浅海沿岸的透明外聚合物颗粒（TEP）分布，季节变化及其下沉通量。海湾地区的TEP浓度范围为每升75至553μg黄原胶当量（Xeq。L ^-1），这在其他沿海海域所报告的值范围内。在空间上，在所有四个季节中始终在北部海湾观察到高水平的TEP。在南部和外部海湾，TEP水平较低。在春季，夏季和秋季，TEP与叶绿素a之间存在显着的正相关，这表明浮游植物是这三个季节中TEP的主要来源。在夏季，TEP浓度季节性最高（平均值= 275±142μgXeq。L ^-1），然后是冬季（平均值= 209±53μgXeq。L ^-1），春季最低（平均值= 142±43μgXeq。L ^-1）和秋季（平均值= 180±49μgXeq。L ^-1））。浮游植物的高生物量和高温促使夏季的TEP含量较高，而冬季相对较高的TEP含量很可能源自沉积颗粒的重悬。全年，TEP碳（TEP-C）平均贡献了海湾地区约26％的POC，是继浮游植物之后POC池中第二重要的贡献（平均：38％）。用沉积物陷阱测量了TEP的下沉通量，结果表明，在海湾的四个季节中，下沉的TEP平均占总POC通量的20％。这项研究强调了一个事实，即TEP-C可能代表沿海海洋POC池的很大一部分，并且它们的沉积可能在这些地区的碳沉积中起重要作用。