Fig. 1: Drag enhancement by microbial colonization.
From: Drag acting on suspended sediment increased by microbial colonization
a, Example 3D aggregate morphologies characterized by micro-CT imaging, illustrating variance as microbial colonization intensifies. The four states of microbial colonization are represented as follows: fb = 0–0.25 (i), 0.25–0.50 (ii), 0.50–0.75 (iii) and 0.75–1.00 (iv). The sediment particles are shown in yellow and microbial substances are shown in purple. b, Corresponding \({C}_{\mathrm{D}}^{* }\) distribution curves across the four states of microbial colonization, shifting towards higher values as microbial colonization increases. The percentage of aggregates with \({C}_{\mathrm{D}}^{* }\) values greater than 1.5 increases from 18% (fb = 0–0.25) to 66% (fb = 0.75–1.00). The frequency distribution curves were obtained by analysing 1,618 datasets.
