The silicon cycle is the movement and transformation of silicon among rocks, dissolved compounds, living organisms and sediments. In the ocean, diatoms take up dissolved silicic acid to construct silica cell walls. After death, their material can sink, dissolve and return silicon to the dissolved pool, or be retained in sediments.[ref]
Accelerated dissolution of diatom silica by marine bacterial assemblages by Kay D. Bidle and Farooq Azam. Introduction: diatom demand, sinking biogenic silica and dissolution
Kay D. Bidle and Farooq Azam compared diatom-silica dissolution with marine bacterial processing. Faster dissolution associated with removal of the organic covering showed that recycling depends on the particle's biological coating as well as its mineral content. Microbial decomposition can thus change how rapidly a mineral nutrient becomes available again.[ref]
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