Open AccessBioturbational mixing depth and carbon flux at the seafloor
Author(s) -
Trauth Martin H.,
Sarnthein Michael,
Arnold Maurice
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
paleoceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1944-9186
pISSN - 0883-8305
DOI - 10.1029/97pa00722
Subject(s) - benthic zone , radiocarbon dating , sediment , geology , seafloor spreading , flux (metallurgy) , sedimentary rock , pelagic zone , oceanography , mixing (physics) , deep sea , pelagic sediment , total organic carbon , bioturbation , carbon cycle , paleontology , mineralogy , ecosystem , chemistry , ecology , physics , quantum mechanics , biology , organic chemistry , environmental chemistry
Radiocarbon dating series, bulk sediment, and organic carbon flux from various Atlantic deep‐sea regions reveal that the thickness of the bioturbated zone increases by 2 cm if food supply increases by 1 gCm −2 yr −1 (r = 0.8). Bulk sediment accumulation rates do not influence the depth of bioturbational mixing under normal pelagic sedimentary conditions. We believe that this relationship between nutrient supply and benthic mixing can be used for a quantitative and time‐variable unmixing procedure to improve high‐resolution stratigraphic correlations and paleoclimatic interpretations of deep‐sea records.