Ocean bottom sediments as an active carbon pool.

Abstract:

Bottom deposits of oceans, seas and lakes are long term carbon sinks - particulate organic carbon falls to the bottom where it is covered by sediments and preserved by anoxic conditions. However, the upper horizons of these deep sediments (‘active layer’) interact with bottom waters through diffusion, bubbling of gasses and bioturbation and can thus also act as temporary carbon sources given favorable environment conditions.

Oxygen diffusion is the main factor that limits organic decomposition in bottom deposits.

Depth of diffusion depends on porosity of sediments and rates of oxygen consumption in the upper horizons. Amplified organic rain leads to higher oxygen demand and, consequently, to a thinner oxic horizon in the bottom sediments. Declined ocean productivity, in contrast, allows oxygen to diffuse deeper into the bottom sediments and remobilizes previously preserved carbon. Therefore a substantial decline in ocean productivity during glacial periods could cause ocean sediments to shift abruptly from a carbon sink to a considerable carbon source.

To estimate the effects of the phenomena described above, we present a model of the dynamics and vertical distribution of organic carbon in ocean sediments that considers the input of organic rain, sediments porosity, oxygen availability, rates of sedimentation to the ocean floor and bioturbation. The model enables quantification of bulk carbon storage, carbon distribution within the ‘active layer’, and the flux of carbon from the upper sediment horizons to deeper deposits as sediments accumulate on the ocean floor.

Applying our model, we find that during glacial periods, decreased ocean productivity led to the mobilization of old carbon previously stored within anoxic horizons. Under this scenario, carbon transfer from sediments to ocean waters would have exceeded 10 kg/m². Our study therefore, suggests that the ocean floor is not merely a passive buffer in the global carbon cycle, but instead an active pool which played an important role in the past.