Abstract
Cycling and Accumulation of Biogenic Silica and Organic Matter in High-Latitude Environments: The Ross Sea
Highlights
Of the oceanic 2 × 1014 (g organic C) y-l; Romankevich, 1"984).The high rates ofbiogenic silica accumulation in the Southern Ocean initially were thought to result from high rates of primary production; direct measurements of primary production made during the past two decades (e.g., E1-Sayed et al, 1983; Holm-Hansen et al, 1977) typically indicate that the rates in the Southern Ocean are low to moderate
Biogenic-silica-to-organic-carbon mass ratios in trap samples from Sites A and C increase with depth, from values of 2-5 at 50 m below the sea surface to values of 10-50 at 40 m above the seafloor. It appears that considerable decoupling of organic C and silica occurs during settling through the water column, in part because of oxidative loss of organic carbon
One of the unique aspects of this study is that it brings together all of the necessary flux measurements to assess the cycling of biogenic silica and organic matter both in the water column and seabed
Summary
Biogenic-silica-to-organic-carbon mass ratios in trap samples from Sites A and C increase with depth, from values of 2-5 at 50 m below the sea surface to values of 10-50 at 40 m above the seafloor It appears that considerable decoupling of organic C and silica occurs during settling through the water column, in part because of oxidative loss of organic carbon. During most periods when time-synchronous samples are available, near-bottom biogenic silica and lithogenic fluxes in the western Ross Sea are larger than in the upper water column (231 m depth). This is the opposite of the trend observed in the central.
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