Glacial atmospheric CO2 decline in association with decrease of marine sedimentary phosphorus

The environmental and biogeochemical information extracted from the sediments collected from the northern shelf of the South China Sea shows that terrigenous inputs of phosphorus into the sea remained relatively constant, and the variation of phosphorus contents at different depths was caused by cli...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science China. Earth sciences 2006-03, Vol.49 (3), p.322-330
Main Authors: Weng, Huanxin, Zhang, Xingmao, Wu, Nengyou, Wang, Ying, Chen, Lihong, Zhong, Hexian, Qin, Yachao
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
atmospheric
biogeochemistry
Cadmium
calcium
Calcium carbonate
Carbon dioxide
carbonate
China
CO2
Environmental changes
northern
Phosphorus
Phosphorus content
Sea
Seawater
sedimentary
shelf
South
the
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Summary:The environmental and biogeochemical information extracted from the sediments collected from the northern shelf of the South China Sea shows that terrigenous inputs of phosphorus into the sea remained relatively constant, and the variation of phosphorus contents at different depths was caused by climatic and environmental changes. The findings also suggest that the vertical variation of phosphorus content was opposite to those of calcium carbonate and cadmium, and the functional correlation between CO2 and PO43? in seawater was given by calculating the chemical equilibrium, indicating that the accumulation of marine sedimentary phosphorus may have something to do with the variation of atmospheric CO2. The decreased phosphorus accumulation as well as the correspondingly-increased calcium carbonate content might be one of key factors causing glacial atmospheric CO2 decline.
ISSN:1674-7313
1006-9313
1869-1897
1862-2801
DOI:10.1007/s11430-006-0322-8