Deposition of bomb super(14)C in continental slope sediments of the Mid-Atlantic Bight: assessing organic matter sources and burial rates

As part of the Ocean Margins Program (OMP), organic carbon super(14)C measurements have been made on benthic fauna and kasten core sediments from the North Carolina continental slope. These analyses are used to evaluate the nature and burial flux of organic matter in the OMP study area off Cape Hatt...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Deep-sea research. Part II, Topical studies in oceanography Topical studies in oceanography, 2002-01, Vol.49 (20), p.4667-4685
Main Authors: DeMaster, D J, Thomas, C J, Blair, N E, nes, W L, Plaia, G, Levin, LA
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Marine
Polychaeta
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Summary:As part of the Ocean Margins Program (OMP), organic carbon super(14)C measurements have been made on benthic fauna and kasten core sediments from the North Carolina continental slope. These analyses are used to evaluate the nature and burial flux of organic matter in the OMP study area off Cape Hatteras. Despite the fact that surface sediment super(14)C contents ranged from 41 to 215 per mil, the benthic fauna (primarily polychaetes) all contained significant amounts of bomb- super(14)C (body tissue super(14)C contents ranging from +20 to +82 per mil). Bomb- super(14)C clearly is reaching the seabed on the North Carolina slope, and the labile planktonic material carrying this signal is a primary source of nutrition to the benthic ecosystem. The enrichment of super(14)C in benthic faunal tissue relative to the super(14)C content of bulk surface-sediment organic matter (a difference of similar to 150 per mil) is attributed to a combination of particle selection and selective digestive processes.
ISSN:0967-0645