FLUXES AND MASSES OF ORGANIC-CARBON IN TH E OCEAN

The fluxes and masses of organic matter (OM) in the ocean were evaluat ed based on an analysis of data obtained by the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology as well as on published data on the content of dissolved an d particulate organic carbon in the surface layer of bottom sediments, in phytoplankton biomass, and in material introduced into the ocean f rom the land. The total influx of terrigenous OM from the land is esti mated at 0.66 x 10(15) g C. The major contributors to the influx are r iver discharge of dissolved (210 x 10(12) g C-org/yr) and particulate (250 x 10(12) g C-org/yr) matter and eolian precipitation (174 x 10(12 ) g C-org/yr). New data on primary productivity in the ocean (60 x 10( 15) g C-org/yr) and the amount of organic C buried in the marginal (15 0-240 x 10(12)) and deep-ocean (10 x 10(12) g C-org/yr) sediments are discussed. The fossilization coefficients of OM in sediments at the oc ean margin (0.8-1.3%), in the deep ocean (0.02%), and the world oceans as a whole (0.3-0.4%) are calculated.