Wr. Martin et Fl. Sayles, CACO3 DISSOLUTION IN SEDIMENTS OF THE CEARA RISE, WESTERN EQUATORIAL ATLANTIC, Geochimica et cosmochimica acta, 60(2), 1996, pp. 243-263
We have used porewater sampling by in situ techniques, including whole
-core squeezing, as well as by shipboard sectioning and whole-core squ
eezing to estimate the rates of sedimentary organic matter oxidation a
nd CaCO3 dissolution at seven sites on the Ceara Rise in the western e
quatorial Atlantic Ocean. Porewater NO3- profiles at all sites show a
pattern indicative of active organic matter oxidation in the upper 15-
20 cm of the sediments and in a buried, organic-rich layer. The organi
c C oxidation rate generally decreases with increasing water depth, fr
om a value of 22 mu mol/cm(2)/y at the shallowest site (3279 m) to 14
mu mol/cm(2)/y at the deepest site (4675 m). Over this depth range, th
e bottomwaters vary from moderately supersaturated with respect to cal
cite to strongly undersaturated. High-resolution alkalinity profiles,
measured in porewaters collected by in situ whole-core squeezing, yiel
d estimated Ca2+ fluxes of 11 mu mol/cm(2)/y at a site located at the
depth of the calcite saturation horizon, and 7.6 mu mol/cm(2)/y at a m
oderately undersaturated site, Ca2+ fluxes calculated from profiles in
porewaters collected by relatively coarse-resolution in situ sampling
methods clearly indicate that there is CaCO3 dissolution above the ca
lcite saturation horizon. The dissolution of aragonite may contribute
to the dissolution flux at the shallowest site. These Ca2+ fluxes, as
well as fluxes estimated from a model of sedimentary organic matter ox
idation and calcite dissolution, indicate that 36-66% of the CaCO3 rai
n to the seafloor dissolves at sites at and above the calcite saturati
on horizon, while 52-75% of the rain dissolves at sites below this dep
th. When these results are incorporated into the oceanic CaCO3 budget
of Milliman (1993), they indicate that 35% of CaCO3 production is pres
erved in the deep sea,hey suggest a CaCO3 accumulation rate that is 27
% lower than that estimated by Milliman (1993). Our C-org oxidation/Ca
CO3 dissolution model indicates that a large fraction of the CaCO3 dis
solution that is occurring on the Ceara Rise is attributable to the ne
utralization of metabolic acids produced during organic matter oxidati
on. The efficiency with which organic matter oxidation dissolves CaCO3
(that is, the ratio, CaCO3 dissolution attributable to organic matter
oxidation:organic matter oxidation rate) generally increases as degre
e of undersaturation of bottomwaters increases, However, there are dev
iations from the general trend that can be attributed to site-to-site
variations in the kinetics of organic matter oxidation and calcite dis
solution. This result indicates that the dissolution of CaCO3 as a res
ult of organic matter oxidation in the deep sea may mask the effects o
f variations in surface water CaCO3 productivity and bottomwater chemi
stry on the accumulation rate of CaCO3 in deep-sea sediments.