Concentration and Carbon Isotopic Composition of Dissolved Organic Carbon in Deep Sea Pore Waters

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The role of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the benthic carbon cycle of the deep sea will be defined by determining both the pore water concentration and the benthic flux of DOC. Six stations will be visited along a transect from Woods Hole MA, to Bermuda. Carbon isotopic composition will be determined for pore water DOC and the DOC flux. These measurements together with the results of a separately funded study of organic matter decomposition and calcium carbonated dissolution at the same sites, will yield the first complete mass and isotopic budgets for carbon at the sea floor. In addition to providing the first quantitative estimate of DOC fluxes out of the sediments, these results are expected to (1) resolve an outstanding imbalance in present benthic stable isotope budgets, (2) constrain the role of bottom water carbonate ion in the neutralization of metabolic acids, and (3) help to define the source of food for the benthos.