REU: The Kinetics of Organic Matter Diagenesis: Control byBiomass Dynamics or Polymer Lability

虽然微生物通常被认为是 沉积物中有机质成矿的催化剂很少 已经考虑到以下方面的相对重要性： 微生物生物量，无论是从静态或动态的角度来看。 事实上，微生物生物量被认为是可忽略的或 总沉积物有机质中不重要的成分。 这一观点没有得到证实，很可能是不正确的。 一些实验证据表明，生物量可能 以前被低估了，生物量和 生物合成可能是显着的相比，每年有机 输入，而且在很大程度上，沉积有机质 生物质可以是生物质形成的中间产物或终产物， 植物营养素或其他物质输入的矿化 源 这一观点与公认的观点有很大不同。 一种将矿化作用仅仅视为 原藻不同组分的不稳定性 碎屑输入 这一不稳定性假设将通过以下方式进行检验： 确定1）井下矿化的动力学和2） 生物埋藏或保存的程度。

Although microorganisms have often been considered the catalysts of organic matter mineralization in sediments, little consideration has been given to the relative significance of microbial biomass, either from a static or dynamic perspective. In fact, microbial biomass is regarded as a negligible or inconsequential component of total sediment organic matter. This view has not been substantiated and may well be incorrect. Several lines of experimental evidence suggest that biomass may have been previously underestimated, that biomass and biosynthesis may be significant compared to annual organic inputs, and that to a large extent, sedimentary organic matter may be an intermediate or endproduct of biomass formed during the mineralization of inputs from phytoplanktonic or other sources. This view is substantially different from accepted dogma which treats mineralization solely as a function of the lability of different fractions of a the original algal detritus inputs. This lability hypothesis will be tested by determining 1) the kinetics of downcore mineralization and 2) the extent of organic burial or preservation.