Remineralization of Biogenic Material at the Seafloor: Temporal and Spatial Variability

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Remineralization of Biogenic Material at the Seafloor: Temporal and Spatial Variability Temporal variability of fluxes across the sediment-water interface at the GOFS Bermuda Time Series Site will be measured to characterize the bentic cycles of biogenic sediment components of an oligotrophic gyre. Data collected to date demonstrate that there is large temporal variability, and that the cycle closely parallels that of particulate fluxes. The relationship between particle fluxes, fluxes across the interface and the amplitude of variability will be used to characterize the occurrence, reactivity and significance of "labile" organic carbon remineralization at this site. In addition, experiments seek to define the stoichiometry, rates, and location in the sediment column of diagenetic reactions affecting organic matter, CaCO3, and biogenic SiO2. The data should uniquely define the response of benthic processes to varying conditions in the water column and surface ocean. Studies of organic matter degradation and CaCOO3 dissolution will be extended to a regional scale with a transect of the Western North Atlantic continental margin. This research seeks to define the amounts and rate of diagenetic dissolution of CaCO above the lysocline, as well as the factors that influence this aspect of the CaCO3 cycle in the oceans