Fluxes of Dissolved Organic Matter from Marine Sediments

无机营养物的底栖生物通量在海洋环境中的碳和氮循环中起着重要作用。与此同时，来自海洋沉积物的溶解有机质（DOM）通量是沉积有机质再矿化的一个难以量化的组成部分，与这些无机底栖生物通量相比，它可能很重要。该领域研究的长期目标是研究DOM底栖生物通量与沉积有机质早期成岩作用相关过程的定量关系。本研究最初将使用以下方法来解决这些目标：Old Dominion大学DOC和DON高温催化氧化分析技术的发展；2. 在切萨皮克湾沉积物研究中制定测定DOM底栖生物通量的程序；和3。海洋沉积物中DOM特征的初步研究。

Benthic fluxes of inorganic nutrients are known to play important roles in carbon and nitrogen cycling in the marine environment. At the same time fluxes of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from marine sediments represent a poorly quantified component of sedimentary organic matter remineralization that may be significant when compared to these inorganic benthic fluxes. The long-term goals of studies in this area are to examine benthic fluxes of DOM in terms of their quantitative relationship to processes associated with the early diagenesis of sedimentary organic matter. This research initially will address these goals using the following approach: 1. development of the high temperature catalytic oxidation techniques for DOC and DON analyses at Old Dominion University; 2. development of procedures for the determination of benthic fluxes of DOM in studies of Chesapeake Bay sediments; and 3. preliminary studies characterizing DOM in marine sediments.