Benthic Fluxes of Biogeochemically Active Materials on the JGOFS Transect in the Central Equatorial Pacific

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Diagenesis on the seafloor and in the upper portion of the sediment column regulates the relative fractions of the particulate rain to the seafloor that are buried in sediments or remineralized and recycled into the overlying water column. The relative magnitute of the recycled flux can be assessed by direct measurement of benthic exchange using in situ incubation chambers, complemented by studies of pore water and solid phase chemistry. As part of the JGOFS program direct flux measurements of radon, nutrients, calcium, alkalinity, and oxygen will be carried out under this project. In addition, incubation chamber samples will be collected for studies of the trace metal and DOM fluxes by other investigators. Results from these studies will serve to relate diagenesis on the seafloor and in the sediments to JGOFS measurements of productivity and particle rain rate. They will assist in interpreting the paleoceanographic record preserved in sediments and in understanding the importance of processes at the seafloor in the global biogeochemical fluxes of carbon and nutrients.