Benthic Cycling and Accumulation of Organic Matter, Biogenic Opal, and CaCO3 in the JGOFS Southern Ocean Study Areas

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The record of the processes involved in carbon cycling in the oceanic water column are often preserved in the underlying sediments. This project aims to characterize benthic remineralization, burial, and the role of benthic processes in the cycling of organic matter, biogenic opal, and calcium carbonate in sediments of the Antarctic Polar Front and the Ross Sea as part of the U.S.JGOFS Southern Ocean Process Study. The team of investigators will accomplish this by measuring the vertical profiles of the particulate and dissolved forms of these substances in sediment cores along with a natural radioactive tracer (Lead-210). The isotopic measurements will allow the chemical measurements to be transformed into reaction rates.