Carbonate budget of cold-water coral mounds along a latitudinal transect

冷水珊瑚 (CWC) 生态系统遍布世界大陆边缘，有可能形成土丘，其伸长可达数公里，高度可达 350 m。迄今为止，对这些现代沉积系统的研究主要集中在其生态学、形态学和海洋学方面。人们对作为碳酸盐工厂和汇的 CWC 生态系统、其在全球碳（即二氧化碳）循环中的作用以及该系统如何随着时间的推移而发展以及对过去的气候变化做出反应知之甚少。后者受到重力核心的短缺以及缺乏可靠的年龄超过 500ka 的沉积物测年方法的限制。根据现有的核心材料，拟议项目将首次评估从挪威北部到毛里塔尼亚的纬度横断面冷水珊瑚工厂的碳酸盐预算，其中还包括地中海和墨西哥湾/佛罗里达海峡的例子。除了不同海洋环境对碳酸盐预算的影响外，重点还在于 CWC 丘省内和之间的变化。此外，还将测试电子自旋共振来测定冷水珊瑚的年代。该方法提供了对年龄超过 500ka 的珊瑚进行年代测定的机会，并可能为进一步深钻 CWC 土丘活动提供重要先决条件。

Cold-water coral (CWC) ecosystems are represented along the world’s continental margins and have the potential to build mounds, which reach sizes of up to several kilometres in elongation and heights of up to 350 m. So far, research on these modern sedimentary systems concentrated on their ecology, morphology and oceanography. Little is known about the CWC ecosystem as carbonate factory and sink, its role in the global carbon, hence CO2, cycle and how the system developed through time and responded to past climate changes.The latter is limited by the shortness of gravity cores and the lack of reliable dating methods for deposits older than 500 ka. Based on existing core material, the proposed project will evaluate for the first time the carbonate budget of the cold-water coral factory along a latitudinal transect from northern Norway down to Mauritania including also examples from the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Mexico/Strait of Florida. Beside the influence of different oceanographic settings on the carbonate budget, a focus is set on intra and inter CWC mound province variations. Additionally, electron spin resonance will be tested for dating cold-water corals. The method provides the opportunity to date corals older than 500 ka and might provide an import prerequisite for further deep drilling CWC mound campaigns.