Benthic Carbon Oxidation, Denitrification, and Nitrogen Isotope Fractionation in Continental Margin Sediments

底栖碳氧化、反硝化和底栖通量将 在大陆坡和更深的大陆边缘进行研究 太平洋西北海岸和西海岸的沉积物 墨西哥 以前在华盛顿州的工作表明， 大量的预期碳雨进入陆架沉积物 从架子上扫下来，没有积累或被氧化， 上斜坡。 其他人则认为， 大陆坡坡底附近的沉积物 高，这些沉积物占了大部分， 海洋盆地沉积物总代谢。 作为高沉积碳 氧化经常伴随着脱氮， 反硝化作用在斜坡和更深的沉积物中可能是重要的， 海洋氮平衡 具体问题将 解决的是：1）什么是碳氧化速率和 陆坡和深大陆边相关底栖生物通量 沉积物，速率非常高， 通量与诸如深度、距海岸的距离以及 溶解氧？ 2)反硝化作用的大小是多少？ 这些沉积物？ 3）同位素的大小是多少？ 反硝化过程中的分馏，它是否取决于 反硝化作用发生在沉积物或水中 专栏？

Benthic carbon oxidation, denitrification, and benthic fluxes will be studied in continental slope and deeper continental margin sediments off the Pacific Northwest coast and the coast of western Mexico. Previous work off Washington State indicates that a significant amount of the expected carbon rain to shelf sediments is swept off the shelf and is not accumulating or being oxidized on the upper slope. Others have suggested carbon oxidation in sediments near the base off the continental slope is anomalously high and that these sediments account for a major portion of the total ocean basin sediment metabolism. As high sedimentary carbon oxidation is frequently accompanied by denitrification, denitrification in slope and deeper sediments could be important in the marine combined nitrogen budget. Specific questions to be addressed are: 1) What are the carbon oxidation rates and associated benthic fluxes in slope and deeper continental margin sediments, are rates anomalously high, and are there relationships between flux and variables such as depth, distance from shore, and dissolved oxygen? 2) What is the magnitude of denitrification in these sediments? and 3) What is the magnitude of the isotopic fractionation during denitrification and does it depend on whether the denitrification takes place in the sediments or in the water column?