Do clay mineralss influence the burial and preservation of organic carbon on geologic timescales?

沉积物中有机碳的固存是碳循环的主要长期调节因子之一。它通过二氧化碳调节温室气体，影响重要的参数，如大气中的氧气水平以及生物圈的温度。地质沉积物中碳埋藏的记录确定了碳循环中过去的扰动，并提供了对变化范围和主要控制因素的关键观点。本研究的目的是探讨现代沉积物中碳保存的矿物-表面控制机制，并观察其是否适用于岩石记录。这项研究包括对蒙特雷组绿河页岩中选定的富有机沉积物的研究，以及大西洋德梅拉隆起的海洋钻探项目岩心。这些样品跨越了广泛的沉积环境、水化学和成岩条件。矿物表面积、阳离子交换电位和有机碳含量将被测量和检查相关性。沉积铁和S以及有机和同位素生物标志物的信息也将用于检查沉积氧化还原条件。这项工作的广泛影响是很高的，包括国际合作，研究和教育的强大整合，包括围绕研究项目建立硕士课程，以及学生培训。本研究对油气源岩的勘探也有一定的指导意义。

The sequestration of organic carbon in sediments is one of the principle long-term regulators of the carbon cycle. It influences important parameters such as the level of atmospheric oxygen as well as the temperature of the biosphere through greenhouse gas regulation via CO2. The record of carbon burial in geological deposits identifies past perturbations in the carbon cycle and provides a critical perspective on the range of variation and insight in to the dominant controls. The purpose of this research is to investigate the mineral-surface-control mechanism responsible for carbon preservation in modern sediments and see if it applies to the rock record. This research involves the study of selected organic rich sediments from the Green River Shale, Monterrey Formation, and Ocean Drilling Program cores from the Demerra Rise in the Atlantic Ocean. These samples span a broad range of depositional environments, water chemistry, and diagenetic conditions. Mineral surface area, cation exchange potential, and organic carbon contents will be measured and examined for correlations. Sedimentary Fe and S and information on organic and isotopic biomarkers will also be used to examine depositional redox conditions. Broader impacts of the work are high and include international collaboration, strong integration of research and education that includes building a master's level course around the research project, and student training. The work also has implications for the exploration of petroleum source rocks.