Increased petrogenic and biospheric organic carbon burial in sub‐Antarctic fjord sediments in response to recent glacier retreat

Exploring the Growing Role of Terrestrial Carbon Across North Atlantic Fjords

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-9393 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Craig Smeaton ◽

William Austin

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Marine Environment ◽

North Atlantic ◽

Planetary Science ◽

Terrestrial Environment ◽

Carbon Burial ◽

Organic Carbon Burial ◽

Fjord Sediments

Fjords are recognized as globally significant hotspots for the burial (Smith et al., 2015) and long-term storage (Smeaton et al., 2017) of marine and terrestrially derived organic carbon (OC). By trapping and locking away OC over geological timescales, fjord sediments provide a potentially important yet largely overlooked climate regulation service. The proximity of fjords to the terrestrial environment in combination with their geomorphology and hydrography results in the fjordic sediments being subsidized with organic carbon (OC) from the terrestrial environment. This terrestrial OC (OCterr) transferred to the marine environment has traditionally be considered lost to the atmosphere in the form of CO2 in most carbon (C) accounting schemes yet globally it is estimated that 55% of OC trapped in fjord sediments is derived from terrestrial sources (Cui et al., 2016). So is this terrestrial OC truly lost? Here, we estimate the quantity of OCterr held within North Atlantic fjords with the aim of better understanding the recent and long-term role of the terrestrial environment in the evolution of these globally significant sedimentary OC stores. By understanding this subsidy of OC from the terrestrial to the marine environment we can take the first steps in quantifying the terrestrial OC stored in fjords and the wider coastal marine environment.Cui, X., Bianchi, T.S., Savage, C. and Smith, R.W., 2016. Organic carbon burial in fjords: Terrestrial versus marine inputs.&#160;Earth and Planetary Science Letters,&#160;451, pp.41-50.Smeaton, C., Austin, W.E., Davies, A., Baltzer, A., Howe, J.A. and Baxter, J.M., 2017. Scotland's forgotten carbon: a national assessment of mid-latitude fjord sedimentary stocks.&#160;Biogeosciences.Smith, R.W., Bianchi, T.S., Allison, M., Savage, C. and Galy, V., 2015. High rates of organic carbon burial in fjord sediments globally.&#160;Nature Geoscience,&#160;8(6), p.450.&#160;

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High rates of organic carbon burial in fjord sediments globally

Nature Geoscience ◽

10.1038/ngeo2421 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (6) ◽

pp. 450-453 ◽

Cited By ~ 159

Author(s):

Richard W. Smith ◽

Thomas S. Bianchi ◽

Mead Allison ◽

Candida Savage ◽

Valier Galy

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Carbon Burial ◽

Organic Carbon Burial ◽

Fjord Sediments

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Past climate variations recorded in needle-like aragonites correlate with organic carbon burial efficiency as revealed by lake sediments in Croatia

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-87166-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Ivan Razum ◽

Petra Bajo ◽

Dea Brunović ◽

Nikolina Ilijanić ◽

Ozren Hasan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Stable Carbon Isotope ◽

Climate Variations ◽

Before Present ◽

Stable Carbon ◽

Climate Trends ◽

Geochemical Proxies ◽

Carbon Burial ◽

Organic Carbon Burial ◽

Burial Efficiency

AbstractThe drivers of organic carbon (OC) burial efficiency are still poorly understood despite their key role in reliable projections of future climate trends. Here, we provide insights on this issue by presenting a paleoclimate time series of sediments, including the OC contents, from Lake Veliko jezero, Croatia. The Sr/Ca ratios of the bulk sediment are mainly derived from the strontium (Sr) and calcium (Ca) concentrations of needle-like aragonite in Core M1-A and used as paleotemperature and paleohydrology indicators. Four major and six minor cold and dry events were detected in the interval from 8.3 to 2.6 calibrated kilo anno before present (cal ka BP). The combined assessment of Sr/Ca ratios, OC content, carbon/nitrogen (C/N) ratios, stable carbon isotope (δ13C) ratios, and modeled geochemical proxies for paleoredox conditions and aeolian input revealed that cold and dry climate states promoted anoxic conditions in the lake, thereby enhancing organic matter preservation and increasing the OC burial efficiency. Our study shows that the projected future increase in temperature might play an important role in the OC burial efficiency of meromictic lakes.

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Organic carbon burial rates across the Arctic Ocean from the 1994 Arctic Ocean Section expedition

Deep Sea Research Part II Topical Studies in Oceanography ◽

10.1016/s0967-0645(97)00065-9 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 44 (8) ◽

pp. 1705-1723 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Ray E. Cranston

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Arctic Ocean ◽

The Arctic ◽

Carbon Burial ◽

Organic Carbon Burial ◽

The Arctic Ocean ◽

Burial Rates

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Climate influence on organic carbon burial efficiency as revealed from a multi-proxy lake sediment record in Croatia

10.1002/essoar.10504565.1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ivan Razum ◽

Petra Bajo ◽

Dea Brunović ◽

Nikolina Ilijanić ◽

Ozren Hasan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Lake Sediment ◽

Sediment Record ◽

Carbon Burial ◽

Organic Carbon Burial ◽

Burial Efficiency

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Long-term Aptian marine osmium isotopic record of Ontong Java Nui activity

Geology ◽

10.1130/g48863.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hironao Matsumoto ◽

Rodolfo Coccioni ◽

Fabrizio Frontalini ◽

Kotaro Shirai ◽

Luigi Jovane ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Volcanic Eruptions ◽

Hydrothermal Activity ◽

Published Data ◽

Isotopic Data ◽

Oceanic Plateaus ◽

Carbon Burial ◽

Organic Carbon Burial ◽

Isotopic Records

The early to mid-Aptian was punctuated by episodic phases of organic-carbon burial in various oceanographic settings, which are possibly related to massive volcanism associated with the emplacement of the Ontong Java, Manihiki, and Hikurangi oceanic plateaus in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, inferred to have formed a single plateau called Ontong Java Nui. Sedimentary osmium (Os) isotopic compositions are one of the best proxies for determining the timing of voluminous submarine volcanic episodes. However, available Os isotopic records during the age are limited to a narrow interval in the earliest Aptian, which is insufficient for the reconstruction of long-term hydrothermal activity. We document the early to mid-Aptian Os isotopic record using pelagic Tethyan sediments deposited in the Poggio le Guaine (Umbria-Marche Basin, Italy) to precisely constrain the timing of massive volcanic episodes and to assess their impact on the marine environment. Our new Os isotopic data reveal three shifts to unradiogenic values, two of which correspond to black shale horizons in the lower to mid-Aptian, namely the Wezel (herein named) and Fallot Levels. These Os isotopic excursions are ascribed to massive inputs of unradiogenic Os to the ocean through hydrothermal activity. Combining the new Os isotopic record with published data from the lowermost Aptian organic-rich interval in the Gorgo a Cerbara section of the Umbria-Marche Basin, it can be inferred that Ontong Java Nui volcanic eruptions persisted for ~5 m.y. during the early to mid-Aptian.

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Organic Carbon Burial in Lakes and Reservoirs of the Conterminous United States

Environmental Science & Technology ◽

10.1021/acs.est.5b00373 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 49 (13) ◽

pp. 7614-7622 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

David W. Clow ◽

Sarah M. Stackpoole ◽

Kristine L. Verdin ◽

David E. Butman ◽

Zhiliang Zhu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Carbon Burial ◽

Organic Carbon Burial ◽

Lakes And Reservoirs

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Mechanism and geochemical implications of the Late Holocene organic carbon burial event: an example from the southwest coast of India

Environmental Earth Sciences ◽

10.1007/s12665-009-0127-0 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 59 (7) ◽

pp. 1409-1416 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

B. Ajaykumar ◽

Mahesh Mohan ◽

M. S. Shylesh Chandran ◽

K. K. Jayasooryan ◽

K. S. Unni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Late Holocene ◽

Southwest Coast Of India ◽

Southwest Coast ◽

Carbon Burial ◽

Organic Carbon Burial

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Enhanced paleo-wildfire occurrences caused by marine organic carbon burial during the Late Devonian Frasnian–Famennian mass extinction

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-10132 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Man Lu ◽

YueHan Lu ◽

Takehitio Ikejiri ◽

Richard Carroll

Keyword(s):

Organic Carbon ◽

Mass Extinction ◽

Atmospheric Oxygen ◽

Burial Rate ◽

Carbon Burial ◽

Chattanooga Shale ◽

Chemical Index ◽

Organic Carbon Burial ◽

Polycyclic Aromatic ◽

Extinction Events

The Frasnian&#8211;Famennian (F&#8211;F) boundary is characterized by worldwide depositions of organic-rich strata, a series of marine anoxia events and one of the biggest five mass extinction events of the Phanerozoic. Due to the enhanced burial of organic matter, a coeval positive carbon isotope (&#948;13C) excursion occurred around the F&#8211;F boundary, raising questions about carbon cycle feedbacks during the mass extinction. In this study, we test the hypothesis that enhanced burial organic carbon during the F&#8211;F mass extinction led to the rise of paleo-wildfire occurrences. Here, we reconstructed paleo-wildfire changes across the F&#8211;F boundary via analyzing fossil charcoal (inertinites) and pyrogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from an Upper Devonian Chattanooga Shale in the southern Appalachian Basin. Our data show low abundances of inertinites and pyrogenic PAHs before the F&#8211;F transition and an increasing trend during the F&#8211;F transition, followed by a sustained enhancement through the entire Famennian interval. The changes in paleo-wildfire proxies suggest a rise of wildfires starting from the F&#8211;F transition. Furthermore, we quantified the amount of organic carbon burial required to drive the observed &#948;13C excursion using a forward box model. The modeling results show an increased carbon burial rate after the onset of the F&#8211;F transition and peaking during its termination. The comparison of the carbon burial rate and wildfire proxies indicates that widespread organic carbon burial during the F&#8211;F transition might cause elevated atmospheric oxygen levels and hence increased occurrences of wildfires. In addition, chemical index alteration index and plant biomarkers suggest a drying climate initiated during the F&#8211;F transition, implying that the enhanced carbon burial probably result in the climate change and amplify the wildfire occurrences.

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