Characteristics of sedimentary organic carbon burial in the shallow conduit portion of source-to-sink sedimentary systems in marginal seas

Tao, Shuqin; Wang, Aijun; Liu, James T.; Xiang, Yu‐Tao; Blattmann, Thomas M.; Chang, Ran; Liu, Zitong; Wang, Liang; Yin, Xijie; Zhang, Hailong; Li, Li; Ning, Xiaoyan; Hung, Chin‐Chang; Haghipour, Negar

doi:10.1016/j.gca.2023.05.006

Cited by 6 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 107 publications

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“…Most organic carbon will either decompose or remain suspended in the aquatic environment, participating in various biochemical or physical processes. [101] (unpublished) 0.83 ± 0.17…”

Section: Implications For Organic Carbon Cycling and Budgets In Mrementioning

confidence: 99%

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Characteristics of Sedimentary Organic Matter in Tidal Estuaries: A Case Study from the Minjiang River Estuary

Tao

Xiang

et al. 2023

Water

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As one of the main interfaces of the Earth system, estuaries show the strongest land–sea interaction in the carbon cycle, which links terrestrial ecosystems to the marginal sea. Furthermore, estuaries are considered as one of the most active intermediate reservoirs for both terrestrial and marine matter due to complex hydrodynamic processes regulated by the river runoff, wave and tide. Processing of organic matter (OM) in tidal estuaries modifies its transfer and transformation from the river to the sea, so studies of on the source and distributions of estuarine OM can help us understand the behavior of production, exchange, transport and burial of diverse OM within this transition zone before entering the marginal sea. In this paper, we took the Minjiang River Estuary (MRE) as a typical system in which there is strong influence of the tide. The source, composition and spatial distribution of OM in surface sediments of MRE were deciphered based on multiple organic geochemical properties for source-specific biomarkers (n-alkanes, n-alkanols, sterols) and bulk OM. Results show that sedimentary organic components were negatively correlated with sediment grain size, which indicates fine particles such as silt and clay are the major carriers of the OM signals in tidal estuaries. Source-specific biomarker proxies indicate that in terms of source diversity the sedimentary OM in the MRE shows mixed signals of terrestrial and marine sources, and the proportion of terrestrial OM decreases with the increase in distance from the land. The fractional contributions of OM from the riverine (i.e., terrestrial), marine and deltaic sources were quantitatively estimated using a Monte Carlo (MC) three-end-member mixing model based on C/N and δ13C values, and the average contributions of the three sources are 40 ± 10%, 48 ± 10% and 12 ± 4%, respectively, with little contribution from deltaic sources. The dispersion of sedimentary OM from different sources in the MRE is primarily controlled by the depositional environment determined by dynamic conditions and tidal processes play a significant role in the redistribution of sedimentary OM dispersion patterns. Compared with other large estuaries in southeast China, the OM accumulation contribution in the tide dominated small and medium-sized estuaries such as the MRE which is largely dependent on riverine and marine deliveries. The MRE has a high potential for both terrestrial and marine organic carbon (OC) burial, with an accumulation rate of 3.39 ± 1.83 mg cm−2 yr−1 for terrestrial OC, and an accumulation rate of 3.18 ± 0.68 mg cm−2 yr−1 for marine OC in muddy sediment, making it an important contributor to the sedimentary carbon sink of the marginal sea.

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“…Most organic carbon will either decompose or remain suspended in the aquatic environment, participating in various biochemical or physical processes. [101] (unpublished) 0.83 ± 0.17…”

Section: Implications For Organic Carbon Cycling and Budgets In Mrementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The detailed methods for extraction, purification and isolation of target biomarkers have been provided and modified based on Tao et al (2022) [25]. About 5 g of unacidified ground sample was weighed into a sample vial and biomarker internal standards (n-C 24 D 50 , n-C 19 alkanol, and n-C 19 fatty acid) were added.…”

Section: Biomarker Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Characteristics of Sedimentary Organic Matter in Tidal Estuaries: A Case Study from the Minjiang River Estuary

Tao

Xiang

et al. 2023

Water

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“…In contrast, planktonic origin constitutes less than 30% of the sedimentary OC throughout the broad shelf. Our estimate represents an upper bound on the amount of resuspended POC in the East China Sea, as it does not account for several factors, including: (a) relict and episodic deposition of high OC petro fractions (Tian et al, 2019;Zhu et al, 2013), (b) possible sources from the Yellow River or near Taiwan particles (Bao et al, 2018;Tao et al, 2023), (c) reoxidation of resuspended POC during shelf transport ("priming" effects; Bianchi, 2011;Griffith et al, 2010), and (d) some refractory POC from residual marine components that we are unable to address here. Although additional sampling may refine our estimates, the characteristics of remobilized POC provide insights into the composition of sedimentary OC in shelf depocenters.…”

Section: Impact Of Sediment Resuspension On the Aging Of Terrestrial ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment Resuspension Accelerates the Recycling of Terrestrial Organic Carbon at a Large River‐Coastal Ocean Interface

Sun,

Hu,

Fan

et al. 2024

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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Widespread sediment resuspension and transport processes on continental margins can modify deposits and influence the preservation of particulate organic carbon (POC) in marine sediments. However, it remains unclear how post‐depositional processes interact with physical mineral protection to affect the transport and fate of terrestrial POC along the river‐estuary‐shelf paths. Here, we synthesized literature data and newly obtained results from multiple analyses of sedimentology, mineralogy, and inorganic and organic geochemical tracers. Our goal was to quantitatively evaluate the impact of sediment reworking on the redistribution and further transformations of terrestrial POC at the Yangtze River‐ocean interface. Our results reveal that sediment resuspension resulting from physical forces along with mineral protection of phyllosilicates plays a crucial role in regulating the recycling and fate of terrestrial POC during its transport across the coastal ocean continuum. Physical processes lead to the resuspension of sequestered POC from suboxic/anoxic muddy sediments into the overlying water column. Concurrently, the interplay of energetic forcing and elevated oxygen levels has the potential to disrupt the organo‐mineral associations. The decrease in mineral‐carbon stabilization increases the likelihood that reactive POC inclusion/aggregation with minerals becomes accessible to surrounding microorganisms, making it susceptible to microbial/oxidative degradation. Consequently, mostly phyllosilicate‐protected 14C‐depleted POC (primarily soil‐derived) in <63 μm suspended sediment (>90% of the total mass) remains available for export and reburial in continental shelf sediments. The lateral transport of resuspended sediments from estuaries, previously underestimated, represents a potential contributor to the remobilized millennial‐aged POC components involved in active biogeochemical cycling on continental margins.

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“…Such a large quantity of buried carbon suggests that marginal sea sediments play a crucial role in the carbon cycle of marine ecosystems. Studies have shown that, due to the proximity of the marginal sea to land, the carbon buried in its sediments includes not only the carbon fixed by marine organisms, but also the carbon imported from terrestrial sources (Pocklington and Leonard, 1979;Prahl et al, 1994;Goñi et al, 1997;Bianchi et al, 2002;Burdige, 2005;Blair and Aller, 2012;Zhang et al, 2022;Tao et al, 2023). The burial of marine-derived carbon in sediment, also known as "blue carbon" (BC), reflects the sequestration of atmospheric CO 2 by marine ecosystems through biological pumps (Honjo et al, 2008;Nellemann et al, 2009;Ma et al, 2014;Macreadie et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Blue carbon in sediment from Sanggou Bay: composition, burial flux and its response to human activities

Yang,

Song

et al. 2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Marine primary production and terrestrial input are the main sources of buried carbon in sediments of marginal seas. Only marine-source carbon buried in sediments, fixed and stored by marine ecosystems, belongs to “blue carbon” and reflects marine ecosystems’ carbon sink function. The pattern of buried blue carbon in sediments, its flux, and its relationship with environmental changes remain unclear. The study aimed to investigate the composition of blue carbon in the sediments of Sanggou Bay, a special type of marginal sea. The analysis of sediment carbon sources was conducted through the C/N ratio and microscopic examination. The study also examined the long-term changes in the blue carbon burial fluxes. Results showed Blue carbon, which is sea-sourced carbon, accounted for about 23% of the total carbon content and its concentration ranged from 0.17% to 0.51%, with an average of about 0.25% ± 0.10%. The content of organic blue carbon in this sea area ranges from 0.09% to 0.26%, with an average of around 0.18% ± 0.04%. It constitutes approximately 72% of the buried blue carbon in the sediment, making it the primary component of buried blue carbon. Meanwhile, the content of inorganic blue carbon ranges from 0.01% to 0.32%. Over the past 70 years, the burial fluxes of sedimentary blue carbon, organic blue carbon and inorganic blue carbon in the Sanggou Bay are about 0.54 ± 0.22 mmol/(cm2a), 0.38 ± 0.07 mmol/(cm2a) and 0.17 ± 0.22 mmol/(cm2a), respectively; their long-term changes have been significantly affected by human aquaculture activities. Large-scale raft-rack aquaculture activities have caused a reduction in water flow velocity and an increase in the deposition of particulate organic matter, which in turn has led to the burial of organic blue carbon in the sediment. Additionally, the competition between aquaculture products and small calcareous organisms, such as mussels, foraminifera, may have inhibited the growth of small calcareous organisms. We suggest this has resulted in reduced burial fluxes of inorganic blue carbon and a decrease in its proportion among total blue carbon in the sea area. Our findings imply that aquaculture activities in Sanggou Bay had a negative impact on the burial of blue carbon in the sediments.

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Characteristics of sedimentary organic carbon burial in the shallow conduit portion of source-to-sink sedimentary systems in marginal seas

Cited by 6 publications

References 107 publications

Characteristics of Sedimentary Organic Matter in Tidal Estuaries: A Case Study from the Minjiang River Estuary

Characteristics of Sedimentary Organic Matter in Tidal Estuaries: A Case Study from the Minjiang River Estuary

Sediment Resuspension Accelerates the Recycling of Terrestrial Organic Carbon at a Large River‐Coastal Ocean Interface

Blue carbon in sediment from Sanggou Bay: composition, burial flux and its response to human activities

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