Burial, remineralization and utilization of organic matter at the seafloor under a strong western boundary current. Annual progress report, 1 May 1993--30 April 1994

摘要

The overall objectives of this project are to quantify the rates of organic carbon export from the southern mid-Atlantic Bight and to quantify the rates at which carbon is exchanged between the inorganic and organic pools within the bottom sediments. The strategy for achieving these goals is to quantify the rates of benthic exchange and burial of bioactive elements including oxidants (such as oxygen, nitrate, sulfate), micronutrient, and carbon system parameters on the continental shelf, slope and rise regions within and adjacent to the south portion of the mid-Atlantic Bight. During this past funding period, three expeditions were completed to the study region, successfully conducting 6 in situ benthic flux chamber experiments. The results provide an initial assessment of the magnitude and location of organic matter export from the southern Middle Atlantic Bight shelf and of the importance of this region as a supplier of organic carbon to the North Atlantic Ocean Basin.