Abstract
The flux of particulate organic carbon reaching the deep sea is fundamental to our understanding of the global carbon cycle. Measurements of carbon accumulation in sediments do not quantify this flux because carbon is rapidly oxidized during settling and prior to burial. Using data from material collected by particle traps, we report here a strong correlation between the fraction of 210Pb removed from the ocean by particle settling and the flux of particulate organic carbon. The fraction of 210Pb removed from the water column may be determined by measurements of the inventory of excess 210Pb in bottom sediments as well as by measurements in sediment traps. Thus, the excess 210Pb inventory in deep-sea sediments is a proxy for the amount of particulate organic carbon delivered to the sediments over the past 100 years.
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Moore, W., Dymondt, J. Correlation of 210Pb removal with organic carbon fluxes in the Pacific Ocean . Nature 331, 339–341 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/331339a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/331339a0
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