Ancient Mariner

Interpret the following verse from the Coleridge s Rime of the Ancient Mariner. 

Fig. 14.20). Magnesium occurs in seawater and as the mineral dolomite, CaCOyMgCO,. Calcium also occurs as CaCO in compressed deposits of the shells of ancient marine organisms and exoskeletons of tiny one-celled organisms these deposits include limestone, calcite, and chalk (a softer variety of calcium carbonate). 

All organic chemicals are, by definition, based on chemicals derived from living matter. Thus, the ten highest-volume commercial organic chemicals are all made from starting materials obtained from petroleum (oil) and natural gas, which are believed to have been formed by the microbial decomposition of ancient marine plants and animals. 

In the epic poem, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, a becalmed sailor laments Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink. With regard to the element nitrogen, we might say N2,N2, everywhere, nor any N to eat. Even though the atmosphere of our planet is 80% molecular nitrogen, plants are unable to break the extremely strong NON triple bond. Instead, plants must rely on other sources for the nitrogen atoms that are essential for the synthesis of biomolecules such as amino acids and DNA. 

Olfactory glomeruli must have evolved early, because these characteristic structures are present in the "olfactory brains" of modem representatives of ancient marine groups including molluscs (5) and crustaceans (6). Likewise the lampreys, which are extant representatives of the most primitive vertebrates, have relatively large olfactory bulbs with glomeruli and conspicuous mitral cells not unlike those of more advanced vertebrates (7). 

The exact quote from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge (1798) is Water, water, everywhere, And all the boards did shrink Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink. ... 

Sure he said, thinking of the Ancient Mariner. Let s hear it. ... 

All organisms synthesize carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and polynucleotides, although the details of their molecular structures can be somewhat species specific. These basic classes of macromolecules have changed little over geologic time. The secondary metabolites are more species specific and have also changed little over geologic time. Many are resistant to degradation, and those provide excellent biomarkers that have been preserved in ancient marine sediments and petroleum deposits. 

Steuber T, Buhl D (2006) Calcium-isotope fractionation in selected modern and ancient marine carbonates. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 70 5507-5521 Stevens CM (1988) Atmospheric methane. Chem Geol 71 11-21... 

Water is an important molecule. Seventy-one percent of the Earth s surface is covered by liquid water, it is the most abundant molecule, and it is a good solvent for polar and ionic substances. Samuel Taylor Coleridge s Ancient Mariner knew this ... 

The lability of organic S to oxidation and recycling is not understood. Short-chain thiols appear to be dynamically cycled in marine and saltmarsh sediments (120, 211). In contrast, sulfones may represent a stable oxidized product that could provide a useful signature of sediment oxygenation (121, 184). Sulfones have been identified in saltmarsh and ancient marine sediments (32, 207). Other (unidentified) forms of organic S appear to yield acidity and sulfate upon oxidation (38, 192). Much more research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms of organic S fonnation and the relationships between specific organic S compounds and lake conditions. 

Phytoplankton should be regarded as the main supplier of organic carbon in ancient marine sediments. However, it should be kept in mind that the distribution of observed in the facies profile does not coincide spatially with the distribution of phytoplankton and production of oxygen, as most dead plankton decomposes in the surface layer, as a result of which the accumulation of organic matter would be considerably greater in the nearshore zone than in the deep sea. 

Coleridge s Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Edited by Andrew J. George. Cloth. 96 pages. Illustrated. 20 cents. 

Johnson-Ibach L. E. (1982) Relationship between sedimentation rate and total organic carbon content in ancient marine sediments. Am. Assoc. Petrol. Geol. Bull. 66, 170-188. 

Isotopic Processes in the Upper (Bioturbated) Sediment Regime. 7.3 Isotopic Processes in the Deeper Diffusion-dominated Sediment Regime ANCIENT MARINE SEDIMENTS... 

REE phosphates and 6.56 flux and maximum foraminiferal CaC03-P content from Palmer, 1985) Comments Any phosphoms associated with CaC03 tests, not surface metal oxyhydroxide coatings, is included in the quantity measured by step III of the SEDEX method this estimate serves as a measure of the fraction of the step III, or the burial flux of authigenic apatite + hiogenic apatite + CaCOs, that can be accounted for by burial of CaC03. Rasmussen, 2000 (determined for ancient marine... 

Figure 8. Ancient marine reptiies. Illustmtion by Hans Cassidy Courtesy of Gale Group.

Figure 26-18 shows the carbon cycle. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is in equilibrium with an enormous quantity that is dissolved in oceans, lakes, and streams. Some of this dissolved CO2 was once in the form of calcium carbonate (CaC03), the main component of the shells of ancient marine animals. The shells were eventually converted into limestone, which represents a large store of carbon on Earth. When the limestone was exposed to the atmosphere by receding seas, it weathered under the action of rain and surface water, producing carbon dioxide. Some of this CO2 was released into the atmosphere. This process continues today. 

Accordingly, the distinction between ancient marine and non-marine evap-orites is itself a key topic, particularly with respect to hydrocarbon exploration (Warren, 1989 Hite and Anders, 1991 Bohacs et al., 2000). 

There is evidence that the major ion composition of seawater has varied over many millions of years, linked to very long term geochemical cycling. Evidence from ancient marine evaporite sequences (Box 6.2) sets limits on the possible extent of that variability. 

The evidence that the salinity and major ionic composition of seawater have remained reasonably constant over at least the last 900 million years comes from ancient marine evaporite deposits. Evaporites are salts that crystallize from evaporating seawater in basins largely cut off from the open ocean. 

The sulphite (SO2-) is subsequently oxidized to SOI-. Sedimentary pyrite, formed as a byproduct of sulphate reduction in marine sediments, is a major sink for seawater SO -. The presence of pyrite in ancient marine sediments shows that SO4- reduction has occurred for hundreds of millions of years. On a geological timescale, removal of SO4- from seawater by sedimentary pyrite formation is thought to be about equal to that removed by evaporite deposition (Section 6.4.2). Compilations of pyrite abundance and accumulation rates are used to calculate modern SO - removal by this mechanism and to derive the estimate in Table 6.2. 

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