Carbon remineralization rate

Relationship between flux of organic carbon to the sea floor and organic carbon remineralization rate. Data are a compilation of measurements made globally. Redrawn by Wakeham, S. (2002). Chemistry of Marine Water and Sediments, A. Gianguzza, E. Pelizzetti, and S. Sammartano, eds. Springer, pp. 147-164. From Heinrichs, S. (1993). Organic Geochemistry—Principles and applications, Plenum Press, pp. 101-115. 

Kelley, C.A., Martens, C.S., and Chanton, J.P. (1990) Variations in sedimentary carbon remineralization rates in the White Oak River estuary, N.C. Limnol. Oceanogr. 35, 372-383. 

Aller, R.C., Blair, N.E., Xia, Q., and Rude, P.D. (1996) Remineralization rates, recycling and storage of carbon in Amazon shelf sediments. Cont. Shelf Res. 16, 753-786. 

Aller, R. C., N. E. Blair, Q. Xia, and P. D. Rude. 1996. "Remineralization rates, recycling, and storage of carbon in Amazon shelf sediments." Continental Shelf Research 16 753-786. 

Martin W. R. and Bender M. L. (1988) The variability of benthic fluxes and sedimentary remineralization rates in response to seasonally variable organic carbon rain rates in the deep sea a modeling study. Am. ]. Sci. 288, 561-574. 

A puzzling observation has recently been made by R. A. Jahnke and D. B. Jahnke (in press). They found that in sediments above the saturation depth that contain high concentrations of calcium carbonate, the ratio of the calcium carbonate dissolution rate to the organic matter remineralization rate was substantially less than at other types of sites. They have suggested that this may be the result of exchange on carbonate particle surfaces coupled with particle mixing, but this process has yet to be clearly substantiated. 

Happen J. D. and Chanton J. P. (1993) Carbon remineralization in a North Florida swamp forest effects of water level on the pathways and rates of soil organic matter decomposition. Global Biogeochem. Cycles 7, 475 -490. 

On average about 20% of the BSi arriving at the sediment-water interfece dissolves prior to burial. Thus, only 3 to 5% of the surface production survives to become buried in the sediments. At some locations, where the BSi rain rate is high, a larger percentage (around 30%) is preserved. In comparison, 90% of the POC that rains onto the sediments is remineralized by the benthos, leaving sediment concentrations on the order of 1% w/w organic carbon. 

In coastal sediments where organic carbon concentrations are high, the redox boundary is at or near the sediment-water interfece. Under these conditions, denitrification acts as a sink for nitrate. In some settings, the rate of sedimentary denitrification is fast enough to drive a diffusive flux of nitrate from the bottom waters into the sediments. Remineralization of organic matter imder suboxic and anoxic conditions releases... 

The precise relationship between potential hydrolysis rates measured with externally added substrates and the rates at which complex microbial communities in marine systems hydrolyze and ultimately remineralize a spectrum of organic macromolecules actually available as substrates is unknown. Extracellular enzymatic hydrolysis is frequently regarded as the rate-limiting step in remineralization of organic carbon (e.g., King, 1986 ... 

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