Carbonate accumulation variability

Two major types of variability in the relationship between overlying water chemistry and carbonate accumulation in deep sea sediments occur. The first is the previously discussed relation of the saturation state of the water to the R0, FL and CCD. The second is the relative separation of these different sedimentary features. In some areas of the ocean these relations can be influenced by transitions in water masses having different chemical and hydrographic characteristics (e.g., Thunell, 1982), but in many areas of the ocean the only major variable influencing the saturation state over wide areas is pressure, which leads to a nearly uniform gradient in saturation state with respect to depth. 

The results of these studies have shown a surprising degree of variability and have further demonstrated the complexity of calcium carbonate accumulation in deep-sea sediments. Several studies by different groups of investigators appeared at about the same time (Emerson et al, 1980 Murray et al, 1980 Sayles, 1980). The results of Emerson etal (1980) and Sayles (1980)... 

Hofmann P., Wagner T., and Beckmann B. (2003) Millennial-to centennial-scale record of African climate variability and organic carbon accumulation in the Coniacian-Santonian eastern tropical Atlantic (Ocean Drilling Program Site 959, off Ivory Coast and Ghana). Geology 31, 135-138. 

---