Organic carbon diagenesis

Machel H.G. (1989) Relationships between sulfate reduction and oxidation of organic compounds to carbonate diagenesis, hydrocarbon accumulations, salt domes, and metal sulfide deposits. Carbonates and Evaporites 4,137-151. 

Haugen, J.E., and Lichtentaler, R. (1991) Amino acid diagenesis, organic carbon and nitrogen mineralization in surface sediments from the inner Oslofjord, Norway. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 55, 1649-1661. 

Tromp T. K., Cappellen P. V., and Key R. M. (1995) A global model for the early diagenesis of organic carbon and organic phosphorus in marine sediments. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 59, 1259-1284. 

Roughly 90% of the organic matter that exits the euphotic zone of the ocean is degraded in the water column. Of the 10% of the organic carbon flux that reaches the seafloor, only about one-tenth escapes oxidation and is buried. Degradation of the organic matter that reaches the ocean sediments drives the reactions that control sediment diagenesis and benthic flux. 

Filipek L. H. and Owen R. M. (1980) Early diagenesis of organic carbon and sulfur in outer shelf sediments from the Gulf of Mexico. Am. J. Sci. 280(10), 1097-1112. 

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