Transformation of Organic and Inorganic Material

Cprod is the primary production rate of carbon at the surface, and is the organic carbon flux at a water depth of 2 meters ( 50 m), both in g/m year. 

A general formula for the composition of planktonic organic matter (Fleming, 1940 Redfield et al., 1963 and see Chapters 3 and 9) may be given as  

The microbiological transformation of organic matter in an anoxic sediment can be represented by the following generalized formula  

This reaction gives rise to HCO3, which will affect the chemical sea-sediment interaction with regard to pH and alkalinity. Moreover, it demonstrates an impact on exchange and turnover processes for sulfur, nitrogen, and phosphorus. The fluxes of these components from a Baltic sediment are illustrated in Fig. 8-8. 

The degradation of organic matter is very important for marine life as it facilitates the recirculation of nutrients, which are removed from surface waters by primary production. The release of nitrogen and phosphorus from the sediments and their transport to the surface water with upwelling bottom water along the western margins of the continents is an important process for the fishing 

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Physicochemical reactions within the sea-sediment sphere tend to reach equilibrium. Those reactions that are so rapid that they occur prior to burial in the bottom sediments are referred to as "halmyrolysis" (e.g. formation of clay aggregates), while those that take place in the upper part of the sediment are termed "early diagenesis". The diagenetic processes include cementation, compaction, diffusion, redox reactions, transformation of organic and inorganic material, and ion exchange phenomena. A short... 

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