Efficient preservation of young terrestrial organic carbon in sandy turbidity current deposits

Hage, S.; Galy, V.V.; Cartigny, M.J.B.; Acikalin, S.; Clare, M.A.; Gröcke, D.R.; Hilton, R.G.; Hunt, J.E.; Lintern, D.G.; McGhee, C.A.; Parsons, D.R.; Stacey, C.D.; Sumner, E.J.; Talling, P.J.

doi:10.1130/g47320.1

Efficient preservation of young terrestrial organic carbon in sandy turbidity current deposits

Hage, S.; Galy, V.V.; Cartigny, M.J.B.; Acikalin, S.; Clare, M.A.; Gröcke, D.R.; Hilton, R.G.; Hunt, J.E.; Lintern, D.G.; McGhee, C.A.; Parsons, D.R.; Stacey, C.D.; Sumner, E.J.; Talling, P.J.

Authors

S. Hage

V.V. Galy

Dr Matthieu Cartigny matthieu.j.cartigny@durham.ac.uk
Associate Professor

S. Acikalin

M.A. Clare

Professor Darren Grocke d.r.grocke@durham.ac.uk
Professor

R.G. Hilton

J.E. Hunt

D.G. Lintern

C.A. McGhee

D.R. Parsons

C.D. Stacey

E.J. Sumner

Professor Peter Talling peter.j.talling@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

Burial of terrestrial biospheric particulate organic carbon in marine sediments removes CO2 from the atmosphere, regulating climate over geologic time scales. Rivers deliver terrestrial organic carbon to the sea, while turbidity currents transport river sediment further offshore. Previous studies have suggested that most organic carbon resides in muddy marine sediment. However, turbidity currents can carry a significant component of coarser sediment, which is commonly assumed to be organic carbon poor. Here, using data from a Canadian fjord, we show that young woody debris can be rapidly buried in sandy layers of turbidity current deposits (turbidites). These layers have organic carbon contents 10× higher than the overlying mud layer, and overall, woody debris makes up >70% of the organic carbon preserved in the deposits. Burial of woody debris in sands overlain by mud caps reduces their exposure to oxygen, increasing organic carbon burial efficiency. Sandy turbidity current channels are common in fjords and the deep sea; hence we suggest that previous global organic carbon burial budgets may have been underestimated.

Citation

Hage, S., Galy, V., Cartigny, M., Acikalin, S., Clare, M., Gröcke, D., …Talling, P. (2020). Efficient preservation of young terrestrial organic carbon in sandy turbidity current deposits. Geology, 48(9), 882-887. https://doi.org/10.1130/g47320.1

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Apr 13, 2020
Online Publication Date	May 29, 2020
Publication Date	2020
Deposit Date	Apr 16, 2020
Publicly Available Date	Jun 26, 2020
Journal	Geology
Print ISSN	0091-7613
Electronic ISSN	1943-2682
Publisher	Geological Society of America
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	48
Issue	9
Pages	882-887
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1130/g47320.1