THE OCEANIC CARBONATE SYSTEM AND DEEP SEA

SEDIMENTS CALCIUM CARBONATE ACCUMULATION

Distribution of CO2 in seawater and the accumulation of CaCO3 in deep sea

sediments are among the most intensely studied in earth sciences.
This interest is a result of growing concern about the impact of fossil fuel-
derived carbon dioxide on global climate.
 Deposition of carbonates in marine sediments can be subdivided into those
being deposited in shallow (shoal) water (water depths of a few hundred meters or
less) and those being deposited in deep sea sediments, where the water depth is on
the order of kilometers.

The carbonates formed in the upper ocean sink into the deep sea along with organic matter.
The influences of decreasing temperature, and increasing pressure and PCO2 (oxidation
of organic matter ) all act to cause the deep waters of the oceans to become
undersaturated, first with respect to aragonite, and then with respect to calcite.
The formation and preservation of CaCO3 is intimately linked to oceanic productivity,
circulation and the complex cycle of organic carbon in the oceans, as well as dissolution
and burial.
Carbonate deposition in deep ocean depends on external components, such as continental
waters and exchange of CO2 across the air-sea interface, and internal components such as
the process by which CaCO3 is formed, dissolved and removed.
A major portion of CaCO3 formed in the oceans is precipitated by pelagic organisms in the
upper ocean where the waters are supersaturated with respect to both calcite and
aragonite.
 The CO2 system in oceanic waters

The distribution of CO2 and the associated carbonic acid system species in the upper ocean
is primarily controlled by the exchange of CO2 across the air-sea interface, biological
activity, and circulation of the ocean, mainly through vertical mixing processes.
Exchange of CO2 across the air-sea interface can occur by diffusive processes and air
injection into the water by breaking waves. The other factors include:
1- Biologic activity. During photosynthesis CO2 is consumed and O2 is produced.
2- Below the photic zone oxidative degradation of organic matter, primarily through
bacterial attack, causes O2 to be consumed and CO2 to be released.

Biologic activity and ocean circulation are closely linked. As a result of the degradation
of organic matter in deep water and sediments, upwelling water from intermediate depths
is generally rich in nutrients and, hence, more biologically productive. In addition, these
deep waters also have elevated PCO2 and alkalinity, resulting both from the degradation of
organic matter and the dissolution of CaCO3.
The differences in alkalinity result from the formation of biogenic
carbonates in the upper ocean, which removes alkalinity and the
subsequent dissolution of the carbonate in deep water, which adds
alkalinity. Where older deep waters upwell, surface alkalinity is
thus enhanced.

The primary processes responsible for variations in the deep sea CO2-carbonic
acid system are:
1- Oxidative degradation of organic matter
2- Dissolution of calcium carbonate
3- The chemistry of source waters
4- oceanic circulation patterns
 Sources and sedimentation of deep sea carbonates
CaCO3 formation is dominated by pelagic plants
(coccolithophores) and animals (foraminifera, pteropods, and
heteropods).

The distribution of calcium CaCO3 pelagic organisms is

primarily controlled by the fertility and temperature of the near
surface ocean. The fertility of seawater is largely a result of
ocean circulation patterns and, in particular, those processes
leading to upwelling of nutrient-rich waters.
Coccolithophores are common in temperate waters, but rare in
high latitude cold waters where diatoms dominate.
Because of their small size, individual coccoliths should sink slowly and,
consequently, spend long periods of time (on the order of 100 years) in the water
column. This long residence time should lead to dissolution of the coccoliths in
the undersaturated part of the water column. The major factors considered to
be important in accumulation of coccoliths in sediments overlain by
undersaturated waters.
(1) Presence of organic material coating coccoliths which retards the rates of their
dissolution.
(2) Rapid settling of coccoliths as large aggregate bodies, limiting the exposure for
long periods of time of their high surface areas to the water column.
(3) Redeposition from shallower sites, both by mass transport (turbidity currents)
and by resuspension.
(4) Rapid burial in the sediment.
The primary mechanism for aggregation of coccoliths has been clearly shown to
be grazing by zooplankton and encapsulation in fecal matter.
The settling velocity for foraminifera was approximately 2.4 times less than that
for a quartz sphere of equivalent maximum diameter
 Calcareous ooze and the CCD
• Warm, shallow ocean saturated with calcium carbonate
• Cool, deep ocean undersaturated with calcium carbonate
– Lysocline--depth at which CaCO3 begins to dissolve rapidly
– Calcite compensation depth CCD--depth where CaCO3 readily
dissolves

Scarce calcareous ooze below 5000 m in modern ocean

Ancient calcareous oozes at greater depths if moved by sea floor spreading
 The distribution of CaCO3in deep sea sediments
and carbonate lithofacies
The abundance of calcium carbonate in deep sea sediments
decreased with increasing water depth, commonly dropping to
less than 30% at around 4000 meters, and with latitude, being
rare in polar regions.
Calcium carbonate is more abundant in the Atlantic Ocean, and
generally occurs in significant amounts to deeper depths than in
the Pacific Ocean (Why?).
The decrease in calcium carbonate content of the sediments was
attributed to dissolution resulting from an increase in pressure
and a decrease in temperature. With increasing depth, a survival
sequence of calcareous tests was found where pteropods
disappeared first, followed by the small and fragile types of
foraminifera, until in the deeper parts of the oceans only badly
damaged tests of large thick-shelled types of foraminifera
remained in the surface sediments.