Calcium carbonate content in surface sediments and benthic fauna on Antarctic shelves ...

• Main Authors: Hauck, Judith, Gerdes, Dieter, Hillenbrand, Claus-Dieter, Hoppema, Mario, Kuhn, Gerhard, Nehrke, Gernot, Völker, Christoph, Wolf-Gladrow, Dieter A
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2012
• Subjects: Giant box corer; van Veen Grab; Multiboxcorer; Multiple investigations; ANT-III/2; ANT-V/1; ANT-VI/3; ANT-VII/4; ANT-IX/3; ANT-XIII/3; ANT-XV/3; ANT-XVII/3; ANT-XIX/5; ANT-XXI/2; ANT-XXIII/8; WH068/1; WH068/2; Polarstern; Walther Herwig II; Biological Impacts of Ocean Acidification BIOACID; Antarc*; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Antarctica; Ocean acidification; Ross Sea; Sea ice; Weddell Sea
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.757933; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.757933

We analyzed 214 new core-top samples for their CaCO3 content from shelves all around Antarctica in order to understand their distribution and contribution to the marine carbon cycle. The distribution of sedimentary CaCO3 on the Antarctic shelves is connected to environmental parameters where we considered water depth, width of the shelf, sea-ice coverage and primary production. While CaCO3 contents of surface sediments are usually low, high(> 15%) CaCO3 contents occur at shallow water depths (150-200 m) on narrow shelves of the eastern Weddell Sea and at a depth range of 600-900 m on the broader and deeper shelves of the Amundsen, Bellingshausen and western Weddell Seas. Regions with high primary production, such as the Ross Sea and the western Antarctic Peninsula region, have generally low CaCO3 contents in the surface sediments.The predominant mineral phase of CaCO3 on the Antarctic shelves is low-magnesium calcite. With respect to ocean acidification, our findings suggest that dissolution of carbonates ... : Supplement to: Hauck, Judith; Gerdes, Dieter; Hillenbrand, Claus-Dieter; Hoppema, Mario; Kuhn, Gerhard; Nehrke, Gernot; Völker, Christoph; Wolf-Gladrow, Dieter A (2012): Distribution and mineralogy of carbonate sediments on Antarctic shelves. Journal of Marine Systems, 90(1), 77-87 ...