Physical, chemical and geological properties of sediments from the central equatorial Pacific

The solution rate of biogenic opal in near-surface sediments in the Central Equatorial Pacific is three to eight orders of magnitude lower than similar acid-cleaned samples. Iron, magnesium and calcium aluminosilicates may be the minerals which are forming on the surface of the opal and reducing its...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Hurd, David C
Format: Dataset
Language:English
Published: PANGAEA 1973
Subjects:
FFC
Free fall corer
GC
Gravity corer
Hurd_100
Hurd_101
Hurd_102
Hurd_90
Hurd_91
Hurd_92
Hurd_93
Hurd_94
Hurd_95
Hurd_96
Hurd_97
Hurd_98
Hurd_99
Silicon Cycling in the World Ocean
SINOPS
Antarctic
The Antarctic
Pacific
Antarc*
Online Access:https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.735133
https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.735133
Description
Summary:The solution rate of biogenic opal in near-surface sediments in the Central Equatorial Pacific is three to eight orders of magnitude lower than similar acid-cleaned samples. Iron, magnesium and calcium aluminosilicates may be the minerals which are forming on the surface of the opal and reducing its solution rate. The scale height of the system studied suggests that diffusive and not advective processes are primarily responsible for the removal of dissolved silica in sediments. Solution budget calculations for this area suggest that 90-99 per cent of the biogenic opal produced in surface waters dissolves before reaching the sediment-water interface; an additional amount dissolves within the sediment and diffuses into bottom waters leaving 0.05-0.15 per cent of the original amount of opal produced by organisms in the sedimentary record. The relative solution potential of the upper 1000 m of the water column varies by more than an order of magnitude from the Antarctic to Equator and may have a pronounced effect on the accumulation rate of biogenic opal in underlying sediments.

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