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Person: Steven D’Hondt

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Publications > Journal Article
Published: January 21, 2019
Nature Geoscience
Persistent organic matter in oxic subseafloor sediment
Authors: Emily R. Estes, Robert Pockalny, Steven D’Hondt, Fumio Inagaki, Yuki Morono, Richard W. Murray, Dennis Nordlund, Arthur J. Spivack, Scott D. Wankel, Nan Xiao, Colleen M. Hansel
C-DEBI Contribution Number: 450
Publications > Journal Article
Nature Geoscience
Persistent organic matter in oxic subseafloor sediment
Authors: Emily R. Estes, Robert Pockalny, Steven D’Hondt, Fumio Inagaki, Yuki Morono, Richard W. Murray, Dennis Nordlund, Arthur J. Spivack, Scott D. Wankel, Nan Xiao, Colleen M. Hansel
Published: January 21, 2019
C-DEBI Contribution Number: 450

Abstract

Nearly half of the global seafloor is overlain by sediment oxygenated to the basement. Yet, despite the availability of oxygen to fuel aerobic respiration, organic carbon persists over million-year timescales. Identifying the controls on organic carbon preservation requires an improved understanding of the composition and distribution of organic carbon within deep oligotrophic marine sediments. Here we show that organic carbon in sediment from the oligotrophic North Atlantic and South Pacific is low (<0.1%), yet stable to depths of 25 m and ages of 24 million years. This organic carbon is not bound in biomass and has a low carbon/nitrogen ratio. X-ray imaging and spectroscopic analyses reveal that the chemical composition of this old, deep organic carbon is dominated (40–60%) by amide and carboxylic carbon with a proteinaceous nature. We posit that organic carbon persists in oxic oligotrophic sediment through a combination of protective processes that involve adsorption to mineral surfaces and physical inaccessibility to the heterotrophic community. We estimate that up to 1.6 × 1022 g of organic carbon are sequestered on million-year timescales in oxic pelagic sediment, which exceeds current estimates of the total global sediment organic carbon and constitutes an important, previously overlooked carbon reservoir.
Source: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0291-5

Related Items

Awards
Awards > Graduate Fellowships
Award Dates: June 1, 2016 — May 31, 2017
Geochemical controls on organic carbon quantity and quality in the deep subsurface
Awardee: Emily R. Estes (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Current Placement: Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Delaware, 2017-
Advisor: Colleen M. Hansel (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Awards > Research Grants
Award Dates: April 1, 2015 — March 31, 2016
Elucidating the extent and composition of mineral-hosted carbon in the deep biosphere
PI: Colleen M. Hansel (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Co-Is: Emily R. Estes (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), Gariela Farfan (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

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