Abstract

Deep sea calcium carbonate is closely coupled to the neutralization of anthropogenic CO₂ in the oceans over timescales of hundreds to millions of years. To quantify the neutralization capacity of the calcite at the seafloor, we need a systematic understanding of the distribution pattern of sedimentary CaCO₃ in the deep ocean. A compilation of core-top CaCO₃ data in the Atlantic Ocean (50ºN-50ºS) is re-analyzed using a recently developed carbonate dynamics model,. The controlling effects of submarine topography, ocean productivity, deep ocean circulation, lithogenic dilution on sedimentary CaCO₃ distribution are quantitatively evaluated. It enables a basin-specific analysis on the ruling mechanisms of the carbonate chemistry in 11 ocean basins. Those ocean basins follow the same oceanic carbonate saturation or compensation law but exhibit distinctive mechanisms with respect to the distribution of calcium carbonate in surface sediments.

Brief biography

Dr. Xiaoqing Liu was rewarded her Ph.D. from Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg, Germany, in the subject of isotope geochemistry. She did her Ph.D. work at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Magdeburg. Currently, she is working as a postdoctoral researcher in marine biogeochemisty in Sun Yet-sen University. Her research interests are the marine carbonate chemistry and the utilizations of U-decay series isotopes in the oceans.