EXC Receiver - Organic matter transport and turnover on the continental shelf
We investigate the biogeochemical cycling of dissolved and particulate organic matter in coastal sediments by combining carbon isotope and ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry analysis with flow-through reactor experiments and degradation rate measurements.
Coastal oceans represent a large sink of both terrestrial and marine organic matter (OM) forming a major component of the global carbon cycle. Our understanding of the spatial heterogeneity and process complexity of these regions continues to evolve. For example, sandy sediments account for 60% of the coastal seas and are characterized by high oxygen concentrations in the porewater and low OM contents, which is not the consequence of sediment inactivity, but rather the result of high OM turnover. The oxygen dynamics are well understood in the sandy sediments, but the OM pathways remain unclear. The objectives of this project are (1) to trace origins and transport routes of OM in the different zones of coastal ocean, (2) to investigate the biogeochemical cycling of dissolved and particulate OM in the sediments, and (3) to finally improve the understanding of the coastal ocean in global carbon cycle.
The project is funded through the DFG Cluster of Excellence at MARUM “The Ocean Floor – Earth’s Uncharted Interface” and is a collaboration between AWI, ICBM (Oldenburg) and MPI (Bremen).
Website: www.marum.de