Distribution, burial fluxes and carbon sink effect of sedimentary organic carbon in the eastern China seas

作     者：Xuefa SHI Bin WU Shuqing QIAO Zhengquan YAO Limin HU Yazhi BAI Shan HU Jie SHENG Yanguang LIU Shengfa LIU Kunshan WANG Jianjun ZOU 

作者机构：Key Laboratory of Marine Geology and MetallogenyFirst Institute of OceanographyMinistry of Natural ResourcesQingdao 266061China Laboratory for Marine GeologyQingdao Marine Science and Technology CenterQingdao 266237China Key Laboratory of Deep Sea Mineral Resources DevelopmentShandong Province(Preparatory)Qingdao 266061China Key Laboratory of Submarine Geosciences and TechnologyCollege of Marine GeosciencesOcean University of ChinaQingdao 266100China 

出 版 物：《Science China Earth Sciences》 (中国科学（地球科学英文版）)

年 卷 期：2024年第67卷第10期

页      面：3062-3082页

核心收录：

学科分类：070902[理学-地球化学] 0709[理学-地质学] 07[理学] 

基　　金：supported by the Laoshan Laboratory (Grant No.LSKJ202204200) the Chinese Offshore Investigation and Assessment Project (Grant No.908~ZC~I~05) the National Natural Science Foundation of China-Shandong Joint Fund for Marine Science Research Centers (Grant No.U1606401) the National Natural Science Foundation of China Shiptime Sharing Project (Grant Nos.42049902,42149902) the Taishan Scholar Program of Shandong (Grant No.tspd20181216) 

主　　题：Sedimentary organic carbon Burial flux Carbon sink effect Carbon cycle Eastern China seas 

摘      要：The ocean is the largest active carbon reservoir on Earth. Organic carbon(OC), as the primary species of carbon sequestration in the ocean, plays an important role in the global carbon cycle through its deposition and burial. In this study,sedimentary OC data from 5796 stations, together with relevant geochemical and sedimentological parameters in the Bohai Sea,Yellow Sea, and East China Sea(BYES) were used to summarize and elucidate the distribution and burial patterns of sedimentary OC, and assess carbon sink effect of sedimentary OC burial. The results show that the OC content in the sediments of the BYES ranges from 0.00% to 2.12%, with an average content of 0.47%±0.26%. OC content is significantly correlated with finegrained sediments, with an average OC content in mud areas being 39% higher than that in non-mud areas. Modern OC buried in the BYES are mainly deposited in 7 major mud areas, with a total sedimentary OC burial flux of approximately 8.20 Mt C yr^(–1).Among them, the burial flux of biospheric OC is 6.92 Mt C yr^(–1), equivalent to the OC consumption amount of silicate weathering of the 9 major river basins in the eastern China. In its natural state, the annually sequestered OC in the sediments of the eastern China seas is equivalent to 25.37 Mt of atmospheric CO_(2), indicating a significant carbon sink effect. The distribution and burial of terrigenous OC in the BYES are mainly influenced by the large river inputs and complex marine hydrodynamic environment,while human activities such as dam construction have significantly altered the OC burial in these coastal mud areas.