Lecture 14 – Marine Sediments

(1) The CCD is:

(a) the depth at which no carbonate secreting organisms can live
(b) the depth at which seawater is supersaturated with respect to calcite
(c) the depth at which calcite is no longer preserved in marine sediments
(d) none of the above

The CCD will be deepest in areas that have:

(a) shallow waters with high carbonate dissolution rates and low settling rates
(b) deep waters with high carbonate dissolution rates and low accumulation rates
(c) the CCD is approximately constant everywhere
(d) up-welling zones of high surface production

The oozes on the seafloor mostly consist of:

(a) boulders and cobbles from glaciers
(b) bones and teeth of fish
(c) fine mud washed down from the continent
(d) microscopic hard parts of single celled surface living organisms

Siliceous sediments are abundant on the deep ocean floor at high latitudes because:
(a) radiolarian are more abundant in high latitude waters
(b) diatoms are more abundant at the nutrient rich high latitudes
(c) cold water promotes the preservation of silica
(d) much of the carbonate gets dissolved in the cold deep water
(e) all of the above
(f) b, c, and d but not a

What are the controls for calcium carbonate distribution in marine sediments?

o overlying productivity
o kinetics: e.g. amount of time that tests remain in sediments exposed to seawater.
o water depth
o temperature
o non-CaCO3 flux including opal and clays
o all of the above

What controls the distribution of detrital sediments? Detrital sediments will be most
abundant:
(a) close to continental margins
(b) only at river mouths
(c) in the deep basins at mid latitudes
(d) in upwelling areas
(e) at the location where continental glaciers arrive at the sea
(2) What are hydrogenous sediments and where would these be abundant?

These are sediments formed by chemical precipitation in the ocean the most abundant are
Fe-Mn oxyhydroxides

In what way do the controls on silica deposition differ from those of carbonate
deposition?

Silica preservation is mainly controlled by the flux of Si to the sea floor while for
carbonates depth (pressure) plays a more important role.

What are the major controls on carbonate content in marine sediments?

production, dissolution and dilution

Which metal of the following is NOT typically found in manganese nodules:

iron, uranium, nickel, cobalt, copper

(3) In the figure below, the geologic setting of a core taken by the deep sea drilling
program is presented along with the composition of sediments in the core obtained.
Starting with the basalt at the base of the core, describe the processes and setting which
led to the marked variations in sediment types

The bottom sediments represent the oceanic crust formation at the EPR and the
associated Fe-Mn oxide rich sediments at ~2,500m. As the core moved with the plate
carbonates accumulate since the depth of the site is shallower than the CCD but with time
the crust cools and contracts and the ocean floor is now below the CCD red cays
accumulate. The biogenic opal deposition occurs as the core passes through the high
productivity equatorial region and then once again deep waters in the north Pacific
dominated by red clay and Mn nodules.
(4) Both organic carbon and calcium carbonate rain down from the surface ocean and can
be important components of marine sediments.
a) How would you expect organic carbon respiration in marine sediments to affect
CaCO3 preservation in sediments. Why? Write down the important chemical reactions
involved that are necessary to understand this system.
b) Would you expect the calcite compensation depth (CCD) to change as a result of
respiration? Why?
c) Would the alkalinity of the pore water change as a result of these reactions? Refer to
the relevant chemical reactions from part (a) in your answer.

Organic C respiration will reduce the pH in seawater thus increase the solubility of
CaCO3 preservation will be lower in areas with extensive organic matter degradation.
CH2O + O2 == HCO3- + H+ H+ + CaCO3 == Ca2+ + HCO3-

As a result of respiration the CCD might become shallower (more dissolution).

Respiration will not change the alkalinity but carbonate dissolution will increase the
alkalinity.

(5) Where would the sediment column be thicker near mid-ocean ridges or close to
continental margins (suggest at least two reasons)?

The sediment will be thicker close to the continental margins. The crust at mid ocean
ridges is younger and had less time to accumulate sediments and also near continental
margins there is a greater supply of sediment from the continent and also in some cases
we can see thickening of the sediment pile due to compaction and formation of a
sedimentary wedge near some subduction zones.

(6) In a sediment core recovered from about 2500 meters depth in the Atlantic ocean you
get a sequence of sediment dominated by aragonite and calcite on top? What can you
say about this site?

It can be said that as the plates moved the location of the core moved from shallow to a
deeper area in the ocean, as the aragonite compensation depth is shallower than the
calcite CCD. This might also be explained as resulting from as a change in sea level as
sea level was lower in the last glacial aragonite accumulated (the depth was only 2,400
m) with sea level rise the depth increased resulting in aragonite dissolution and only
calcite accumulation.

(7) Arrange these horizons in order of increasing depth:

CCD, calcite saturation horizon, dissolution of some aragonite tests in the sediment is
detected, aragonite saturation horizon

Dissolution of some aragonite in sediments; aragonite saturation horizon; calcite

saturation horizon, CCD
(8) What do you expect the composition of sediments will be at 2500m in middle of the
Equatorial Pacific? How will that change if the depth at the same area is 5000 meters?

The sediment will be foram ooze with siliceous components; it is productive so both will
be there but it is above the CCD so carbonate is preserved and there is more of it, it is far
from land so little terrigenous material. If the depth is 5000 meters in the same productive
area we would expect the sediment to be composed from Radiolaria ooze as carbonate
will dissolve at that depth.

(9) Saturation horizon is deepest in the Atlantic Ocean (~4500 m) relative to the Indian
Ocean (~3500m) and shallowest in the Pacific (<3000 m). Why? Would you expect the
CCD in the Atlantic to also be deeper explain why?

The reason for that is that the pH due to respiration along the conveyer is lowest in the
deep Pacific resulting in increased carbonate solubility and shallower CCD

What is the lysocline how is it different than the saturation depth?

There are indications that the lysocline is shallower in the eastern Atlantic compared to
the central Atlantic at the same latitude can you explain?

The lysocline depth is the depth at which the effects of dissolution are seen in the
sediment below this depth the dissolution is significant.

The lysocline is shallower in the Eastern Atlantic due to increased productivity (up
welling area) and organic matter accumulation in the sediment, which results in lower pH
and increased dissolution.

(10) Can you suggest a way to reconstruct the rate of plate movement in the Indian Ocean
towards Asia using marine sediments?

As the plate passes under the Equatorial area CaCO3 and other sediment related to high
productivity (barite) will accumulate so if you take a core at a known distances from the
equator and date the time when these sediments were deposited the distance from the
Equator to the present day position has take the time between now and the age of these
sediments using this information the plate movement rate can be determined
 (11) In the figure is the CCD depth in the
Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans for the
past 150 Ma as reconstructed from ODP
cores. Could you suggest why the CCD
was shallow in the Cretaceous and got
deeper since about 50 Ma?

There could have been a variety of reasons

for the shallower CCD in the Cretaceous
and we still do not know for sure what the
“right answer” is. The important issue is
that any explanation should be consistent
with paleoceanographic data. One
suggestion is that because of higher
spreading rates at MOR sea level was
higher with larger continental shelf areas.
Carbonate was deposited in these
extensive shallow marginal seas and thus
less carbonate was deposited at depth (a
mass balance issue and changes in the
focus of sedimentation). Another
suggestion is that atmospheric CO2 levels
were significantly higher resulting in more
acidic seawater thus increased dissolution
of carbonate. We do not know a lot about
weathering rate in the Cretaceous but is
weathering rates increased in the past
50Ma due to large areas with tectonic
uplift (Himalayan, Andeans etc.) may
have resulted in increased weathering thus
for mass balance we would need to
increase the deposition of CaCO3 too the
feedback being deeper CCD. Al of this is a lot of speculation and more data about
weathering rates, sea level changes, atmospheric CO2, oceans productivity etc. are needed
to resolve this question.

(12) If the rate of seafloor spreading averages about 30 meters per million years, what is
the age of the seafloor when it passes through the CCD (assume the ridge crest is at
2500m and the CCD is at 4000m). If the mean rate of non-carbonate accumulation is
0.5cm/1000 years and that of carbonate accumulation is 1.5cm/1000 years how deep
would one have to bore into the sediment to reach carbonate bearing sediments at a water
depth of 5000 meters?

(4000-2500 m)/ 30 m x 10-6 years = 50 x 106 years; 50 million years of CaCO3 + non CaCO3 accumulation
(5000-2500 m) / 30 m x 10-6 years = 83 x 106 years; 83-50 = 33 million years of non CaCO3 accumulation
50 x 106 years x (1.5 + 0.5 x 10-3 cm/year) + 33 x 106 years x (0.5 X 10-3 cm/year) = 1165 meters