Water column anomalies in dissolved silica over opaline pelagic sediments and the origin of the deep silica maximum

Journal Article · Thu Dec 20 04:00:00 EST 1979 · J. Geophys. Res.; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/JC084iC12p07809· OSTI ID:5684697

Edmond, J M; Jacobs, S S; Gordon, A L; Mantyla, A W; Weiss, R F

Recent estimates based on pore water studies and mass balance considerations put the average flux of dissolved silica from the sediments into the deep water at about 3 ..mu..mol cm/sup -2/ yr/sup -1/. This flux, if mixed uniformly in a bottom layer 100 m thick, results in an anomaly increment of 0.3 ..mu..mol kg/sup -1/ yr/sup -1/. In basins of restricted circulation containing opaline sediments the residence time of the bottom waters should be long enough that the resulting anomaly be easily resolvable using existing data. Examination of the many hundred of detailed, precise silica profiles presently available in unpublished reports shows that this is indeed the case. The largest effects (approx.50 ..mu..mol/kg) are seen in the Weddell-Enderby Basin. Intermediate anomalies (approx.20 ..mu..mol/Kg are prevalent in the northern Indian Ocean. Lesser features (approx.10 ..mu..mol/kg) are clearly discernable in the other antarctic basins and in the north Pacific. No anomalies are observed over the equatorial Pacific and Indian bands of opaline deposits, even in the basins east of the East Pacific Rise or in the Central Basin of the Indian Ocean. The flux of dissolved silica from the sea floor is generally unaccompanied by any resolvable oxygen consumption, indicating that relatively minor amounts of organic material reach the sediments in these regions. However, in the north Indian Ocean there are pronounced effects on all the nutrients,oxygen, and alkalinity, with regeneration approximating the Redfield prediction.In the northern Indian Ocean and the extreme northeast Pacific (northeast of 45 /sup 0/N, 160 /sup 0/W) the silica profiles increase to the bottom. This is a strong indication that the deep silica maximum observed over much of these oceans may have a large advective component, the feature itself being induced by the northward flow of the underlying low-silica bottom waters.

• Research Organization: Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
• OSTI ID: 5684697
• Journal Information: J. Geophys. Res.; (United States), Journal Name: J. Geophys. Res.; (United States) Vol. 84:C12; ISSN JGREA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
580500* -- Oceanography-- (1980-1989)
ADVECTION
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
CHALCOGENIDES
INDIAN OCEAN
MASS TRANSFER
MATERIALS
MINERALS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PACIFIC OCEAN
SEA BED
SEAS
SEDIMENTATION
SEDIMENTS
SILICA
SILICON COMPOUNDS
SILICON OXIDES
SURFACE WATERS