Articles | Volume 16, issue 21
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-4183-2019
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-4183-2019
Research article
 | 
06 Nov 2019
Research article |  | 06 Nov 2019

Organic-carbon-rich sediments: benthic foraminifera as bio-indicators of depositional environments

Elena Lo Giudice Cappelli, Jessica Louise Clarke, Craig Smeaton, Keith Davidson, and William Edward Newns Austin

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Benthic foraminifera relative abundance in surface sediments of voes on Shetland's west coast Elena Lo Giudice Cappelli, Jessica L. Clarke, Craig Smeaton, Keith Davidson, and William E. N. Austin https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.907351

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Short summary
Fjords are known sinks of organic carbon (OC); however, little is known about the long-term fate of the OC stored in these sediments. The reason for this knowledge gap is the post-depositional degradation of OC. This study uses benthic foraminifera (microorganisms with calcite shells) to discriminate between post-depositional OC degradation and actual OC burial and accumulation in fjordic sediments, as foraminifera would only preserve the latter information in their assemblage composition.
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