Impact of small-scale disturbances on geochemical conditions, biogeochemical processes and element fluxes in surface sediments of the eastern Clarion–Clipperton Zone, Pacific Ocean

Volz, Jessica B.; Haffert, Laura; Haeckel, Matthias; Koschinsky, Andrea; Kasten, Sabine

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1113-2020

Articles | Volume 17, issue 4

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1113-2020

© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Special issue:

Assessing environmental impacts of deep-sea mining...

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1113-2020

© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 17, issue 4

Research article

|

28 Feb 2020

Research article |

| 28 Feb 2020

Impact of small-scale disturbances on geochemical conditions, biogeochemical processes and element fluxes in surface sediments of the eastern Clarion–Clipperton Zone, Pacific Ocean

Jessica B. Volz, Laura Haffert, Matthias Haeckel, Andrea Koschinsky, and Sabine Kasten

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-17-1113-2020-supplement

Data sets

Solid-phase TOC and bulk Mn data for sediment cores taken in small-scale disturbance tracks during SONNE cruise SO239 in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) J. B. Volz, L. Haffert, M. Haeckel, A. Koschinsky, and S. Kasten https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.904560

Porosity data for sediment cores taken in small-scale disturbance tracks and undisturbed reference sites during SONNE cruise SO239 in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) J. B. Volz, L. Haffert, M. Haeckel, A. Koschinsky, and S. Kasten https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.904578

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Short summary

Potential future deep-sea mining of polymetallic nodules at the seafloor is expected to severely harm the marine environment. However, the consequences on deep-sea ecosystems are still poorly understood. This study on surface sediments from man-made disturbance tracks in the Pacific Ocean shows that due to the removal of the uppermost sediment layer and thereby the loss of organic matter, the geochemical system in the sediments is disturbed for millennia before reaching a new equilibrium.