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

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Final revised paper (published on 28 Feb 2020)
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Preprint (discussion started on 20 Aug 2019)
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Interactive discussion

Status: closed

AC: Author comment | RC: Referee comment | SC: Short comment | EC: Editor comment

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RC1: 'Review of Volz et al. - deep sea mining impact', Anonymous Referee #1, 22 Sep 2019
- AC1: 'Volz et al_BG_final responses_referee#1', Jessica Volz, 04 Dec 2019
RC2: 'Review of Volz et al', Anonymous Referee #2, 23 Sep 2019
- AC2: 'Volz et al_BG_final responses_referee#2', Jessica Volz, 04 Dec 2019

Peer-review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision

ED: Publish subject to minor revisions (review by editor) (05 Dec 2019) by Jack Middelburg

AR by Jessica Volz on behalf of the Authors (18 Dec 2019) Author's response Manuscript

ED: Publish subject to technical corrections (14 Jan 2020) by Jack Middelburg

AR by Jessica Volz on behalf of the Authors (22 Jan 2020) Author's response Manuscript

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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.