Articles | Volume 21, issue 20
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4569-2024
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-21-4569-2024
Research article
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23 Oct 2024
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 23 Oct 2024

Seafloor sediment characterization improves estimates of organic carbon standing stocks: an example from the Eastern Shore Islands, Nova Scotia, Canada

Catherine Brenan, Markus Kienast, Vittorio Maselli, Christopher K. Algar, Benjamin Misiuk, and Craig J. Brown

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Cited articles

Acharya, S. S. and Panigrahi, M. K.: Evaluation of factors controlling the distribution of organic matter and phosphorus in the Eastern Arabian Shelf: A geostatistical reappraisal, Cont. Shelf Res., 126, 79–88, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2016.08.001, 2016. 
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Atwood, T. B., Witt, A., Mayorga, J., Hammill, E., and Sala, E.: Global Patterns in Marine Sediment Carbon Stocks, Front. Mar. Sci., 7, 165, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2020.00165, 2020. 
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Bianchi, T. S., Aller, R. C., Atwood, T. B., Brown, C. J., Buatois, L. A., Levin, L. A., Levinton, J. S., Middelburg, J. J., Morrison, E. S., Regnier, P., Shields, M. R., Snelgrove, P. V., Sotka, E. E., and Stanley, R. R.: What global biogeochemical consequences will marine animal–sediment interactions have during climate change?, Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene, 9, 00180, https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2020.00180, 2021. 
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Co-editor-in-chief
This proof-of-concept study demonstrates that high-resolution seafloor substrate maps and spatial organic carbon models can be used to estimate the organic carbon on the seafloor. This information is critical for evaluating the carbon sequestration capacity of continental shelves and their relevance for climate regulation.
Short summary
Quantifying how much organic carbon is stored in seafloor sediments is key to assessing how human activities can accelerate the process of carbon storage at the seabed, an important consideration for climate change. This study uses seafloor sediment maps to model organic carbon content. Carbon estimates were 12 times higher when assuming the absence of detailed sediment maps, demonstrating that high-resolution seafloor mapping is critically important for improved estimates of organic carbon.
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