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Tectonically-triggered sediment and carbon export to the Hadal zone.

  • Bao R Geological Institute, ETH Zurich, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland. rui.bao@erdw.ethz.ch.
  • Strasser M Geological Institute, ETH Zurich, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland. Michael.Strasser@uibk.ac.at.
  • McNichol AP National Ocean Science Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Facility, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Woods Hole, MA, 02543-1539, USA.
  • Haghipour N Geological Institute, ETH Zurich, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • McIntyre C Geological Institute, ETH Zurich, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • Wefer G MARUM-Center for Marine Environmental Sciences University of Bremen, D-28359, Bremen, Germany.
  • Eglinton TI Geological Institute, ETH Zurich, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland. timothy.eglinton@erdw.ethz.ch.
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  • 2018-01-11
Published in:
  • Nature communications. - 2018
General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
General Physics and Astronomy
General Chemistry
English Sediments in deep ocean trenches may contain crucial information on past earthquake history and constitute important sites of carbon burial. Here we present 14C data on bulk organic carbon (OC) and its thermal decomposition fractions produced by ramped pyrolysis/oxidation for a core retrieved from the >7.5 km-deep Japan Trench. High-resolution 14C measurements, coupled with distinctive thermogram characteristics of OC, reveal hemipelagic sedimentation interrupted by episodic deposition of pre-aged OC in the trench. Low δ13C values and diverse 14C ages of thermal fractions imply that the latter material originates from the adjacent margin, and the co-occurrence of pre-aged OC with intervals corresponding to known earthquake events implies tectonically triggered, gravity-flow-driven supply. We show that 14C ages of thermal fractions can yield valuable chronological constraints on sedimentary sequences. Our findings shed new light on links between tectonically driven sedimentological processes and marine carbon cycling, with implications for carbon dynamics in hadal environments.
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  • English
Open access status
gold
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https://sonar.ch/global/documents/223615
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