New Insights on the Age and Climate Mitigation Significance of Shelf Sea Sedimentary Organic Carbon Stores

关于陆架海沉积有机碳库的年龄和气候减缓意义的新见解

• 批准号: NE/X013278/1
• 负责人: William Edward Newns Austin
• 金额: $ 7.33万
• 依托单位: University of St Andrews
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FX013278%2F1
• 关键词: New; Insights; Age; Climate; Mitigation

The burial of organic carbon (OC) in coastal and continental shelf sediments contributes to the regulation of atmospheric CO2 on geological timescales and potentially mitigates present-day climate change. Major efforts are now underway to map and quantify the OC held in our continental shelf seas, including the first ever assessment of a national Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) sediment OC resource. However, there are fundamental requirements in the realization of a reliable accounting of this natural capital, namely to constrain the OC source(s) and, perhaps more significantly, the age of the OC itself. When these OC-rich sediments are disturbed, either by natural or (increasingly) anthropogenic pressures, there is potential for significant quantities of CO2 to be released to the water column and potentially the atmosphere In this proposal we aim to provide a unique constraint on the radiocarbon age of thermal (heated) fractions of combusted organic-rich marine sediments from the UK EEZ in order to test the hypothesis that OC reactivity in offshore sediments is driven by the source, age and fate of OC. Our research is poised to highlight the key role which radiocarbon dating must now play in national OC accounting for climate mitigation services from shelf sea environments.

沿海和大陆架子沉积物中有机碳（OC）的埋葬有助于调节大气二氧化碳在地质时间尺度上，并可能减轻当今的气候变化。现在正在进行重大努力，以绘制和量化我们大陆架海洋中的OC，包括对国家独家经济区（EEZ）沉积物OC资源的首次评估。但是，实现这种自然资本的可靠会计，即限制OC来源，也许更重要的是OC本身的年龄，这是有基本的要求。 When these OC-rich sediments are disturbed, either by natural or (increasingly) anthropogenic pressures, there is potential for significant quantities of CO2 to be released to the water column and potentially the atmosphere In this proposal we aim to provide a unique constraint on the radiocarbon age of thermal (heated) fractions of combusted organic-rich marine sediments from the UK EEZ in order to test the hypothesis that OC reactivity in offshore沉积物由OC的来源，年龄和命运驱动。我们的研究有望强调放射性碳约会必须在国家OC中必须在货架海环境中为气候缓解服务中发挥的关键作用。