Abstract
Purpose
The objective of this study was to provide insights into the most recent responses of sediments to climate change and their capability to sequester atmospheric carbon (C).
Methods
Three sediment cores were collected, one from the western Black Sea, and two from the southern Adriatic Sea. Cores were extruded and sectioned into 1 cm or 0.5 cm intervals. Sections were frozen, weighed, freeze-dried, and then weighed again to obtain dry weights. Freeze-dried samples were dated by using lead 210 (210Pb) and cesium 137/ americium 241 (137Cs/241Am). Organic and inorganic C were determined by combustion. Particle size distribution was determined using a Beckman Coulter particle size analyzer (LS 13,320; Beckman Coulter Inc.). Mineralogical analyses were carried out by a Philips X’Pert powder diffractometer.
Results
Sedimentation and organic and inorganic C accumulation rates increased with time in both the Black Sea and the Adriatic Sea. The increase in accumulation rates continued after the global introduction in the early 1970s of controls on the release of phosphorus (P) into the environment and despite the reduced sediment yield of major rivers (Po and Danube). Therefore, the increased accumulation of organic and inorganic C in the sediments cannot be assigned only to nutrient availability. Instead, we suggest that the increase in organic C is the consequence of the increase in atmospheric C, which has made more carbon dioxide (CO2) available to phytoplankton, thus enabling more efficient photosynthesis. This process known as CO2 fertilization may increase the organic C accumulation in sediments. Simultaneously, the increase of sea temperatures decreases the calcite solubility resulting in increases of the inorganic C accumulation.
Conclusion
Our results suggest that long-term, general increases in accumulation rates of organic and inorganic C in sediments are the consequence of increases in atmospheric C. This shows that coastal sediments play an important role in C uptake and thus in regulating the Earth’s climate.
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Acknowledgements
This work has been done within the framework of the IAEA RER7009 “Enhancing Coastal Management in the Adriatic and the Black Sea by Using Nuclear Analytical Techniques” and IAEA RER7015 “Enhancing Coastal Management in the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, and the Aral Sea by Using Nuclear Analytical Techniques.” The IAEA Marine Environmental Laboratories are grateful to the Government of the Principality of Monaco for the support provided to the Environment Laboratories. We are grateful to prof.dr.sc. Darko Tibljaš and assist. Ms. Laura Huljek for help and assistance in mineralogical composition analysis.
Funding
AV acknowledges the support of the Croatian Science Foundation—Youth Careers Development Project (ESF-DOK-1–2018). JO and TK acknowledge the support of the Croatian Science Foundation project IP-01–2018.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Andrija Vinković, Jasmina Obhođaš, Gennady Laptyev, Günseli Yaprak, Krasimira Slavova, Danijela Joksimović, Tamara Troskot-Čorbić, and Neda Vdović. The manuscript draft was written by Jasmina Obhođaš, Andrija Vinković, Gennady Laptyev, and Octavian G. Duliu, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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11368_2022_3282_MOESM1_ESM.xlsx
Supplementary file1 Supplementary Information contains data in the form of Excel tables that present raw data of C measurements and calculations of C flux (C sedimentation), C sequestration calculation, raw data for sediments dating calculations (Dating), Particle Size Distribution diagram, and diagrams showing results of semi-quantitative mineral composition analysis across different core’s depths (Mineral composition trends) (XLSX 805 KB)
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Vinković, A., Laptyev, G., Yaprak, G. et al. Could atmospheric carbon be driving sedimentation?. J Soils Sediments 22, 2912–2928 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-022-03282-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-022-03282-0