Pleistocene sediment offloading and the global sulfur cycle
Quaternary sea level fluctuations have greatly affected the sediment budgets of the continental shelves. Previous studies suggested that this caused a considerable increase in the net loss of shelf sediments. Since sediment accumulation and erosion are closely tied to the formation and re-oxidation...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2015-05-01
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| Series: | Biogeosciences |
| Online Access: | http://www.biogeosciences.net/12/3043/2015/bg-12-3043-2015.pdf |
| Summary: | Quaternary sea level fluctuations have greatly affected the sediment budgets
of the continental shelves. Previous studies suggested that this caused a
considerable increase in the net loss of shelf sediments. Since sediment
accumulation and erosion are closely tied to the formation and re-oxidation
of pyrite, we use a high-resolution record of sulfur isotope ratios
(<sup>34</sup>S / <sup>32</sup>S) of marine sulfate to evaluate the implications of the
so-called "shelf sediment offloading" on the global sulfur cycle. Modeling of
our δ<sup>34</sup>S record suggests that erosion during sea level
lowstands was only partly compensated by increased sedimentation during
times of rising sea level and sea level highstands. Furthermore, our data
suggests that shelf systems reached a new equilibrium state about
700 ka, which considerably slowed or terminated shelf sediment offloading. |
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| ISSN: | 1726-4170 1726-4189 |