Abstract
Organic carbon, total nitrogen, amino acids, sugars, and chlorophyll were determined in < 1 mm fractions of the samples collected by successive large aperture time-series sediment traps (Honjo-Mark M) in northern South China Sea during September 1987 to October 1988. The ratio of C/N and the relative abundance of amino acids and sugars show that organic matter in the settling particles from northern South China Sea is derived mainly from marine plantkon (especially phytoplankton). The organic carbon fluxes in our sediment traps are lower than those in other sediment traps. But the relative contents of Corg/total particulate matter are generally similar to those in the Panama Basin, Arabian Sea and Subarctic Pacific. It is suggested that monsoon-caused changes of physical and chemical conditions in the upper euphotic layer would control the fluxes of organic matter as well as its composition and transport in northern South China Sea.
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This project was financially supported by both Sino-German Scientific Cooperation Program and National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 49070269, 49776297).
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Jianfang, C., Luqiang, X., Lianfu, Z. et al. Organic geochemical characteristics of time-series settling particles in northern South China Sea and their implications. Chin. J. Geochem. 17, 275–283 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02834604
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02834604