. The Earth beneath the sea : History . Fig. 33. Frequency distribution of the carbon/nitrogen ratio as a function of depth in Pacific north equatorial clay sediments. The right-hand graph shows the number of samples measured within each of the depth classes limited by horizontal lines. (From Arrhenius, 1952.) (Fig. 32b) (Bruejewicz and Zaytseva, 1959; Shiskina, 1958). The oxidation state of the interstitially dissolved nitrogen compounds changes rapidly with depth in the sediment, so that at the surface a considerable portion is nitrate whereas at depth ammonium ion predominates in solution (
. The Earth beneath the sea : History . Fig. 33. Frequency distribution of the carbon/nitrogen ratio as a function of depth in Pacific north equatorial clay sediments. The right-hand graph shows the number of samples measured within each of the depth classes limited by horizontal lines. (From Arrhenius, 1952.) (Fig. 32b) (Bruejewicz and Zaytseva, 1959; Shiskina, 1958). The oxidation state of the interstitially dissolved nitrogen compounds changes rapidly with depth in the sediment, so that at the surface a considerable portion is nitrate whereas at depth ammonium ion predominates in solution (Fig. 32d), In the progressive decomposition of pelagic organic matter, carbon is lost more rapidly than nitrogen and consequently the ratio of carbon to nitrogen in the sediment de- creases with depth below the sediment surface, with geological time (Fig. 33). The combined influence of origin and diagenesis of the organic matter on its composition is illustrated in Fig. 34. Most of the refractory solid organic matter consists of the original and de- composed organic molecules interstratified with, and protected by, the apatite
Size: 2197px × 2275px
Photo credit: © The Bookworm Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookcollectionbiodivers, booksubjectoceanbottom
