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Sedimentary carbon-isotope systematics on the Amazon shelf

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Abstract

Sedimentary carbon systematics on the Amazon continental shelf were investigated using14C andδ 13C measurements of sedimentary organic materials. Mass balance calculations indicate that the14C content of modern shelf muds results from burial of old (~ 5000 yr BP) terrestrial soil carbon and bomb-14C-enriched marine carbon, implying that most of the bomb-labeled riverine particulate carbon is not buried on the shelf. The14C signature of Amazon shelf deposits records the effects of both biogeochemical and sedimentary processes active in this dynamic environment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Sciences Research Center, State University of New York, 11794-5000, Stony Brook, New York, USA

    Christopher K. Sommerfield & Charles A. Nittrouer

  2. Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, North Carolina State University, 27695-8208, Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

    David J. DeMaster

Authors
  1. Christopher K. Sommerfield
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  2. Charles A. Nittrouer
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  3. David J. DeMaster
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Sommerfield, C.K., Nittrouer, C.A. & DeMaster, D.J. Sedimentary carbon-isotope systematics on the Amazon shelf. Geo-Marine Letters 16, 17–23 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01218832

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01218832

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