Subducted organic matter buffered by marine carbonate rules the carbon isotopic signature of arc emissions
Ocean sediments consist mainly of calcium carbonate and organic matter (phytoplankton debris). Once subducted, some carbon is removed from the slab and returns to the atmosphere as CO 2 in arc magmas. Its isotopic signature is thought to reflect the bulk fraction of inorganic (carbonate) and organic...
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Published in | Nature communications Vol. 13; no. 1; p. 2909 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
London
Nature Publishing Group UK
25.05.2022
Nature Publishing Group Nature Portfolio |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Ocean sediments consist mainly of calcium carbonate and organic matter (phytoplankton debris). Once subducted, some carbon is removed from the slab and returns to the atmosphere as CO
2
in arc magmas. Its isotopic signature is thought to reflect the bulk fraction of inorganic (carbonate) and organic (graphitic) carbon in the sedimentary source. Here we challenge this assumption by experimentally investigating model sediments composed of
13
C-CaCO
3
+
12
C-graphite interacting with water at pressure, temperature and redox conditions of an average slab–mantle interface beneath arcs. We show that oxidative dissolution of graphite is the main process controlling the production of CO
2
, and its isotopic composition reflects the CO
2
/CaCO
3
rather than the bulk graphite/CaCO
3
(i.e., organic/inorganic carbon) fraction. We provide a mathematical model to relate the arc CO
2
isotopic signature with the fluid–rock ratios and the redox state in force in its subarc source.
The carbon isotopic signature of CO
2
released from marine sediments subducted beneath volcanic arcs does not reflect their organic/inorganic fraction, but instead the fluid-rock ratios and the redox conditions in force at the top of the slab. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 2041-1723 2041-1723 |
DOI: | 10.1038/s41467-022-30421-5 |