Microfossils, carbonate lysocline and compensation depth in surface sediments of the northeastern South China Sea

Based on the quantitative analyses of abundance of planktonic foraminifera, benthic foraminifera, calcareous nannofossils, the ratios of calcareous to siliceous microfossils, and the determination of carbonate contents in the surface sediments of the northeastern South China Sea, it has been found that the carbonate contents, the abundance of planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannoplankton, and the ratio of calcareous microfossils decrease rapidly while the ratio of the benthic foraminifera to the total foraminiferal fauna, specific value of siliceous microfossils, and the percentage of the agglutinated tests in the benthic foraminiferal fauna increase with the water depth. The results indicate that the microfossils abundance and ratio, and the carbonate content are closely related to the carbonate lysocline and carbonate compensation depth (CCD) in the study area. In addition, the carbonate lysocline and the CCD are different between the southern and northern parts of the South China Sea. Both the lysocline and the CCD are deeper in the south with 2 600 and 3 600 m than in the north with 2 200 and 3 400 m, respectively.

Unraveling the Cenozoic carbon cycle by reconstructing carbonate compensation depth(CCD)

The Carbonate Compensation Depth(CCD)refers to the depth within the ocean where the production and dissolution rates of carbonates reach equilibrium,widely likened to the oceanic calcareous‘snowline’.The reconstruction of deep-time CCD has significant implications for understanding ocean circulation,seawater chemical conditions,sediment distribution,and the surface carbon cycle.This paper critically reviews the methods for CCD reconstruction,summarizes the driving mechanisms of the Cenozoic CCD evolution and its association with the carbon cycle,and offers insights into future directions for CCD research.CCD reconstruction has evolved over the past half century from early qualitative to quantitative methods.These methodological improvements have markedly improved the accuracy and resolution of CCD.Existing studies have indicated a general trend of the CCD deepening across major ocean basins since the Cenozoic,interspersed with a minor shallowing phase during the mid-Miocene.The variations in the CCD are primarily influenced by factors such as ocean productivity,weathering,and shelf-basin partitioning.During climate events such as the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum,the CCD exhibits pulselike fluctuations.Future research should focus on precision and quantification while integrating model simulations to further explore the correlations and response mechanisms between the CCD and the paleoclimate as well as the carbon cycle.

Coupling between the Cenozoic west Pacific subduction initiation and decreases of atmospheric carbon dioxides

At the beginning of the Cenozoic,the atmospheric CO_(2)concentration increased rapidly from~2000 ppmv at 60 Ma to~4600 ppmv at 51 Ma,which is 5–10 times higher than the present value,and then continuous declined from~51 to 34 Ma.The cause of this phenomenon is still not well understood.In this study,we demonstrate that the initiation of Cenozoic west Pacific plate subduction,triggered by the hard collision in the Tibetan Plateau,occurred at approximately 51 Ma,coinciding with the tipping point.The water depths of the Pacific subduction zones are mostly below the carbonate compensation depths,while those of the Neo-Tethys were much shallower before the collision and caused far more carbonate subducting.Additionally,more volcanic ashes erupted from the west Pacific subduction zones,which consume CO_(2).The average annual west Pacific volvano eruption is 1.11 km~3,which is higher than previous estimations.The amount of annual CO_(2)absorbed by chemical weathering of additional west Pacific volcanic ashes could be comparable to the silicate weathering by the global river.We propose that the initiation of the western Pacific subduction controlled the long-term reduction of atmospheric CO_(2)concentration.