Earthquake-enhanced dissolved carbon cycles in ultra-deep ocean sediments

Mengfan Chu, Rui Bao (), Michael Strasser, Ken Ikehara, Jez Everest, Lena Maeda, Katharina Hochmuth, Li Xu, Ann McNichol, Piero Bellanova, Troy Rasbury, Martin Kölling, Natascha Riedinger, Joel Johnson, Min Luo, Christian März, Susanne Straub, Kana Jitsuno, Morgane Brunet, Zhirong Cai, Antonio Cattaneo, Kanhsi Hsiung, Takashi Ishizawa, Takuya Itaki, Toshiya Kanamatsu, Myra Keep, Arata Kioka, Cecilia McHugh, Aaron Micallef, Dhananjai Pandey, Jean Noël Proust, Yasufumi Satoguchi, Derek Sawyer, Chloé Seibert, Maxwell Silver, Joonas Virtasalo, Yonghong Wang, Ting-Wei Wu and Sarah Zellers
Additional contact information
Mengfan Chu: Ocean University of China
Rui Bao: Ocean University of China
Michael Strasser: Institute of Geology
Ken Ikehara: Institute of Geology and Geoinformation
Jez Everest: Lyell Centre
Lena Maeda: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
Katharina Hochmuth: University of Leicester
Li Xu: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Ann McNichol: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Piero Bellanova: Institute of Neotectonics and Natural Hazards & Institute of Geology and Geochemistry of Petroleum and Coal
Troy Rasbury: Department of Geosciences
Martin Kölling: University of Bremen
Natascha Riedinger: Oklahoma State University
Joel Johnson: Department of Earth Sciences
Min Luo: Shanghai Ocean University
Christian März: University of Leeds
Susanne Straub: Geochemistry Division
Kana Jitsuno: Waseda University
Morgane Brunet: Géosciences Rennes
Zhirong Cai: Graduate School of Science
Antonio Cattaneo: Univ Brest, CNRS, Ifremer
Kanhsi Hsiung: Subduction Dynamics Research Center
Takashi Ishizawa: Tohoku University
Takuya Itaki: Institute of Geology and Geoinformation
Toshiya Kanamatsu: Research Institute of Marine Geodynamics (IMG)
Myra Keep: Department School of Earth Sciences
Arata Kioka: Department of Earth Resources Engineering
Cecilia McHugh: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Aaron Micallef: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Dhananjai Pandey: Government of India
Jean Noël Proust: Géosciences Rennes
Yasufumi Satoguchi: Lake Biwa Museum
Derek Sawyer: School of Earth Sciences
Chloé Seibert: Marine geology and geophysics division
Maxwell Silver: Hydrologic Science and Engineering
Joonas Virtasalo: Geological Survey of Finland (GTK)
Yonghong Wang: Department of Marine Geosciences
Ting-Wei Wu: University of Bremen
Sarah Zellers: Department of Physical Sciences

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Hadal trenches are unique geological and ecological systems located along subduction zones. Earthquake-triggered turbidites act as efficient transport pathways of organic carbon (OC), yet remineralization and transformation of OC in these systems are not comprehensively understood. Here we measure concentrations and stable- and radiocarbon isotope signatures of dissolved organic and inorganic carbon (DOC, DIC) in the subsurface sediment interstitial water along the Japan Trench axis collected during the IODP Expedition 386. We find accumulation and aging of DOC and DIC in the subsurface sediments, which we interpret as enhanced production of labile dissolved carbon owing to earthquake-triggered turbidites, which supports intensive microbial methanogenesis in the trench sediments. The residual dissolved carbon accumulates in deep subsurface sediments and may continue to fuel the deep biosphere. Tectonic events can therefore enhance carbon accumulation and stimulate carbon transformation in plate convergent trench systems, which may accelerate carbon export into the subduction zones.

Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-41116-w Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:14:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-023-41116-w

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41116-w

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().