Organic Carbon Burial and Diagenesis - How Much Organic Carbon Is Actually Preserved?

This course explains how organic carbon is produced, transported, degraded, buried, and preserved in marine sediments. It examines microbial zonation, sediment diagenesis, pore-water reactions, subsurface microbes, and the resulting oxic, suboxic, and anoxic zones.

Syllabus

what is microbial zonation?
types of marine sediments
types of organic matter
where and how OC is produced
what degrades OC in the water?
what degrades OC at the seafloor?
what degrades OC beneath the seafloor?
sediment diagenesis
pore water - sediment reactions
subsurface microbes further degrade OC
how much OC is actually preserved?
post-depo diagenetic mineral transformations
resulting oxic, suboxic, & anoxic sediment zones
upcoming videos & references!