海溝域に於ける有機物の水平輸送について

概要

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Collection of sinking particles by sediment trap experiment was conducted in the Japan and Izu-Ogasawara Trenches to assess the significance of the horizontal transport of organic matter across the interface between the coastal and open ocean areas as well as the vertical transport of chemical materials as often observed in the open ocean. Organic materials of the sinking particles collected from these trench areas was analyzed for δ^<14>C and /or ^<14>C to determine their ^<14>C ages. We found that the organic materials of the sinking particles from these trench areas were much older than those of the sinking particles collected from the open ocean of the eastern and central North Pacific, indicating that sediment once settled in the continental shelf and its slope are most likely source materials of the sinking particles in the trench environment as well as the organic materials produced in the surface water by phytoplankton photosynthesis. We also found that ^<14>C age of the surface sediment in the Hidaka Trough tended to become older toward the center of the Japan Trench, however organic matter of the sinking particles was sometimes determined to be much older than that of the sedimentary organic matter from same depth. This clearly indicates that the sinking particle must be much affected by a particle consisting of organic materials with extremely old age.
名古屋大学の論文