SOURCES ANIC MATTER IN MARINE BASINS.pdf

Marine Geology - Elsevier pany, Amsterdam - Printed in herlands
ACCUMULATION AND TRANSFORMATION ANIC SUBSTANCES IN MARINE SEDIMENTS 2
SOURCES ANIC MATTER IN MARINE BASINS
O. K. BORDOVSKIY
. Academy of Sciences, Moscow (.)
(Received December 17, 1964)
DISTRIBUTION AND FORMS ANIC MATTER IN WATER
It is a characteristic feature of the water of seas and oceans that it anic
matter. Although this matter is quantitatively far from being the ponent,
its presence makes possible the varied life of marine basins. Most of anic
matter is dead or "inert", and only an insignificant proportion is associated with
anisms.
The oceans and seas contain • 10TM tons anic matter, which is approx-
imately equal to the world resources of coal or peat (SKoPINTSEV, 1950).
The concentration anic matter in water may be significantly affected by
the type of basin, physiographical conditions, and a number of other factors. Inland
basins are richest anic matter. For example, the average content anic
carbon 1 is rag/1 in the waters of the Sea of Azov, approximately 6 mg/l in the
Caspian, and of the order of mg/1 in the Black Sea (DATSKO, 1959). Lower con-
centrations (1-2 mg/l) are a feature of the oceans and the seas bordering on them.
Organic matter is also unevenly distributed within each basin, and its concen-
tration is usually increased near the shore and in shallow water. Thus, for example,
concentration reaches - mg/1 in Kaydak Bay in the Caspian, and -
rag/1 in the Kara-Bogaz-Gol (DATSKO, 1959).
Organic matter is more evenly distributed in the open expanses of basins.
Vertical distribution is also fairly uniform, although there is some increase of con-
centration in the upper levels and some decline below. In the Black Sea, for example,
organic carbon content is mg/1 in the 0-300 m layer, below which it decreases to
mg/1. Similarly, in the Caspian the concentration anic carbon fails