Distribution of Organic Matter
Within restricted areas where the supply of organic matter to the bottom may be considered constant, it is possible to attribute local irregularities in the organic-matter content of the sediments to the effects of transporting agencies and topography. For example, in the southern California area (fig. 260) the organic content is low on the ridges and banks and high in the depressions and basins. These differences may be attributed to the more active benthic fauna that inhabit the topographic highs and the effects of currents which sweep the finely divided organic matter and the fine-grained sediments into the depressions. The latter environment favors the preservation of the organic matter.
The distribution of organic nitrogen in the sediments off the southern California coast. Compare with figs. 7 and 264. (From Revelle and Shepard, 1939, in Recent Marine Sediments, edited by Parker D. Trask. American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Tulsa.)
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The organic-matter content of terrigenous deposits is on the average higher than that of the pelagic deposits. According to Trask (1939), the averages are 2.5 and 1.0 per cent, respectively. As shown elsewhere (p. 1036), the rate of deposition of pelagic sediments is much less than that of terrigenous sediments, hence organic matter accumulates much more rapidly in nearshore deposits than in those of the open oceans. Trask (1939) assumed that the production of organic matter was uniform over the entire area of the oceans and attributed the more rapid accumulation in terrigenous deposits to the fact that the environment was less favorable to the destruction of organic matter on the sea bottom. However, the production cannot be assumed to be constant and the difference may be due entirely to the greater production in nearshore areas, particularly in those where upwelling and mixing are active. Until additional information is available concerning the differences in the supply of organic matter to the sea bottom it is impossible to evaluate the relative importance of supply and preservation as factors determining the organic content of the sediments. Correns (1937) attributes the higher organic content of the sediments near the African coast in the equatorial Atlantic to the larger production and, hence, greater potential supply in this region. Similarly, Wiseman and Bennett (1940) attribute the higher organic content of the nearshore sediments in the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean to the greater organic production in such areas.
Among the pelagic deposits there is less range in organic matter content. The fragmentary data available indicate that diatom oozes are the richest, followed by red clay and the calcareous oozes. Terrigenous diatomaceous deposits such as those in the Gulf of California (Revelle, personal communication) are among the richest group in their content of organic matter and may contain more than 10 per cent.
Studies of the variations in organic-matter content with depth and distance from shore generally show maxima at intermediate depths and distances. In some cases this feature is associated with basin conditions, as in the southern California area; in others it may be ascribed to the greater production or more rapid accumulation of clastic material or a combination of such factors near shore. The coarse sediments of the beach and shelf are generally low in organic matter.
Trask (1939) has summarized the organic content found in various types of shallow-water environments. These data show that shelf sediments generally contain between 2.0 and 3.0 per cent with higher values
Within the marine sediments there is generally a decrease in organic content with depth in the deposit. Correns (1937), Revelle and Shepard (1939), and Wiseman and Bennett (1940) have all reported this characteristic distribution. Within the upper 50 cm of the core as collected, the organic matter generally decreases to about two thirds of its value in the superficial layers. Irregularities in the content may usually be correlated with changes in the character of the deposit. The decrease is attributed to destruction due to bacterial activity after burial. The decrease in organic matter with depth in the sediment is accompanied by a marked decrease in the number of bacteria. Offhand, it might appear that the residual organic matter is of such a type that it cannot be attacked by bacteria. However, this is certainly not true of terrigenous sediments, and the meager data indicate that the organic matter in pelagic deposits is also subject to bacterial destruction. When brought into the laboratory, marine sediments will support large and active bacterial populations which rapidly attack the organic matter (Anderson, 1939). Under the environment prevailing in the buried sediment on the sea bottom, it is possible that biological activity has practically ceased. Nevertheless, viable bacteria are always present and if the environment is changed, say, by bringing the material into the laboratory, active growth and metabolism will result in the further alteration and oxidation of the organic matter.
The percentage of organic matter has been shown to be inversely related to the texture and it has been pointed out that the oxidation-reduction potential may be related to the organic content. Various workers have drawn attention to relationships between the organic matter and other constituents of the sediments. Correns (1937, 1939) obtained a linear relationship between organic matter and calcium carbonate and concluded that the calcareous material contained about 0.2 per cent organic matter and that the noncalcareous material contained a constant proportion of organic matter. Correns’ data also show a general relationship between the organic matter and the phosphate in the sediments. Revelle (1936), from an examination of the Carnegie