cover image: Earthquake-enhanced dissolved carbon cycles in ultra-deep ocean sediments

20.500.12592/11npg9l

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

1 Dec 2023

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.

Authors

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, Sarah Zellers

Bibliographic Reference
Mengfan Chu, Rui Bao, Michael Strasser, Ken Ikehara, Jez Everest, et al.. Earthquake-enhanced dissolved carbon cycles in ultra-deep ocean sediments. Nature Communications, 2023, 14 (1), pp.5427. ⟨10.1038/s41467-023-41116-w⟩. ⟨hal-04228384⟩
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41116-w
Funding
This research is funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (92058207, 42076037 and 42242601, R.B.), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (202042010, R.B.), the National Key Programs for Fundamental Research and Development (2016YFA0600904, R.B.), Taishan Young Scholars (tsqn202103030, R.B.), and Shandong Natural Science Foundation (ZR2021JQ12, R.B.).
HAL Collection
["INSU - Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers", 'Université de Bretagne occidentale - Brest (UBO)', 'Université de Rennes 1', 'Université Rennes 2 - Haute Bretagne', 'CNRS - Centre national de la recherche scientifique', 'Université de Bretagne Sud', "IFREMER : Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer", 'Géosciences Rennes', 'Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer', "Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Rennes", "Thèses de l'IUEM", 'Publications labos UR1 dans HAL-Rennes 1', 'UR1 - publications SDLM', 'Université Rennes 2', 'GEO-OCEAN', 'TEST Université de Rennes CSS', 'Université de Rennes', 'Institut National de Recherche en Agriculture, Alimentation et Environnement', 'Pôle Rennes 1 - Environnement', 'Paléoenvironnement', 'collection test', 'Réseau "Systèmes Agricoles et Eau"', 'collection test 5', 'Institut écologie et environnement du CNRS']
HAL Identifier
4229057
Institution
['Ocean University of China', 'Universität Innsbruck [Innsbruck]', 'Université de Rennes', "Institut national des sciences de l'Univers", 'Université de Rennes 2', 'Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement', 'Université de Bretagne Sud', "Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer", 'Université de Brest', 'Universität Bremen', 'Norwegian Geotechnical Institute', 'University of Central Missouri']
Laboratory
['Géosciences Rennes', 'Geo-Ocean']
Published in
France

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