The distribution of 230 Th and 231 Pa in the deep-sea surface sediments of the Pacific Ocean

Details The distribution of 230 Th and 231 Pa in the deep-sea surface sediments of the Pacific Ocean The distribution of 230 Th and 231 Pa in the deep-sea surface sediments of the Pacific Ocean

Jan 1986

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1986gecoa..50...81y&link_type=abstract

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, vol. 50, Issue 1, pp.81-89

Physics

10

Scientific paper

In order to determine the areal extent and distribution of 231 Pa sinks in the Pacific Ocean, we have analyzed 34 deep-sea surface sediment samples from widely distributed locations for their Pa, Th and U isotopes. While the 230 Th xs content varies by more than a factor often, the 231 Pa xs content is confined in a relatively narrow range with a mean value of 2.8 ± 1.4 dpm/g. There is a positive correlation between 230 Th xs and 231 Pa xs and, using the regression line it is possible to calculate the ( 230 Th xs / 231 Pa xs ) activity ratios in samples for which only 230 Th data are available. We then constructed a map of ( 230 Th xs / 231 Pa xs ) distribution. Using ( 230 Pa xs / 231 Pa xs ) < 11 (the production ratio in the water column) as a criterion for identifying preferential 231 Pa sinks, we have identified an area covering 30-40% of the Pacific Ocean. This area includes most of the Pacific margins, the northwest Pacific, the Antarctic Ocean and perhaps the mid-ocean ridge regions, and is nearly coincident with that of high sediment accumulation rates: this suggests that the paniculate flux is important for the removal of 231 Pa from the ocean. Two models for the removal of 231 Pa produced in the open ocean are: 1. (1) lateral transport into the vertical flux in regions of high particulate flux ( , 1979; et al , 1983a,b) or 2. (2) uptake at the sediment-water boundary: the second model is more likely to be correct. To distinguish unequivocally between the two proposed models, we would need sediment trap data for the western North Pacific.

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