Determination of Natural Exchange Constants of Oxygen in Oceanic Sulphates.
Abstract
An investigation was made into the rate of equilibration of the stable isotopes of oxygen in the water-sulphate system in the ocean. Two cores from the Carmel Submarine Canyon off the California coast were analyzed. The absolute ratios of the oxygen in the interstitial water and dissolved sulphates were determined using a mass spectrometer. The various biological and physical processes which can alter the isotopic ratios were discussed and a simple mathematical model was proposed. The mathematical model retained terms which were considered significant in the anaerobic zone of a sediment. After simple manipulations, a computational model was derived and a time constant for the oxygen ratio of the water-sulphate system was determined as -0.0150 plus or minus 0.0029 (standard deviations)/year. From this, the t(1/2) was determined to be 46.2 years. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1971
- Accession Number
- AD0721241
Entities
People
- Ralph Rillman Miller Iii
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School