Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 25, 2025

Measuring Carbon-based Contaminant Mineralization Using Combined CO2 Flux and Radiocarbon Analyses
Published on: October 21, 2016
Pre-aged terrigenous organic carbon biases ocean ventilation-age reconstructions in the North Atlantic
Jingyu Liu1,2, Yipeng Wang1,2, Samuel L Jaccard3,4
1Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System, Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, PR China.
Abstract:
Changes in ocean ventilation have been pivotal in regulating carbon sequestration and release on centennial to millennial timescales. However, paleoceanographic reconstructions documenting changes in deep-ocean ventilation using 14C dating, may bear multidimensional explanations, obfuscating the roles of ocean ventilation played on climate evolution. Here, we show that previously inferred poorly ventilated conditions in the North Atlantic were linked to enhanced pre-aged organic carbon (OC) input during Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1). The 14C age of sedimentary OC was approximately 13,345 ± 692 years older than the coeval foraminifera in the central North Atlantic during HS1, which is coupled to a ventilation age of 5,169 ± 660 years. Old OC was mainly of terrigenous origin and exported to the North Atlantic by ice-rafting. Remineralization of old terrigenous OC in the ocean may have contributed to, at least in part, the anomalously old ventilation ages reported for the high-latitude North Atlantic during HS1.
More Related Videos
09:38Single-throughput Complementary High-resolution Analytical Techniques for Characterizing Complex Natural Organic Matter Mixtures
Published on: January 7, 2019
10:43Unraveling the Unseen Players in the Ocean - A Field Guide to Water Chemistry and Marine Microbiology
Published on: November 5, 2014
Related Concept Videos
Global Climate Change
Primary Production
The Carbon Cycle
The Fossil Record
Assessment of Ventilation II: Respiratory Depth and Rhythm
Respiratory depth measures the volume of air inhaled or exhaled during a breath. It can vary from shallow to deep and typically remains consistent when a person is at rest or asleep. Occasionally, individuals will automatically inhale deeply, known as sighing, which inflates the lungs with more air than normal breathing.
To assess respiratory depth, observe the degree of chest excursion or movement:
Oxygenic Photosynthesis