Stability of Reactive Iron‐Bound Organic Carbon During Sulfidization of Iron Oxides: Insights From Methane‐Seep Sediments
Abstract The association of organic carbon (OC) to reactive iron oxides (FeR), forming OC‐FeR complexes, represents a significant OC sink in marine sediments. However, the impact of diagenetic processes, such as sulfate reduction and iron sulfide formation, on the stability of OC‐FeR in marine sedim...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL112119 |
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| author | Yu Hu Kai Li Johan C. Faust Jörn Peckmann Dong Zhang Linying Chen Qianyong Liang Duofu Chen Dong Feng |
| author_facet | Yu Hu Kai Li Johan C. Faust Jörn Peckmann Dong Zhang Linying Chen Qianyong Liang Duofu Chen Dong Feng |
| author_sort | Yu Hu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The association of organic carbon (OC) to reactive iron oxides (FeR), forming OC‐FeR complexes, represents a significant OC sink in marine sediments. However, the impact of diagenetic processes, such as sulfate reduction and iron sulfide formation, on the stability of OC‐FeR in marine sediments remains poorly understood. Here, we compare sulfidic sediments from three cores taken at methane seeps with a non‐sulfidic sediment record from a nearby site. Our results show that an overall 6.3% decrease in OC‐FeR is associated with a 42% reduction in FeR during the transformation from iron oxides to iron sulfides, suggesting that OC‐FeR is resistant to sulfidization. We observed highly 13C‐depleted OC‐FeR in the sulfidic sediments, likely due to the interaction between OC and FeR during anaerobic oxidation of methane. Our findings highlight the stability of OC‐FeR in natural sulfidic sediments, offering new insights into the role of OC‐FeR in continental margin sediments. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-efd3bd448f6c410aa8c16c2a86d075d9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-efd3bd448f6c410aa8c16c2a86d075d92025-08-20T03:59:22ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072025-04-01528n/an/a10.1029/2024GL112119Stability of Reactive Iron‐Bound Organic Carbon During Sulfidization of Iron Oxides: Insights From Methane‐Seep SedimentsYu Hu0Kai Li1Johan C. Faust2Jörn Peckmann3Dong Zhang4Linying Chen5Qianyong Liang6Duofu Chen7Dong Feng8College of Oceanography and Ecological Science Shanghai Ocean University Shanghai ChinaCollege of Oceanography and Ecological Science Shanghai Ocean University Shanghai ChinaMARUM‐Center for Marine Environmental Sciences University of Bremen Bremen GermanyDepartment of Earth System Science University of Hamburg Hamburg GermanyCollege of Oceanography and Ecological Science Shanghai Ocean University Shanghai ChinaCollege of Oceanography and Ecological Science Shanghai Ocean University Shanghai ChinaNational Engineering Research Center of Gas Hydrate Exploration and Development Guangzhou ChinaCollege of Oceanography and Ecological Science Shanghai Ocean University Shanghai ChinaCollege of Oceanography and Ecological Science Shanghai Ocean University Shanghai ChinaAbstract The association of organic carbon (OC) to reactive iron oxides (FeR), forming OC‐FeR complexes, represents a significant OC sink in marine sediments. However, the impact of diagenetic processes, such as sulfate reduction and iron sulfide formation, on the stability of OC‐FeR in marine sediments remains poorly understood. Here, we compare sulfidic sediments from three cores taken at methane seeps with a non‐sulfidic sediment record from a nearby site. Our results show that an overall 6.3% decrease in OC‐FeR is associated with a 42% reduction in FeR during the transformation from iron oxides to iron sulfides, suggesting that OC‐FeR is resistant to sulfidization. We observed highly 13C‐depleted OC‐FeR in the sulfidic sediments, likely due to the interaction between OC and FeR during anaerobic oxidation of methane. Our findings highlight the stability of OC‐FeR in natural sulfidic sediments, offering new insights into the role of OC‐FeR in continental margin sediments.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL112119organic carbonmarine sedimentiron‐bound organic carbonorganic carbon burialiron oxidesiron sulfides |
| spellingShingle | Yu Hu Kai Li Johan C. Faust Jörn Peckmann Dong Zhang Linying Chen Qianyong Liang Duofu Chen Dong Feng Stability of Reactive Iron‐Bound Organic Carbon During Sulfidization of Iron Oxides: Insights From Methane‐Seep Sediments Geophysical Research Letters organic carbon marine sediment iron‐bound organic carbon organic carbon burial iron oxides iron sulfides |
| title | Stability of Reactive Iron‐Bound Organic Carbon During Sulfidization of Iron Oxides: Insights From Methane‐Seep Sediments |
| title_full | Stability of Reactive Iron‐Bound Organic Carbon During Sulfidization of Iron Oxides: Insights From Methane‐Seep Sediments |
| title_fullStr | Stability of Reactive Iron‐Bound Organic Carbon During Sulfidization of Iron Oxides: Insights From Methane‐Seep Sediments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Stability of Reactive Iron‐Bound Organic Carbon During Sulfidization of Iron Oxides: Insights From Methane‐Seep Sediments |
| title_short | Stability of Reactive Iron‐Bound Organic Carbon During Sulfidization of Iron Oxides: Insights From Methane‐Seep Sediments |
| title_sort | stability of reactive iron bound organic carbon during sulfidization of iron oxides insights from methane seep sediments |
| topic | organic carbon marine sediment iron‐bound organic carbon organic carbon burial iron oxides iron sulfides |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL112119 |
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