This Volume belongs to a series on Oceanography. It is designed so that it can be read on its own, or used as a supplement in oceanogrphy courses. After a brief introduction to sea-floor sediments, the book shows how the activities of marine organisms cycle nutrients and other dissolved constituents within the oceans, and influence the rates at which both solid and dissolved material is removed to sediments. It goes on to review the carbonate system and shows how sediments that come from continental areas may be transported to the deep sea, explores what sea-floor sediments have taught us about the history of the oceans, and describes the biological and chemical processes that continue long after sediments have been deposited on the deep sea-floor.
1 Introduction
2 Biogeochemical Processes in Seawater
3 The accumulation of Deep-sea Sediments
4 Deep-sea Sediments and Palaeoceanography
5 Biogeochemical Activity in Deep-sea Sediments
Appendix
Periodic Table of Elements
Suggested Further Reading
Answers and Comments to Questions
Index