Decomposition of calcium carbonate and organic carbon in the deep oceans.
Simple mass-balance calculations indicate that in seawater the calcium variation (DeltaCa) correlates with the variation in the titration alkalinity (DeltaTA) and the variation in the total carbon dioxide (DeltasigmaCO(2)) or nitrate (DeltaNO(3)) according to the equations DeltaCa = 0.46288 DeltaTA + 0.074236 DeltasigmaCO(2) and DeltaCa = 0.5 DeltaTA + 0.53125 DeltaNO(3). The estimated values for DeltaCa from these equations, which agree with the values obtained from direct measurements, have been used to estimate the ratio of the in situ inorganic to organic carbon fluxes in the oceans. The precise vertical distribution of this ratio is shown for the first time.
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