Iron and manganese oxide nature and bound-organic carbon abundances in the Amazon Shelf: the effect of reductive dissolution and oxidative processes on carbon stability

Mineral protection (e.g., clays) of organic carbon (OC) has been widely recognized as a significant factor controlling its stabilization, and thus, OC degradation rate and burial efficiency. Recent studies have been focusing on the OC “protective” effect of iron, and to a lesser extent manganese, minerals on OC stability. In this project, we will be investigating how the complex redox chemistry of Fe and Mn oxides influence OC cycling in the Amazon River/Shelf system, the largest river basin on Earth.

Collaborators: This project is framed within the larger MUDBENCS Amazon Project lead by Brad Rosenheim (University of South Florida, USA) and Valier Galy (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA), with whom we will be closely collaborating.