Organic carbon content/sedimentation rate relationship and its paleoenvironmental significance for marine sediments

Organic carbon content and sedimentation rate data may give information about the depositional environment of marine sediments. For sediments deposited under oxic deep-water conditions, a positive correlation exists between organic carbon content and sedimentation rate, with very high organic carbon values and high sedimentation rates typical for coastal upwelling areas. Under anoxic deep-water conditions, no such correlation exists. This relationship between (marine) organic carbon and sedimentation rate (the “OCSR diagram”) has been used to characterize the depositional environments of Deep-Sea Drilling Project/Ocean Drilling Program (DSDP/ODP) sediments of Late Cenozoic and Cretaceous age. Furthermore, the results are compared with organic carbon/sulfur data.