Organic Carbon Stocks and Accumulation Rates in Surface Sediments of the
Norwegian Continental Margin
Abstract
The role that continental margin sediments play in the global carbon
cycle and the mitigation of climate change is currently not well
understood. Recent research has indicated that these sediments might
store large amounts of organic carbon; however, Blue Carbon research
continues to focus on vegetated coastal ecosystems as actionable Blue
Carbon. Marine sediments are considered emerging Blue Carbon ecosystems,
but to decide whether they are actionable requires better
quantifications of organic carbon stocks, accumulation rates, and the
mitigation potential from avoided emissions. To close some of these
knowledge gaps, we spatially predicted organic carbon content, dry bulk
density and sediment accumulation rates across the Norwegian margin. The
resulting predictions were used to estimate organic carbon stocks in
surface sediments and their accumulation rates. We found that organic
carbon stocks are two orders of magnitude higher than those of vegetated
coastal ecosystems and comparable to terrestrial ecosystems in Norway.
Accumulation rates of organic carbon are spatially highly variable and
linked to geomorphology and associated sedimentary processes. We
identify shelf valleys with a glacial origin as hotspots of organic
carbon accumulation with a potentially global role due to their
widespread occurrence on formerly glaciated continental margins. The
complex and heterogenous nature of continental margins regarding organic
carbon accumulation means that to close existing knowledge gaps requires
detailed spatial predictions that account for those complexities. Only
in this way will it be possible to evaluate whether margin sediments
might be actionable Blue Carbon ecosystems.