Accumulation rates of bulk sediment and opal in surface sediments of the South Atlantic

Maps of opal content, Th-normalized mass flux, and Th-normalized biogenic opal flux into the sediment have been derived. Significant differences in sedimentation patterns between the regions can be detected.

The mean bulk vertical fluxes integrated into the sediment in the open Southern Ocean are found in a narrow range from 2.9 g/m**2 yr (Eastern Weddell Gyre) to 15.8 g/m**2 yr (Indian sector), setting upper and lower limits to the vertically received fraction of open ocean sediments. The silica flux to sediments of the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean is found to be 4.2 ± 1.4