What is the relationship between the depth of the ocean sediment and the concentration of dissolved gases?

What is the relationship between the depth of the ocean sediment and the concentration of dissolved gases?

• A. Concentration increases with depth
• B. Concentration decreases with depth
• C. Concentration stays the same
• D. Concentration varies randomly

Answer: (B)

The concentration of dissolved gases in ocean sediment generally decreases with depth due to several factors related to the physical conditions and biological processes occurring in the sediment layers. As depth increases, the sediment becomes denser, and the conditions change. At shallower depths, sediments are more influenced by surface processes, including photosynthesis by marine plants and the respiration of marine life, which can contribute to higher concentrations of certain gases, like oxygen and carbon dioxide, in the upper layers. As you move deeper, there is less biological activity, and the conditions are now influenced more by increased pressure and lower temperatures, which affect gas solubility. Furthermore, deeper sediment layers may also experience compaction and increased mineralization, leading to a reduction in the volume of pore space available for dissolved gases. This means that although gases may initially be present in higher concentrations in burrowing zones or sediments affected by organic decay, they become less concentrated as one studies deeper sediment layers where these processes are not as active. Hence, the relationship between the depth of the ocean sediment and the concentration of dissolved gases is characterized by a gradual decrease in concentration with increasing depth.

The concentration of dissolved gases in ocean sediment generally decreases with depth due to several factors related to the physical conditions and biological processes occurring in the sediment layers. As depth increases, the sediment becomes denser, and the conditions change.

At shallower depths, sediments are more influenced by surface processes, including photosynthesis by marine plants and the respiration of marine life, which can contribute to higher concentrations of certain gases, like oxygen and carbon dioxide, in the upper layers. As you move deeper, there is less biological activity, and the conditions are now influenced more by increased pressure and lower temperatures, which affect gas solubility.

Furthermore, deeper sediment layers may also experience compaction and increased mineralization, leading to a reduction in the volume of pore space available for dissolved gases. This means that although gases may initially be present in higher concentrations in burrowing zones or sediments affected by organic decay, they become less concentrated as one studies deeper sediment layers where these processes are not as active.

Hence, the relationship between the depth of the ocean sediment and the concentration of dissolved gases is characterized by a gradual decrease in concentration with increasing depth.