Question #4 - Thorium Problem Benthic food chains in the deep sea are severely limited...
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Accounting
Question #4 - Thorium Problem
Benthic food chains in the deep sea are severely limited by the rain of organic matter (aka food) that settles out of the top 100m of the water column. Construct a steady state 234Th IPOLA mass balance to estimate the flux of particles into the deep ocean. Work first in moles 234Th, then convert the 234Th particulate flux into an organic matter flux.
Then, assuming all the organic matter flux gets deposited to the ocean floor, calculate the gross vertical accretion rate of the deep ocean sediments.
Describe how you would then measure the net accretion rate for comparison.
Useful Information
238U Activity = 41.8 Bq m-3
234Th Activity Dissolved = 11.3 Bq m-3
234 Th Activity Particulate = 3.5 Bq m-3
238U half life = 4.5 billion years
234Th half life = 24 days
Organic matter concentration = 100 mg m-3 and a bulk density of 1.5 g cm-3
*Bq defined as # of atoms disintegrating in a second.
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