This is a study of phosphorus diagenesis in marine sediments. The distribution of solid forms of phosphorus will be determined in samples from the Black Sea, the deep equatorial Atlantic, and the continental shelf off Senegal. Laboratory experiments will be conducted to determine the effects of dissolved magnesium (+2) and the carbonate ion on the nucleation and crystal growth of carbonate fluorapatite. The efficacy of different potential seeding agents (calcite, fish bones, bacterial mat material, biogenic silica, etc.) on carbonate fluorapatite precipitation will be tested in the laboratory. Then, based on all the principal investigator's past and present data, a new budget for phosphorus removal from the oceans will be constructed.
