Yearly cycle of the Great Calcite Belt in the Southern Ocean. The belt appears during the southern hemisphere summer as a light teal stripe.
The Great Calcite Belt (GCB) refers to a region of the ocean where there are high concentrations of calcite, a mineral form of calcium carbonate. The belt extends over a large area of the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica. The calcite in the Great Calcite Belt is formed by tiny marine organisms called coccolithophores, which build their shells out of calcium carbonate. When these organisms die, their shells sink to the bottom of the ocean, and over time, they accumulate to form a thick layer of calcite sediment.
The Great Calcite Belt occurs in areas of the Southern ocean where the calcite compensation depth (CCD) is relatively shallow, meaning that calcite minerals from the shells of marine organisms dissolve at a shallower depth in the water column. This results in a higher concentration of calcium carbonate sediments in the ocean floor, which can be observed in the form of white chalky sediments.
The Great Calcite Belt plays a significant role regulating the global carbon cycle. Calcite is a form of carbon that is removed from the atmosphere and stored in the ocean, which helps to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and mitigate the effects of climate change. Recent studies suggest the belt sequesters something between 15 and 30 million tonnes of carbon per year.[1][2]
Scientists have further interest in the calcite sediments in the belt, which contain valuable information about past climate, ocean currents, ocean chemistry, and marine ecosystems. For example, variations in the CCD depth over time can indicate changes in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the ocean's ability to absorb it. The belt is also home to a diverse range of contemporary marine life, including deep-sea corals and fish that are adapted to the unique conditions found in this part of the ocean. The Great Calcite Belt is a region of elevated summertime upper ocean calcite concentration derived from coccolithophores, despite the region being known for its diatom predominance. The overlap of two major phytoplankton groups, coccolithophores and diatoms, in the dynamic frontal systems characteristic of this region provides an ideal setting to study environmental influences on the distribution of different species within these taxonomic groups.[3]
^Anderson, Robert F.; Sachs, Julian P.; Fleisher, Martin Q.; Allen, Katherine A.; Yu, Jimin; Koutavas, Athanasios; Jaccard, Samuel L. (2019). "Deep‐Sea Oxygen Depletion and Ocean Carbon Sequestration During the Last Ice Age". Global Biogeochemical Cycles. 33 (3). American Geophysical Union (AGU): 301–317. Bibcode:2019GBioC..33..301A. doi:10.1029/2018gb006049. hdl:1885/196693. ISSN 0886-6236. S2CID 134926685.
^Bain, Paul G.; Bongiorno, Renata (2019-10-23). "It's not too late to do the right thing: Moral motivations for climate change action". WIREs Climate Change. 11 (1). Wiley. doi:10.1002/wcc.615. hdl:10871/38109. ISSN 1757-7780. S2CID 201340416.
^Cite error: The named reference Smith2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
and 29 Related for: Great Calcite Belt information
relevance in various ways. The GreatCalciteBelt (GCB) of the Southern Ocean is a region of elevated summertime upper ocean calcite concentration derived from...
and upper photic zones. The GreatCalciteBelt of the Southern Ocean is a region of elevated summertime upper ocean calcite concentration derived from...
mass, similar to the North Atlantic garbage patch.[citation needed] GreatCalciteBelt North Atlantic garbage patch López Miranda, José Luis; Celis, Lourdes...
predominantly composed of calcium carbonate minerals, specifically aragonite and calcite. These structures provide support, protection, and housing for marine calcifiers...
siliceous ooze mostly consists of Radiolaria and Diatom. Carbonate pump GreatCalciteBelt Lysocline Ocean acidification Middelburg, Jack J. (2019). "Biogeochemical...
endoskeletons made of diffuse calcite/silica structural elements called spicules, and echinoderms have a dermal calcite endoskeleton known as ossicles...
thickening, armouring and biomineralization occurs. Biomineralization with calcite is particularly common in Crustacea, whereas sclerotization particularly...
period, exoskeletons made of various materials – silica, calcium phosphate, calcite, aragonite, and even glued-together mineral flakes – sprang up in a range...
Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath GreatCalciteBelt, a large region of the ocean with high concentrations of calcite Green Camel Bell, Chinese environmental...
three polymorphic forms, which in the order of their usual stabilities are calcite, aragonite and vaterite. The main groups of microorganisms that can induce...
involved in mineralization in diatoms – even though diatoms use silica, not calcite, to form their tests! The shell-secreting area is differentiated very early...
to capture and biologically degrade pollutants. Examples include green belts, riparian areas, natural and constructed wetlands, and treatment ponds....
early oxygen-poor, reducing atmosphere into an oxidizing one, causing the Great Oxidation Event and the "rusting of the Earth", which dramatically changed...
bivalves, gastropods, and cephalopods. However, the inner layer in the great majority of mollusc shells is porcellaneous, not nacreous, and this usually...
published in 1858. Coccoliths are composed of calcium carbonate as the mineral calcite and are the main constituent of chalk deposits such as the white cliffs...
Compared to the conventional high temperature catalytic oxidation, the great benefit of the combustion-method is the high oxidation power, so that oxidation-promoting...
the main part of the shell is crystalline calcium carbonate (aragonite, calcite), though some amorphous calcium carbonate occurs as well; and although...
necklaces, pendants, beads, earrings, buttons, brooches, rings, hair combs, belt buckles and other uses. The shell of the large "bullmouth helmet" sea snail...
bloom Harmful algal bloom Spring bloom Eutrophication Great Atlantic Sargassum BeltGreatCalciteBelt Milky seas effect Related topics Algaculture CLAW hypothesis...
bloom Harmful algal bloom Spring bloom Eutrophication Great Atlantic Sargassum BeltGreatCalciteBelt Milky seas effect Related topics Algaculture CLAW hypothesis...
bloom Harmful algal bloom Spring bloom Eutrophication Great Atlantic Sargassum BeltGreatCalciteBelt Milky seas effect Related topics Algaculture CLAW hypothesis...
(24 October 2002). "Planktic foraminiferal sedimentation and the marine calcite budget". Global Biogeochemical Cycles. 16 (4). American Geophysical Union...
Global Information