Carbonate dissolution in nearshore terrigenous muds: the role of physical and biological reworking.

Because shallow marine sediments generally underlie waters which are saturated with respect to aragonite and calcite, physical-chemical dissolution of carbonate in these environments is sometimes discounted. The present investigation show such an assumption to be unwarranted. Study of terrigenous mud deposits from Long Island Sound, U.S.A. demonstrates extensive dissolution of molluscan shell debris near the sediment-water interface. Dissolution is most extensive in highly bioturbated areas. -from Author