Sapropel
Sign in to saveSapropel (a contraction of Ancient Greek words sapros and pelos, meaning putrefaction and mud (or clay), respectively) is a term used in marine geology to describe dark-coloured sediments that are rich in organic matter. Organic carbon concentrations in sapropels commonly exceed 2 wt.% in weight.
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Encyclopedic overview
7 sectionsContents
- Formation
- Significance
- In the Black Sea
- Non-conventional source of energy
- See also
- References
- External links
Sapropel (a contraction of Ancient Greek words sapros and pelos, meaning putrefaction and mud (or clay), respectively) is a term used in marine geology to describe dark-coloured sediments that are rich in organic matter. Organic carbon concentrations in sapropels commonly exceed 2 wt.% in weight.
The term sapropel events may also refer to cyclic oceanic anoxic events (OAE), in particular those affecting the Mediterranean Sea with a periodicity of about 21,000 years.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Sapropel” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.