Bioturbation and particle transport in Carolina slope sediments: a radiochemical approach

Short-term sediment mixing processes at two continental margin sites in North Carolina with different organic C fluxes were examined. The study sought to demonstrate that bioturbation, over short time scales, is determined by the nature of the sedimentary particles as well as the assemblages of animals in the sediment. The findings vary significantly from earlier studies describing biological mixing as events integrated over time ranging from weeks to centuries.