It refers to biologically induced changes in organic matter composition that occur in recently deposited sediment.
Actually, these changes begin before organic matter reaches the sediment as organic matter sinking through the water column is fed upon by both the macrofauna and bacteria.
Indeed, a significant proportion of the organic matter reaching the sediment does so in the form of fecal pellets of everything from zooplankton to whales.
Decomposition continues once the organic matter reaches the sediment surface. Burial by subsequently accumulating sediment eventually isolates it from the water.
Where the burial flux of organic matter is high enough, oxygen is eventually consumed and as the organic matter is buried to progressively greater depth, it is attacked by a series of bacterial communities
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