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Organic carbon and organic phosphorus concentrations in marine sediment cores with known sedimentation rates were determined and collected from the literature. With the exception of organic-rich sediments from upwelling areas, organic phosphorus concentrations in marine sediments do not correlate linearly with organic carbon concentrations. The C/P ratios of organic matter buried in marine sediments vary systematically with sedimentation rate, over the range studied (0.0001 to 2.5 cm/y). Low C/P ratios (< 200 atomic) occur in sediments with sedimentation rates both less than ∼0.002 cm/y and greater than ∼ 1 cm/y. Higher C/P ratios (up to 600) are found at intermediate sedimentation rates.

A simple steady state model is developed for the early diagenesis of organic carbon and organic phosphorus in marine sediments. The processes included are sediment burial, pore water diffusion, and bacterial …