Sedimentation is a long-term sink for carbon in the ocean, as well as the largest loss of carbon from the oceanic system. Deep marine sediments and geologic formations are important since they provide a thorough record of life on Earth and an important source of fossil fuel. Oceanic carbon can exit the system in the form of detritus that sinks and is buried in the seafloor without being fully decomposed or dissolved. Ocean floor surface sediments account for 1.75x1015 kg of carbon in the global carbon cycle At most, 4% of the particulate organic carbon from the euphotic zone in the Pacific Ocean, where light-powered primary production occurs, is buried in marine sediments. It is then implied that since there is a higher input of organic matter to the ocean than what is being buried, a large portion of it is used up or consumed within.
