Geochemical analysis of the quality and reactivity of the organic matter held with the marine sediments of the United Kingdom Exclusive Economic Zone

The dataset comprises of geochemical measurements of 885 surficial sediment samples collected from across the Scottish portion of the United Kingdom’s Exclusive Economic Zone. The samples originate from inshore, coastal and offshore zones of the UK EEZ and were used to understand the quality and reactivity of organic matter held within continental shelf sediments. The sites were chosen to be represent all major depositional zones on a typical continental shelf these include inshore (fjords and estuaries), coastal (<5 km from land) and offshore (>5 km from land) settings.

The data provide a quantitative measure of sediment type, organic carbon, C/N ratios, organic matter fractions (labile, recalcitrant, and refractory) and organic matter reactivity.

The work was supported by the Scottish Blue Carbon Forum.