depth of compensation
Quick Summary
The term "depth of compensation" refers to a geological concept related to the Earth's crust. It is the depth below the surface where variations in rock density balance out, resulting in equal weight for all columns of rock and water above that depth. This is closely related to isostatic compensation, which describes a deficiency of mass in the Earth's crust below sea level that balances the mass above it.12
In oceanography, the "calcite compensation depth" (CCD) is the depth at which the rate of carbonate accumulation equals the rate of carbonate dissolution. Below this depth, carbonate oozes, which are made of skeletal debris, dissolve rapidly. The CCD varies between ocean basins, being deeper in the Atlantic than in the Pacific.3
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