Microcharcoal analysis of surface ocean sediments offshore Africa

Microscopic charcoal (microcharcoal) was analysed in 128 samples recovered from surface ocean sediments offshore Africa and compared with fire regimes on land to evaluate the potential of microcharcoal (amount and morphology) to reconstruct fire regime characteristics. Microcharcoal concentrates were obtained after chemical treatment and microcharcoal was measured using microscopy The dataset presents for each sample microcharcoal concentration (in number of fragments per gram and in µm² per gram); mean area of microcharcoal (µ²); mean length and mean width of the particles (µm²); and the mean microcharcoal elongation ratio (the length to width ratio of particle). The dataset is presented along with metadata information on the marine surface sediment samples including the method collection, geographic information, water depth of the core, the associated hydrographic basin on land, and information relevant to infer an estimated time interval covered by a sample (such as the sedimentation rate, dating information, depositional context).

本研究对非洲近海表层海洋沉积物中获取的128份样品内的显微炭（microcharcoal）开展分析，并与陆地火灾制度（fire regimes）进行对比，以评估显微炭的数量与形态特征在重建火灾制度特征方面的应用潜力。显微炭浓缩物通过化学处理方法获得，并借助显微镜完成测定。本数据集为每份样品提供如下参数：显微炭浓度（单位分别为颗粒碎片数/克、微米平方/克）、显微炭平均面积（单位：微米平方）、颗粒平均长度与平均宽度（单位：微米平方），以及显微炭平均伸长率（即颗粒长宽比）。本数据集同步附带海洋表层沉积物样品的元数据信息，涵盖采样方法、地理信息、岩芯水深、对应的陆地水文流域，以及用于推断样品覆盖的估算时间区间的相关信息（如沉积速率、测年数据、沉积环境背景）。