Why are deep-sea pelagic sediments often considered superior archives for tracking long-term global climate shifts compared to terrestrial deposits?
Answer
They accumulate very slowly and continuously, preserving isotopic ratios and microfossil assemblages with high fidelity.
Because sedimentation rates in the deep ocean are extremely slow, these layers provide a continuous, high-resolution record spanning vast timescales, offering better fidelity for tracking global shifts than terrestrial layers, which are often discontinuous or chemically altered.
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