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Sulphate, dissolved organic carbon, nutrients and terminal metabolic products in deep pore waters of an intertidal flat

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Abstract

This study addresses deep pore water chemistry in a permeable intertidal sand flat at the NW German coast. Sulphate, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nutrients, and several terminal metabolic products were studied down to 5 m sediment depth. By extending the depth domain to several meters, insights into the functioning of deep sandy tidal flats were gained. Despite the dynamic sedimentological conditions in the study area, the general depth profiles obtained in the relatively young intertidal flat sediments of some metres depth are comparable to those determined in deep marine surface sediments. Besides diffusion and lithology which control pore water profiles in most marine surface sediments, biogeochemical processes are influenced by advection in the studied permeable intertidal flat sediments. This is supported by the model setup in which advection has to be implemented to reproduce pore water profiles. Water exchange at the sediment surface and in deeper sediment layers converts these permeable intertidal sediments into a “bio-reactor” where organic matter is recycled, and nutrients and DOC are released. At tidal flat margins, a hydraulic gradient is generated, which leads to water flow towards the creekbank. Deep nutrient-rich pore waters escaping at tidal flat margins during low tide presumably form a source of nutrients for the overlying water column in the study area. Significant correlations between the inorganic products of terminal metabolism (NH4 + and PO4 3−) and sulphate depletion suggest sulphate reduction to be the dominant pathway of anaerobic carbon remineralisation. Pore water concentrations of sulphate, ammonium, and phosphate were used to elucidate the composition of organic matter degraded in the sediment. Calculated C:N and C:P ratios were supported by model results.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Malte Groh for his valuable assistance during all sampling campaigns and Carola Lehners and Eleonore Gründken for their assistance during laboratory work. Furthermore, we wish to thank the Terramare Research Centre for providing transportation to the sampling site by boat and especially Helmo Nicolai for his help regarding technical questions. We thank Joris M. Gieskes for his critical reading of a previous version of this manuscript. Finally, we thank the Associate editor R.K. Wieder and two anonymous reviewers for their comments, which greatly improved the manuscript. We gratefully acknowledge the financial support by the German Science Foundation (DFG, BR 775/14-4) within the framework of the Research Group ‘BioGeoChemistry of Tidal Flats’ (FOR 432/2).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Research Group Microbiogeochemistry, Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl von Ossietzky University, PO Box 2503, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany

    Melanie Beck, Olaf Dellwig, Maik Grunwald, Bernhard Schnetger & Hans-Jürgen Brumsack

  2. Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research IOW, Seestraße 15, 18119, Rostock, Germany

    Olaf Dellwig

  3. Research Group Mathematical Modelling, Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl von Ossietzky University, PO Box 2503, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany

    Jan M. Holstein

  4. ICBM-Terramare, Schleusenstraße 1, 26382, Wilhelmshaven, Germany

    Gerd Liebezeit

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  1. Melanie Beck
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  2. Olaf Dellwig
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  3. Jan M. Holstein
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  4. Maik Grunwald
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Correspondence to Melanie Beck.

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Beck, M., Dellwig, O., Holstein, J.M. et al. Sulphate, dissolved organic carbon, nutrients and terminal metabolic products in deep pore waters of an intertidal flat. Biogeochemistry 89, 221–238 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-008-9215-6

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