Sedimentmikrobioiogie und ihre geologischen Aspekte

The influence of bacteria on recent sediments was first discussed in 1885, whenFischer andGazert were discussing the cycle of substances in the sea as well as in sediments. The influence of bacteria on the cycling of C, N, S, P in recent sediments and the open sea was soon accepted by marine geologists. Nevertheless, only very few experiments have, so far, shown more than qualitative and quantitative data collection in various restricted areas. This is due to the extensive and complicated chain of reactions on the surface of sediments and in the sediment itself. Biologists are asking for the amount of organic and inorganic matter which is reworked and released to the sea. Geologists usually emphasize the amount of substances which are sedimentated. For biologists the sediment is only part of their dominant ecosystem (the sea). While, for geologists the “sea” is only furnishing and influencing their first range system sediment. How much then, are bacteria involved in the slow process of conversion from a recent sediment to sedimentary rocks? Bacteria influence more or less strongly and to a more or less advanced degree of diagenesis:

1. The organic matter in sediments and the final form in which it is found.
2. The anions CO₃ ^2?, NO₃ ^?, OH-, SO₄ ^2?, PO₄ ^3? as well as their intermediate stages and the resulting minerals.
3. The cations H⁺, NH₄ ⁺, Ca²⁺, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, and a series of metals which are dissolved or precipitated by microbial activities as for example Fe, Mn, Cu, Ag, V, Co, Mo, Ni, U, Se, Zn.
4. The equilibrium of silicium. At least diatoms and radiolarians are precipitating silica, while other reactions which have been proved are not yet shown to influence marine sediments.
5. p_H-values and oxidation-reduction potentials of the sediment.
6. The composition of interstitial waters.
7. The surface activity of minerals, since bacteria are growing especially on particle surfaces.
8. The energy content and temperature of sediments.
9. The texture of fine grained sediments.
10. The fossilization of microfauna, macrofauna and trace fossils.

Sedimentology and mineralogy may also influence the bacterial activities and the composition of the microflora within sediments. Methods and problems of sediment microbiology are demonstrated by some investigations in the German Bay (North Sea) in connection with the first German Underwater Station (UWL). Ecological work proves to be difficult in various directions. The main cause of difficulties in microbiological work on sediments are the great variety of different factors influencing the environment (microbial, chemical, physical, mineralogical), the difficulty of taking representative samples, and the small amount of data which has been collected so far.