Biogeochemical cycling in an organic rich coastal marine basin—II. Nutrient sediment-water exchange processes

The release of remineralized N and P from the organic-rich anoxic sediments of Cape Lookout Bight is controlled by processes occurring within the sediment column and at the sediment-water interface. The relatively rapid rates of temperature dependent microbial degradation of organic matter support seasonally varying nutrient fluxes ranging from 20 to 1200 μmol·m^?2·hr^?1 for dissolved ammonium and from ? 20 to 120 μmol·m^?2·hr^?1 for total dissolved phosphate (measured in situ over the period October, 1976 to October, 1978). Molecular diffusion along steep vertical pore water concentration gradients measured simultaneously cannot explain the high fluxes observed during warmer months. Gradients for ammonium and phosphate ranged from 0.33 to 1.10 and from 0 to 0.29 μmol·cm^?3_pw·cm^?1_s respectively. These high summertime fluxes appear to result from increased sediment-water transport associated with bubble tubes created and maintained by low-tide methane gas bubble ebullition. When these tubes are present, apparent bulk sediment diffusivities calculated from concurrent studies of methane and radon-222 sediment-water exchange are 1.0–3.1 times greater than molecular diffusivities. Nutrient fluxes calculated via Fick's first law taking into account this enhanced transport and the differential diffusive mobilities of dissolved ammonium, phosphate and phosphate ion pairs indicate that removal by aerobic adsorption and/or biological uptake at the sediment-water interface plays an important role in controlling nutrient exchange in these sediments.