Vertical distributions of nitrogen,phosphorus and iron in Beppu Bay

Beppu Bay is a shallow basin located at the western end of the Seto Inland Sea with a sill depth ofca. 40 m. The bottom water (belowca. 65 m in summer andca. 70 m in winter) was anoxic and contained high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide, phosphate and ammonium. Maximum concentrations of nitrate and nitrite appeared near the top of the thermocline, suggesting the occurrence of bacterial nitrification in this layer and of bacterial denitrification in the anoxic bottom water. Concentrations of particulate phosphorus and particulate iron were highest near the bottom of the thermocline. The distribution of phosphorus in this bay is probably controlled by a dissolution-diffusion-precipitation cycle of iron or its hydrous oxides.