Abstract
Striking differences were observed in the use of the electron acceptors involved in the degradation of organic matter by heterotrophic bacterial activity between a muddy and a sandy sediment on the same tidal flat of the Scheldt estuary. These bio-reduction reactions could have a quite different effect on the cycling of trace metals in the sediment as suggested by the results of the mobilization experiments. Trace metal speciation can be described as a function of the redox potential, in view of the fact that the latter is related to the heterotrophic bacterial activity.
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Elskens, M., Leermakers, M., Panutrakul, S. et al. Microbial activity in sandy and muddy estuarine sediments. Geo-Marine Letters 11, 194–198 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02431012
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02431012