Skip to main content

Porewater Stoichiometry of Terminal Metabolic Products, Sulfate, and Dissolved Organic Carbon and Nitrogen in Estuarine Intertidal Creek-bank Sediments

Biogeochemistry volume 77, pages 375–408 (2006)Cite this article

Abstract

Porewater equilibration samplers were used to obtain porewater inventories of inorganic nutrients (NH +4 , NO x , PO 3−4 ), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON), sulfate (SO 2−4 ), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), chloride (Cl−), methane (CH4) and reduced iron (Fe2+) in intertidal creek-bank sediments at eight sites in three estuarine systems over a range of salinities and seasons. Sulfate reduction (SR) rates and sediment particulate organic carbon (POC) and nitrogen (PON) were also determined at several of the sites. Four sites in the Okatee River estuary in South Carolina, two sites on Sapelo Island, Georgia and one site in White Oak Creek, Georgia appeared to be relatively pristine. The eighth site in Umbrella Creek, Georgia was directly adjacent to a small residential development employing septic systems to handle household waste. The large data set (>700 porewater profiles) offers an opportunity to assess system-scale patterns of porewater biogeochemical dynamics with an emphasis on DOC and DON distributions. SO 2−4 depletion (SO 2−4 )Dep was used as a proxy for SR, and (SO 2−4 )Dep patterns agreed with measured (35S) patterns of SR. There were significant system-scale correlations between the inorganic products of terminal metabolism (DIC, NH +4 and PO 3−4 ) and (SO 2−4 )Dep, and SR appeared to be the dominant terminal carbon oxidation pathway in these sediments. Porewater inventories of DIC and (SO 2−4 )Dep indicate a 2:1 stoichiometry across sites, and the C:N ratio of the organic matter undergoing mineralization was between 7.5 and 10. The data suggest that septic-derived dissolved organic matter with a C:N ratio below 6 fueled microbial metabolism and SR at a site with development in the upland. Seasonality was observed in the porewater inventories, but temperature alone did not adequately describe the patterns of (SO 2−4 )Dep, terminal metabolic products (DIC, NH +4 , PO 3−4 ), DOC and DON, and SR observed in this study. It appears that production and consumption of labile DOC are tightly coupled in these sediments, and that bulk DOC is likely a recalcitrant pool. Preferential hydrolysis of PON relative to POC when overall organic matter mineralization rates were high appears to drive the observed patterns in POC:PON, DOC:DON and DIC:DIN ratios. These data, along with the weak seasonal patterns of SR and organic and inorganic porewater inventories, suggest that the rate of hydrolysis limits organic matter mineralization in these intertidal creek-bank sediments.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

References

  • R.C. Aller J.Y. Aller (1998) ArticleTitleThe effect of biogenic irrigation intensity and solute exchange on diagenetic reaction rates in marine sediments J. Mar. Res. 56 905–936 Occurrence Handle10.1357/002224098321667413

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M.J. Alperin S.T.L2 Albert C.S. Martens (1994) ArticleTitleSeasonal variations in production and consumption rates of dissolved organic carbon in an organic-rich coastal sediment Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 58 4909–4930 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0016-7037(94)90221-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M.J. Alperin C.S. Martens S.T.L2 Albert I.B. Suayah L.K. Benninger N.E. Blair R.A. Jahnke (1999) ArticleTitleBenthic fluxes and porewater concentration profiles of dissolved organic carbon in sediments from the North Carolina continental slope Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 63 427–448 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0016-7037(99)00032-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • X.A. Álvarez-Salgado A.E.J Miller (1998) ArticleTitleSimultaneous determination of dissolved organic carbon and total dissolved nitrogen in seawater by high temperature catalytic oxidation: conditions for precise shipboard measurements Mar. Chem. 62 325–333 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0304-4203(98)00037-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R.M.W. Amon R. Benner (1996) ArticleTitleBacterial utilization of different size classes of dissolved organic matter Limnol. Oceanogr. 41 41–51

    Google Scholar 

  • C. Arnosti D.J. Repeta (1994) ArticleTitleOligosaccharide degradation by anaerobic marine bacteria: characterization of an experimental system to polymer degradation in sediments Limnol. Oceanogr. 39 1865–1877

    Google Scholar 

  • B.P. Boudreau (1997) Diagenetic Models and their Implications Springer Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  • W.R. Boynton W.M. Kemp (1985) ArticleTitleNutrient regeneration and oxygen consumption by sediments along an estuarine salinity gradient Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 23 45–55

    Google Scholar 

  • V. Brüchert C. Arnosti (2003) ArticleTitleAnaerobic carbon transformation: experimental studies with flow-through cells Mar. Chem. 80 171–183 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0304-4203(02)00119-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D.J. Burdige C.S. Martens (1988) ArticleTitleBiogeochemical cycling in an organic-rich coastal marine basin: 10. The role of amino acids in sedimentary carbon and nitrogen cycling Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 52 1571–1584 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0016-7037(88)90226-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D.J. Burdige K.G. Gardner (1998) ArticleTitleMolecular weight distribution of dissolved organic carbon in marine sediment pore waters Mar. Chem. 62 45–64 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0304-4203(98)00035-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D.J. Burdige S. Zheng (1998) ArticleTitleThe biogeochemical cycling of dissolved organic nitrogen in estuarine sediments Limnol. Oceanogr. 43 1796–1813

    Google Scholar 

  • D.J. Burdige W.M. Berleson K.H. Coale J. McManus K.S. Johnson (1999) ArticleTitleFluxes of dissolved organic carbon from California continental margin sediments Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 63 1507–1515 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0016-7037(99)00066-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D.J. Burdige (2001) ArticleTitleDissolved organic matter in Chesapeake Bay sediment pore waters Org. Geochem. 32 487–505 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0146-6380(00)00191-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D.E. Canfield R. Raiswell J.T. Westrich C.M. Reaves R.A. Berner (1986) ArticleTitleThe use of chromium reduction in the analysis of reduced inorganic sulfur in sediments and shales Chem. Geol. 54 149–155 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0009-2541(86)90078-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D. Canfield B. Thamdrup J. Hansen (1993) ArticleTitleThe anaerobic degradation of organic matter in Danish coastal sediments: Iron reduction, manganese reduction, and sulfate reduction Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 57 3867–3883

    Google Scholar 

  • D.G. Capone R.P. Kiene (1988) ArticleTitleComparison of microbial dynamics in marine and fresh-water sediments - contrasts in anaerobic carbon catabolism Limnol. Oceanogr. 33 725–749

    Google Scholar 

  • B. Cermelj A. Bertuzzi J. Faganeli (1997) ArticleTitleModeling of pore water nutrient distribution and benthic fluxes in shallow coastal waters (Gulf of Trieste, Northern Adriatic) Water Air Soil Pollut. 99 435–444 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1018391423286

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • V. Enoksson (1993) ArticleTitleNutrient recycling by coastal sediments: effects of added algal material Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 92 245–254

    Google Scholar 

  • T.M. Fenchel B.J. Findlay (1995) Ecology and evolution of anoxic worlds Oxford University Press Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • P.N. Froelich G.P. Klinkhammer M.L. Bender N.A. Luedtke G.R. Heath D. Cullen P. Dauphin D. Hammond B. Hartman V. Maynard (1979) ArticleTitleEarly oxidation of organic-matter in pelagic sediments of the eastern equatorial Atlantic – suboxic diagenesis Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 43 1075–1090 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0016-7037(79)90095-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R.H. Hesslein (1976) ArticleTitleAn in situ sampler for close interval pore water studies Limnol. Oceanogr. 21 912–914

    Google Scholar 

  • M.E. Hines R.S. Evans B.R.S Genthner S.G. Willis S. Friedman J.N. Rooney-Varga R. Devereux (1999) ArticleTitleMolecular phylogenetic and biogeochemical studies of sulfate-reducing bacteria in the rhizosphere of Spartina alterniflora Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65 2209–2216

    Google Scholar 

  • C.S. Hopkinson (1987) ArticleTitleNutrient regeneration in shallow-water sediments of the estuarine plume region of the nearshore Georgia Bight USA Mar. Biol. 94 127–142 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00392905

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • C.S. Hopkinson A.E. Giblin J. Tucker R.H. Garritt (1999) ArticleTitleBenthic metabolism and nutrient cycling along an estuarine salinity gradient Estuaries 22 825–843

    Google Scholar 

  • R.W. Howarth (1988) ArticleTitleNutrient limitation of net primary production in marine ecosystems Ann. Rev. Ecol. 19 89–110

    Google Scholar 

  • R.W. Howarth (1993) Microbial processes in salt-marsh sediments T.E. Ford (Eds) Aquatic microbiology: an ecological approach Blackwell Cambridge 239–259

    Google Scholar 

  • N. Iversen B.B. Jørgensen (1985) ArticleTitleAnaerobic methane oxidation rates at the sulfate-methane transition in marine sediments from Kattegat and Skagerrak (Denmark) Limnol. Oceanogr. 30 944–955

    Google Scholar 

  • B.B. Jørgensen (1977) ArticleTitleSulfur cycle of a coastal marine sediment (Limfjorden, Denmark) Limnol. Oceanogr. 22 814–832

    Google Scholar 

  • B.B. Jørgensen (1978) ArticleTitleA comparison of methods for the quantification of bacterial sulfate reduction in coastal marine sediments. 1. Measurements with radiotracer techniques Geomicrobiol. J. 1 11–27

    Google Scholar 

  • B.B. Jørgensen (1982) ArticleTitleMineralization of organic-matter in the sea bed – the role of sulfate reduction Nature 296 643–645 Occurrence Handle10.1038/296643a0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • B.B. Jørgensen J. Sørensen (1985) ArticleTitleSeasonal cycles of O2NO −3 and SO 2−4 reduction in estuarine sediments: the significance of an NO −3 reduction maximum in spring Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 24 65–74

    Google Scholar 

  • B.B. Jørgensen (2000) Bacteria and marine biogeochemistry H.D. Schulz M. Zabel (Eds) Marine geochemistry Springer New York 173–207

    Google Scholar 

  • S.B. Joye J.T. Hollibaugh (1995) ArticleTitleInfluence of sulfide inhibition of nitrification on nitrogen regeneration in sediments Science 270 623–624

    Google Scholar 

  • G.M. King (1988) ArticleTitlePatterns of sulfate reduction and the sulfur cycle in a South Carolina salt marsh Limnol. Oceanogr. 33 376–390

    Google Scholar 

  • J.E. Kostka B. Gribsholt E. Petrie D. Dalton H. Skelton E. Kristensen (2002a) ArticleTitleThe rates and pathways of carbon oxidation in bioturbated saltmarsh sediments Limnol. Oceanogr. 47 230–240

    Google Scholar 

  • J.E. Kostka A. Roychoudhury P. Van Cappellen (2002b) ArticleTitleRates and controls of anaerobic microbial respiration across spatial and temporal gradients in saltmarsh sediments Biogeochemistry 60 49–76 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1016525216426

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • B.A. Lomstein T.H. Blackburn K. Henriksen (1989) ArticleTitleAspects of nitrogen and carbon cycling in the northern Bering Shelf sediment I. The significance of urea turnover in the mineralization of NH +4 Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 57 237–247

    Google Scholar 

  • K.L. Lowe T.J. DiChristina A.N. Roychoudhury P. Van Cappellen (2000) ArticleTitleMicrobiological and geochemical characterization of microbial Fe(III) reduction in salt marsh sediments J. Geomicrobiol. 17 163–178

    Google Scholar 

  • M.C. Marvin-DiPasquale W.R. Boynton D.G. Capone (2003) ArticleTitleBenthic sulfate reduction along the Chesapeake Bay central channel. II. Temporal controls Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 260 55–70

    Google Scholar 

  • C. Meile C.M. Koretsky P. Cappellen ParticleVan (2001) ArticleTitleQuantifying bioirrigation in aquatic sediments: an inverse modeling approach Limnol. Oceanogr. 46 164–177

    Google Scholar 

  • J.J. Middelburg K. Soetart P.M.J Herman (1997) ArticleTitleEmpirical relationships for use in global diagenetic models Deep-Sea Res. 44 327–344

    Google Scholar 

  • J.W. Moore D.E. Schindler M.D. Scheuerell D. Smith J. Frodge (2003) ArticleTitleLake eutrophication at the urban fringeSeattle region, USA Ambio 32 13–18

    Google Scholar 

  • J. Murphy J.P. Riley (1962) ArticleTitleA modified single solution method for the determination of phosphate in natural systems Anal. Chim. Acta 27 31–36 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0003-2670(00)88444-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O.I. Nielsen E. Kristensen D.J. Macintosh (2003) ArticleTitleImpact of fiddler crabs (Uca spp) on rates and pathways of benthic mineralization in deposited mangrove shrimp pond waste J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 289 59–81 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0022-0981(03)00041-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • M.E.Q. Pilson (1998) An introduction to the chemistry of the sea Prentice Hall New Jersey

    Google Scholar 

  • C.J. Ptacek (1998) ArticleTitleGeochemistry of a septic-system plum in a coastal barrier barPoint PeleeOntarioCanada J. Cont. Hydrol. 33 293–312 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0169-7722(98)00076-X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • A.C. Redfield (1958) ArticleTitleThe biological control of chemical factors in the environment Am. Sci. 46 205–222

    Google Scholar 

  • E.E. Roden R.G. Wetzel (1996) ArticleTitleOrganic carbon oxidation and suppression of methane production by microbial Fe(III) oxide reduction in vegetated and unvegetated freshwater wetland sediments Limnol. Oceanogr. 41 1733–1748

    Google Scholar 

  • J.K. Rosenfeld (1979) ArticleTitleAmmonium adsorption in anoxic nearshore sediments Limnol. Oceanogr. 24 356–364

    Google Scholar 

  • G.T. Rowe C.H. Clifford K.L. Smith (1976) ArticleTitleBenthic nutrient regeneration and its coupling to primary productivity in coastal waters Nature 255 215–217

    Google Scholar 

  • A.N. Roychoudhury E. Viollier P. Cappellen ParticleVan (1998) ArticleTitleA plug flow-through reactor for studying biogeochemical reactions in undisturbed aquatic sediments Appl. Geochem. 13 269–280 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0883-2927(97)00064-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S. Rysgaard P. Thastum T. Dalsgaard O.K.T2 Christensen N.P. Sloth (1999) ArticleTitleEffects of salinity on NH +4 adsorption capacity, nitrification, and denitrification in Danish estuarine sediments Estuaries 22 21–30

    Google Scholar 

  • F.J. Sansone C.S. Martens (1978) ArticleTitleMethane oxidation in Cape Lookout Bight, North Carolina Limnol. Oceanogr. 23 349–355

    Google Scholar 

  • G. Sarazin G. Michard F. Prevot (1999) ArticleTitleA rapid and accurate spectroscopic method for alkalinity measurements in sea water samples Water Res. 33 290–294 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0043-1354(98)00168-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • S.P. Seitzinger (1988) ArticleTitleDenitrification in freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems: ecological and geochemical significance Limnol. Oceanogr. 33 702–724

    Google Scholar 

  • L. Solorzano (1969) ArticleTitleDetermination of ammonia in natural waters by the phenolhypochlorite method Limnol. Oceanogr. 14 799–801

    Google Scholar 

  • L.L. Stookey (1970) ArticleTitleFerrozine – a new spectrophotometric reagent for iron Anal. Chem. 42 779–781 Occurrence Handle10.1021/ac60289a016

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • W. Stumm J.J. Morgan (1996) Aquatic Chemistry EditionNumber3 Wiley New York

    Google Scholar 

  • P.V. Sundareshwar J.T. Morris (1999) ArticleTitlePhosphorus sorption characteristics of intertidal marsh sediments along an estuarine salinity gradient Limnol. Oceanogr. 44 1693–1701

    Google Scholar 

  • J.M. Teal (1958) ArticleTitleDistribution of fiddler crabs in Georgia salt marshes Ecology 39 185–193

    Google Scholar 

  • J.T. Westrich R.A. Berner (1988) ArticleTitleThe effect of temperature on rates of sulfate reduction in marine sediments Geomicrobiol. J. 6 99–117

    Google Scholar 

  • M. Yamamuro I. Koike (1998) ArticleTitleConcentrations of nitrogen in sandy sediments of a eutrophic estuarine lagoon Hydrobiologia 386 37–44 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1003414028040

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Author notes

  1. Nathaniel B. Weston

    Present address: Patrick Center for Environmental Research, The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, USA

  2. Stephen E. Macavoy

    Present address: Biology Department, American University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marine Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30605, USA

    Nathaniel B. Weston, William P. Porubsky, Vladimir A. Samarkin, Matthew Erickson, Stephen E. Macavoy & Samantha B. Joye

Authors
  1. Nathaniel B. Weston
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. William P. Porubsky
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Vladimir A. Samarkin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Matthew Erickson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Stephen E. Macavoy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Samantha B. Joye
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Samantha B. Joye.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Weston, N.B., Porubsky, W.P., Samarkin, V.A. et al. Porewater Stoichiometry of Terminal Metabolic Products, Sulfate, and Dissolved Organic Carbon and Nitrogen in Estuarine Intertidal Creek-bank Sediments. Biogeochemistry 77, 375–408 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-005-1640-1

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-005-1640-1

Keywords

  • Carbon
  • Dissolved organic carbon (DOC)
  • Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON)
  • Sediment metabolism
  • Nitrogen
  • Sulfate reduction