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Nutrient dynamics in core sediments of an artificial basal medium prepared with steelmaking slag and dredged materials

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Abstract

The availability of steelmaking slag, an industrial by-product, was examined as a component of a basal medium for the creation and regeneration of shallow habitats in coastal ecosystems. We investigated nutrient dynamics in sediments prepared with slag and dredged materials by conducting a core incubation experiment for 379 days. Silica sand was used as the reference material. Although slag caused alkalization of pore water, the pH in the surface layer recovered within a few days. The use of slag had limited influence on the dissolved inorganic nitrogen content, but pore water phosphate concentrations were considerably suppressed in slag-based media, especially when the pH was high. Nutrient diffusion fluxes from slag- and sand-based sediment cores were comparable to those in natural coastal environments. After 379 days, more than 90 % of the nutrients remained in the top 5 cm of the cores. Moreover, the sustained release of nutrients from basal media prepared with slag may play an important role in sustaining the productivity of macrophytobenthic ecosystems, including seagrass meadows. The mesocosm-scale experiment we proposed could evaluate long-term variations of nutrient dynamics in the artificial basal media. Because of wide variations in chemical properties among the different types of slag and dredged materials, approaches similar to this study may be essential before any large-scale application to marine environments.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the steel plant for providing us with slag. We would like to thank Dr. Namiha Yamada for her comments and suggestions. We are indebted to three anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on the manuscript. This study was partially supported by a grant from the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan (F1102).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, AIST Tsukuba West, 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba, 305-8569, Japan

    Ayumi Tsukasaki, Nobuo Tsurushima, Tetsuya Nakazato, Yu Huang, Terumi Tanimoto & Masahiro Suzumura

  2. Environmental Research and Management Center, Hiroshima University, 1-5-3, Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima, 739-8513, Japan

    Wataru Nishijima

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  1. Ayumi Tsukasaki
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  2. Nobuo Tsurushima
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  3. Tetsuya Nakazato
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  4. Yu Huang
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  7. Wataru Nishijima
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Correspondence to Ayumi Tsukasaki.

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Tsukasaki, A., Tsurushima, N., Nakazato, T. et al. Nutrient dynamics in core sediments of an artificial basal medium prepared with steelmaking slag and dredged materials. J Oceanogr 72, 867–881 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-016-0384-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-016-0384-y

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