Artificially induced migration of redox layers in a coastal sediment from the Northern Adriatic

Abstract

Abstract. Long term experimental studies suggest that, under anoxic transient conditions, redox fronts within the sediment shift upwards causing sequential rise and fall of benthic fluxes of reduced species (Mn(II), Fe(II) than S(−II)). Infaunal benthic organisms are associated to different redox fronts as micro-habitats and must be affected by such changes during natural hypoxia events. In order to document geochemical evolution of the sediment during prolonged anoxia in a realistic system, benthic chambers were deployed on the seafloor of the Northern Adriatic and sampled after 9, 30 and 315 days of incubation. Oxygen and sulfide were measured continuously in the early stages of the experiment (during 9 days). High-resolution porewater profiles were sampled by DET probes and redox sensitive species were analysed (alkalinity, SO42–, Mn2+, Fe2+). After 7 days, anoxia was reached within the chambers. Mn and Fe started diffusing towards the water column giving a rusty color to the seafloor. Infaunal species appeared at the surface. After 20 days, all macro-organisms were dead. Macro-organisms decomposition laying on the seafloor generated important production of sulfides within the chamber generating a downward flux of sulfide towards the sediment where sulfides were quickly oxidized by metallic oxides or precipitated as FeS. Sulfide was no more detectable in the water column and porewaters at the end of the experiment. Therefore, our results suggest that sulfide enrichment in the water column in coastal systems is strongly controlled by the biomass of benthic macrofauna and its decay during hypoxia while its residence time in water column is controlled by iron content (as solid oxides or as dissolved reduced cation) within the sediment, even without water circulation.