Journal
CONTINENTAL SHELF RESEARCH
Volume 29, Issue 18, Pages 2207-2213Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.csr.2009.08.012
Keywords
Sediment cores; Overlying water; Nitrogen-dynamics; Hypoxia; Sediment-water interface; Dead zone
Categories
Funding
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (NGOMEX) [NA07NOS4780225, 110]
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Settled particles of fresh, labile organic matter may be a significant source of oxygen demand and nutrient regeneration in seasonally-hypoxic regions caused by nutrient inputs into stratified coastal zones. Studying the dynamics of this material requires sediment sampling methods that include flocculent organic materials and overlying water (OLW) at or above the sediment-water interface (SWI). A new coring device (HYPOX corer) was evaluated for examining nitrogen- (N) and oxygen-dynamics at the SWI and OLW in the northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOMEX). The HYPOX corer consists of a Coring Head with a check-valve, a weighted Drive Unit, and a Lander, constructed from inexpensive components. The corer collected undisturbed sediment cores and OLW from sediments at NGOMEX sampling sites with underling substrates ranging from sand to dense clay. The HYPOX corer could be deployed in weather conditions similar to those needed for a multi-bottle rosette water-sampling system with 20 L bottles. As an example of corer applicability to NGOMEX issues, NH(4)(+) cycling rates were examined at hypoxic and control sites by isotope dilution experiments. The objective was to determine if N-dynamics in OLW were different from those in the water column Ammonium demand. as reflected by potential NH(4)(+) uptake rates, was higher in OLW than in waters collected from a meter or more above the bottom at both sites, but the pattern was more pronounced at the hypoxia site. By contrast. NH(4)(+) regeneration rates were low in all samples These preliminary results suggest that heterotrophic activity and oxygen consumption in OLW in the hypoxic region may be regulated by the availability of NH(4)(+), or other reduced N compounds, rather than by the lack of sufficient labile organic carbon. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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