Seasonal fluxes across the sediment-water interface, and processes within sediments
Nedwell, D.B.; Parkers, R.J.; Upton, A.C.; Assinder, D.J. (1993). Seasonal fluxes across the sediment-water interface, and processes within sediments, in: Charnock, H. et al. Understanding the North Sea system: discussion held on 4 and 5 November 1992. pp. 141-151. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1236-9_11 In: Charnock, H. et al. (1993). Understanding the North Sea system: discussion held on 4 and 5 November 1992. Royal Society of London: London. ISBN 978-0-412-55480-3; e-ISBN 978-94-011-1236-9. XV, 222 pp. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-1236-9, more |
| Keyword | | | Author keywords | bottom sediment; organic matter degradation; sulphate reduction rate; organic matter mineralization; Southern Bight |
| Authors | | Top | - Nedwell, D.B.
- Parkers, R.J.
- Upton, A.C.
- Assinder, D.J.
| | |
| Abstract | Measurements of oxygen uptake across the sediment-water interface suggested that between 17-45% of the net primary production in the southern North Sea was degraded in the bottom sediments. Similar measurements of nutrient exchange fluxes showed that the sediments were significant sources of nutrients transferred to the water column. The sediments are, therefore, important sites of organic matter degradation and nutrient recycling, and must be included in any models for the North Sea. The sediments are also accumulators of radionuclides, particularly associated with the silt/clay fraction. At one site in the more central area of the North Sea where the water column stratifies during summer, vertical profiles of radionuclides (137Cs, 239,240Pu, 210Pb) suggested a deposition rate of sediment of 0.3-0.6 cm a-1, but at other sites vertical sediment profiles were unsuitable to measure deposition. |
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