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A rapid assessment of the sedimentary buffering capacity towards free sulphides

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Abstract

Combined field surveys and laboratory studies were conducted in two Italian coastal lagoons, which differ for geomorphology, hydrodynamics and eutrophication degree (Sacca di Goro and Lesina lagoons, Adriatic Sea). Research aimed at assessing with a rapid technique the potential buffering capacity of sedimentary iron towards sulphides. In Spring and Summer 2004, the main pools of iron and sulphides were analysed in the uppermost sediment horizon (0–5 cm) at four stations in each lagoon. In parallel, experiments with laboratory incubations of sediment slurries were carried out at two sites in each lagoon in order to assess the sediment capacity of binding and retaining sulphides. Sediment slurries were kept stirred and anoxic with N2 purging. Aliquots of dissolved sulphides (DS) were then added and DS concentrations were monitored until they were undetectable. On average, the total reactive iron (RFe), extracted with 6 N HCl, ranged from 170 to 400 μmol cm−3 in the Sacca di Goro stations, and comprised between 40 and 150 μmol cm−3 in the Lesina sites. The labile iron ferric quota (LFe: extractable with 0.5 N HCl) is considered representative of the microbially reducible iron fraction and was highest in spring in Sacca di Goro (up to 20 μmol cm−3). Differences among stations evidenced by PCA analysis, can be inferred from RFe, LFe and AVS, which represent the iron buffer and its saturation status, respectively. The sedimentary DS uptake was 6 μmol cm−3 of fresh sediment in Lesina and 8–12 μmol cm−3 in Sacca di Goro, indicating a direct relationship between DS removal and iron availability.

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Acknowledgements

This research was partially supported by the Italian Ministry of Research and Education under the COFIN project “Nuovi Indicatori di stato Trofico e d’Integrità ecologica Di Ambienti marini costieri e ambienti di transizione (NITIDA)” and by the European Commission under contract n° EVK3-CT-2002-00084 “Development of an Information Technology Tool for the Management of European Southern Lagoons under the influence of river-basin runoff (DITTY)”.

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  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Parma, Via Usberti 33/A, 43100, Parma, Italy

    Gianmarco Giordani, Roberta Azzoni & Pierluigi Viaroli

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  1. Gianmarco Giordani
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  2. Roberta Azzoni
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  3. Pierluigi Viaroli
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Correspondence to Gianmarco Giordani.

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Guest editors: A. Razinkovas, Z. R. Gasiūnaitė, J. M. Zaldivar & P. Viaroli

European Lagoons and their Watersheds: Function and Biodiversity

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Giordani, G., Azzoni, R. & Viaroli, P. A rapid assessment of the sedimentary buffering capacity towards free sulphides. Hydrobiologia 611, 55–66 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-008-9457-2

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