Measurement of the diffusion coefficient for salt in salt flat and mangrove soils

Abstract

Excluded salt accumulated at mangrove roots must be transported away from the root zone by diffusive processes, due to the low permeability of most mangrove soils. The diffusion coefficient for salt in mangrove soils determines the rate of this diffusive transport but has not been determined experimentally before. In this work we used a 12-month long-time series of salt concentration profiles measured in a sediment core over which fresh water was continuously circulated, to determine the diffusion coefficient for salt in the soil. Salt concentrations were measured using an electrical conductivity probe that was developed for use in hypersaline (salt concentration up to and in excess of 120 g/l) conditions. A modified formula was experimentally determined to relate electrical conductivity to salt concentration and temperature, applicable up to a salt concentration of 200 g/l. This was done because standard formulae relating these variables do not apply in the hypersaline conditions often encountered in salt flat sediments. The salt concentration profiles were used in a simple mathematical model to determine a sediment diffusion coefficient for salt in a salt flat sediment. This value of D=(4.6±0.2) ×10⁻⁵ m²/day was approximately half that calculated theoretically.