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Transient States in Diagenesis Following the Deposition of a Gravity Layer: Dynamics of O2, Mn, Fe and N-Species in Experimental Units

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Abstract

Biogeochemical processes induced by the deposition of gravity layer in marine sediment were studied in a 295-day experiment. Combining voltammetric microelectrode measurements and conventional analytical techniques, the concentrations of C, O2, N-species, Mn and Fe have been determined in porewaters and sediments of experimental units. Dynamics of the major diagenetic species following the sudden sediment deposition of few cm-thick layer was explained by alternative diagenetic pathways whose relative importance in marine sediments is still a matter of debate. Time-series results indicated that the diffusion of O2 from overlying waters to sediments was efficient after the deposition event: anoxic conditions prevailed during the sedimentation. After a few days, a permanent oxic horizon was formed in the top few millimetres. At the same time, the oxidation of Mn2+ and then Fe2+, which diffused from anoxic sediments, contributed to the surficial enrichment of fresh Mn(III/IV)- and Fe(III)-oxides. Vertical diffusive fluxes and mass balance calculations indicated that a steady-state model described the dynamic of Mn despite the transitory nature of the system. This model was not adequate to describe Fe dynamics because of the multiple sources and phases of Fe2+. No significant transfer of Mn and Fe was observed between the underlying sediment and the new deposit: Mn- and Fe-oxides buried at the original interface acted as an oxidative barrier to reduced species that diffused from below. Nitrification processes led to the formation of a NO −3 /NO −2 rich horizon at the new oxic horizon. Over the experiment period, NO −3 concentrations were also measured in the anoxic sediment suggesting anaerobic nitrate production.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the assistance of the crew of the “Côte de la Manche” and the participants of the Sedican cruises for help in the field. This research was funded by the program PROOF of the Institut National des Sciences de l’Univers - CNRS. We thank also the editorial reviewers whose comments inspired us to improve our manuscript. Gwenaëlle Chaillou expresses her special gratitude to Pr. G. W. Luther III, who worked hard to review the manuscript. This is a contribution of the UMR 5805 EPOC.

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  1. Gwénaëlle Chaillou

    Present address: ISMER/UQAR, 310 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, Canada, G5L 3A1

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  1. Environnements et Paléoenvironnements OCeaniques (EPOC), UMR CNRS 5805, Université Bordeaux 1, 33405, Talence, France

    Gwénaëlle Chaillou, Pierre Anschutz, Carole Dubrulle & Pascal Lecroart

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  1. Gwénaëlle Chaillou
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Correspondence to Gwénaëlle Chaillou.

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Chaillou, G., Anschutz, P., Dubrulle, C. et al. Transient States in Diagenesis Following the Deposition of a Gravity Layer: Dynamics of O2, Mn, Fe and N-Species in Experimental Units. Aquat Geochem 13, 157–172 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10498-007-9013-0

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