Carbon, oxygen and strontium isotope composition of Plattenkalk from the Upper Jurassic Wattendorf Konservat-Lagerstätte (Franconian Alb, Germany)

The oldest Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) Plattenkalk occurs in Wattendorf on the northern Franconian Alb (southern Germany). It is a 15 m thick alternation of laminated dolomite and limestone, interbedded with carbonate debris layers in a depression ~2 km across and a few tens of metres deeper than the surrounding microbial-sponge reefs. The Plattenkalk overlies a few tens of metres of microbial-sponge biostrome facies and bedded, micritic basinal limestone. The bulk-rock stable isotopes of the micritic basinal facies gradually change from normal marine (δ13C ~ +2‰, δ18O ~ –2‰ VPDB) to lower values (δ13C ~ 0‰, δ18O ~ –6‰) in a ~ 40 m thick interval including Plattenkalk and suggest ageing of the bottom waters. The surrounding reefs are isotopically nearly invariant (δ13C ~ +2‰, δ18O ~ –2‰ VPDB). An isotope anomaly (δ13C of > ~ –9‰) is restricted to the basinal facies and is most pronounced in the biostrome facies. This indicates methanogenesis, which is documented in negative δ13C in dedolomite, calcite-cemented dolomite and calcite concretions and occurred probably mainly below seabed. The Konservat-Lagerstätte was probably deposited near an oxygen minimum zone in a water column with low productivity of organic material. Dolomite is in isotopic equilibrium with Plattenkalk and was probably deposited as protodolomite from chemically modified, aged seawater. 87Sr/86Sr ratios of bulk carbonate are often slightly radiogenic, probably due to random analytical sample contamination by clay minerals. Belemnite and some matrix 87Sr/86Sr is slightly lower than that of Kimmeridgian seawater, either caused by basin restriction or by fluids derived from the diagenesis of Oxfordian rocks below. An equivalent Upper Kimmeridgian depression ~23 km distant and a somewhat younger Konservat-Lagerstätte in Poland show a δ13C isotope anomaly below the main fossil beds. Isotopic evidence for saline bottom waters, the current interpretation, is lacking. This study also shows that micritic carbonates can preserve their early diagenetic, marine δ18O signal, which is correlatable over tens of kilometres.

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The control of hydrogen sulfide on benthic iron and cadmium fluxes in the oxygen minimum zone off Peru

10.5194/bg-2019-390 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Anna Plass ◽

Christian Schlosser ◽

Stefan Sommer ◽

Andrew W. Dale ◽

Eric P. Achterberg ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hydrogen Sulfide ◽

Trace Metals ◽

Pore Water ◽

Oxygen Minimum Zone ◽

Benthic Fluxes ◽

Benthic Chamber ◽

Bottom Waters ◽

Minimum Zone ◽

Oxygen Minimum

Abstract. Sediments in oxygen-depleted marine environments can be an important sink or source of bio-essential trace metals in the ocean. However, the key mechanisms controlling the release from or burial of trace metals in sediments are not exactly understood. Here, we investigate the benthic biogeochemical cycling of Fe and Cd in the oxygen minimum zone off Peru. We combine bottom water profiles, pore water profiles, as well as benthic fluxes determined from pore water profiles and in-situ from benthic chamber incubations along a depth transect at 12° S. In agreement with previous studies, both concentration-depth profiles and in-situ benthic fluxes indicate a Fe release from sediments into bottom waters. Diffusive Fe fluxes and Fe fluxes from benthic chamber incubations are roughly consistent (0.3–17.1 mmol m−2 y−1), indicating that diffusion is the main transport mechanism of dissolved Fe across the sediment-water interface. The occurrence of mats of sulfur oxidizing bacteria on the seafloor represents an important control on the spatial distribution of Fe fluxes by regulating hydrogen sulfide (H2S) concentrations and, potentially, Fe sulfide precipitation within the surface sediment. Removal of dissolved Fe after its release to anoxic bottom waters is rapid in the first 4 m away from the seafloor (half-life

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Inter-decadal changes in the intensity of the Oxygen Minimum Zone off Concepción, Chile (~ 36° S) over the last century

Biogeosciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/bgd-12-6003-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 12 (8) ◽

pp. 6003-6035

Author(s):

B. Srain ◽

S. Pantoja ◽

J. Sepúlveda ◽

C. B. Lange ◽

P. Muñoz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Frequency ◽

Oxygen Depletion ◽

Oxygen Minimum Zone ◽

Anaerobic Microorganisms ◽

The Pacific ◽

Bottom Waters ◽

Minimum Zone ◽

Positive Correlations ◽

Molecular Indicators ◽

Oxygen Minimum

Abstract. We reconstructed oxygenation changes in the Oxygen Minimum Zone of the upwelling ecosystem off Concepción (36° S), Chile, using inorganic and organic proxies in a sediment core covering the last ca. 110 years of sedimentation in this area. Authigenic enrichments of Mo, U and Cd were observed between ca. 1935–1971 CE indicating a prolonged period of more reduced conditions in bottom waters and surface sediments. Significant positive correlations (p < 0.05; Spearman) between redox sensitive metals, algal sterols, biomarkers of anaerobic microorganisms, and archaeal glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether indicated a coupling among bottom water oxygen depletion, and increased primary and export production, suggesting that the period with low O2 of ca. 35 years, follows low frequency inter-decadal variation of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, which may have resulted in O2 depletion over the entire continental shelf off Concepción. Taken together with the concurrent increase in sedimentary molecular indicators of anaerobic microbes allow us to suggest that the prokaryote community has been influenced by changes in oxygenation of the water column.

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Sediment release of dissolved organic matter to the oxygen minimum zone off Peru

10.5194/bg-2019-489 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Alexandra N. Loginova ◽

Andrew W. Dale ◽

Frédéric A. C. LeMoigne ◽

Sören Thomsen ◽

Stefan Sommer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Dissolved Organic Matter ◽

Pore Water ◽

Oxygen Minimum Zone ◽

Water Interface ◽

Sediment Release ◽

Bottom Waters ◽

Minimum Zone ◽

Oxygen Minimum

Abstract. The eastern tropical South Pacific (ETSP) represents one of the most productive areas in the ocean that is characterized by a pronounced oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). Particulate organic matter (POM) that sinks out of the euphotic zone is supplied to the anoxic sediments and utilized by microbial communities. The degradation of POM is associated with dissolved organic matter (DOM) production and reworking. The release of recalcitrant DOM to the overlying waters may represent an important organic matter escape mechanism from remineralization within sediments but received little attention in OMZ regions so far. Here, we combine measurements of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) with DOM optical properties in the form of chromophoric (CDOM) and fluorescent (FDOM) DOM from pore waters and near-bottom waters of the ETSP off Peru. We evaluate diffusion–driven fluxes and net in situ fluxes of DOC and DON in order to investigate processes affecting DOM cycling at the sediment–water interface along a transect 12° S. To our knowledge, these are the first data for sediment release of DON and pore water CDOM and FDOM for the ETSP off Peru. Pore-water DOC and DON accumulated with increasing sediment depth, suggesting an imbalance between DOM production and remineralization within sediments. High DON accumulation resulted in very low pore water DOC / DON ratios (> 1) which could be caused by either an imbalance in DOC and DON remineralization, or to the presence of an additional nitrogen source. Diffusion driven fluxes of DOC and DON exhibited high spatial variability. They varied from 0.2–0.1 mmol m−2 d−1 to 2.52–1.3 mmol m−2 d−1 and from −0.042–0.02 mmol m−2 d−1 to 3.32–1.7 mmol m−2 d−1, respectively. Generally low net in situ DOC and DON fluxes as well as steepening of spectral slope (S) of CDOM and accumulation of humic-like FDOM at the near-bottom waters over time indicated active microbial DOM utilization at the sediment–water interface, potentially stimulated by nitrate (NO3−) and nitrite (NO2−). The microbial DOC utilization rates, estimated in our study, may be sufficient to support denitrification rates of 0.2–1.4 mmol m−2 d−1, suggesting that sediment release of DOM contributes substantially to nitrogen loss processes in the ETSP off Peru.

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Benthic phosphorus cycling in the Peruvian oxygen minimum zone

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-13-1367-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 1367-1386 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Ulrike Lomnitz ◽

Stefan Sommer ◽

Andrew W. Dale ◽

Carolin R. Löscher ◽

Anna Noffke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Column ◽

Surface Sediments ◽

Solid Phase ◽

Continental Margins ◽

Low Oxygen ◽

Anoxic Waters ◽

Oxygen Conditions ◽

Bottom Waters ◽

Minimum Zone ◽

Oxygen Minimum

Abstract. Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) that impinge on continental margins favor the release of phosphorus (P) from the sediments to the water column, enhancing primary productivity and the maintenance or expansion of low-oxygen waters. A comprehensive field program in the Peruvian OMZ was undertaken to identify the sources of benthic P at six stations, including the analysis of particles from the water column, surface sediments, and pore fluids, as well as in situ benthic flux measurements. A major fraction of solid-phase P was bound as particulate inorganic P (PIP) both in the water column and in sediments. Sedimentary PIP increased with depth in the sediment at the expense of particulate organic P (POP). The ratio of particulate organic carbon (POC) to POP exceeded the Redfield ratio both in the water column (202 ± 29) and in surface sediments (303 ± 77). However, the POC to total particulate P (TPP = POP + PIP) ratio was close to Redfield in the water column (103 ± 9) and in sediment samples (102 ± 15). This suggests that the relative burial efficiencies of POC and TPP are similar under low-oxygen conditions and that the sediments underlying the anoxic waters on the Peru margin are not depleted in P compared to Redfield. Benthic fluxes of dissolved P were extremely high (up to 1.04 ± 0.31 mmol m−2 d−1), however, showing that a lack of oxygen promotes the intensified release of dissolved P from sediments, whilst preserving the POC / TPP burial ratio. Benthic dissolved P fluxes were always higher than the TPP rain rate to the seabed, which is proposed to be caused by transient P release by bacterial mats that had stored P during previous periods when bottom waters were less reducing. At one station located at the lower rim of the OMZ, dissolved P was taken up by the sediments, indicating ongoing phosphorite formation. This is further supported by decreasing porewater phosphate concentrations with sediment depth, whereas solid-phase P concentrations were comparatively high.

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Interdecadal changes in intensity of the oxygen minimum zone off Concepción, Chile (~ 36° S), over the last century

Biogeosciences ◽

10.5194/bg-12-6045-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 12 (20) ◽

pp. 6045-6058 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

B. Srain ◽

S. Pantoja ◽

J. Sepúlveda ◽

C. B. Lange ◽

P. Muñoz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Low Frequency ◽

Time Interval ◽

Tight Coupling ◽

Anaerobic Microorganisms ◽

The Pacific ◽

Bottom Waters ◽

Minimum Zone ◽

Positive Correlations ◽

Molecular Indicators ◽

Oxygen Minimum

Abstract. We reconstructed oxygenation changes in the upwelling ecosystem off Concepción (36° S), Chile, using inorganic and organic proxies in a sediment core covering the last ca. 110 years of sedimentation in this area. Authigenic enrichments of Mo, U and Cd were observed between ca. 1935 and 1971 CE, implying a prolonged period with predominantly more reduced conditions in bottom waters and surface sediments. Significant positive correlations between redox-sensitive metals, algal sterols, biomarkers of micro-aerophilic and anaerobic microorganisms, and archaeal glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers point to a tight coupling among bottom water O2 depletion and increased primary and export production. The time interval with low O2 of ca. 35 years seems to follow low-frequency interdecadal variation of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and it may have resulted in O2 depletion over the entire continental shelf off Concepción. Taking this together with the concurrent increase in sedimentary molecular indicators of micro-aerophilic and anaerobic microbes, we can suggest that changes in oxygenation of the water column are reflected by changes in microbial community. This study can inform our understanding of ecological consequences to projected trends in ocean deoxygenation.

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Benthic phosphorus cycling in the Peruvian oxygen minimum zone

Biogeosciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/bgd-12-16755-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 12 (20) ◽

pp. 16755-16801 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

U. Lomnitz ◽

S. Sommer ◽

A. W. Dale ◽

C. R. Löscher ◽

A. Noffke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Water Column ◽

Surface Sediments ◽

Solid Phase ◽

Continental Margins ◽

Low Oxygen ◽

Oxygen Minimum Zones ◽

Oxygen Conditions ◽

Bottom Waters ◽

Minimum Zone ◽

Oxygen Minimum

Abstract. Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) that impinge on continental margins favor the release of phosphorus (P) from the sediments to the water column, enhancing primary productivity and the maintenance or expansion of low-oxygen waters. A comprehensive field program in the Peruvian OMZ was undertaken to identify the sources of benthic P, including the analysis of particles from the water column, surface sediments and pore fluids as well as in situ benthic flux measurements. A major fraction of solid phase P was bound as particulate inorganic P (PIP) both in the water column and in sediments. Sedimentary PIP increased with depth in the sediment at the expense of particulate organic P (POP). The ratio of particulate organic carbon (POC) to POP exceeded the Redfield Ratio both in the water column (202 ± 29) and in surface sediments (303 ± 77). However, the POC to total particulate P (TPP = POP + PIP) ratio was close to Redfield in the water column (103 ± 9) and in sediment samples (102 ± 15) taken from the core of the OMZ. This observation suggests that the burial efficiencies of POC and TPP are similar under the low oxygen conditions prevailing in the Peruvian OMZ. Benthic fluxes of dissolved P were extremely high (up to 1.04 ± 0.31 mmol m−2 d−1) and exceeded the fluxes resulting from the degradation of particulate organic matter raining to the seabed. Most of the excess P may have been released by bacterial mats that had stored P during previous periods when bottom waters were less reducing. At one station located at the lower rim of the OMZ, dissolved P was taken up by the sediments indicating recent phosphorite formation.

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