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Redox oscillations in bioturbated sediments
Citation:
Volkenborn, N., T. H. DEWITT, J. E. Hewitt, C. R. Lovell, G. M. Matsui, A. Norkko, J. Norkko, C. Pilditch, L. Polerecky, S. F. Thrush, J. E. VanBeuskom, D. S. Wethey, AND S. A. Woodin. Redox oscillations in bioturbated sediments. Presented at 3rd Nereis Park Conference, Kristineberg, SWEDEN, August 29 - 31, 2011.
Impact/Purpose:
Over the last few years we have investigated some of the most important bioturbating infaunal groups with respect to their hydraulic activity and the related porewater advection and oxygen dynamics.
Description:
Over the last few years we have investigated some of the most important bioturbating infaunal groups with respect to their hydraulic activity and the related porewater advection and oxygen dynamics. Despite species specific traits, the investigated crustaceans, bivalves, and polychaetes all engage in hydraulic behaviors that cause intermittent bidirectional transport of water away and towards the organisms. As a consequence, the sediment surrounding the burrows as well as the sediment surface experience frequent oscillations between oxic and anoxic conditions on the scale of minutes. In this talk we will visualize this dynamic nature of the geochemical conditions and present quantitative analysis of the species-, and sediment-specific oscillatory character and the scale of impact. The disruption of stable geochemical conditions by hydraulically active organisms is expected to have important implications for the distribution and activity of the associated (microbial) community and may explain the diversity of biogeochemical processes performed in bioturbated sediments.