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Redox Chemistry in the Root Zone of a Salt Marsh Sediment in the Tagus Estuary, Portugal

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Abstract

Measurements of O2, Fe(II), Mn(II)and HS5 in salt marshsediments in the Tagus Estuary, Portugal, made with a voltammetric microelectrode, reveal strong seasonal differences in pore water composition within the 20~cm deep root zone. In spring, oxygen was below detection limit except close to the sediment surface. Fe(II) was present below 5 cm in concentrations ranging from detection limit to 1700 μM. In summer, oxygen was present in the pore water almost to the bottom of the root zone in concentrations ranging from detection limit to more than 100 μM. The spatial variability was intense: O2 concentrations as high as 78 μM and as low as 25 μM existed within 2~mm of each other. Fe(II) was below detection limit except towards the bottom of the root zone. In late fall, oxygen was found to 8 cm depth, but in concentrations lower than in summer, and Fe(II) was present below 9 cm. Mn(II) was found at levels declining from typical values of 200 μM in spring to less than 20 μM in late fall. With one exception, sulfide was below the detection limit in all measurements. During periods when dissolved Fe(II) is available in the pore water at the same time as 2 is delivered by roots, iron-rich concretions can form on roots. These conditions, which lead to precipitation of iron oxide in the sediment adjacent to roots, exist in spring, when new roots infiltrate anoxic Fe(II) containing sediment. They do not exist in summer, when dissolved Fe(II) is unavailable, or in winter, when oxygen is unavailable. The seasonal redox pattern revealed by the pore water chemistry is driven by the annual cycle of growth and decay of roots.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut des Sciences de la Mer de Rimouski, Université du Québec á Rimouski, Rimouski, Québec, G5L 3A1, Canada

    Bjørn Sundby

  2. Earth & Planetary Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, H3A 2A7, Canada

    Bjørn Sundby

  3. IPIMAR, Avenida Brasilia, 1400, Lisbon, Portugal

    Carlos Vale & Miguel Caetano

  4. College of Marine Studies, University of Delaware, Lewes, DE, 19958, USA

    George W. Luther III

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  1. Bjørn Sundby
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  2. Carlos Vale
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  3. Miguel Caetano
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  4. George W. Luther III
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Sundby, B., Vale, C., Caetano, M. et al. Redox Chemistry in the Root Zone of a Salt Marsh Sediment in the Tagus Estuary, Portugal. Aquatic Geochemistry 9, 257–271 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:AQUA.0000022957.42522.9a

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:AQUA.0000022957.42522.9a

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