A scaling approach to spatial variability in early diagenetic processes

Abstract

The traditional approach to understanding early diagenetic processes in sediments has generally been to analyze pore water and solid phases from a single core on depth scales of centimeters. The resulting data is then modeled using the approximations of lateral homogeneity and steady-state conditions. However, the continuing advancement of the field of benthic biogeochemistry and development of new microelectrode analytic techniques are clearly demonstrating that in many sedimentary environments a more sophisticated approach to measure the spatial and temporal variability is necessary. Although no one approach is appropriate for all situations, a scaling method is presented, with examples, in this study for determining appropriate sampling intervals in time and space that has considerable utility for investigating early changes in sediment geochemistry in complex natural systems. This approach is derived from scaling techniques that have been developed by physical oceanographers for the study of processes in the water column where many analogous sampling problems are encountered.