A Study on the Measurement Method for Benthic Nutrient Flux in Freshwater Sediments

Abstract

Accurate measurement of benthic nutrient fluxes (BNF) is a prerequisite for evaluating the effect of sediments on nutrient cycle in the surface water. The intact sediment cores were collected in July 2015 at the midstream of Nakdong River. We identified pre-incubation time (6, 12, 24 hr), dissolved oxygen concentration (90, 70, 50% saturation), diffusive boundary layer thickness (0, 0.6-0.8, 1.2-1.4 mm), and incubation temperature (10, 17, 20, 25℃) as the most important control factors, and measured the BNF fluctuation with the variation of these factors using the laboratory sediment core incubation method. Since the chemical composition, redox condition, hydrodynamic regimes and microbial activities at the sediment-water interface were changed as a result of the alteration of control factors, sediment core incubation should be conducted under as close to the natural conditions of study site as possible, in order to produce the results similar to actual values. Relative percentage differences between two replicates were below 20% in most control factors, which showed satisfactory precision for strict compliance with the experimental conditions and procedures. In the further studies, we will compare the results of core incubation with those of in situ measurements to confirm the accuracy of the sediment core incubation method. Key words: Inorganic Nutrient, Benthic Flux, Sediment Core Incubation, Freshwater Sediments