Calibration and performance of a stirred benthic chamber

Abstract

The physical and chemical boundary layer parameters characteristic for a benthic chamber were cross-calibrated by the use of two methods in the laboratory: (1) flush-mounted hot-film sensors, which measure the friction velocity u ∗ , and (2) the alabaster dissolution technique, which measures the equivalent film thickness z. Tests of five stirring devices were made, using both techniques, to improve the stirring mechanism in the MANOP Lander flux chambers. The stirring device that was finally implemented consisted of four rods and produced spatially averaged friction velocities u ∗ ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 cm s −1 (i.e. mean film thickness z from 500 to 180 μm) when running at speeds from 3 to 9 rpm. The friction velocity field at the sediment surface is related to the rpm of the stirring device and the penetration depth of the chamber into the sediments; combinations of both can create z and u ∗ inside the chamber that duplicate those of many natural environments. The log-log calibration relationship found between u ∗ and transfer coefficients K′ also provides a means to predict the mass-transfer resistance of solutes at the sediment-water interface from measurements of mean bottom stress.