Constraining Sources of Organic Matter to Tropical Coastal Sediments: Consideration of Nontraditional End-members

Abstract

Molar organic carbon to total nitrogen to organic phosphorus (OC:TN:OP) ratios are used in tandem with carbon isotopic values to constrain sources of organic matter (OM) to marine sediments in a tropical coastal embayment. Analysis of end-members specific to the study site indicates that the bulk OM pool cannot be modeled as a simple mixture of two end-members (terrestrial vs. marine OM), but rather reflects a more complex, multicomponent mixture. Mangrove, coral reef ecosystems, and bacterial biomass contribute OM to tropical coastal marine sediments that is compositionally distinct from traditional marine and terrestrial end-members and thus preclude the application of a classical two end-member mixing model of the sort that has been used traditionally in sediments from temperate environments. A survey of elemental ratios and carbon isotopic values of potential OM end-members reported in the literature, as well as depth profiles before and after whole-core incubation experiments conducted as part of this study, were used to evaluate the strength of OC:TN versus OC:OP ratios as OM source indices. Our study suggests that OC:TN ratios are a weaker indicator of OM source than OC:OP ratios, because: (1) the more restricted dynamic range of OC:TN ratios prevents clear distinction of terrestrial-from marine-derived OM, and (2) post-depositional changes in OC:TN ratios occur during diagenesis, obscuring the source signature of initially deposited OM. The fidelity of OM indices during early diagenesis underscores the importance of quantifying OP in sediments to assess sedimentary OM source.