Nutrient exchange and oxygen demand at the sediment–water interface during dry and wet seasons off the Medjerda River Delta (Tunis Gulf, Tunisia)

Abstract

In situ benthic flux of oxygen, alkalinity, and nutrients was assessed at the water–sediment interface using benthic chambers at three stations in the Medjerda River Delta (Tunisia) at 10, 20 and 40 m depth during March and August 2012. Simultaneously, three sediment cores were taken at the same locations to determine the diffusive flux of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN = NO2−, NO3−, NH4+) and PO43− with a Technicon Autoanalyzer III to estimate diagenetic mechanisms occurring below the sediment–water interface. Oxygen consumption at the interface is about 1.7–10 mmol/m2/day essentially controlled by organic matter degradation and oxidation of reduced elements. Nitrate concentration is relatively high in the sediment (above 140 μM for NO3−), and its production did not always conform to the general scheme of early diagenesis. NH4+ and PO43− were released at a rate of 96.5 and 1.27 μmol/m2/day, respectively, consistent with those measured in benthic chambers, but amounting to <30 % of benthic fluxes for NH4+ and <5 % for PO43−.