Organic Carbon and Carbonate System in the Bottom Sediments of Shallow Bights of the Peter the Great Bay (Sea of Japan)

Abstract

Abstract—The diagenesis of organic matter (OM) is studied in bottom sediments taken in February, 2018 from therapeutic mud deposits of the Uglovoi Bay and Voevoda and Ekspeditsiya bights (Peter the Great Bay, Sea of Japan). The carbonate system of bottom sediments and pore water were analyzed for the contents of nutrients, dissolved organic carbon, humic substance, and concentrations of sulfates and chlorides. The concentrations of organic carbon, chlorophyll-a, humic and fulvic acids, and mobile sulfide species are measured in a solid phase of sediment. Underwater photographing shows that sampling localities are covered by Zostera marina meadows in the Voevoda and Ekspeditsiya bights and by diatom mats in Uglovoi Bay. The proportions between dissolved inorganic carbon and alkalinity, as well as data on sulfate–chlorine ratios and mobile sulfide species indicate that the OM degradation in bottom sediments is mainly controlled by sulfate reduction. The Uglovoi Bay and Voevoda and Ekspeditsii bights are characterized by different values of bioturbation coefficients: 3.0, 107.6, and 14.5 cm2/day, respectively. The estimated fluxes of organic carbon from water into sediment and of dissolved inorganic carbon from sediment into water significantly differ. The disbalance between organic and inorganic carbons can be caused by the following reasons: (a) ignored CO2 flux released by marine organisms from bottom sediments through their siphonal system; (b) partial OM consumption in food with its subsequent deposition in it.