Abstract
SILICA concentrations in pore fluids of sediments, and the exchange between pore water and the overlying water are important considerations for the silica budgets of the marine environment1–3. Recent studies have shown, however, that inadequate sampling and handling procedures of marine sediments can produce large compositional changes in the pore fluids of these sediments4–6. Changes in sediment temperatures, similar to those occurring during sample acquisition, can alter the pore water silica concentration by as much as 50% (ref. 7). Oxidation may also produce artefacts in pore water data, that is oxidation of iron-rich anoxic pore waters has been shown to decrease the concentration of iron and phosphate in estuarine pore waters8,9. We present here laboratory data which indicate that the exposure of anoxic pore waters to the ordinary atmosphere can reduce the silica concentration by approximately 15%, which may reduce the reported diffusional fluxes of silica from anoxic marine sediment by 15%.
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LODER, T., LYONS, W., MURRAY, S. et al. Silicate in anoxic pore waters and oxidation effects during sampling. Nature 273, 373–374 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/273373a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/273373a0
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