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Oxygen microprofiles measured in situ in deep ocean sediments

Nature volume 320, pages 741–744 (1986)Cite this article

Abstract

Diffusive fluxes of oxygen into sediments cannot be calculated reliably without accurate fine-scale concentration measurements very near an undisturbed sediment–water interface. For deep-sea sediments this is difficult, and thus few data on seafloor oxygen gradients have been reported1–4. We present here bottom-water/pore-water oxygen microprofiles that were measured in situ with microelectrodes and a free-vehicle microprofiling instrument at ocean depths of 1,275 and 3,790 m. The vertical distribution of oxygen in the upper few centimetres of sediment reflects variations in bottom-water oxygen concentration, oxygen demand and biologically produced small-scale (millimetre to centimetres) sediment heterogeneity and microtopography. Oxygen microprofiles measured on board ship in box-cored sediments from the same sites have features that are similar to the profiles measured in situ except within the first 2–4 mm below the sediment surface. This difference is probably caused by changes in boundary conditions and disturbance of the uppermost sediment during coring and sample retrieval.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California, 92093, USA

    Clare E. Reimers, Kathleen M. Fischer, Ray Merewether, K. L. Smith Jr & Richard A. Jahnke

Authors
  1. Clare E. Reimers
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  2. Kathleen M. Fischer
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  3. Ray Merewether
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  4. K. L. Smith Jr
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  5. Richard A. Jahnke
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Reimers, C., Fischer, K., Merewether, R. et al. Oxygen microprofiles measured in situ in deep ocean sediments. Nature 320, 741–744 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/320741a0

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