Description: Large amounts of methane are delivered by fluids through the erosive forearc of the convergent margin offshore Costa Rica and lead to the formation of cold seeps at the sediment surface. Besides mud extrusion, numerous cold seeps are created by landslides induced by seamount subduction or fluid migration along major faults. Most of the dissolved methane reaching the seafloor at cold seeps is oxidized within the benthic microbial methane filter by anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM). Measurements of AOM and sulfate reduction as well as numerical modeling of porewater profiles revealed a highly active and efficient benthic methane filter at Quepos Slide site; a landslide on the continental slope between the Nicoya and Osa Peninsula. Integrated areal rates of AOM ranged from 12.9 ± 6.0 to 45.2 ± 11.5 mmol m-2 d-1, with only 1 to 2.5% of the upward methane flux being released into the water column. Additionally, two parallel sediment cores from Quepos Slide were used for in vitro experiments in a recently developed Sediment-F low-Through (SLOT) system to simulate an increased fluid and methane flux from the bottom of the sediment core. The benthic methane filter revealed a high adaptability whereby the methane oxidation efficiency responded to the increased fluid flow within 150–170 days. To our knowledge, this study provides the first estimation of the natural biogeochemical response of seep sediments to changes in fluid flow.

Description: An empirical function is derived for predicting the rate-depth profile of particulate organic carbon (POC) degradation in surface marine sediments including the bioturbated layer. The rate takes the form of a power law analogous to the Middelburg function. The functional parameters were optimized by simulating measured benthic O2 and NO3− fluxes at 185 stations worldwide using a diagenetic model. The novelty of this work rests with the finding that the vertically-resolved POC degradation rate in the bioturbated zone can be determined using a simple function where the POC rain rate is the governing variable. Although imperfect, the model is able to fit 71 % of paired O2 and NO3− fluxes to within 50% of measured values. It further provides realistic geochemical concentration-depth profiles, NO3− penetration depths and apparent first-order POC mineralization rate constants. The model performs less well on the continental shelf due to the high heterogeneity there. When applied to globally resolved maps of rain rate, the model predicts a global denitrification rate of 182 ± 88 Tg yr−1 of N and a POC burial rate of 107 ± 52 Tg yr−1 of C with a mean carbon burial efficiency of 6.1%. These results are in very good agreement with published values. Our proposed function is conceptually simple, requires less parameterization than multi-G type models and is suitable for non-steady state applications. It provides a basis for more accurately simulating benthic nutrient fluxes and carbonate dissolution rates in Earth system models.

Description: In oxic environments, nitrogen (N) is frequently a limiting nutrient for primary production and hence a controlling element in marine ecosystems. The fixed form of N, i.e. bioavailable N for primary production, is primarily in the oxidized form of nitrate (NO3-). However, in the sub-oxic environments of oxygen minimum zones (OMZs), N-species are biochemically converted to biogenic N2 gas which is then released, or lost, to the atmosphere. N-cycling under sub-oxic conditions thus diminishes the oceanic pool of bioavailable N. It has been suggested that although OMZs constitute only about 1% of global ocean volume, they account for about 20-40% of global oceanic N loss. However, to date these estimates are subject to largely uncertainties. Here, we quantify the rate of N-cycling and the associated N-loss by evaluating all terms of a benthic-pelagic nutrient transport budget at the continental margin off Peru using observations from an extensive measurement program conducted along the continental slope and shelf region at 12°S. The data set was collected during austral summer in 2013 and consists of nutrient, microstructure and CTD/O 2 profiles as well as shipboard velocity data from two research cruises, a glider swarm experiment and current time series from a moored array. To constrain the benthic contribution to the nutrient budget, benthic nutrient fluxes were measured in benthic chambers using Biogeochemical Observatory (BIGO) landers. Detailed budget determinations were performed on the upper continental slope and shelf break as well as at the shelf. Both regions were anoxic but different with regard to nutrient distribution as well as benthic nutrient release rates. Three major conclusions can be inferred from the study: (1) Unexpectedly, the results showed that diapycnal nutrient fluxes, driven by turbulent mixing caused by the breaking of non-linear internal waves, was one to two orders of magnitude larger than advective and lateral-diffusive fluxes. (2) The relative contribution of benthic nutrient fluxes to nutrient cycling was between 30% and 50%. (3) Nitrogen conversion rates on the shelf (50m-100m water depth) were an order of magnitude larger that at the continental slope (200m-300m water depth). The strong differences in the magnitude of the nutrient cycling rates most likely originate from the presence of sulfidic bottom waters that were observed on the shelf

Description: Carbon cycling in Peruvian margin sediments (11° S and 12° S) was examined at 16 stations from 74 m on the inner shelf down to 1024 m water depth by means of in situ flux measurements, sedimentary geochemistry and modeling. Bottom water oxygen was below detection limit down to ca. 400 m and increased to 53 μM at the deepest station. Sediment accumulation rates and benthic dissolved inorganic carbon fluxes decreased rapidly with water depth. Particulate organic carbon (POC) content was lowest on the inner shelf and at the deep oxygenated stations (〈 5%) and highest between 200 and 400 m in the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ, 15–20%). The organic carbon burial efficiency (CBE) was unexpectedly low on the inner shelf (〈 20%) when compared to a global database, for reasons which may be linked to the frequent ventilation of the shelf by oceanographic anomalies. CBE at the deeper oxygenated sites was much higher than expected (max. 81%). Elsewhere, CBEs were mostly above the range expected for sediments underlying normal oxic bottom waters, with an average of 51 and 58% for the 11° S and 12° S transects, respectively. Organic carbon rain rates calculated from the benthic fluxes alluded to a very efficient mineralization of organic matter in the water column, with a Martin curve exponent typical of normal oxic waters (0.88 ± 0.09). Yet, mean POC burial rates were 2–5 times higher than the global average for continental margins. The observations at the Peruvian margin suggest that a lack of oxygen does not affect the degradation of organic matter in the water column but promotes the preservation of organic matter in marine sediments.

Description: Carbon cycling and fluid seepage in marine sediments over the late Quaternary were investigated at a now-extinct pockmark located in a mega-pockmark field in the SW Xisha Uplift (NW South China Sea). Measured particulate organic carbon (POC) content, and porewater sulfate (SO4 2-), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentrations and δ34S-SO4 2- distributions were used to constrain a non-steady-state reaction-transport model and quantify POC mineralization rates as well as estimate the time when fluid flow ceased at the investigated pockmark. An increase in POC content and δ34S-SO4 2- and a decrease in sulfate concentrations in the upper ca. 2m at the pockmark and a reference core implied an increase in the flux and reactivity of organic matter during the early Holocene around 10kyrB. P. caused by enhanced primary productivity during the strengthened southwestern summer monsoon. These features were simulated with the model assuming a Holocene increase in POC flux and reactivity. Subsequently, starting from an initial condition reminiscent of a modern active cold seep (Hydrate Ridge), hindcast simulations showed that fluid seepage at the pockmark ceased ca. 39kyr ago. This corresponds to a relative sea level high-stand, which is believed to be associated with gas hydrate stabilization. The non-steady-state model presented in this contribution can also be used to constrain the time when fluid seepage ceased at other presently extinct cold seeps when suitable sediment and porewater data are available.

Description: Literature data on benthic dissolved iron (DFe) fluxes (µmol m−2 d−1), bottom water oxygen concentrations (O2BW, μM), and sedimentary carbon oxidation rates (COX, mmol m−2 d−1) from water depths ranging from 80 to 3700 m were assembled. The data were analyzed with a diagenetic iron model to derive an empirical function for predicting benthic DFe fluxes: inline image where γ (= 170 µmol m−2 d−1) is the maximum flux for sediments at steady state located away from river mouths. This simple function unifies previous observations that COX and O2BW are important controls on DFe fluxes. Upscaling predicts a global DFe flux from continental margin sediments of 109 ± 55 Gmol yr−1, of which 72 Gmol yr−1 is contributed by the shelf (〈200 m) and 37 Gmol yr−1 by slope sediments (200–2000 m). The predicted deep-sea flux (〉2000 m) of 41 ± 21 Gmol yr−1 is unsupported by empirical data. Previous estimates of benthic DFe fluxes derived using global iron models are far lower (approximately 10–30 Gmol yr−1). This can be attributed to (i) inadequate treatment of the role of oxygen on benthic DFe fluxes and (ii) improper consideration of continental shelf processes due to coarse spatial resolution. Globally averaged DFe concentrations in surface waters simulated with the intermediate-complexity University of Victoria Earth System Climate Model were a factor of 2 higher with the new function. We conclude that (i) the DFe flux from marginal sediments has been underestimated in the marine iron cycle and (ii) iron scavenging in the water column is more intense than currently presumed.

Description: The distribution of benthic nitrogen (N2) fixation and its relevance for N cycling in the Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems (EBUS) are still unknown. Recent studies confirm that benthic N2 fixation can be coupled to sulfate reduction (SR) and that several species of sulfate reducing bacteria have the genetic ability to fix N due to the presence of the gene encoding for the nitrogenase enzyme. We investigated benthic N2 fixation and SR in the Peruvian oxygen minimum zone at 12°S and in the Mauritanian upwelling system at 18°N along a depth transect. Sediments were retrieved by a multicorer and a benthic lander at six stations in both regions. Benthic N2 fixation occurred throughout the sediment in both EBUS. Off Peru the highest integrated (0-20 cm) N2 fixation rate of 0.4 mmol N/m2/d was measured inside the core of the OMZ at 253 m water depth. Off Mauritania the highest integrated (0-20 cm) N2 fixation rate of 0.15 mmol N/m2/d was measured at 90 m, coinciding with a low bottom water oxygen concentration (30 µM). N2 fixation depth profiles often overlapped with SR activity. Moreover, sequencing data yielded insights into the composition and diversity of the nifH gene pool in EBUS sediments. Interestingly, detected sequences in both EBUS clustered with SR bacteria, such as Desulfovibrio vulgaris and several of the novel detected clades belonged to uncultured diazotrophs. Our results suggest that N2 fixation and SR were coupled to a large extent in both regions. However, potential environmental factors controlling benthic diazotrophs in the EBUS appear to be the availability of sulfide and organic matter. Additionally, no inhibition of N2 fixation at high ammonium concentrations was found, which highlights gaps in our knowledge regards the interaction between ammonium availability and diazotrophy. Our results contribute to a better understanding of N cycling in EBUS sediments and sources of fixed N.