Temporal variability in dissolved inorganic nitrogen fluxes at the sediment–water interface and related annual budget on a continental shelf (NW Mediterranean)

摘要

Sediment-water dissolved inorganic nitrogen fluxes were measured monthly between November 1997 and January 1999 at two sites on the continental shelf in the Gulf of Lions. Exchanges of ammonium, nitrate and nitrite were measured using whole core incubations performed in the laboratory at in situ temperature and in the dark;. Stations were located on the shelf and near the shelf break. Nitrate release represented the major part of total dissolved inorganic nitrogen fluxes (52-98%). At station Soft, nitrate flux doubled from winter-early spring to August (4 to 10 mu mol m(-2) h(-1)). At station R, a large increase (2 to 14 mu mol m(-2) h(-1)) was recorded between December 1997 and January 1998, after which flux tended to decrease. Ammonium flux was generally directed out of the sediment, and was lower at station Sofi than at station R. Nitrite flux was always less than 1 mu mol m(-1) h(-1). A large part of the temporal variability observed at station R could be attributed to the input of organic matter associated with the discharge of the Rhone River. On the contrary, the influence of the Rhone River is limited at station Sofi, and the spring phytoplankton bloom deposition was probably the major cause of temporal variability. Comparisons of total fluxes with diffusive fluxes suggested a high nitrification rate in the upper centimetre of the sediment. Annual dissolved inorganic nitrogen release from sediments, equivalent to 20-34% of the Rhone River inputs, may contribute 4-8% of the requirements for primary production in the Gulf of Lions.