Premium
The Possible Importance of Primary Amino Nitrogen in Nitrogen Regeneration by Coastal Marine Sediments in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts
Author(s) -
Christensen John P.,
Rowe Gilbert T.,
Clifford Charles H.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
internationale revue der gesamten hydrobiologie und hydrographie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 52
eISSN - 1522-2632
pISSN - 0020-9309
DOI - 10.1002/iroh.19830680405
Subject(s) - sediment , nitrogen , flux (metallurgy) , bay , diagenesis , nutrient , total organic carbon , water column , environmental chemistry , organic matter , sedimentary rock , environmental science , oceanography , chemistry , geology , mineralogy , geochemistry , geomorphology , organic chemistry
To investigate the role of primary amino nitrogen (PAN) in nitrogen regeneration by marine sediments, the distribution and fluxes of PAN in organic‐rich coastal sediments off Massachusetts (USA) were investigated. Decreases with depth in the sediment of total organic carbon, organic nitrogen, and PAN contents indicate that organics with C to N ratios of about 6, such as primary amines, are selectively consumed. Near the sediment surface, dissolved PAN (DPAN) accumulates and supports a large DPAN flux into the water column and this flux greatly exceeds the inorganic nitrogen flux. Consumption of C, N, and PAN was investigated using diagenetic equations describing their exponentially decreasing distributions with depth and which included the effects of sediment mixing, sediment accumulation, and consumption, considered to be a first‐order reaction rate. Calculations showed that the reaction rate constant for PAN was between 5.1 and 26.1 times faster than that for the utilizable organic N and the depth‐integrated consumption of PAN accounted for between 8.6 and 43.9% of the N disappearance rate. These ranges are estimated when sediment accumulation dominates over sediment mixing (the lower values) and when mixing dominates over accumulation (the upper values). Although the magnitude of D is unknown, these calculations indicate that PAN, which comprises less than 2% of the organic N, has an important role in sedimentary nutrient dynamics because of its enhanced reactivity.