Browsing by Subject "EUXINIC BASINS"
Now showing items 1-2 of 2
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(2018)Anthropogenic nutrient input has caused a rapid expansion of bottom water hypoxia in the Baltic Sea over the past century. Two earlier intervals of widespread hypoxia, coinciding with the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTMHI; 8-4 ka before present; BP) and the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA(HI); similar to 1200-750 years BP), have been identified from Baltic Sea sediments. Here we present sediment records from two sites in the Baltic Sea, and compare the trace metal (As, Ba, Cd, Cu, Mo, Ni, Pb, Re, Sb, Tl, U, V, Zn) enrichments during all three hypoxic intervals. Distinct differences are observed between the intervals and the various elements, highlighting the much stronger perturbation of trace metal cycles during the modern hypoxic interval. Both Mo and U show a strong correlation with C-org and very high absolute concentrations, indicative of frequently euxinic bottom waters during hypoxic intervals. During the modern hypoxic interval (Modern(HI)) comparatively less Mo is sequestered relative to C-org than in earlier intervals. This suggests partial drawdown of the water column Mo inventory in the modern water column due to persistent euxinia and only partial replenishment of Mo through North Sea inflows. Molybdenum contents in modern sediments are likely also affected by the recent slowdown in input of Mo in association with deposition of Fe and Mn oxides. Strong enrichments of U in recent sediments confirm that the Modern(HI) is more intense than past intervals. These results suggest that U is a more reliable indicator for the intensity of bottom water deoxygenation in the Baltic Sea than Mo. Sedimentary Re enrichment commences under mildly reducing conditions, but this element is not further enriched under more reducing conditions. Enrichments of V are relatively minor for the MCA(HI) and Modern(HI), possibly due to strong reservoir effects on V in the water column, indicating that V is unreliable as an indicator for the intensity of bottom water hypoxia in this setting. Furthermore, Ba profiles are strongly influenced by post-depositional remobilization throughout the Holocene. The strong relationship between C-org and Ni, Tl and particularly Cu suggests that these trace metals can be used to reconstruct the C-org flux into the sediments. Profiles of As, Sb and Cd and especially Pb and Zn are strongly influenced by anthropogenic pollution.
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(2019)Enhanced release of alkalinity from the seafloor, principally driven by anaerobic degradation of organic matter under low-oxygen conditions and associated secondary redox reactions, can increase the carbon dioxide (CO2) buffering capacity of seawater and therefore oceanic CO2 uptake. The Baltic Sea has undergone severe changes in oxygenation state and total alkalinity (TA) over the past decades. The link between these concurrent changes has not yet been investigated in detail. A recent system-wide TA budget constructed for the past 50 years using BALTSEM, a coupled physical-biogeochemical model for the whole Baltic Sea area revealed an unknown TA source. Here we use BALTSEM in combination with observational data and one-dimensional reactive-transport modeling of sedimentary processes in the Faro Deep, a deep Baltic Sea basin, to test whether sulfate (SO42-) reduction coupled to iron (Fe) sulfide burial can explain the missing TA source in the Baltic Proper. We calculated that this burial can account for up to 26% of the missing source in this basin, with the remaining TA possibly originating from unknown river inputs or submarine groundwater discharge. We also show that temporal variability in the input of Fe to the sediments since the 1970s drives changes in sulfur (S) burial in the Faro Deep, suggesting that Fe availability is the ultimate limiting factor for TA generation under anoxic conditions. The implementation of projected climate change and two nutrient load scenarios for the 21st century in BALTSEM shows that reducing nutrient loads will improve deep water oxygen conditions, but at the expense of lower surface water TA concentrations, CO2 buffering capacities and faster acidification. When these changes additionally lead to a decrease in Fe inputs to the sediment of the deep basins, anaerobic TA generation will be reduced even further, thus exacerbating acidification. This work highlights that Fe dynamics plays a key role in the release of TA from sediments where Fe sulfide formation is limited by Fe availability, as exemplified by the Baltic Sea. Moreover, it demonstrates that burial of Fe sulfides should be included in TA budgets of low-oxygen basins.
