Early diagenetic processes, fluxes, and reaction rates in sediments of the South Atlantic

Porewaters recovered from sediment cores (gravity corers, box corers, and multicorers) from various subrogions of the South Atlantic (Amazon River mouth, equatorial upwelling, Congo River mouth, Benguela coastal upwelling area, and Angola Basin) were investigated geochemically. Objectives included determination of Eh, pH, oxygen, nitrate, sulfate, alkalinity, phosphate, ammonium, fluoride, sulfide, Cal, Mg, Sr, Fe, Mn, and Si, in order to quantify organic matter diagenesis and related mineral precipitation and dissolution processes. Porewater profiles from the eastern upwelling areas of the South Atlantic suggest that sulfate reduction in the deeper parts of the sediment may be attributed mainly to methane oxidation, whereas organic matter degradation by sulfate reduction is restricted to the near-surface sediments. Further, a prominent concentration gradient change of sulfate and related mineralization products occurred typically in the upwelling sediments at a depth of 4 to 8 m, far below the zone of bioturbation or bioirrigation. Because other sedimentological reasons seem to fail as explanations, an early diagenetic sulfide oxidation to sulfate within the anoxic environment is discussed. Porewater profiles from the sediments of the Amazon fan area are mainly influenced by reactions with Fe(III)-phases. The remarkable linearity of the concentration gradients of sulfate supports the idea of distinct reaction layers in these sediments. In contrast to the upwelling sediments, the sulfate gradient develops from the sediment surface to a sulfate reduction zone at a depth of 5.3 m, probably because a reoxidation of sulfide is prevented by the reaction with iron oxides and the formation of iron sulfide minerals. A comparison of organic matter degradation rates from the different areas of the South Atlantic show the expected relationship to primary productivity. Oxygen is the dominating oxidant, whereas organic matter degradation by nitrate, Mn(IV)- and probably also Fe(III)-reduction is several orders of magnitude lower. Sulfate reduction is quantitatively of similar importance as oxygen respiration in the organic-rich sediments, but may also include methane oxidation. Reoxidation of ammonium and Mn 2+ by oxygen or nitrate do not alter significantly the estimation of organic matter degradation in the oxic zone, but may contribute to the nitrate reduction in suboxic layers.