Variations in Sediment Accumulation Rates and the Flux of Labile Organic Matter in Eastern Lake Superior Basins

Benthic environments in Lake Superior are variable and dynamic. The complex topography and morphology of eastern Lake Superior results in a variety of depositional environments, from shallow coastal bays to deep profundal basins. Direct observations of bottom types and collection of sediments across the gradient in environments reveal benthic systems that range in sediment accumulation rates from ∼1.7 mm per year to virtually zero net long-term accumulation. Diagenetic modeling of organic carbon and nitrogen under steady state conditions indicate that 15% to 40% of the organic carbon and nitrogen deposited is recycled into the overlying water. This “metabolizable” fraction has a residence time in the sediment column estimated to be 30 to 60 years for organic carbon and 15 to 30 years for nitrogen. Concentration gradients of total dissolved inorganic carbon, ammonium, and oxygen in sediment pore waters yield fluxes of remineralized carbon and nitrogen across the sediment-water interface consistent with diagenetically modeled fluxes. Spatial variability in sediment accumulation patterns, however, is great, particularly in the deep, steep relief basins in the open lake. Here, distances of a few kilometers can radically alter deposition patterns. Evidence of aperiodic bottom currents were observed in the deepest charted basin of the lake as extensive fields of sediment ripples over hard, compacted relict silt and clays. While no currents were observed in these summertime dives, it is assumed that storms during isothermal conditions generate suffficient bottom currents at depth to very effectively scour the bottom. Differences in sediment metabolism appear to be determined by the flux of labile organic matter to the bottom coupled to the physical processes of sedimentation, resuspension, and horizontal transport.