Organic Matter Remineralization Predominates Phosphorus Cycling in the Mid-Bay Sediments in the Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay, the largest and most productive estuary in the U.S., suffers from varying degrees of water quality issues fueled by both point and nonpoint nutrient sources. Restoration of the Bay is complicated by the multitude of nutrient sources, their variable inputs, and complex interaction between imported and regenerated nutrients. These complexities not only restrict formulation of effective restoration plans but also open up debates on accountability issues with nutrient loading. A detailed understanding of sediment phosphorus (P) dynamics provides information useful in identifying the exchange of dissolved constituents across the sediment–water interface as well as helps to better constrain the mechanisms and processes controlling the coupling between sediments and the overlying waters. Here we used phosphate oxygen isotope ratios (δ18OP) in concert with sediment chemistry, X-ray diffraction, and Mössbauer spectroscopy on sediments retrieved from an organic rich, sulfidic site in the mesohaline portion of the mid-Bay to identify sources and pathway of sedimentary P cycling and to infer potential feedbacks on bottom water hypoxia and surface water eutrophication. Authigenic phosphate isotope data suggest that the regeneration of inorganic P from organic matter degradation (remineralization) is the predominant, if not sole, pathway for authigenic P precipitation in the mid-Bay sediments. This indicates that the excess inorganic P generated by remineralization should have overwhelmed any pore water and/or bottom water because only a fraction of this precipitates as authigenic P. This is the first research that identifies the predominance of remineralization pathway and recycling of P within the Chesapeake Bay. Therefore, these results have significant implications on the current understanding of sediment P cycling and P exchange across the sediment–water interface in the Bay, particularly in terms of the sources and pathways of P that sustain hypoxia and may potentially support phytoplankton growth in the surface water.