Organic Matter Cycle by Biogeochemical Indicator in Tidal Mud Flat, West Coast of Korea

To understand the degradation processes of organic matter related to sulfate reduction by Sulfate Reduction Bacteria (SRB) in the tidal flat sediments of Hwang-do and Sogeun-ri, Tae-an Peninsula in Chungnam-do, biogeochemical characteristics were analyzed and highlighted using specific microbial biomarkers. The organic geochemical parameters (TOC, δCorg, C/N ratio, long-chain-n-alkane) indicate that most of the organic matter has been derived from marine phytoplankton and bacteria in the fine-grained sediment of Sogeun-ri, although terrestrial plant components have occasionally been incorporated to a significant degree in the coarse-grained sediment of Hwang-do. The concentration of sulfate in pore water is a constant tendency with regard to depth profile, while methane concentration appears to be slightly different with regard to depth profile at the two sites. Especially, the sum of bacteria fatty acid (a-C15:0 + i-C15:0 + C16:1w5) confirms that the these concentrations in Sogeun-ri are related to the degradation of Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene (BTEX) compounds from the crude oil retained in the sediments as a result of the Hebei Spirit oil-spill accident in 2007. The methane-related microbial communities as shown by lipid biomarkers (crocetane, PMI) are larger in some sedimentary sections of Hwang-do than in the Sogeunri tidal flat. These findings suggest that methane production by microbiological processes is clearly governed by SRB activity along the vertical succession in organic-enriched tidal flats.