Oxygen and organic carbon fluxes in sediments of the Bay of Biscay

The relationship between particulate organic carbon (POC) concentrations measured in modern sediment and fluxes of exported POC to the sediment surface needs to be understood in order to use POC content as a proxy of paleo-environmental conditions. The objective of our study was to compare POC concentrations, POC mineralization rates calculated from O2 consumption and POC burial rates. Benthic O2 distributions were determined in 58 fine-grained sediment cores collected at different periods at 14 stations in the southeastern part of the Bay of Biscay with depths ranging from 140 to 2800m. Depth-dependent volume-specific oxygen consumption rates were used to assess rates of aerobic oxidation of organic matter (OM), assuming that O2 consumption solely was related to heterotrophic activity at the sediment–water interface. Heterogeneity of benthic O2 fluxes denoted changes in time and space of fresh organic material sedimentation. The most labile fraction of exported POC engendered a steep decrease in concentration in the upper 5mm of vertical O2 profiles. The rupture in the gradient of O2 microprofile may be related to the bioturbation-induced mixing depth of fast-decaying carbon. Average diffusive O2 fluxes showed that this fast-decaying OM flux was much higher than buried POC, although diffusive O2 fluxes underestimated the total sediment oxygen demand, and thus the fast-decaying OM flux to the sediment surface. Sedimentary POC burial was calculated from sediment mass accumulation rate and the organic carbon content measured at the top of the sediment. The proportion of buried POC relative to total exported POC ranged at the most between 50% and 10%, depending on station location. Therefore, for a narrow geographic area like the Bay of Biscay, burial efficiency of POC was variable. A fraction of buried POC consisted of slow-decaying OM that was mineralized within the upper decimetres of sediment through oxic and anoxic processes. This fraction was deduced from the decrease with depth in POC concentration. At sites located below 500m water depth, where the fast-decaying carbon did not reach the anoxic sediment, the slowdecaying pool may control the O2 penetration depth. Only refractory organic material was fossilized in sedimentary records at locations where labile OM did not reach the anoxic portion of the sediment. & 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.