Sulfate reduction and methane anaerobic oxidation: isotope geochemical evidence from the pore water of coastal sediments in the Jiulong Estuary

YIN Xi-jie; CHEN Jian; GUO Ying-ying; SUN Zhi-lei; SHAO Chang-wei

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YIN Xi-jie, CHEN Jian, GUO Ying-ying, SUN Zhi-lei, SHAO Chang-wei. Sulfate reduction and methane anaerobic oxidation: isotope geochemical evidence from the pore water of coastal sediments in the Jiulong Estuary[J]. Haiyang Xuebao, 2011, 33(4): 121-128.

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Sulfate reduction and methane anaerobic oxidation: isotope geochemical evidence from the pore water of coastal sediments in the Jiulong Estuary

1.
Open Laboratory of Ocean & Coast Environmenttal Geology, Third Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Xiamen 361005, China
2.
Key Laboratory of Ministry of Land and Resources for Marine Dil-gas Resources and Environmental Geology, Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology, Qingdao 266071, China
3.
Shandong Province Geophysical and Geochemical Exploration Institute,Jinan 250031,China

Received Date: 2010-07-19

Abstract

Abstract

The spatital distrubution of sulfate reduction and anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) was investigated in the Jiulong estuarine sediment based on the concentration profiles of geochemical parameters, including sulfate, methane, δc(³⁴S-SO₄^2-), δc(¹³C-CH₄) and chlorine in pore water. Sulfate concentrations in pore water decrease remarkably with the depth. The sulfate is consumed completely at depth intervals 55 and 130 cm at two stations (J-A and J-E). There is no significant change for chloride concentration through the depth of the cores. The δ³⁴S values of sulfate increase with the depth in both cores. It is suggested that sulfate reduction occurs within the upper 55 and 130 cm in the sediment at Stas J-A and J-E, respectively. Methane concentrations sharply increase at the depth of sulfate-methane transition (SMT), and the δc(¹³C-CH₄) values become heavier due to the AOM. Overall, these data suggest methane is consumed mainly by anaerobic oxidation at the SMT. There is obvious positive correlation between the depth of the SMT and the salinity of overlying water at two stations. It is assumed that the depth of the SMT is mainly controlled by the gradient of sulfate which is controlled by the salinity of the overlying water in the Jiulong Estuary.
- sulfte reduction,
- anaerobic oxidation of methane,
- sulfate methane transition,
- Jiulong Estuary

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