The determination of oxygen and nutrient fluxes in the benthic boundary layer

• The coastal ocean is characterized by high exchange rates of nutrients and particles between the sediment and the water column. To date, the rates and transfer processes at the interface, the benthic boundary layer (BBL), remain poorly understood. We show how concentration profiles of oxygen and nutrients in the BBL can be used to determine fluxes across the sediment water interface by using the specific hydrodynamic properties of the BBL. This approach is favourable as it is non-invasive and integrates over a large surface area. BBL concentration profiles from the Baltic Sea were used to calculate the ratio of nutrient fluxes. Compared to the Redfield ratio, they indicate a massive loss of available nitrogen from the sediment. These findings are supported by high rates of denitrification in the sediment calculated from stable isotope enrichment experiments with 15N labelled nitrate.

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