THE EFFECT OF SALINITY ON AMMONIUM SORPTION IN AQUATIC SEDIMENTS - IMPLICATIONS FOR BENTHIC NUTRIENT RECYCLING

Ambient exchangeable ammonium concentrations in freshwater sediments are generally considerably greater than those reported for marine sediments. Laboratory measurements indicate that competition for cation exchange sites by ions in seawater is a factor responsible for the lower exchangeable ammonium concentrations in marine sediments. Exchangeable ammonium concentrations were 3- to 6-fold higher when river and estuarine sediments were incubated with fresh water relative to the same sediments incubated with salt water (parts per thousand = 23). A model was developed to explore the implications for benthic nitrogen cycling of this salinity effect on exchangeable ammonium concentrations. Ammonium diffusion, exchangeable and dissolved ammonium concentrations, and nitrification rates were components of the model formulation. The model output suggests that higher exchangeable ammonium concentrations predicted in fresh water relative to marine sediments can markedly increase the fraction of the ammonium produced in sediments that is nitrified (and subsequently denitrified). These results are consistent with field and experimental laboratory data which indicate that a larger percentage of net ammonium production in aerobic freshwater sediments is nitrified and denitrified (80-100%) relative to marine sediments (40-60%).