PHOSPHATE AND CALCIUM-CARBONATE SATURATION IN A STRATIFIED COASTAL LAGOON

Seasonal variation of phosphate concentration and saturation index for calcite in water of a small stratified coastal lagoon have been studied. In surface waters, where salinity was low and pH high, the saturation index increased to values near 20, whereas in bottom water, with high salinity and low pH, they were usually lower. The ionic product for H3PO4 was strongly correlated with the ionic product of Ca(OH)2 in surface and bottom waters, and with the ionic product of CaCO3 in bottom, which suggested that chemical composition was mainly controlled by a calcium-phosphate solid phase. The low concentrations of phosphate in surface were due to chemical precipitation and organic sedimentation, whereas in bottom, calcium phosphate redissolved and organic matter was mineralized producing high concentrations of soluble phosphate (> 60-mu-mol l-1). Decrease of calcium-bound phosphate in the upper layers of sediment was in agreement with a diminution of calcium-phosphate precipitation, probably due to a lower influence of seawater in the past.