Abstract
Processes affecting the concentration and isotopiccomposition of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) wereinvestigated in pore waters of two freshwaterintertidal areas of the Scheldt Estuary, Belgium. Porewater δ13CDIC values from marshes andmudflats varied from −27 to +13.4‰, these very largevariations reflect the contribution of differentcarbon sources to the DIC pool.
In pore waters of the upper mudflat, river water DICand dissolution of calcite contribute to a lesserextent (10% and 16% respectively) to the total DICpool. Results indicate that inorganic carbon added tothe pore water of the mudflats has a δ13Cvalue of +20.3‰ in May 1998. These strongly enrichedδ13CDIC values suggest that the majorcontribution (up to three-quarters) to total DIC isCO2 derived from methanogenesis.
In pore waters of the marshes, CO2 derived fromorganic matter degradation (−27.5‰) and river DIC(−11.5 to −16.1‰) are the major sources of inorganiccarbon contribution to the total DIC pool. In porewaters from a marsh site colonised by willow trees,the contribution from CO2 derived from organicmatter degradation is larger than in pore waters froman area with only reed vegetation. In the latter caseriver water DIC is the major source of pore waterDIC.
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Hellings, L., Van den Driessche, K., Baeyens, W. et al. Origin and fate of dissolved inorganic carbon ininterstitial waters of two freshwater intertidalareas: A case study of the Scheldt Estuary, Belgium. Biogeochemistry 51, 141–160 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006472213070
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006472213070