Origin and composition of organic matter in tidal flat sediments from the German Wadden Sea |
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| Authors: | Elke Freese Jürgen Kster Jürgen Rullktter |
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| Institution: | aInstitute of Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, P.O. Box 2503, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany |
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| Abstract: | Two sediment cores of up to 550 cm length from an intertidal flat of the German Wadden Sea near the island of Spiekeroog were investigated for the quantity and composition of fossil organic matter (OM). The lowermost parts of the cores are dominated by grey mud of a salt marsh facies containing mainly terrestrial OM estimated to account for 60–75% of the total OM, based on δ13C values and the ratio of short to long chain n-alkanols. The terrigenous origin of the dominant fraction is indicated, among others, by high proportions of C29 sterols and long chain n-alkanes typical of plant waxes. Coarse shell beds overlying the grey mud at 2–2.5 m depth represent a flooding and erosion event possibly related to heavy storm floods in the Middle Ages. Within the intertidal sand-dominated sediments in the upper parts of the cores total organic carbon (TOC) contents are generally low, ranging from 0.1% to 0.5%, and correlate well with the amount of mud fraction (r2 0.90). At the surface, marine OM has not undergone intense diagenetic alteration and so is the dominant fraction. Eroded peat particles are common throughout most of the sequence and values of the Phragmites peat indicator (PPI) > 5 indicate an origin from reed peat due to a high relative abundance of the n-C24 alkane. Changes in the composition of microbial communities over the depth interval investigated are documented by varying compositions of unsaturated fatty acids with 16 and 18 carbons. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) was detected along the entire cores and indicates the presence of EPA-producing bacterial strains. |
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