Summary
From 1994 through 1996 transformation processes in the water column of the German Bight and the adjacent Wadden Sea were investigated in the projects TRANSWATT and KUSTOS. On the basis of a review of carbon and nutrient budgets we examine the role of processes in the sediment for overall carbon and nutrient cycling in the Wadden Sea and adjacent German Bight. We distinguish two aspects: the sediment as the site where organic matter is rapidly turned over and the sediment as the site where organic matter and nutrients are immobilized. The relative importance of the sediment for the remineralisation of organic matter depends on the water depth: The review of carbon budgets suggests that in the Wadden Sea (2 - 3 m) about 50% of the remineralisation occurs in the sediment. In the German Bight (20 m), 10 - 20% of the primary production is remineralised in the sediment. The budgets further show that the Wadden Sea is heterotrophic. About 100 gC m-2 y1 is imported from the coastal zone. This implies a net autotrophy of the coastal zone, which is in line with the results from the projects TRANSWATT and KUSTOS. Within the Wadden Sea, organic matter has to be turned over two to three times and in the German Bight three to four times to explain the annual primary production. This is lower than in the offshore North Sea where annual turnover rates up to five have been found. Several processes remove nutrients on longer time-scales from the biogeochemical cycle. The importance of the local formation of phosphorus containing minerals like apatite as a phosphorus sink is shown. A discussion of several denitrification estimates concludes that in the German Bight and adjacent Wadden Sea on average about 8 -16% of the total nitrogen influx (from the coastal zone, from rivers and via the atmosphere) is lost to the atmosphere.
Zusammenfassung
Von 1994 bis 1996 wurden Transformationsprozesse in der WassersÄule der Deutschen Bucht und des angrenzenden Wattenmeers im Rahmen der Projekte TRANSWATT und KUSTOS untersucht. Aufgrund eines Reviews von Kohlenstoff-und NÄhrstoffbudgets wurde die Bedeutung der Umsatzprozesse im Sediment des Wattenmeeres und der angrenzenden Deutschen Bucht erörtet. Zwei Aspekte wurden unterschieden: Das Sediment als der Ort, wo organische Substanz schnell umgesetzt wird, und das Sediment als der Ort, wo organische Substanz und NÄhrstoffe für lÄngere ZeitrÄume festgelegt werden. Die relative Bedeutung von Sedimenten für den gesamten Kohlenstoffumsatz nimmt mit zunehmender Wassertiefe ab. Im flacheren Wattenmeer (2-3 m) wird etwa 50% des Kohlenstoffs in den Sedimenten veratmet, in der Deutschen Bucht (etwa 20m) nur noch 10-20 %. Die Budgets zeigen, dass das Wattenmeer heterotroph ist. Etwa 100 g C m-2 a-1 wird aus der Nordsee importiert. Die Implikation, da\ die Küstenzone autotroph ist, stimmt mit den Ergebnissen von TRANSWATT und KUSTOS überein. Im Wattenmeer mu\ organische Substanz etwa 2 bis 3 mal und in der Deutschen Bucht etwa 3 bis 4 mal umgesetzt werden, um die annuelle PrimÄrproduktion erklÄren zu können. Diese Raten sind niedriger als in der offenen Nordsee, wo annuelle Umsatzraten von etwa 5 mal gefunden wurden. Verschiedene Prozesse entfernen NÄhrstoffe für lÄngere Zeit aus dem biogeochemischen Kreislauf. Im Wattenmeer werden phosphorhaltige Mineralien wie Apatite geformt, die eine bedeutende Phosphatsenke sind. Eine Diskussion der Denitrifikation in der Deutschen Bucht und im Wattenmeer zeigt, da\ im Schnitt etwa 8 - 16% der gesamten Stickstoffimport in die Deutsche Bucht (via der AtmosphÄre, durch Flüsse und durch Advektion aus dem Westen) an die AtmosphÄre abgegeben wird.
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van Beusekom, J.E.E., Brockmann, U.H., Hesse, K.J. et al. The importance of sediments in the transformation and turnover of nutrients and organic matter in the Wadden Sea and German Bight. Deutsche Hydrographische Zeitschrift 51, 245–266 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02764176
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02764176