INFLUENCE OF SULFATE ENRICHMENT ON THE CARBON-DIOXIDE AND PHOSPHATE FLUXES ACROSS THE SEDIMENT-WATER INTERFACE

Fluxes of CO2 and o-P across the sediment-water interface were measure d adding different amounts of sulfate in order to quantify the influen ce in these processes against a control, and using chloramphenicol as an inhibitor of bacterial activity. These experiments were performed u nder oxic and anoxic conditions. Results show that the addition of sul fate stimulated the fluxes of CO2 and o-P, while the use of chloramphe nicol decreased these fluxes. The ratio of o-P release to Org-C releas e ranged from 1 to 5 under oxic conditions and from 18 to 42 under ano xic conditions.