“…This pattern is analogous to the findings of previous studies (Rozan et al, 2002;Xu et al, 2012), which were explained by the gradual decline in the Fe reduction rate as Fe (III) (hydr)oxides (amorphous Fe) become depleted with depth (Figure 3). However, soluble Fe (II) concentrations in other profiles continued to increase until the bottom, which was also found in a previous study in the JE area (Pan, Liu, Guo, Li, et al, 2019). Due to rapid burial conditions in coastal/estuarine sediments, some labile Fe (III) (oxyhydr)oxides could be buried deeply before being reduced (e.g., JE-1, JE-2, and JR in Figure 3), providing a pool for enhanced Fe reduction at various depths (Mortimer et al, 2011).…”