Global rates of marine sulfate reduction and implications for sub–sea-floor metabolic activities

Bowles, Marshall W.; Mogollón, José M; Kasten, Sabine; Zabel, Matthias; Hinrichs, Kai‐Uwe

doi:10.1126/science.1249213

Cited by 262 publications

(203 citation statements)

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“…The main driver of the marine sedimentary sulfur cycle is the microbial reduction of sulfate (e.g., Goldhaber and Kaplan, 1974;Froelich et al, 1979;Jørgensen, 1982;Bowles et al, 2014). The two major catabolic microbial sulfate reduction pathways are organoclastic sulfate reduction and sulfate reduction coupled to anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM); both processes release hydrogen sulfide to the pore water (e.g., Goldhaber and Kaplan, 1974;Jørgensen, 1982;Hoehler et al, 1994;Boetius et al, 2000).…”

Section: Sulfur Cycling In Marine Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sulfur Cycling in an Iron Oxide-Dominated, Dynamic Marine Depositional System: The Argentine Continental Margin

Riedinger

Brunner

Krastel³

et al. 2017

Front. Earth Sci.

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The interplay between sediment deposition patterns, organic matter type and the quantity and quality of reactive mineral phases determines the accumulation, speciation, and isotope composition of pore water and solid phase sulfur constituents in marine sediments. Here, we present the sulfur geochemistry of siliciclastic sediments from two sites along the Argentine continental slope-a system characterized by dynamic deposition and reworking, which result in non-steady state conditions. The two investigated sites have different depositional histories but have in common that reactive iron phases are abundant and that organic matter is refractory-conditions that result in low organoclastic sulfate reduction rates (SRR). Deposition of reworked, isotopically light pyrite and sulfurized organic matter appear to be important contributors to the sulfur inventory, with only minor addition of pyrite from organoclastic sulfate reduction above the sulfate-methane transition (SMT). Pore-water sulfide is limited to a narrow zone at the SMT. The core of that zone is dominated by pyrite accumulation. Iron monosulfide and elemental sulfur accumulate above and below this zone. Iron monosulfide precipitation is driven by the reaction of low amounts of hydrogen sulfide with ferrous iron and is in competition with the oxidation of sulfide by iron (oxyhydr)oxides to form elemental sulfur. The intervals marked by precipitation of intermediate sulfur phases at the margin of the zone with free sulfide are bordered by two distinct peaks in total organic sulfur (TOS).Organic matter sulfurization appears to precede pyrite formation in the iron-dominated margins of the sulfide zone, potentially linked to the presence of polysulfides formed by reaction between dissolved sulfide and elemental sulfur. Thus, SMTs can be hotspots for organic matter sulfurization in sulfide-limited, reactive iron-rich marine sedimentary systems. Furthermore, existence of elemental sulfur and iron monosulfide phases meters below the SMT demonstrates that in sulfide-limited systems metastable sulfur constituents are not readily converted to pyrite but can be buried to deeper Riedinger et al.Non-steady State Subsurface Sulfur Cycling sediment depths. Our data show that in non-steady state systems, redox zones do not occur in sequence but can reappear or proceed in inverse sequence throughout the sediment column, causing similar mineral alteration processes to occur at the same time at different sediment depths.

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Section: Sulfur Cycling In Marine Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sulfur Cycling in an Iron Oxide-Dominated, Dynamic Marine Depositional System: The Argentine Continental Margin

Riedinger

Brunner

Krastel³

et al. 2017

Front. Earth Sci.

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“…In general, aerobic metabolism dominates the organic matter mineralization in deep-sea sediments that are characterized by low organic matter content (Jahnke et al, 1982;Glud, 2008), especially in organic-carbon-starved deep-sea sediments with low sedimentation rates (Mewes et al, 2014D'Hondt et al, 2015;Mogollón et al, 2016). In contrast, owing to high sulfate concentrations in marine sediment, sulfate reduction might account for up to 50 % of total carbon oxidation in continental margins with high organic matter flux (Jørgensen, 1982;Jørgensen and Kasten, 2006;Bowles et al, 2014). However, in sediments where manganese and iron oxides are abundant or rapidly recycled, microbial reduction of manganese and iron can be the dominant electron-accepting processes over sulfate reduction (Sørensen and Jørgensen, 1987;Aller, 1990;Canfield et al, 1993b).…”

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confidence: 99%

Manganese and iron reduction dominate organic carbon oxidation in surface sediments of the deep Ulleung Basin, East Sea

et al. 2017

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Abstract. Rates and pathways of benthic organic carbon (C org ) oxidation were investigated in surface sediments of the Ulleung Basin (UB) characterized by high C org contents (> 2.5 %, dry wt.) and very high contents of Mn oxides (> 200 µmol cm −3 ) and Fe oxides (up to 100 µmol cm −3 ). The combination of geochemical analyses and independently executed metabolic rate measurements revealed that Mn and Fe reduction were the dominant C org oxidation pathways in the center of the UB, comprising 45 and 20 % of total C org oxidation, respectively. By contrast, sulfate reduction was the dominant C org oxidation pathway, accounting for 50 % of total C org mineralization in sediments of the continental slope. The relative significance of each C org oxidation pathway matched the depth distribution of the respective electron acceptors. The relative importance of Mn reduction for C org oxidation displays saturation kinetics with respect to Mn oxide content with a low half-saturation value of 8.6 µmol cm −3 , which further implies that Mn reduction can be a dominant C org oxidation process even in sediments with lower MnO 2 content as known from several other locations. This is the first report of a high contribution of manganese reduction to C org oxidation in offshore sediments on the Asian margin. The high manganese oxide content in the surface sediment in the central UB was maintained by an extreme degree of recycling, with each Mn atom on average being reoxidized ∼ 3800 times before permanent burial. This is the highest degree of recycling so far reported for Mn-rich sediments, and it appears linked to the high benthic mineralization rates resulting from the high C org content that indicate the UB as a biogeochemical hotspot for turnover of organic matter and nutrient regeneration.

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“…In organic-rich fine-grained sediment such as in the Cretaceous WIS, the Zone of sulfate reduction would likely have extended only to within a few meters (\10 m) below the sediment-water interface (Bowles et al 2014). Thus, reaction (1) proceeds in the ''sulfate-methane transition Zone,'' in which both reactants are present.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Geochemical evidence (C and Sr isotopes) for methane seeps as ammonite habitats in the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) Western Interior Seaway

Cochran

Landman

Larson³

et al. 2015

Swiss J Palaeontol

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Methane seeps in the Upper Cretaceous Pierre Shale of the U.S. Western interior contain a rich fauna including ammonites (Baculites, Hoploscaphites, Didymoceras, Placenticeras, Solenoceras), bivalves (Lucina), gastropods, sponges, and crinoids. Occasionally, the shell material in the seeps is very well preserved, retaining the original mineralogy and microstructure. We explored two such seeps from the upper Campanian Didymoceras cheyennense and overlying Baculites compressus Zones (74.7-73.5 Ma) in southwestern South Dakota. Light values of d 13 C in the micritic limestones (-11 to -47 %) confirm the impact of anaerobic oxidation of methane on the isotopic composition of the dissolved inorganic carbon reservoir. At the seep from the D. cheyennense Zone, d 13 C values in well-preserved specimens of Hoploscaphites and Baculites are significantly lighter than those measured in specimens from approximately age-equivalent non-seep deposits. In addition, the 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratio is elevated in the authigenic carbonates and ammonite shells compared with the coeval marine value. This suggests that seep fluids imprinted with a radiogenic Sr signature, perhaps derived from isotopic exchange with granitic deposits at depth associated with the Black Hills uplift, are transported through the surficial sediments into the overlying water. The persistence of these isotopic tracers of seep fluids in the ammonite shells suggests that these mobile animals were likely demersal and were living in close proximity to the seep. A more restricted data set on a single baculite and nautilid from the seep in the B. compressus Zone shows less divergence of d 13 C and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr relative to non-seep values, suggesting that fluid transport was not as strong at that seep.

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Global rates of marine sulfate reduction and implications for sub–sea-floor metabolic activities

Cited by 262 publications

References 37 publications

Sulfur Cycling in an Iron Oxide-Dominated, Dynamic Marine Depositional System: The Argentine Continental Margin

Sulfur Cycling in an Iron Oxide-Dominated, Dynamic Marine Depositional System: The Argentine Continental Margin

Manganese and iron reduction dominate organic carbon oxidation in surface sediments of the deep Ulleung Basin, East Sea

Geochemical evidence (C and Sr isotopes) for methane seeps as ammonite habitats in the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) Western Interior Seaway

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