Live (stained) benthic foraminifera from the Cap-Ferret Canyon (Bay of Biscay, NE Atlantic): A comparison between the canyon axis and the surrounding areas

Living (Rose Bengal stained) benthic foraminiferal faunas were investigated at 13 deep-sea stations sampled in the Cap-Ferret Canyon area (NE Atlantic). One station (151 m) is located on the continental shelf close to the canyon head. All other stations are located along 2 bathymetric transects: 7 sites along the canyon axis with depths ranging from 300 to 3000 m and 5 stations along the adjacent flank with depths ranging from 300 m to 2000 m. Sedimentological analyses indicate that the Cap-Ferret Canyon is at present inactive in terms of sediment gravity flow. Compared to stations on the adjacent flank, canyon-axis stations are generally characterised by shallow oxygen penetration depths, high diffusive oxygen uptakes (DOU) and high lipid contents. Higher mineralisation rates recorded in the canyon axis are likely due to a preferential focusing of labile organic matter in the canyon axis. Foraminiferal standing stocks do not exhibit any straightforward correlation with the different descriptors of organic matter available in the sediment. However, foraminiferal standing stock and diversity along the canyon axis are generally higher than on the adjacent flank. Canyon axis sites yield dominant species that are similar to those at adjacent flank and open slope stations located at comparable water depths. However, intermediate and deep infaunal species were only recorded in the lower canyon axis, where high amounts of organic matter were observed in deeper sediment layers. Finally, the faunal composition in the Cap-Ferret Canyon is different compared to the nearby Cap-Breton Canyon, where sediment gravity flows are active. The absence of pioneer species and the occurrence of highly specialized taxa are both consistent with the much more stable conditions in terms of hydro-sedimentary conditions prevailing in the Cap-Ferret Canyon

Remarques sur la nomenclature des Radiolaires. I. Haeckel 1887 et le \uabChallenger\ubb

Volume: 40Start Page: 1071End Page: 109

Transient biogeochemistry in intertidal sediments: New insights from tidal pools in Zostera noltei meadows of Arcachon Bay (France)

International audienceSeveral studies highlighted the occurrence of circular pools in intertidal flats of different coastal systems and their transient water chemistry over both tidal and diurnal cycles. However, little is known about (1) the response of benthic biogeochemical reactions and fluxes at the sediment-water interface over such short time scales, and (2) the role of these tidal pools in the biogeochemical functioning of coastal systems. Based on in situ microprofiles and water sampling, we investigated the dynamics of dissolved oxygen (O2), nutrients, sulfides and metals, and the associated fluxes at the sediment-water interface in tidal pools from the Arcachon Bay (Atlantic coast of France). Our integrative approach included several tidal and diurnal cycles over two different seasons in the presence and absence of Zostera noltei. The results show that water temperature and light irradiance were the main factors driving the biogeochemical functioning of the tidal pools, as they controlled the physiological activity of the microphytobenthos. Changes in light radiations induced diurnal fluctuations of O2 concentrations within surficial sediment, thus resulting in fluctuations of the O2 diffusive fluxes at the sediment-water interface and of the O2 penetration depth in sediment. At high tide, the increase in turbulence above the sediment induced the advection of oxygenated water within the first millimeters of sediment, resulting in a significant increase in porewater O2 concentrations and sediment O2 penetration depth. Porewater sulfide concentrations and apparition depth were concomitant with the O2 dynamic over both diurnal and tidal cycles, indicating that intermediate redox diagenetic processes were impacted by O2 dynamic over such short time-scale. The rapid changes in redox processes in the sediment column are confirmed by a significant flux of dissolved manganese toward the water column during nighttime. The consumption of nitrate and the release of ammonium and phosphate, associated to the mineralization of the organic matter in the surface sediment did not appeared related however to such short time cycles. The efflux of dissolved silica from the sediment was most likely associated with the enhanced dissolution of Si-bearing particles in surface sediment at higher temperatures, although silica uptake by Z. noltei was also noted. This study clearly shows that tidal pools function as natural incubators of transient biogeochemical processes. A rough assessment of the nutrient budget at the scale of the bay indicates the tidal pools may contribute significantly to the biogeochemical functioning of Arcachon Bay

Mobility and fluxes of trace elements and nutrients at the sediment–water interface of a lagoon under contrasting water column oxygenation conditions

International audienceThe early diagenesis of the major carrier phases (Fe and Mn minerals), trace elements (As, Co, Cr, Hg, MeHg, Ni) and nutrients (RNO 3 , NH þ 4 , RPO 4) and their exchange at the sediment water/interface were studied in the Berre Lagoon, a Mediterranean lagoon in France, at one site under two contrasting oxygen-ation conditions (strictly anoxic and slightly oxic) and at an adjacent site with perennially well-oxygen-ated water. From the concentration profiles of the primary biogeochemical constituents and trace elements of the pore and bottom waters, as well as the total and reactive particulate phases, it was possible to locate and identify the diagenetic reactions controlling the mobility of trace elements in the sediments and quantify their rates by coupling one-dimensional steady-state transport-reaction modelling and thermodynamic speciation calculations. Under oxic conditions and in the absence of benthic organisms, the main redox reactions were well identified vertically in the surface sediments and followed the theoretical sequence of oxidant consumption: O 2 > ΣNO 3/MnO 2 > Fe(OH) 3 > SO4 2-. However, under anoxic conditions, only MnO 2 , Fe(OH) 3 and SO 4 2- reduction were present, and they all occurred at the interface. The main biogeochemical controls on the mobility of As, Cr, Hg, MeHg and Ni in the surface sediments were identified as the adsorption/ desorption on and/or coprecipitation/codissolution with Fe oxy-hydroxides. In contrast, Co mobility was primarily controlled by its reactivity towards Mn oxy-hydroxides. In sulphidic sediments, As, Hg and MeHg were sequestered along with Fe sulphides, whereas Co and Ni precipitated directly as metallic sulphides and Cr mobility was enhanced by complexation with dissolved organic ligands. The fluxes of trace elements at the sediment–water interface are essentially dependent on the localisation of their remobilisation and immobilisation reactions under the interface, which in turn is governed by the ben-thic water oxygenation conditions and kinetic competition among those reaction and diffusion processes. Under oxic conditions, the precipitation of Fe or Mn oxy-hydroxides in the surface sediments constitutes the most efficient mechanism to sequester most of the trace elements studied, thus preventing their diffusion to the water column. Under anoxic conditions the export of trace elements to the water column is dependent on the kinetic competition during the reductive dissolution of Fe and/or Mn oxy-hydroxides, diffusion and immobilisation with sulphides. It is also shown that benthic organisms in the perennially oxygenated site have a clear impact on this general pattern. Based on the extensive dataset and geochem-ical modelling, it is predicted that the planned re-oxygenation of the entire lagoon basin, if complete, will most likely limit or reduce the export of the trace elements from the sediments to the water column and therefore, limit the impact of the contaminated sediment

First observations of seasonal bottom water deoxygenation off the Gironde estuary (Bay of Biscay, North East Atlantic)

Although not systematically considered as oxygen minimum zones, River-dominated Ocean Margins are sensitive to oxygen depletions. For example, the continental shelf off the Gironde, which flows into the Bay of Biscay, had not yet been studied from this perspective although recent simulations suggested that this area should already have experienced deoxygenations in recent decades. To fill this gap, profiles of temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen were performed in the water column of the continental shelf off the Gironde during seven cruises distributed over the different seasons between 2016 and 2021. Turbidity, chlorophyll-a and pH were also measured during some of these cruises. In winter, the water column was slightly stratified due to high river flows. Then, a seasonal thermal stratification was present from spring to autumn. Similarly, dissolved oxygen showed a seasonal dynamic with: a well-oxygenated water column in winter, an oxygen oversaturation in the first 20 meters during the spring bloom, and then a progressive oxygen depletion in bottom waters until reaching an oxygen saturation minimum down to 45% in autumn. These deoxygenations are explained by the seasonal stratification that isolates the bottom waters from spring to autumn, and are likely enhanced by the advection of deoxygenated waters from the north of the Bay of Biscay and the settling of the organic matter produced in surface waters. A better understanding of these processes in the context of global warming undoubtedly requires better documentation of dissolved oxygen variability through the implementation of a long-term and continuous in situ monitoring

Comparison of benthic oxygen exchange measured by aquatic Eddy Covariance and Benthic Chambers in two contrasting coastal biotopes (Bay of Brest, France)

International audienceTo the best of our knowledge, the understanding of benthic metabolism of coastal sedimentary areas is still limited due to the complexity of determining their true in situ dynamics over large spatial and temporal scales. Multidisciplinary methodological approaches are then necessary to increase our comprehension of factors controlling benthic processes and fluxes. An aquatic Eddy Covariance (EC) system and Benthic Chambers (BC) were simultaneously deployed during the winter of 2013 in the Bay of Brest within a Maerl bed and a bare mudflat to quantify and compare exchange at the sediment–water interface. Environmental abiotic parameters (i.e., light, temperature, salinity, current velocity and water depth) were additionally monitored to better understand the mechanisms driving benthic exchange. At both sites, EC measurements showed short-term variations (i.e. 15 min) in benthic fluxes according to environmental conditions. At the Maerl station, EC fluxes ranged from -21.0 mmol m−2 d−1 to 71.3 mmol m−2 d−1 and averaged 22.0 ± 32.7 mmol m−2 d−1 (mean SD), whilst at the bare muddy station, EC fluxes ranged from -43.1 mmol m−2 d−1 to 12.1 mmol m−2 d−1 and averaged -15.9 ± 14.0 mmol m−2 d−1 (mean SD) during the total deployment. Eddy Covariance and Benthic Chambers measurements showed similar patterns of temporal flux changes at both sites. However, at the Maerl station, BC may have underestimated community respiration. This may be due to the relative large size of the EC footprint (compared to BC), which takes into account the mesoscale spatial heterogeneity (e.g. may have included contributions from bare sediment patches). Also, we hypothesize that the influence of bioturbation induced by large-sized mobile benthic fauna on sediment oxygen consumption was not fully captured by BC compared to EC. Overall, the results of the present study highlight the importance of taking into account specific methodology limitations with respect to sediment spatial macro-heterogeneity and short-term variations of environmental parameters to accurately assess benthic exchange in the various benthic ecosystems of the coastal zone

Early diagenetic processes in an eutrophic estuarine system: indices of sediment contribution to summer hypoxia of the Loire?

International audienc