Vertical profiles of ammonium and nitrate concentration have been measured in the interstitial water of the sediments of the North Sea, off the Belgian coast. On the same sediments samples, direct measurements of ammonification, nitrification and denitrification rate have been carried out. A method is described for using these two types of information in a simplified diagenetic model simulating the concentration profile in the interstitial water. This method permits evaluation of the fluxes of ammonium and nitrate across the sediment-water interface. These fluxes are shown to play a qualitatively and quantitatively important role in the whole nitrogen cycle of the ecosystem under consideration.
All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy
