Extensive Oxygen Consumption in the Intertidal Infiltration Zone of Beach Aquifers—The Impact of Seasonal Input, Filtration Efficiency, and Morphodynamics

Abstract

Seawater infiltration into the permeable sands of beach aquifers creates a high input of biogeochemical reactants driven by tides and waves. The upper sand layer acts as a filter, retaining particulate organic matter (POM), which is degraded by bacteria under predominantly oxic conditions. The seasonal variation of seawater POM and oxygen (O₂) entering the infiltration zone, combined with the POM filtration efficiency of the highly morphodynamic upper layer, determines the organic matter turnover and subsequent redox gradients along porewater flowpaths. We investigated these effects by quantifying the seasonal O₂ consumption rates directly from the incubations of sediments taken along a transect in the seawater infiltration zone at Spiekeroog Beach, Germany. We carried out a two-monthly year-long sampling campaign with high spatial resolution measurements down to 1 m depth. In summer, O₂ consumption rates of up to 106 μM hr⁻¹ were found in the first decimeters with a significant decline over depth, indicating efficient retention of reactive POM in the surface layer. Seasonal variation in organic carbon of the sand's suspendable particulates indicates rapid turnover and little storage. In winter, rates decreased significantly to below 11 μM hr⁻¹. Integrated over the investigated oxic layer, the estimated carbon mineralization varies between 15 (winter) and 143 (summer) mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹ with a yearly average of 73 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹. The yearly CO₂ production of 35 kg per meter shoreline characterizes the beach as a high-throughout system with rapid OM remineralization in the retention layer, especially in summer, but with little OM storage.