BGD Biogeosciences Discussions BGD Biogeosciences Discuss. 1810-6285 Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/bgd-1-803-2004 Biogeochemical processes in sediments of the Manfredonia Gulf (Southern Adriatic Sea): early diagenesis of carbon and nutrient and benthic exchange Spagnoli F. 1 Bartholini G. 1 Marini M. 2 Giordano P. 3 National Research Council-Marine Science Institute-Departement of Lesina (FG), Italy National Research Council-Marine Science Institute-Department of Ancona, Italy National Research Council-Marine Science Institute-Department of Bologna, Italy 29 10 2004 1 1 803 823 Copyright: © 2004 F. Spagnoli et al. 2004 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Generic License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ This article is available from https://bg.copernicus.org/preprints/1/803/2004/bgd-1-803-2004.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://bg.copernicus.org/preprints/1/803/2004/bgd-1-803-2004.pdf

In order to understand the mechanisms responsible of the recycle of carbon and nutrients at the sediment-water interface and to understand the role of sediments in nutrients mass balance in coastal water, cores were collected (pore waters and solid phases) and benthic fluxes (oxygen, dissolved nutrients, dissolved iron and managanese, alkalinity and TCO<sub>2</sub>) were measured in two stations in the Gulf of Manfredonia (Southern Adriatic Sea). Stations were chosen to include a site, in the offshore part of the gulf, under the influence of western Adriatic current and another site, in the inner part of the gulf, under influence of gyres occurring inside the gulf. Both stations were placed in areas characterized by high sedimentation rate. Fluxes at sediment water interface show higher values in S2 site during the summer. Bio-irrigation seems to be the main transport mechanism characterizing both sites, with more evident effects during summer in S1 site.