Variations in the release of silicate and orthophosphate along a salinity gradient: Do sediment composition and physical forcing have roles?

• Silicate and orthophosphate concentrations along salinity gradients were studied.
• Presence of sediment organic matter has adsorbed orthophosphate from the water column.
• Calcite and quartzite minerals are present in the sediments of Guadalupe and Nueces Estuaries.
• Physical forcing, salinity and organic matter can regulate SiO4 and o-PO4 concentrations.

It was hypothesized that sediment composition, i.e. organic matters and minerals, and physical forcing can influence retention and release of silicate (SiO4) and orthophosphate (o-PO4) along salinity gradients. An experiment was performed to measure nutrient release by using treatments with and without sediment organic matter from the Guadalupe and Nueces Estuaries at five different salinities. The sample mixtures were shaken at intervals over the course of 48 h to simulate wind and river forcing. The release of silicate from sediments increased with time from 2 min to 48 h in all five salinities. The added orthophosphate concentration was adsorbed in most of the sediment containing organic matter and calcium-rich shells from both estuaries. From the sediments without organic matter, the release of orthophosphate was as high as 52 μmol/L. The sediment minerals quartz and calcite were abundant in both estuaries. The average quartz to corundum peak intensities ratio were 14.04 and 13.36 and the average calcite to corundum peak intensities ratio were 3.06 and 1.32 in the Guadalupe and Nueces Estuaries respectively. The average organic matter in the Guadalupe and Nueces estuaries were 10.67% and 13.39% respectively. The retention and release of orthophosphate from the sediments may have been caused by the bonding with organic matter and calcite in the sediments. These findings indicate that sediment composition was a significant contributor in the low dissolved orthophosphate concentration in the estuaries. The release of silicate from the sediments containing quartz, and organic matter, when shaken, indicate that the combined forcing of river and wind may have been maintaining the estuaries silicate concentrations.