Carbon biogeochemistry of the Betsiboka Estuary (north-western Madagascar)

[en] Madagascar’s largest estuary (Betsiboka) was sampled along the salinity gradient during the dry season to document the distribution and sources of particulate and dissolved organic carbon (POC, DOC) as well as dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). The Betsiboka was characterized by a relatively high suspended matter load, and in line with this, low DOC/POC ratios ( 0.4–2.5). The partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) was generally above atmospheric equilibrium (270–1530 ppm), but relatively low in comparison to other tropical and subtropical estuaries, resulting in low average CO2 emission to the atmosphere (9.1 ± 14.2 mmol m 2 d 1). Despite the fact that C4 vegetation is reported to cover >80% of the catchment area, stable isotope data on DOC and POC suggest that C4 derived material comprises only 30% of both pools in the freshwater zone, increasing to 60–70% and 50–60%, respectively, in the oligohaline zone due to additional lateral inputs. Sediments from intertidal mangroves in the estuary showed low organic carbon concentrations (<1%) and d13C values (average 19.8‰) consistent with important inputs of riverine imported C4 material. This contribution was reflected in d13C signatures of bacterial phospholipid derived fatty acids (i + a15:0), suggesting the potential importance of terrestrial organic matter sources for mineralization and secondary production in coastal ecosystems.

Research Center/Unit :

FOCUS - Freshwater and OCeanic science Unit of reSearch - ULiège

Disciplines :

Aquatic sciences & oceanology

Author, co-author :

Ralison, Olivier Harifidy; Vrije Universiteit Brussel > Department of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry

Borges, Alberto ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophys., géophysique et océanographie (AGO) > Océanographie chimique

Dehairs, Frank; Vrije Universiteit Brussel > Department of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry

Bouillon, Steven

Language :

English

Title :

Carbon biogeochemistry of the Betsiboka Estuary (north-western Madagascar)

Publication date :

2008

Journal title :

Organic Geochemistry

ISSN :

0146-6380

Publisher :

Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science, Oxford, United Kingdom

Volume :

Issue :

Pages :

1649-1658

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Available on ORBi :

since 17 December 2008

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