Bottom water data of sediment incubation experiments under anoxic conditions

Enhanced mineral dissolution in the benthic environment is currently discussed as a potential technique for ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels. This study explores how biogeochemical processes affect the dissolution of alkaline minerals in surface sediments during laboratory incubation experiments. These involved introducing dunite and calcite to organic-rich sediments from the Baltic Sea under controlled conditions in an anoxic to hypoxic environment. The sediment cores were incubated with Baltic Sea bottom water. Eight sediment cores were positioned vertically in a rack. Since the sediment surface was slightly oxidized by the bottom water (∼125 μmol l−1 upon recovery), the cores were left plugged on the top for 13 days to settle after recovery until the sediment surface was anoxic. To achieve chemical conditions that are expected in the natural system, 500l of retrieved sea water were degassed via bubbling with pure dinitrogen gas in batches of 100 l. Afterwards, between 50 and 60 l were transferred into an evacuated gas tight bag. After the transfer, pH and total alkalinity (TA) were measured to determine the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) of the water. Afterwards the DIC was increased via adding pure CO2 until a CO2 partial pressure (pCO2 ) of ∼2,300–∼3,300 μatm was established mimicking conditions prevailing in Boknis Eck during summer. Stirring heads were installed on the cores. To prevent the development of oxic conditions, it was ensured that as little gas phase as possible was left in the cores. Elimination of pelagic autotrophs, heterotrophs, and suspended particles was achieved by flushing the cores with modified bottom water for 2 days with a flow rate of 1.5 mml min−1. Afterwards, a continuous throughflow of 700 μl min−1 from the reservoir of modified bottom water was applied, leading to a residence time of ∼2.1 days inside the cores. For the experimental incubations, six cores received additions of alkaline materials, three with calcite (Cal1 - Cal3) and three cores with dunite (Dun1 - Dun3), leading to three replicates per treatment. Two control cores remained untreated (C1, C2). The amount of added substrate was based on the rain rate of particulate organic carbon observed in Boknis Eck (0.5 mmol cm−2 a−). The incubation lasted for 25 days. The volume of water in each core was determined at the end of the experiment via measuring the height of the water column after removing the stirring heads. Bottom water samples were taken from the outflow of each core over a time period of several hours. Thus, samples represent the average outflow over the respective time period. Sampling intervals increased from daily during the first two weeks to every three to four days and weekly towards the end of the experiment. All samples were filtered through a 0.2 µm cellulose membrane filter and refrigerated in 25 ml ZinsserTM scintillation vials. Samples for TA were analyzed directly after sampling by titration of 1 ml of bottom water with 0.02N HCl. Titration was ended when a stable purple color appeared. During titration, the sample was degassed by continuous bubbling with nitrogen to remove any generated CO2 and H2S. The acid was standardized using an IAPSO seawater standard. Acidified sub-samples (30 μl suprapure HNO3- + 3 ml sample) were prepared for analyses of major and trace elements (Si, Na, K, Li, B, Mg, Ca, Sr, Mn, Ni and Fe) by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES, Varian 720-ES).