Determination of the effect of temperature (Q10) on rates of oxygen consumption in surface sediments collected from Ashumet Pond on Cape Cod, MA (2016)

This data release presents results from a laboratory study designed to measure the effect of temperature on rates of oxygen consumption within lake-bottom surface sediments at 0- to 5-cm depth. Sediment and lake water samples were collected June 8, 2016 from the South site in Ashumet Pond, Cape Cod, MA, where lake water recharges to the aquifer. Samples were shipped to Boulder, CO for laboratory experiments. Oxygen concentrations were measured over the course of several days or weeks on serum bottles containing either sieved sediment (less than 2 mm) combined with filtered lake water, unfiltered lake water only, or deionized water (DIW) only at 3 different incubation temperatures (5, 15, 24 degrees Celsius). The oxygen consumption rates of the sediment plus filtered lake water samples were corrected using the DIW samples and the Q10 temperature coefficient was calculated using the corrected rates. The Q10 for the sediment at Ashumet Pond was calculated to be 2.47, meaning that the rate of oxygen consumption increased by a factor of 2.47 for every 10 degrees of temperature increase.