Total alkalinity during benthic weathering of calcite and dunite in benthocosm experiments

Enhanced benthic weathering has been proposed to serve as a efficient negative emission strategy. The precise weatherig behaviour of calcite and dunite was investigated in leng-term experiments in benthocosms. These experiments were conducted between Sept. 2022 and Sept. 2023 ashore at the Kiel Fjord. The latter are large plastic containers (~0.8 m²) that are partly filled with sediments, with constant flow-through of Baltic Sea bottom water. The sediments, obtained from Boknis Eck in the Eckernförde Bay in March 2022, were amended with calcite and dunite in triplicate (22 mol/m² equivalent) . Three additional benthocosms were left unamended to serve as controls. The used materials were obtained from Sibelco (dunite) and from the german Lime Stone Association (calcite). Samples were obtained using benthic chambers (chamber volume of 400 ml) that were placed on the sediment for three hours. Samples were taken at the beginning (_in) and at the end of the deployment (_out). All samples were filtered through a 0.2 µm cellulose membrane filter and refrigerated in 25 ml ZinsserTM scintillation vials. Samples for total alkalinity (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. The acid was standardized using an IAPSO seawater standard.