Sediment metabolism in samples off Northwest Africa

Sediments off northwest Africa were assayed for activities of the respiratory electron transport system (ETS) and for primary amino nitrogen. ETS activities were used to compute respiratory oxygen consuption, carbon oxidation, and nitrate reduction rates. Activities were correlated with depth of the water column, and their longshore distribution resembled that of euphotic zone phytoplankton productivity. Protein concentrations were closely correlated with ETS activities. Carbon biomass was calculated from protein and compared with other computed values. The carbon oxidation rate accounted for 13 % of the region's primary production.