224Ra and macronutrient fluxes from incubations of UK marine sediments containing selected benthic macrofauna.

Measurements of 224Ra and macronutrients (NH4+, NO2-,NO3-, PO43-) in core top water, porewaters and sediments, and calculated 224Ra and macronutrient fluxes (via 224Ra/228Th disequilibrium) from benthic incubations of replicate mesocosms containing selected benthic macrofauna. Sediment was collected from Rame Mud, Plymouth, and benthic organisms were collected from Rame Mud and from Loch Linhe, Scotland. Experiment 1 was conducted February-March 2022, and Experiment 2 July-August 2022, both in the Biodiversity Ecosystem Futures Facility (BEFF lab) at the Waterfront Campus, University of Southampton, Southampton. The work was conducted to quantify the influence of different species and individuals of benthic macrofauna on benthic flux, using 224Ra as a naturally occurring tracer of sediment-seawater exchange.