Abstract. It has been previously proposed that alkalinity release from sediments can play an important role in the carbonate dynamics on continental shelves, lowering the pCO 2 of seawater and hence increasing the CO 2 uptake from the atmosphere. To test this hypothesis, sedimentary alkalinity generation was quantified within cohesive and permeable sediments across the North Sea during two cruises in September 2011 (basin-wide) and June 2012 (Dutch coastal zone). Benthic fluxes of oxygen (O 2 ), alkalinity (A T ) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) were determined using shipboard closed sediment incubations. Our results show that sediments can form an important source of alkalinity for the overlying water, particularly in the shallow southern North Sea, where high A T and DIC fluxes were recorded in nearshore sediments of the Belgian, Dutch and German coastal zone. In contrast, fluxes of A T and DIC are substantially lower in the deeper, seasonally stratified, northern part of the North Sea. Based on the data collected, we performed a model analysis to constrain the main pathways of alkalinity generation in the sediment, and to quantify how sedimentary alkalinity drives atmospheric CO 2 uptake in the southern North Sea. Overall, our results show that sedimentary alkalinity generation should be regarded as a key component in the CO 2 dynamics of shallow coastal systems.

Sediment-water column exchange plays an important role in coastal biogeochemistry. We utilize short-lived radium isotopes ( 224 Ra and 223 Ra) to understand and quantify the dominant processes governing sediment-water column exchange throughout the North Sea. Our comprehensive survey, conducted in September 2011, represents the first of its kind conducted in the North Sea. We find that two main sources regulate surface Ra distributions: minor coastal input from rivers and shallow mudflats and North Sea sediments as the dominant source. Pore waters show 100-fold larger activities than the water column. North Sea sediment characteristics such as porosity and mean grain size, as well as turbulence at the sediment-water interface, are the dominant factors contributing to variability of Ra efflux. Ra inventory and mass balance approaches consistently yield high benthic Ra effluxes in the southern North Sea, driven by strong tidal and wind mixing, which in turn cause high sediment irrigation rates. These results exceed incubation-based Ra flux estimates and the majority of previously reported Ra flux estimates for other regions. Ra-based estimates of benthic alkalinity fluxes compare well to observed values, and the high rates of Ra efflux imply a potentially significant exchange of other products of sedimentary reactions, including carbon and nutrient species. Passive tracer simulations lend strong support to the Ra source attribution and imply seasonal variation in the surface water Ra distribution depending on stratification conditions.

Abstract. Recently, it has been proposed that alkalinity release from sediments can play an important role in the carbonate dynamics on continental shelves, lowering the pCO2 of seawater and hence increasing the CO2 uptake from the atmosphere. To test this hypothesis, sedimentary alkalinity generation was quantified within permeable and muddy sediments across the North Sea during two cruises in September 2011 (basin-wide) and June 2012 (Dutch coastal zone). Benthic fluxes of alkalinity (AT) and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) were determined using shipboard closed sediment incubations. These results show that sediments can be an important source for alkalinity, particularly in the shallow southern North Sea, where high AT and DIC fluxes were recorded in near shore sediments of the Belgian, Dutch and German coastal zone. In contrast, fluxes of AT and DIC are substantially lower in the deeper, seasonally stratified, northern part of the North Sea. Overall, our results show that sedimentary alkalinity generation should be considered an important factor in the CO2 dynamics of shallow coastal systems.