This dataset presents total organic carbon (TOC, wt%) contents in sediments at 19 stations in the Kiel Bight taken during the research cruises BE03/2016 (08.03.2016), BE10/2016 (19.10.2016), BE10/2018 (23.10.2018), BE03/2019 (15.03.2019), L23-13 (13.09.2023 - 15.09.2023), Sagitta24-1 (16.09.2024), Sagitta24-2 (23.09.2024), L25-2b (09.02.2025 - 17.02.2025) and EMB374 (04.09.2025 - 13.09.2025). Sediment cores (<50cm) were recovered using a Multicorer (MUC), Minicorer (MIC) or Rumohrlot (RL). The TOC analysis was performed using an Element Analyzer (Euro EA 3000). The data are used in combination with porewater and water column data to describe the sulfur geochemistry and cycling across different sites in the Kiel Bight and to identify the controlling factors governing the accumulation of hydrogen sulfide at the seafloor.
During the research cruises BE03/2016 (08.03.2016), BE10/2016 (19.10.2016), BE10/2018 (23.10.2018), BE03/2019 (15.03.2019), L23-13 (13.09.2023 - 15.09.2023), Sagitta24-1 (16.09.2024), Sagitta24-2 (23.09.2024), Hai24VE2 (24.09.2024), L25-2b (09.02.2025 - 17.02.2025) and EMB374 (04.09.2025 - 13.09.2025), CTDs were deployed and sediment corers were retrieved at 99 stations in Kiel Bight in the southwestern Baltic Sea. Water column oxygen concentrations were determined using oxygen sensors attached to the CTD framework. At selected water depths, water samples were collected with Niskin bottles for the analysis of nitrate concentrations using an autoanalyzer. Short sediment cores (<50cm) were recovered using a Multicorer (MUC), Minicorer (MIC) or Rumohrlot (RL). Bottom waters were sampled from the supernatant water in the sediment cores. Solid phase sediment samples were analyzed for total organic carbon using an element analyzer. Porewater was extracted from the sediment cores using rhizones and analyzed for total alkalinity (titration), ammonium (photometer), sulfate (ion chromatography), hydrogen sulfide (photometer), dissolved iron (ICP-OES) and dissolved manganese (ICP-OES). The collected data will be used to (i) determine the spatial and temporal variability of hydrogen sulfide in bottom waters of the Kiel Bight, (ii) identify the controlling factors governing the accumulation of hydrogen sulfide at the seafloor, and (iii) establish an early warning system of sulfidic seafloor conditions for regional stakeholders in the Baltic Sea.
This publication provides a database on metal contamination of sediments collected along seven rivers draining Western Europe (French Rhône, Garonne-Lot, Loire, Meuse, Rhine, Scheldt and Seine Rivers). This dataset is based on both long-term monitoring and scientific research (see column sources). It presents major (Al, Fe) and trace metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Zn) coming from various solid matrices, such as suspended particulate matter (SPM), dated sediment cores (DSC), and bed and flood deposits (BFD). It also provides information about the extraction procedure, grain-size (expressed as a percentage of the fine particle [silts and clays < 63 µm] proportion in the samples) and total organic carbon (TOC) contents when available. It could be use to assess the level of metal contamination along the river since 1945 and to decipher the key factors influencing metal concentrations in river sediments over space and time.