Abstract
A simple, rapid method for the measurement of acid-soluble sulfides from marine sediments, in the range of 0 to 350 μg sulfide, was developed. Using the mean of 4 replicates, the maximum sensitivity of the method is ±5.48 μg. The method is based on iodometric back titration after the reaction of a standard iodine solution with the sulfide, which is precipitated on paper wicks as zinc, sulfide. The mean coefficient of variation, based on raw titration data, is 0.71% for aliquots from field samples, 0.41% for standards, and 0.21% for blanks. The method is used to compare zinc acetate-fixed subsamples, one group having been stored for 1 month in a refrigerator at 5°C and the other having been analyzed immediately after collection. No significant differences in sulfide content between subsamples, at the 95% confidence level, were noted.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
American Public Health Association: Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 13th ed. 874 pp. Washington, D.C.: American Public Health Association 1971
Bella, D.A., A.E. Ramm and P.E. Peterson: Effects of tidal flats on estuarine water quality. J. Wat. Pollut. Control Fed. 44, 541–556 (1972)
Berner, R.A.: Diagenesis of iron sulfide in Recent marine sediments. In: Estuaries, pp 268–272. Ed. by G.H. Lauff. Washington, D.C.: American Association for the Advancement of Science 1967. (Publs Am. Ass. Advmt Sci. No. 83)
—: Sulfate reduction, pyrite formation, and the oceanic sulfur budget. In: The changing chemistry of the oceans, pp 347–361. Ed. by D. Dyrssen and D. Jagner. New York: Wiley-Interscience 1972
Brady, L.J.: Determination of small amounts of oxygen in gases. Analyt. Chem. 20, 1033–1037 (1948)
Fenchel, T.M. and R.J. Riedl: The sulfide system: a new biotic community underneath the oxidized layer of marine sand bottoms. Mar. Biol. 7, 255–268 (1970)
Great Lakes Region Committee on Analytical Methods: Chemistry laboratory manual bottom sediments, 101 pp. Washington, D.C.: Environmental Protection Agency 1969
Gunkel, W. and C.H. Oppenheimer: Experiments regarding the sulfide formation in sediments of the Texas Gulf Coast. In: Symposium on Marine Microbiology, pp 674–684. Ed. by C.H. Oppenheimer. Springfield, Ill.: Charles C. Thomas 1963
Hulings, N.C. and J.S. Gray: Physical factors controlling abundance of meiofauna on tidal and atidal beaches. Mar. Biol. 34, 77–84 (1976)
Jørgensen, B.B. and T. Fenchel: The sulfur cycle of a marine sediment model system. Mar. Biol. 24, 189–201 (1974)
Nedwell, D.B. and G.D. Floodgate: The effect of microbial activity upon the sedimentary sulphur cycle. Mar. Biol. 16, 192–200 (1972a)
—: Temperature-induced changes in the formation of sulphide in a marine sediment. Mar. Biol. 14, 18–24 (1972b)
Ruppert, E.E.: An efficient quantitative method for sampling the meiobenthos. Limnol. Oceanogr. 17, 629–631 (1972)
Snedecor, G.W. and W.G. Cochran: Statistical methods, 6th ed. 593 pp. Ames: Iowa State University Press 1967
Woolf, C.M.: Principles of biometry, 359 pp. Princeton: D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc. 1968
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by J.S. Pearse, Santa Cruz.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Munson, D.A. Simplified method for the determination of acid-soluble sulfides in marine sediments. Marine Biology 40, 145–150 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00396260
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00396260