Simultaneous quantification of in situ infaunal activity and pore-water metal concentrations

Simultaneous quantification of in situ infaunal activity and pore-water metal concentrations: establishment of benthic ecosystem process-function relations

Here, we combine fluorescent time-lapse sediment profile imaging (f-SPI) and diffusion gradient thin gels (DGT) to examine, in situ, the link between an important benthic ecosystem process (bioturbation) and ecosystem functioning (trace metal cycling). The dimensions of the fg-SPI faceplate were 15 × 21.5 cm (= 322.50 cm²), but after subtraction of the area occupied by the two DGT gels (= 74 cm2) the field of view reduces to 9 × 21.5 cm (= 248.5 cm²). The camera (Nikon D100, 2000 × 3000 pixels = 6 mega pixels, effective resolution = 75 × 75 μm per pixel) was set to an exposure of 1/60, f = 2.0 and film speed equivalent to ISO 400. For each time- lapse sequence, images were taken every 5 mins for a period of 96 h (n = 1152 images per deployment).
Three time-lapse movies are presented here to accompany Teal et al. 2012 Biogeosciences.