Two-dimensional small-scale variability of pore water phosphate in freshwater lakes: results from a novel dialysis sampler.

Vertical concentration profiles of soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) in the upper sedimentary zone of freshwater lakes are an important means for studying internal phosphorus (P) loading and to gain insight into early diagenetic processes. The interpretation of such pore water profiles generally neglects the occurrence of horizontal variability at a specific sampling site. To further examine this variability, we have designed a novel two-dimensional sampler (2D peeper) consisting of 2280 chambers at a spatial resolution of 9 mm providing a sampling area of 43 x 44 cm. This new device was deployed in three eutrophic lakes in north-eastern Germany. The resulting 2D images of the SRP concentrations, diffusive fluxes, and turnover rates revealed systematic vertical and horizontal structures with local niches of increased phosphorus release. Thus, the extrapolation of P flux calculations based on one-dimensional pore water profiles may lead to a considerable error. The observed small-scale horizontal heterogeneity, probably mainly caused by organisms, was larger in the biologically more active Lake Müllrose and Süsser See than in the deeper Arendsee where meio- and macrozoobenthos were missing. In all cases, the variability was highest at the sediment-water interface and diminished with sediment depth.