Phosphorus forms in sediments of the East China Sea and its environmental significance

By means of SEDEX, ASPILA and XRF, depth-dependent changes of different phosphorus forms in sediment cores from specific areas of the offshore Changjiang Estuary (Yangtze Estuary) in 1998 were analyzed. Results show that contents of total phosphorus (TP), organic-phosphorus (OP) and iron-phosphorus (Fe-P) decreased down-core, while those of absorbed-phosphorus (Ad-P) and calcium-phosphorus (Ca-P) increased. The distribution tendency of detritus-phosphorus (De-P) is not obvious. Results also show that TP, Fe-P and OP contents at Meso station of the Changjiang Estuary and Hangzhou Bay are higher than that of the other stations. This suggests that the pollutants carried by the Changjiang and the Qiantang rivers from inland have affected the natural environment in offshore area. TP, Fe-P and OP contents of each station become higher from bottom to top, indicating the amount of the terrestrial pollutants carried by the two rivers has been enhanced since the last 30-50 years. Ad-P, Ca-P, Fe-P and OP are all active phosphorus in sediments, and their re-cycling in sediment is closely related to each other.