This contribution presents total oxygen uptake (TOU) rates and nutrient fluxes of organically poor permeable shelf sands of the German Bight. Measurements have been made in situ with the novel autonomous benthic chamber system Sandy under controlled conditions of advective pore‐water exchange. Average oxygen consumption rates of 31.3 ± 18.2 mmol m −2 d −1 measured in this study were relatively high as compared with rates repor...

This contribution introduces the benthic chamber system Sandy that was developed for studying in situ solute fluxes in permeable sandy sediments where advective pore‐water transport can dominate solute exchange across the sediment‐water interface. The Sandy system can be deployed at the seafloor, where it autonomously performs measurements of sediment‐water solute fluxes. The innovative features include an insertion mechanism...

Summary This study describes the microbial community structure of three sandy sediment stations that differed with respect to median grain size and permeability in the German Bight of the Southern North Sea. The microbial community was investigated using lipid biomarker analyses and fluorescence in situ hybridization. For further characterization we determined the stable carbon isotope composition of the biomarkers. Biomarkers...