Study of phosphorus distribution in coastal surface sediment by sequential extraction procedure (NE Mediterranean Sea, Antalya-Turkey)

The paper presents the results of the distribution of phosphorus (P) bioavailability (total P, organic and inorganic P) in marine surface sediments collected from four coasts that are under different anthropogenic pressures of NE Mediterranean Sea (Alanya, Serik, Kemer, Finike — Antalya, Turkey) in May, 2009. Speciation of inorganic phosphorus (IP) was carried out using a method on sequential extractions, with each releasing four forms of IP — loosely bound P, phosphorus bound to aluminum (P-Al), phosphorus bound to iron (P-Fe), and phosphorus bound to calcium (P-Ca) and determined by the inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES). The total P contents ranged from 152.18 to 275.12 mg/kg. It was found that more than 96% of the total P is IP. Among the four forms of IP, IP distribution ranges were 1.20-3.59% for loosely bound P, 2.38-4.74% for P-Fe, 4.43-8.55% for P-Al, and 84.36-91.99% for P-Ca. The region of Alanya was characterized by the highest total P concentration in the surface sediment than Serik, Kemer, Finike sediments. For all the marine surface sediment samples, the rank order of inorganic P-fractions was Ca-P > Al-P > Fe-P > loosely bound P.