T. Tokunaga, N. Matsunaga and A. Takahashi, 2007. NH4+ adsorption characteristics of tidal flats along the Kumamoto coast of Ariake Sea. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 50 (Proceedings of the 9th International Coastal Symposium), 879 – 883. Gold Coast, Australia, ISSN 0749.0208
The NH4+ adsorption characteristics of sediments were investigated in sandy tidal flats along the Kumamoto coast of Ariake Sea, Kyushu Island, Japan. The vertical distributions of NH4-N and PO4-P concentrations of pore water showed that the organic substances in the seabed were actively decomposed. The values of NH4+ adsorbed to mud were evaluated by means of the extraction method using 2 mol/l KCl solutions, and they increased monotonically with the increases of the mud content and the NH4+ concentration in the pore water. It was found that in the sandy tidal flats along the Kumamoto coast of the Ariake Sea, the amount of adsorbed NH4+ to the mud was much larger than that included in the pore water and most of the NH4+ in the seabed was adsorbed to the mud, i.e., clay and silt particles.
