BIOGEOCHEMISTRY OF PYRITE AND IRON SULFIDE OXIDATION IN MARINE SEDIMENTS

Abstract

Pyrite (FeS2) and iron monosulfide (FeS) play a central role in the sulfur and iron cycles of marine sediments. They may be buried in the sediment or oxidized by O2 after transport by bioturbation to the sediment surface. FeS2 and FeS may also be oxidized within the anoxic sediment in which NO3-, Fe(III) oxides, or MnO2 are available as potential electron acceptors. In chemical experiments, FeS2 and FeS were oxidized by MnO2 but not with NO3- or amorphous Fe(III) oxide (Schippers and Jorgensen, 2001). Here we also show that in experiments with anoxic sediment slurries, a dissolution of tracer-marked 55FeS2 occurred with MnO2 but not with NO3- or amorphous Fe(III) oxide as electron acceptor. To study a thermodynamically possible anaerobic microbial FeS2 and FeS oxidation with NO3- or amorphous Fe(III) oxide as electron acceptor, more than 300 assays were inoculated with material from several marine sediments and incubated at different temperatures for > 1 yr. Bacteria could not be enriched with FeS2 as substrate or with FeS and amorphous Fe(III) oxide. With FeS and NO3-, 14 enrichments were obtained. One of these enrichments was further cultivated anaerobically with Fe2+ and S0 as substrates and NO3- as electron acceptor, in the presence of 55FeS2, to test for co-oxidation of FeS2, but an anaerobic microbial dissolution of 55FeS2 could not been detected. FeS2 and FeS were not oxidized by amorphous Fe(III) oxide in the presence of Fe-complexing organic compounds in a carbonate-buffered solution at pH 8. Despite many different experiments, an anaerobic microbial dissolution of FeS2 could not be detected; thus, we conclude that this process does not have a significant role in marine sediments. FeS can be oxidized microbially with NO3- as electron acceptor. O2 and MnO2, but not NO3- or amorphous Fe(III) oxide, are chemical oxidants for both FeS2 and FeS.