Degradability of sedimentary organic matter in estuarine and coastal environment

Seasonal variations of the concentrations and quality of the sedimentary organic matter from the Wadden Sea are studied. It appears that nearly 15 % of the continental organic matter can be considered as a labile organic fraction. This degradation potential is applied to the continental organic matter entering the oceans and the results are combined with primary production data from literature. A general trend for marine and continental contribution to sedimentary organic matter in the sea is proposed.