Distribution and fate of sulfur intermediates—sulfite, tetrathionate, thiosulfate, and elemental sulfur—in marine sediments

Most of the sulfide produced in surface marine sediments is eventually oxidized back to sulfate via sulfur compounds of intermediate oxidation state in a complex web of competing chemical and biological reactions. Improved handling, derivatization, and chromatographic techniques allowed us to more closely examine the occurrence and fate of the sulfur intermediates elemental sulfur (S0), thiosulfate (S2O3 2−), tetrathionate (S4O6 2−), and sulfite (SO3 2−) in Black Sea and North Sea sediments. Elemental sulfur was the most abundant sulfur intermediate with concentrations ∼3 orders of magnitude higher than...