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Science 5 January 1979:
Vol. 203. no. 4375, pp. 49 - 51
DOI: 10.1126/science.203.4375.49
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Articles

Pyrite: Its Rapid Formation in a Salt Marsh and Its Importance in Ecosystem Metabolism

ROBERT W. HOWARTH 1

1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program in Biological Oceanography, Woods Hole 02543

Pyrite formation in salt-marsh peat occurs more rapidly than is generally thought for any natural system. Pyrite is the major end product of sulfate reduction, and sulfate reduction is the major form of respiration in the salt-marsh ecosystem. When the rapid formation of pyrite is ignored, the rates of sulfate reduction and ecosystem respiration may be grossly underestimated.

Submitted on June 8, 1978
Revised on August 16, 1978


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