Geochemical production of reactive oxygen species from biogeochemically reduced Fe

The photochemical reduction of Fe(III) complexes to Fe(II) is a well-known initiation step for the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in sunlit waters. Here we show a geochemical mechanism for the same in dark environments based on the tidally driven, episodic movement of anoxic groundwaters through oxidized, Fe(III) rich sediments. Sediment samples were collected from the top 5 cm of sediment in a saline tidal creek in the estuary at Murrell's Inlet, South Carolina and characterized with respect to total Fe, acid volatile sulfides, and organic carbon content. These sediments were air-dried, resuspended in aerated solution, then exposed to aqueous sulfide at a range of concentrations chosen to replicate the conditions characteristic of a tidal cycle, beginning with low tide. No detectable ROS production occurred from this process in the dark until sulfide was added. Sulfide addition resulted in the rapid production of hydrogen peroxide, with maximum concentrations of 3.85 μM. The mechanism of hydrogen peroxide production was tested using a simplified three factor representation of the system based on hydrogen sulfide, Fe(II) and Fe(III). The resulting predictive model for maximum hydrogen peroxide agreed with measured hydrogen peroxide in field-derived samples at the 95% level of confidence, although with a persistent negative bias suggesting a minor undiscovered peroxide source in sediments.