FORMS OF PHOSPHORUS IN THE SEDIMENTS OF MASAN BAY, KOREA

The Masan Bay, located in the southeastern part of Korea, is one of the most polluted water bodies in Korea, Sediment-bound P constitutes a vast potential source of nutrients for phytoplankton. Masan Bay was found to be generally polluted by untreated municipal sewage and discharges from a heavy-industry complex. The most abundant fraction of P in the sediments of Masan Bay was residual phosphorus(organic bound P) and the second was NaOH-P(NAI-P) form. Thus in the summer when the water becomes anoxic, an increased flux of P from the sediments occurs.