Search results for "Biogeochemistry"
showing 7 items of 47 documents
Modelling biogeochemical processes in sediments from the north-western Adriatic Sea: response to enhanced particulate organic carbon fluxes
2018
This work presents the result of a study carried out in the north-western Adriatic Sea, by combining two different types of biogeochemical models with field sampling efforts. A longline mussel farm was taken as a local source of perturbation to the natural particulate organic carbon (POC) downward flux. This flux was first quantified by means of a pelagic model of POC deposition coupled to sediment trap data, and its effects on sediment bioirrigation capacity and organic matter (OM) degradation pathways were investigated constraining an early diagenesis model by using original data collected in sediment porewater. The measurements were performed at stations located inside and outside the ar…
Widespread diminishing anthropogenic effects on calcium in freshwaters
2019
Calcium (Ca) is an essential element for almost all living organisms. Here, we examined global variation and controls of freshwater Ca concentrations, using 440 599 water samples from 43 184 inland water sites in 57 countries. We found that the global median Ca concentration was 4.0 mg L−1 with 20.7% of the water samples showing Ca concentrations ≤ 1.5 mg L−1 , a threshold considered critical for the survival of many Ca-demanding organisms. Spatially, freshwater Ca concentrations were strongly and proportionally linked to carbonate alkalinity, with the highest Ca and carbonate alkalinity in waters with a pH around 8.0 and decreasing in concentrations towards lower pH. However, on a temporal…
Effect of wastewater management on phosphorus content and sedimentary fractionation in Mediterranean saline lakes
2019
The La Mancha Húmeda Biosphere Reserve is the largest wetland district in the Iberian Peninsula, containing many temporary saline lakes undergoing different anthropogenic pressures. Eleven of these lakes were selected to assess phosphorus (P) burial, fractionation and mobilization in their sediments. Wastewater inputs, wherever they occurred, favored accumulation of all P sedimentary fractions, which took place mainly via precipitation with divalent cations (i.e. calcium or magnesium) and as buried organic matter, both representing relatively occluded P forms, although they can also be involved in P release. P immobilization would be partially restrained in the volcanic lakes of the region,…
Isotopes Trace Biogeochemistry and Sources of Cu and Zn in an intertidal soil
2013
River floodplain soils are sinks and potential sources for toxic trace metals like Cu and Zn. We hypothesize that stable Cu and Zn isotope ratios reflect both the mobilization and the sources of metals. We determined the soil properties, the concentrations and partitioning of Cu and Zn, and variations in δ65Cu and δ66Zn values in a core obtained from an Aquic Udifluvent developed on a freshwater intertidal mudflat of the River Elbe, Germany. The core was sampled at 2 cm intervals to a depth of 34 cm, which corresponds to approximately 9 yr of sedimentation. Elevated concentrations of Cu (up to 320 μg g−1) and Zn (up to 2080 μg g−1) indicated anthropogenic pollution. At the time of sampling …
Microbial Community Response on Wastewater Discharge in Boreal Lake Sediments
2017
Despite high performance, municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) still discharge significant amounts of organic material and nitrogen and even microbes into the receiving water bodies, altering physico-chemical conditions and microbial functions. In this study, we examined how nitrified wastewater affects the microbiology of boreal lake sediments. Microbial community compositions were assessed with next generation sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene, and a more detailed view on nitrogen transformation processes was gained with qPCR targeting on functional genes (nirS, nirK, nosZI, nosZII, amoAarchaea, and amoAbacteria). In both of the two studied lake sites, the microbial community compo…
Terrestrial Inputs Drive Seasonality in Organic Matter and Nutrient Biogeochemistry in a High Arctic Fjord System (Isfjorden, Svalbard)
2020
Climate-change driven increases in temperature and precipitation are leading to increased discharge of freshwater and terrestrial material to Arctic coastal ecosystems. These inputs bring sediments, nutrients and organic matter (OM) across the land-ocean interface with a range of implications for coastal ecosystems and biogeochemical cycling. To investigate responses to terrestrial inputs, physicochemical conditions were characterized in a river- and glacier-influenced Arctic fjord system (Isfjorden, Svalbard) from May to August in 2018 and 2019. Our observations revealed a pervasive freshwater footprint in the inner fjord arms, the geochemical properties of which varied spatially and seaso…
KOSMOS 2017 Peru Side Experiment: nutrients, phytoplankton abundances, enzyme rates, photophysiology
2022
This data was collected during an short-term incubation experiment in March 2017 that investigated the response of a surface plankton community to upwelling. This experiment was carried in the framework of the SFB754-funded KOSMOS mesocosm study that took place in La Punta, Callao, Peru between February-April 2017. A total of six different treatments were used to disentangle chemical and biological characteristics of deep water that influence surface plankton blooms: 2 different deep water sources with different nutrient concentrations; 3 treatments to distinguish the effects of inorganic nutrients, organic nutrients and deep water microbial populations. Measured variables include inorganic…