Factors Affecting Sediment Oxygen Demand Dynamics in Blackwater Streams of Georgia’s Coastal Plain1

Abstract: Sediment oxygen demand (SOD) is believed to be an important process affecting dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations in blackwater streams of the southeastern coastal plain. Because very few data on SOD are available, it is common for modelers to take SOD values from the literature for use with DO models. In this study, SOD was measured in seven blackwater streams of the Suwannee River Basin within the Georgia coastal plain for between August 2004 and April 2005. SOD was measured using four in situ chambers and was found to vary on average between 0.1 and 2.3 g O₂/m/day across the seven study sites throughout the study period. SOD was found to vary significantly between the watersheds within the Suwannee River Basin. However, land use was not found to be the driving force behind SOD values. Statistical analyses did find significant interaction between land use and watersheds suggesting that an intrinsically different factor in each of the watersheds may be affecting SOD and the low DO concentrations. Further research is needed to identify the factors driving SOD dynamics in the blackwater streams of Georgia’s coastal plain. Results from this study will be used by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources – Environmental Protection Division as model input data for the development and evaluation of DO total maximum daily loads in the Georgia coastal plain.     

High Sediment Oxygen Demand Within an Instream Swamp in Southern Georgia: Implications for Low Dissolved Oxygen Levels in Coastal Blackwater Streams1

Todd, M. Jason, George Vellidis, R. Richard Lowrance, and Catherine M. Pringle, 2009. High Sediment Oxygen Demand Within an Instream Swamp in Southern Georgia: Implications for Low Dissolved Oxygen Levels in Coastal Blackwater Streams. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 45(6):1493‐1507. Abstract: Sediment oxygen demand (SOD) is considered a critical and dominant sink for dissolved oxygen (DO) in many river systems including blackwater streams and is often poorly investigated or roughly estimated in oxygen budgets. The purposes of this study are to (1) characterize and document the magnitude and variability of SOD in representative instream swamps found on the Georgia Coastal Plain; (2) predict SOD from more readily measured parameters such as soil, sediment, and litter organic carbon; and (3) obtain an accurate representation of SOD values within this understudied habitat to help improve water quality models and the continued development of DO as an appropriate water quality standard. Results show SOD rates ranging from 0.491 to 14.189 g O₂/m²/day, up to 18 times higher than values reported for southeastern sandy‐bottomed streams and suggest that instream swamps are repositories of large amounts of organic matter and are thus areas of intense oxygen demand and a major factor in determining the oxygen balance of the watershed as a whole. These areas of intense oxygen demand in relatively unimpacted areas indicate that low DO concentrations may be a natural phenomenon. SOD rates were significantly correlated (alpha = 0.05) with a number of sediment parameters, with organic carbon and total organic carbon being the best predictors of SOD rate. When developing water quality models, managers should pay closer attention to the influence of SOD as it plays a critical role in determining DO levels within instream swamps and the river system.     

我国南方桉树人工林区水库沉积物污染物的分布特征及迁移规律

桉树人工林区水库水体大面积泛黑引发的水质安全问题是目前关注的热点问题之一,我国南方地区尤其是广西南宁市90%以上的饮用水源水库周边都大量种植桉树,且很多都出现不同程度的水体泛黑现象.已有研究表明水库沉积物对上覆水Fe~(2+)、Mn~(2+)、S~(2-)和DOC的迁移转化过程起着重要作用,探究水体污染物在沉积物-水界面附近的分布特征与迁移规律对揭示库区泛黑机制具有重要意义.本研究利用柱状泥样分层分析方法和高分辨率原位被动采样技术,于2018年7～12月在我国南方典型泛黑水库天雹水库开展3次实验,分析沉积物中铁、锰、硫化物和有机质的分布特征及季节性变化规律,并重点研究泛黑期沉积物间隙水Fe~(2+)、Mn~(2+)、S~(2-)和DOC的剖面分布规律及迁移方向.结果表明:①桉树人工林区水库沉积物中铁和锰含量丰富,远超过全国土壤背景值.表层沉积物中铁、锰和TOC含量随季节同步增加,主要来源于水库周边桉树林区物质(残落物、腐解液和土壤颗粒)的输入与沉降;②桉树人工林区水库泛黑期沉积物间隙水中Fe~(2+)(16.99 mg·L~(-1))和DOC(36.80%)含量显著高于湖泛体系沉积物(12.15 mg·L~(-1)和10.78%),Fe~(2+)/S~(2-)与Mn~(2+)/S~(2-)比值均大于300,缺氧条件下沉积物中以铁锰氧化物的还原反应为主;③桉树人工林区水库沉积物中Fe~(2+)扩散通量[27.4～33.5 mg·(m~2·d)~(-1)]分别是太湖、阿哈水库和红枫湖的32.6、 4.9和30.8倍,具有更强的Fe~(2+)内源释放能力,且间隙水中Fe~(2+)与DOC(r0.904,P0.01)显著正相关,沉积物中铁还原产物与有机质的络合反应是水库突发性泛黑的重要成因之一.     

循环水冲洗生态厕所及其污水处理方法

主要研究了循环水冲洗生态厕所对冲厕污水有机污染物和NH4 -N的去除效果.结果表明,在进水COD和NH4 -N负荷分别为1.2～1.4 kg COD/m3·d和0.1～0.11kg NH4 -N/m3·d时,循环水冲洗生态厕所出水COD和NH4 -N稳定维持在15 mg/L和5 mg/L,达到我国中水回用相关标准,满足了循环冲洗水水质要求,根本上实现了冲厕污水源头治理和资源化.     

Estimating Relevance of Organic Carbon,Nitrogen, and Phosphorus Loads to a Blackwater River Estuary1

Abstract: In blackwater river estuaries, a large portion of external carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus load are combined in complex organic molecules of varying recalcitrance. Determining their lability is essential to establishing the relationship between anthropogenic loads and eutrophication. A method is proposed in which organic C, N, and P are partitioned into labile and refractory forms, based upon first‐order decay estimated by biochemical oxygen demand relative to total organic carbon, and C:N and C:P ratios as a function of organic carbon lability. The technique was applied in developing total maximum daily loads for the lower St. Johns, a blackwater Atlantic coastal plain river estuary in Northeast Florida. Point source organic nutrients were determined to be largely labile. Urban runoff was found to have the highest relative labile organic N and P content, followed by agricultural runoff. Natural forest and silviculture runoff were high in refractory organic N and P. Upstream labile C, N, and P loads were controlled by autochthonous production, with 34‐50% of summer total labile carbon imported as algal biomass. Differentiation of labile and refractory organic forms suggests that while anthropogenic nutrient enrichment has tripled the total nitrogen load, it has resulted in a 6.7‐fold increase in total labile nitrogen load.