Humic substances

GOAL, SCOPE AND BACKGROUND: Freshwater bodies which chemistry is dominated by dissolved humic substances (HS) seem to be the major type on Earth, due to huge non-calcareous geological formations in the Northern Hemisphere and in the tropics. Based on the paradigm of the inertness of being organic, direct interactions of dissolved HS with freshwater organisms are mostly neglected. However, dissolved organic carbon, the majority of which being HS, are natural environmental chemicals and should therefore directly interact with organisms. Major results that widened our perspective on humic substance ecology come from experiments with the compost nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, which behaved contradictorily to textbook knowledge and provoked an in-depth re-consideration of some paradigms. APPROACH: To overcome old paradigms on HS and their potential interactions with organisms, we reviewed recent international literature, as well as 'grey' literature. We also include results from own ongoing studies. RESULTS: This review focuses on direct interactions of dissolved HS with freshwater organisms and disregards indirect effects, such as under-water light quenching. Instead we show with some macrophyte and algal species that HS adversely interfere with photosynthesis and growth, whereby closely related algal species show different response patterns. In addition to this, HS suppress cyanobacteria more than eukaryotic algae. Quinones in the HS appear to be the effective structure. Furthermore, HS can modulate the offspring numbers in the nematode C. elegans and cause feminization of fish and amphibians--they possess hormone-like properties. The ecological consequences of this potential remain obscure at present. HS also have the potential to act as chemical attractants as shown with C. elegans and exert a mild chemical stress upon aquatic organisms in many ways: induction of molecular chaperons (stress proteins), induction and modulation of biotransformation and anti-oxidant enzymes. Furthermore, they produce an oxidative stress with lipidperoxidation as one clear symptom or even stress defense strategy. Stronger chemical stresses by HS may even lead to teratogenic effects as shown with fish embryos; all physiological responses to HS-mediated stress require energy, which were compensated on the expense of yolk as shown with zebra fish embryos. One Finnish field survey supports the view of a strong chemical stress, as the weight yield in fish species decreases with increasing HS content in the lakes. DISCUSSION: HS exert a variety of stress symptoms in aquatic and compost organisms. According to current paradigms of ecotoxicology, these symptoms have to be considered adverse, because their compensation consumes energy which is deducted from the main metabolism. However, the nematode C. elegans looks actively for such stressful environments, and this behavior is only understandable in the light of new paradigms of aging mechanisms, particularly the Green Theory of Aging. In this respect, we discuss the mild HS-mediated stress to aquatic and compost organisms. New empirical findings with HS themselves and HS building blocks appear to be consistent with this emerging paradigm and show that the individual lifespan may be expanded. At present the ecological consequences of these findings remain obscure. However, a multiple-stress resistance may be acquired which improves the individual fitness in a fluctuating environment. CONCLUSIONS: It appears that dissolved HS have to be considered abiotic ecological driving forces, somewhat less obvious than temperature, nutrients, or light. PERSPECTIVES: The understanding of the ecological control by dissolved humic substances is still fragmentary and needs to be studied in more details.     

Seasonal variation in dissolved gaseous mercury and total mercury concentrations in Juam Reservoir, Korea

Dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) and total mercury (TM) concentrations were measured in Juam Reservoir, Korea. DGM concentrations were higher in spring (64+/-13pgL(-1)) and summer (109+/-15pgL(-1)), and lower in fall (20+/-2pgL(-1)) and winter (23+/-6pgL(-1)). In contrast, TM concentrations were higher in fall (3.2+/-0.1ngL(-1)) and winter (3.3+/-0.1ngL(-1)) than in spring (2.3+/-0.1ngL(-1)) and summer (2.2+/-0.4ngL(-1)). DGM concentrations were correlated with water temperature (p<0.0001), ORP (p<0.0001), UV intensity (UV-A: p=0.008; UV-B: p=0.003), and DOC concentration (p=0.0107). DGM concentrations varied diurnally with UV intensity. The average summer DGM (109+/-15pgL(-1)) and TM (2.2+/-0.4ngL(-1)) concentrations in Juam Reservoir were higher than the averages for North American lakes (DGM=38+/-16pgL(-1); TM=1.0+/-1.2ngL(-1)), but lower than levels reported for Baihua Reservoir in China.     

Predicting Water Quality Impaired Stream Segments using Landscape-Scale Data and a Regional Geostatistical Model: A Case Study in Maryland

In the United States, probability-based water quality surveys are typically used to meet the requirements of Section 305(b) of the Clean Water Act. The survey design allows an inference to be generated concerning regional stream condition, but it cannot be used to identify water quality impaired stream segments. Therefore, a rapid and cost-efficient method is needed to locate potentially impaired stream segments throughout large areas. We fit a set of geostatistical models to 312 samples of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) collected in 1996 for the Maryland Biological Stream Survey using coarse-scale watershed characteristics. The models were developed using two distance measures, straight-line distance (SLD) and weighted asymmetric hydrologic distance (WAHD). We used the Corrected Spatial Akaike Information Criterion and the mean square prediction error to compare models. The SLD models predicted more variability in DOC than models based on WAHD for every autocovariance model except the spherical model. The SLD model based on the Mariah autocovariance model showed the best fit (r² = 0.72). DOC demonstrated a positive relationship with the watershed attributes percent water, percent wetlands, and mean minimum temperature, but was negatively correlated to percent felsic rock type. We used universal kriging to generate predictions and prediction variances for 3083 stream segments throughout Maryland. The model predicted that 90.2% of stream kilometers had DOC values less than 5 mg/l, 6.7% were between 5 and 8 mg/l, and 3.1% of streams produced values greater than 8 mg/l. The geostatistical model generated more accurate DOC predictions than previous models, but did not fit the data equally well throughout the state. Consequently, it may be necessary to develop more than one geostatistical model to predict stream DOC throughout Maryland. Our methodology is an improvement over previous methods because additional field sampling is not necessary, inferences about regional stream condition can be made, and it can be used to locate potentially impaired stream segments. Further, the model results can be displayed visually, which allows results to be presented to a wide variety of audiences easily.     

硅藻土强化混凝去除微污染原水中的有机物

研究了联用硅藻土与聚合氯化铝（PAC）强化混凝对有机微污染原水中不同性质溶解性有机物的去除效果。采用超滤膜和XAD系列树脂对微污染原水中溶解性有机物进行分级表征,物理分级表明分子量〈4 kD的溶解性有机物占50%以上,化学分级表明原水中以憎水酸（HoA）和亲水物质（HiM）为主。硅藻土助凝去除溶解性有机物,实验结果表明,当PAC投加量30 mg/L,硅藻土投加量0.5 g/L时,溶解性有机碳去除率由22.5%提高到26.3%。     

岩溶地区土壤溶解有机碳的季节动态及环境效应

对桂林岩溶试验场土壤溶解有机碳(DOC)进行了逐月的观测，结果显示DOC是岩溶生态系统中活跃的有机碳组分，在岩溶地区碳循环中发挥着重要的作用。一年中土壤DOC的变化特征表现为3个阶段：(1)3-7月，随气温升高、降雨量增加，土壤生物活性和新陈代谢能力极大提高，土壤溶解有机碳呈升高趋势；(2)8-11月，气温保持较高的水平，但降雨量偏低，土壤干燥，土壤微生物活性极大地减弱，土壤DOC质量分数全年最低；(3)12月至次年2月，随温度的降低，土壤生物活性逐渐降低，土壤DOC呈缓慢升高趋势，且与土壤微生物量碳之间存在互为消长的关系。土壤碳酸盐岩的溶蚀速率季节变化与土壤DOC之间存在负相关。文章还提出了岩溶地区土壤碳循环模式及DOC在其中的作用。     

湘东丘陵区不同类型土壤活性碳组分的剖面分布与差异

土壤活性碳组分是土壤健康变化的指示器。选取湘东丘陵区3种不同母质发育的林地土壤（紫色土、板岩红壤和花岗岩红壤）,研究土壤颗粒有机碳（POC）和溶解性有机碳（DOC）的剖面分布规律,并分析POC、DOC与土壤有机碳（SOC）、土壤质地的关系。结果表明：土壤剖面POC、DOC质量分数分别介于0．29～3．87g·kg。和15．01～311．34mg·kg^-1,随剖面加深而大幅降低。土壤剖面POC储量介于8．61一16．54t·hm^-2,以花岗岩红壤最高,板岩红壤最低;而DOC储量介于380．76～1184．83kg·hm^-2,以板岩红壤最高,紫色土最低。POC占SOC的比例（POC／SOC）介于6．42％～46．25％,其中紫色土和板岩红壤POC／SOC随土层加深而降低,而花岗岩红壤则完全相反。DOC占SOC的比例（DOC／SOC）介于O．35％～3．02％,其中紫色土DOC／SOC随土层加深而降低,板岩红壤与花岗岩红壤DOC／SOC则以B层最高。由此可见,不同母质发育的土壤类型,碳库质量和脆弱程度不一。从维持地力和环境健康的角度,应对不同母质发育的土壤制定不同的开发利用方案。     

几种天然矿物去除苯酚效果及日光光解效应评价

本文以四种天然矿物为受试矿物,评价了它们去除苯酚的效果,以及日光光解放应及温度,ＰＨ值,矿物浓度,苯酚初始浓度对去除效果的影响。     

溶解氧及活性污泥浓度对同步硝化反硝化的影响

文章研究溶解氧及活性污泥浓度对同步硝化反硝化效率的影响。研究结果表明：在一定DO范围内,随着反应器内溶解氧浓度的降低,总氮去除率呈上升趋势,即好氧反硝化效率随溶解氧浓度的降低而提高;在一定MLSS范围内,反应器内混合液污泥浓度越高,出水总氮越低,反硝化现象越明显。     

东海原甲藻的光周期效应研究

以东海原甲藻ProrocentrumdonghaienseLu为试验材料,设置了短光周期(A)和长光周期(B)两组试验:A组分光周期1、2、4、6、8、10和12h7个处理,B组分光周期12、14、16、18、20、22和23h7个处理,测定了东海原甲藻的细胞密度、叶绿素a含量、蛋白质含量、生物量和可溶性糖等指标。结果表明,在13个不同的光周期处理中,随着光周期的不断延长,东海原甲藻的细胞密度等一系列指标值均不断上升,各指标和光周期的长度呈现正相关的关系。结果表明东海原甲藻是一种喜长光照的赤潮藻类。     

Characterization of interaction between different adsorbents and copper by simulation experiments using sediment-extracted organic matter from Taihu Lake,China

The complex capacity of different types of organic matters （OMs） for Cu was quantitatively studied by simulation experiments using different adsorbents prepared from the sediment in Taihu Lake. The free Cu was measured with ion selective electrode （ISE） and complex capacity was calculated using a conditional formation constant model. The result indicated that the complex capacity was 0.048 mmol·g-1, 0.009 and 0.005 mmol.g-1for raw sediment, sediment without DOM, sediment without insoluble organic matters but with DOM and sediment without OM. Insoluble organic matter played a major role in the sorption of Cu in sediment and it can adsorb most Cu from water column. In the solution, Cu mainly existed as a complex with DOM and the DOM-Cu complexation capacity was 327.87 mg. g-1. The change of TOC and pH indicated ion-exchange in the interaction between free Cu and DOM. When the Cu concentration in the experiment reached the complex capacity of DOM, precipitation was the major mechanism to remove Cu from water phase, which was observed from UV absorbance change of DOM, that is, its aromaticity increased while molecular weight decreased. The desorption result indi- cated that DOM was more capable of desorbing Cu from adsorbents without OM than adsorbent with OM. The desorbed quantity with DOM was 1.65, 1.78 and 2.25 times higher than that with water for adsorbents without OM, raw adsorbents （sediment） and adsorbents without DOM.