Distributions of colored dissolved organic matter and dissolved organic carbon in the Pearl River Estuary, China

2004 ◽  
Vol 24 (16) ◽  
pp. 1845-1856 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiqiang Chen ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
Jianming Pan
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Dissolved Organic Matter ◽  
Dissolved Organic Carbon ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Pearl River Estuary ◽  
Pearl River ◽  
Colored Dissolved Organic Matter ◽  
The Pearl River Estuary ◽  
The Pearl River

scholarly journals Sources and accumulation of organic carbon in the Pearl River Estuary surface sediment as indicated by elemental, stable carbon isotopic, and carbohydrate compositions

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 2889-2926 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. He ◽  
M. Dai ◽  
W. Huang ◽  
Q. Liu ◽  
H. Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Surface Sediments ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Pearl River Estuary ◽  
Outer Shelf ◽  
Pearl River ◽  
Terrestrial Organic Matter ◽  
The Pearl River Estuary ◽  
The Pearl River

Abstract. Organic matter in surface sediments from the upper reach of the Pearl River Estuary and Lingdingyang Bay, as well as the adjacent northern South China Sea shelf was characterized by a variety of techniques, including elemental (C and N), stable carbon isotopic (δ 13C) composition, as well as molecular-level analyses. Total organic carbon (TOC) content was 1.61±1.20% in the upper reach down to 1.00±0.22% in Lingdingyang Bay and to 0.80±0.10% on the inner shelf and 0.58±0.06% on the outer shelf. δ13C values ranged from −25.11‰ to −21.28‰ across the studied area, with a trend of enrichment seaward. The spatial trend in C/N ratios mirrored that of δ13C, with a substantial decrease in C/N ratio from 10.9±1.3 in the Lingdingyang Bay surface sediments to 6.5±0.09 in the outer shelf surface sediments. Total carbohydrate yields ranged from 22.1 to 26.7 mg (100 mg OC)−1, and typically followed TOC concentrations in the estuarine and shelf sediments, suggesting that the relative abundance of total carbohydrate was fairly constant in TOC. Total neutral sugars as detected by the nine major monosaccharides (lyxose, rhamnose, ribose, arabinose, fucose, xylose, galactose, mannose, and glucose) yielded between 4.0 and 18.6 mg (100 mg OC)−1 in the same sediments, suggesting that a significant amount of carbohydrates were not neutral aldoses. The bulk organic matter properties, isotopic composition and C/N ratios, combined with molecular-level carbohydrate compositions were used to assess the sources and accumulation of terrestrial organic matter in the Pearl River Estuary and the adjacent northern South China Sea shelf. Results showed a mixture of terrestrial riverine organic carbon with in situ phytoplankton organic carbon in the areas studied. Using a two end-member mixing model based on δ13C values and C/N ratios, we estimated that the terrestrial organic carbon contribution to the surface sediment TOC was ca. 57±13% for Lingdingyang Bay, 19±2% for the inner shelf, which decreased further to 4.3±0.5% on the outer shelf. The molecular composition of the carbohydrate in surface sediments also suggested that the inner estuary was rich in terrestrial-derived carbohydrates but that the contribution of terrestrial-derived carbohydrates decreased offshore. Terrestrial organic carbon accumulation flux was estimated as 1.37±0.92×1011 g yr−1 in Lingdingyang Bay, which accounted for 37±25% of the terrestrial organic carbon transported to the Bay. The burial efficiency of terrestrial organic matter was markedly lower than that of suspended particulate substance (~71%) suggesting that the riverine POC undergoes significant degradation and replacement during transportation through the estuary.

Distribution, degradation and dynamics of dissolved organic carbon and its major compound classes in the Pearl River estuary, China

2010 ◽  
Vol 119 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 52-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Biyan He ◽  
Minhan Dai ◽  
Weidong Zhai ◽  
Lifang Wang ◽  
Kejian Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Dissolved Organic Carbon ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Pearl River Estuary ◽  
Pearl River ◽  
The Pearl River Estuary ◽  
The Pearl River

Distribution of dissolved organic matter in the Pearl River Estuary, China

2004 ◽  
Vol 89 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 211-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Callahan ◽  
Minhan Dai ◽  
Robert F Chen ◽  
Xiaolin Li ◽  
Zhongming Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Dissolved Organic Matter ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Pearl River Estuary ◽  
Pearl River ◽  
The Pearl River Estuary ◽  
The Pearl River

scholarly journals Sources and accumulation of organic carbon in the Pearl River Estuary surface sediment as indicated by elemental, stable carbon isotopic, and carbohydrate compositions

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 3343-3362 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. He ◽  
M. Dai ◽  
W. Huang ◽  
Q. Liu ◽  
H. Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Surface Sediments ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Pearl River Estuary ◽  
Pearl River ◽  
The Pearl River Estuary ◽  
Carbon Isotopic ◽  
The Pearl River ◽  
Accumulation Efficiency

Abstract. Organic matter in surface sediments from the upper reach of the Pearl River Estuary and Lingdingyang Bay, as well as the adjacent northern South China Sea shelf was characterized using a variety of techniques, including elemental (C and N) ratio, bulk stable organic carbon isotopic composition (δ13C), and carbohydrate composition analyses. Total organic carbon (TOC) content was 1.21±0.45% in the upper reach, down to 1.00±0.22% in Lingdingyang Bay and to 0.80±0.10% on the inner shelf and 0.58±0.06% on the outer shelf. δ13C values ranged from −25.1‰ to −21.3‰ in Lingdingyang Bay and the South China Sea shelf, with a trend of enrichment seawards. The spatial trend in C/N ratios mirrored that of δ13C, with a substantial decrease in C/N ratio offshore. Total carbohydrate yields ranged from 22.1 to 26.7 mg (100 mg OC)−1, and typically followed TOC concentrations in the estuarine and shelf sediments. Total neutral sugars, as detected by the nine major monosaccharides (lyxose, rhamnose, ribose, arabinose, fucose, xylose, galactose, mannose, and glucose), were between 4.0 and 18.6 mg (100 mg OC)−1 in the same sediments, suggesting that significant amounts of carbohydrates were not neutral aldoses. Using a two end-member mixing model based on δ13C values and C/N ratios, we estimated that the terrestrial organic carbon contribution to the surface sediment TOC was ca. 78±11% for Lingdingyang Bay, 34±4% for the inner shelf, and 5.5±1% for the outer shelf. The molecular composition of the carbohydrate in the surface sediments also suggested that the inner estuary was rich in terrestrially derived carbohydrates but that their contribution decreased offshore. A relatively high abundance of deoxyhexoses in the estuary and shelf indicated a considerable bacterial source of these carbohydrates, implying that sediment organic matter had undergone extensive degradation and/or transformation during transport. Sediment budget based on calculated regional accumulation rates showed that only ~50% of the influxes of terrestrial organic carbon were accumulated in the estuary. This relatively low accumulation efficiency of terrestrial organic matter as compared to the total suspended solids (accumulation efficiency ~73%) suggested significant degradation of the terrestrial organic carbon within the estuarine system after its discharge from the river. This study demonstrated that the combination of the bulk organic matter properties together with the isotopic composition and molecular-level carbohydrate compositions can be an efficient way to track down the source and fate of organic matter in highly dynamic estuarine and coastal systems. The predominance of terrestrially originated organic matter in the sediment and its generally low accumulation efficiency within the estuary is not surprising, and yet it may have important implications in light of the heavy anthropogenic discharges into the Pearl River Estuary during the past thirty years.

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