Aqueous system-level processes and prokaryote assemblages in the ferruginous and sulfate-rich bottom waters of a post-mining lake

Abstract. In the aqueous oligotrophic ecosystem of a post-mining lake (Lake Medard, Czechia), reductive Fe(II) dissolution outpaces sulfide generation from microbial sulfate reduction (MSR), and ferruginous conditions occur without quantitative sulfate depletion. An isotopically constrained estimate of the rates of sulfate reduction (SRR) suggests that despite a high genetic potential, this respiration pathway is limited by the rather low amounts of metabolizable organic carbon. This points to substrate competition exerted by iron and nitrogen respiring prokaryotes. Yet, the microbial succession across the nitrogenous and ferruginous zones of the bottom water column also indicates sustained genetic potential for chemolithotrophic sulfur oxidation. Therefore, our isotopic SRR estimates could be rather portraying high rates of anoxic sulfide oxidation to sulfate, probably accompanied by microbially induced disproportionation of S intermediates. Near and at the anoxic sediment-water interface, vigorous sulfur cycling can be fuelled by ferric and manganic particulate matter and redeposited siderite stocks. Sulfur oxidation and disproportionation then appear to prevent substantial stabilization of iron monosulfides as pyrite but can enable the interstitial precipitation of small proportions of equant microcrystalline gypsum. This latter mineral isotopically fingerprints sulfur oxidation proceeding at near equilibrium with the ambient anoxic waters, whilst authigenic pyrite-sulfur displays a 38 to 27 ‰ isotopic offset from ambient sulfate, suggestive of incomplete MSR and likely reflective also of an open sulfur cycling system. Pyrite-sulfur fractionation decreases with increased reducible reactive iron in the sediment. In the absence of ferruginous coastal zones today, the current water column redox stratification in the post-mining Lake Medard has scientific value for (i) testing emerging hypotheses on how a few interlinked biogeochemical cycles operated in nearshore paleoenvironments during redox transitional states; and (ii) to acquire insight on how similar early diagenetic redox proxy signals developed in sediments affected by analogue transitional states in ancient water columns.

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Rapid sulfur cycling in sediments from the Peruvian oxygen minimum zone featuring simultaneous sulfate reduction and sulfide oxidation

Limnology and Oceanography ◽

10.1002/lno.11779 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Tina Treude ◽

Leila J. Hamdan ◽

Sydnie Lemieux ◽

Andrew W. Dale ◽

Stefan Sommer

Keyword(s):

Sulfate Reduction ◽

Sulfide Oxidation ◽

Oxygen Minimum Zone ◽

Sulfur Cycling ◽

Minimum Zone ◽

Oxygen Minimum

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Sulfide oxidation affects the preservation of sulfur isotope signals

Geology ◽

10.1130/g46153.1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 47 (8) ◽

pp. 739-743 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Alyssa J. Findlay ◽

Valeria Boyko ◽

André Pellerin ◽

Khoren Avetisyan ◽

Qingjun Guo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sulfate Reduction ◽

Sulfur Isotope ◽

Southern China ◽

Sulfide Oxidation ◽

Isotopic Signature ◽

Chemical Processes ◽

Sulfur Cycling ◽

Stratified Lake ◽

Microbial Sulfate Reduction ◽

Geologic Record

Abstract The accumulation of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere and oceans in the late Archean had profound implications for the planet’s biogeochemical evolution. Oxygen impacts sulfur cycling through the oxidation of sulfide minerals and the production of sulfate for microbial sulfate reduction (MSR). The isotopic signature of sulfur species preserved in the geologic record is affected by the prevailing biological and chemical processes and can therefore be used to constrain past oxygen and sulfate concentrations. Here, in a study of a late Archean analogue, we find that the sulfur isotopic signature in the water column of a seasonally stratified lake in southern China is influenced by MSR, whereas model results indicate that the isotopic signature of the underlying sediments can be best explained by concurrent sulfate reduction and sulfide oxidation. These data demonstrate that small apparent sulfur isotope fractionations (δ34Ssulfate-AVS = 4.2‰–1.5‰; AVS—acid volatile sulfides) can be caused by dynamic sulfur cycling at millimolar sulfate concentrations. This is in contrast to current interpretations of the isotopic record and indicates that small fractionations do not necessarily indicate very low sulfate or oxygen.

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Biological iron oxidation-reduction and the effects on sulfur oxidation-reduction, denitrification and poly-P accumulation in an anaerobic-oxic activated sludge

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2002.0456 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 46 (1-2) ◽

pp. 55-60 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

R. Yamamoto-Ikemoto ◽

T. Komori ◽

S. Matsui

Keyword(s):

Activated Sludge ◽

Sulfate Reduction ◽

Iron Reduction ◽

Iron Oxidation ◽

Sulfur Oxidation ◽

Monod Equation ◽

Oxidation Rates ◽

Oxidation Reduction ◽

Initial Iron ◽

P Accumulation

Iron oxidation and reduction were examined using the activated sludge from a municipal plant. Iron contents of the activated sludge were 1–2%. Iron oxidation rates were correlated with the initial iron concentrations. Iron reducing rates could be described by the Monod equation. The effects of iron reducing bacteria on sulfate reduction, denitrification and poly-P accumulation were examined. Iron reduction suppressed sulfate reduction by competing with hydrogen produced from protein. Denitrification was outcompeted with iron reduction and sulfate reduction. These phenomena could be explained thermodynamically. Poly-P accumulation was also suppressed by denitrification. The activity of iron reduction was relatively high.

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Electrogenic sulfide oxidation mediated by cable bacteria stimulates sulfate reduction in freshwater sediments

The ISME Journal ◽

10.1038/s41396-020-0607-5 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 (5) ◽

pp. 1233-1246 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Tobias Sandfeld ◽

Ugo Marzocchi ◽

Caitlin Petro ◽

Andreas Schramm ◽

Nils Risgaard-Petersen

Keyword(s):

Sulfate Reduction ◽

Sulfide Oxidation ◽

Freshwater Sediments

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Supplementary material to "Aqueous system-level processes and prokaryote assemblages in the ferruginous and sulfate-rich bottom waters of a post-mining lake"

10.5194/bg-2021-253-supplement ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel A. Petrash ◽

Ingrid M. Steenbergen ◽

Astolfo Valero ◽

Travis B. Meador ◽

Tomáš Pačes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Aqueous System ◽

System Level ◽

Mining Lake ◽

Bottom Waters ◽

Supplementary Material

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Complex Microbial Communities Drive Iron and Sulfur Cycling in Arctic Fjord Sediments

Applied and Environmental Microbiology ◽

10.1128/aem.00949-19 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 85 (14) ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

J. Buongiorno ◽

L. C. Herbert ◽

L. M. Wehrmann ◽

A. B. Michaud ◽

K. Laufer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Primary Production ◽

Sulfate Reduction ◽

The Arctic ◽

Sulfur Cycling ◽

Glacial Retreat ◽

Sulfate Reducing ◽

Glacial Runoff ◽

Sulfate Reduction Rates ◽

Fjord Sediments

ABSTRACTGlacial retreat is changing biogeochemical cycling in the Arctic, where glacial runoff contributes iron for oceanic shelf primary production. We hypothesize that in Svalbard fjords, microbes catalyze intense iron and sulfur cycling in low-organic-matter sediments. This is because low organic matter limits sulfide generation, allowing iron mobility to the water column instead of precipitation as iron monosulfides. In this study, we tested this with high-depth-resolution 16S rRNA gene libraries in the upper 20 cm at two sites in Van Keulenfjorden, Svalbard. At the site closer to the glaciers, iron-reducingDesulfuromonadales, iron-oxidizingGallionellaandMariprofundus, and sulfur-oxidizingThiotrichalesandEpsilonproteobacteriawere abundant above a 12-cm depth. Below this depth, the relative abundances of sequences for sulfate-reducingDesulfobacteraceaeandDesulfobulbaceaeincreased. At the outer station, the switch from iron-cycling clades to sulfate reducers occurred at shallower depths (∼5 cm), corresponding to higher sulfate reduction rates. Relatively labile organic matter (shown by δ13C and C/N ratios) was more abundant at this outer site, and ordination analysis suggested that this affected microbial community structure in surface sediments. Network analysis revealed more correlations between predicted iron- and sulfur-cycling taxa and with uncultured clades proximal to the glacier. Together, these results suggest that complex microbial communities catalyze redox cycling of iron and sulfur, especially closer to the glacier, where sulfate reduction is limited due to low availability of organic matter. Diminished sulfate reduction in upper sediments enables iron to flux into the overlying water, where it may be transported to the shelf.IMPORTANCEGlacial runoff is a key source of iron for primary production in the Arctic. In the fjords of the Svalbard archipelago, glacial retreat is predicted to stimulate phytoplankton blooms that were previously restricted to outer margins. Decreased sediment delivery and enhanced primary production have been hypothesized to alter sediment biogeochemistry, wherein any free reduced iron that could potentially be delivered to the shelf will instead become buried with sulfide generated through microbial sulfate reduction. We support this hypothesis with sequencing data that showed increases in the relative abundance of sulfate reducing taxa and sulfate reduction rates with increasing distance from the glaciers in Van Keulenfjorden, Svalbard. Community structure was driven by organic geochemistry, suggesting that enhanced input of organic material will stimulate sulfate reduction in interior fjord sediments as glaciers continue to recede.

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Phosphate removal and sulfate reduction in a denitrification reactor packed with iron and wood as electron donors

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2008.728 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 58 (7) ◽

pp. 1405-1413 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Takahiro Yamashita ◽

Ryoko Yamamoto-Ikemoto

Keyword(s):

Sulfate Reduction ◽

Phosphorus Removal ◽

Iron Oxidation ◽

Sulfur Oxidation ◽

Phosphate Removal ◽

Electron Donors ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Phylogenetic Groups ◽

Primer Sets ◽

Heterotrophic Denitrification

Phosphorus removal and denitrification using iron and wood as electron donors were examined in a laboratory-scale biological filter reactor. Phosphorus removal and denitrification using iron and wood continued for 1,200 days of operation. Wood degradation by heterotrophic denitrification and iron oxidation by hydrogenotrophic denitrification occurred simultaneously. In the biofilm inside the wood, not only heterotrophic denitrification activity but also sulfate reduction and sulfur denitrification activities were recognized inside the wood, indicating that a sulfur oxidation-reduction cycle was established. Sulfate reduction and denitrification were accelerated with the addition of cellulose. Microbial communities of sulfate-reducing bacteria by PCR primer sets could be amplified in the biofilm in the reactors. The dissimilatory sulfite reductase gene and the 16S rRNA gene of six phylogenetic groups of SRB in the reactors were analyzed. Some SRB group-specific primers-amplification products were obtained inside the wood and around iron.

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Microscale effects of oxygen and light on bacterial sulfate reduction in organic-rich lacustrine sediments

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/20199811004 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 98 ◽

pp. 11004

Author(s):

Alfonso Menchén ◽

Nicolas Valiente ◽

Beatriz Toledo ◽

Juan José Gómez-Alday

Keyword(s):

Sulfate Reduction ◽

Water Column ◽

Redox Reactions ◽

Lacustrine Sediments ◽

Chemical Species ◽

Bacterial Sulfate Reduction ◽

Se Spain ◽

Reduction Processes ◽

Anoxic Zones ◽

Sediment Interface

Biogeochemical cycling involves the exchange of electrons between chemical species through redox reactions. Microorganisms can utilize energy released by redox reactions for their metabolism following a thermodynamic sequence. Among these reactions, the dissimilatory reduction of sulfate (SO42−) to produce hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is one of the most important microbially-mediated pathways. The use of microelectrodes at the water-sediment interface provided a better understanding of sulfate reduction processes in the suboxic and anoxic zones. The goal of this study was to assess the microzonation of H2S and O2 under different conditions of light and oxygen in the water column. For this purpose, organic-rich lacustrine sediments from Pétrola Lake (SE Spain) were used. Sediment incubations were performed in mesocosm devices. The highest production of H2S (up to 0.36 nmol/cm-3s-1) was observed under anoxic and dark conditions. Production under those conditions was several orders of magnitude higher than those measured when oxygen was present in the water column. Furthermore, the absence of O2 in the water column significantly altered the microzonation of H2S in depth. The absence of light seems not to affect the dynamics of O2 and H2S in depth. The study contributes to our understanding of microzonation in organic-rich sediments.

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