Sediment Phosphate Release Flux Under Hydraulic Disturbances in the Shallow Lake of Chaohu, China

Quantifying the effect of hydraulic disturbances on sediment phosphate release is a key issue in the water quality assessment of lakes, especially for the shallow lakes which are susceptible to winds and waves. Here, we sampled the original sediment columns from 12 positions in the eastern, central, and western areas of the Chaohu Lake, a representative shallow lake in China, and observed phosphate release under three levels of hydraulic disturbances in the laboratory. When the disturbance was weak and the surface sediment of bottom mud moved individually (the Individual Motion Mode), sediment phosphate release rate was insignificant (0.24 mg/m2/d). When the disturbance was medium and only a small percentage (<16%) of surface sediment started to move (the Small Motion Mode), phosphate release rate sharply increased to 4.81 mg/m2/d. When the disturbance was further strengthened and most (≥16%) of the surface sediment moved (the General Motion Mode), phosphate release rate was more than doubled (10.23 mg/m2/d). With the increase of hydraulic disturbance intensity, the variation range of phosphate release also became wider. Spatial distribution showed that the release rate varies the most in the western area, followed by the eastern and the central areas. By extrapolating the experimental results to the real scale, we found the phosphate release fluxes would probably fall within a wide range between 203.43 kg/d to 7311.01kg/d under different levels of hydrodynamic disturbances with considerably affects phosphate release from shallow lakes. This study also has implications for the pollutant management in other shallow lakes.

Effects of Magnetic Minerals Exposure and Microbial Responses in Surface Sediment across the Bohai Sea

Extensive production and application of magnetic minerals introduces significant amounts of magnetic wastes into the environment. Exposure to magnetic minerals could affect microbial community composition and geographic distribution. Here, we report that magnetic susceptibility is involved in determining bacterial α-diversity and community composition in surface sediment across the Bohai Sea by high-throughput sequencing analysis of the 16S rRNA gene. The results showed that environmental factors (explained 9.80%) played a larger role than spatial variables (explained 6.72%) in conditioning the bacterial community composition. Exposure to a magnetite center may shape the geographical distribution of five dissimilatory iron reducing bacteria. The microbial iron reduction ability and electroactive activity in sediment close to a magnetite center are stronger than those far away. Our study provides a novel understanding for the response of DIRB and electroactive bacteria to magnetic minerals exposure.

The Southern Ocean Radiolarian (SO-RAD) dataset: a new compilation of modern radiolarian census data

Radiolarians (holoplanktonic protozoa) preserved in marine sediments are commonly used as palaeoclimate proxies for reconstructing past Southern Ocean environments. Generating reconstructions of past climate based on microfossil abundances, such as radiolarians, requires a spatially and environmentally comprehensive reference dataset of modern census counts. The Southern Ocean Radiolarian (SO-RAD) dataset includes census counts for 238 radiolarian taxa from 228 surface sediment samples located in the Atlantic, Indian, and southwest Pacific sectors of the Southern Ocean. This compilation is the largest radiolarian census dataset derived from surface sediment samples in the Southern Ocean. The SO-RAD dataset may be used as a reference dataset for palaeoceanographic reconstructions, or for studying modern radiolarian biogeography and species diversity. As well as describing the data collection and collation, we include recommendations and guidelines for cleaning and subsetting the data for users unfamiliar with the procedures typically used by the radiolarian community. The SO-RAD dataset is available to download from https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.929903 (Lawler et al., 2021).