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The mobility of phosphorus, iron, and manganese through the sediment–water continuum of a shallow eutrophic freshwater lake under stratified and mixed water-column conditions

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Abstract

The management of external nutrient inputs to eutrophic systems can be confounded due to a persistent pool of phosphorus (P) in lake sediments. The behaviors of P and trace metals depend largely on the reductive dissolution of amorphous iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) (oxy)hydroxides in sediments; however, a holistic understanding of these dynamics in relation to the broader ecological and hydrodynamic conditions of the system remains elusive. We used a high-frequency monitoring approach to develop a comprehensive conceptual model of P, Mn, and Fe dynamics across the sediment water continuum of a shallow bay in Lake Champlain (Missisquoi Bay, USA). The greatest release of sediment P, Mn, and Fe occurred under stable hydrodynamic conditions, particularly during the onset of the cyanobacterial bloom and was associated with low available P and the accumulation of soluble Mn and Fe above the sediment–water interface (SWI). During the warmest part of the season, bloom severity and sediment P release was partially regulated by hydrodynamic drivers, which changed on hourly time scales to affect redox conditions at the SWI and bottom water concentrations of soluble P, Mn, and Fe. A geochemically distinct increase in soluble P and Fe concentrations, but not Mn, marked the influence of riverine inputs during a late season storm disturbance. Despite continued depletion of the reactive sediment P and metals pool into the bloom period, declining temperatures and a well-mixed water column resulted in bloom senescence and the return of P, Mn, and Fe to surface sediments. The closed cycling of P and metals in Missisquoi Bay poses a significant challenge for the long-term removal of P from this system. Multiple time-scale measures of physical and biogeochemical changes provide a basis for understanding P and trace metals behavior across sediments and the water column, which shape seasonally variable cyanobacterial blooms in shallow eutrophic systems.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the Research on Adaptation to Climate Change, Summer Internship Program (2013–2014) interns and VT-EPSCoR support staff who contributed many hours directly and indirectly to this work. Thank you also to Andrea Lini and Gabriela Mora (University of Vermont, Geology) for their support in the sediment analysis component of this work. This research was supported by the Vermont Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research with funds from the National Science Foundation Grant EPS-1101317 and a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council responsive mode grant (BBK0170471). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The James Hutton Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee, DD2 5BA, Scotland, UK

    Courtney D. Giles

  2. Vermont Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 05405, USA

    Courtney D. Giles, Peter D. F. Isles, Tom Manley, Yaoyang Xu & Andrew W. Schroth

  3. Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 05405, USA

    Peter D. F. Isles

  4. Department of Geology, Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT, 15753, USA

    Tom Manley

  5. Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA

    Gregory K. Druschel

  6. Department of Geology, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, 05405, USA

    Andrew W. Schroth

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  1. Courtney D. Giles
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  2. Peter D. F. Isles
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  3. Tom Manley
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  5. Gregory K. Druschel
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Correspondence to Courtney D. Giles.

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Appendix 1

Missisquoi River discharge at Swanton, VT (cubic meters per second, cms) in 2013. Red symbols indicate the study period and vertical dashed lines delineate the bloom periods (PDF 42 kb)

Supplementary material 2 (DOCX 175 kb)

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Giles, C.D., Isles, P.D.F., Manley, T. et al. The mobility of phosphorus, iron, and manganese through the sediment–water continuum of a shallow eutrophic freshwater lake under stratified and mixed water-column conditions. Biogeochemistry 127, 15–34 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-015-0144-x

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