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Lakes receive and actively process terrestrial dissolved organic matter (DOM) and play an important role in the global carbon cycle. Urbanization results in elevated inputs of nonpoint-source DOM to headwater streams. Retention of water in lakes allows time for alteration and transformation of the chemical composition of DOM by microbes and UV radiation. Yet, it remains unclear how anthropogenic and natural drivers impact the composition and biolability of DOM in non-pristine lakes. We used optical spectroscopy, Fourier transform ion cyclotron mass spectrometry, stable isotopic measurements, and laboratory bioincubations to investigate the chemical composition and biolability of DOM across two large data sets of lakes associated with a large gradient of urbanization in lowland Eastern China, encompassing a total of 99 lakes. We found that increased urban land use, gross domestic products, and population density in the catchment were associated with an elevated trophic level index, higher chlorophyll-a, higher bacterial abundance, and a higher amount of organic carbon with proportionally higher contribution of aliphatic and peptide-like DOM fractions, which can be highly biolabile. Catchment areas, water depth, lake area: catchment area, gross primary productivity, δ18O-H2O, and bacterial abundance, however, had comparatively little linkage with DOM composition and biolability. Urban land use is currently intensifying in many developing countries, and our results anticipate an increase in the level of biolabile aliphatic DOM from nonpoint sources and accelerated carbon cycling in lake ecosystems in such regions.

Eutrophication affects bacterial communities by fueling them with nutrients and carbon sources. While the influence of physicochemical conditions on bacterial communities is well studied, little is known about how dissolved organic matter (DOM) quality affects bacterial interspecific interactions and community composition with increasing eutrophication. Here, we examined the relative importance of physicochemical conditions and chromophoric DOM (CDOM) composition for bacterial community variation across trophic gradients using 109 samples data collected in 33 lakes of the Yangtze-Huaihe River basin. We found a notable increase of bacterial abundance, elevated modularity of co-occurrence networks, and decreased habitat niche breadths from mesotrophic sites to hyper-eutrophic sites, suggesting changes in co-occurrence patterns with eutrophication. Variation partitioning revealed that the proportion purely explained by CDOM composition was higher at the moderate- and hyper-eutrophic sites than at the mesotrophic sites. Moreover, the module structures of the networks correlated significantly with CDOM composition at the eutrophic sites but not at the mesotrophic sites. The significant negative correlation between community-level habitat niche breadths and the intensities of the protein-like components at the moderate- and hyper-eutrophic sites indicates a strong association between biolabile protein-like compounds and habitat specialists in nutrient and substrate enriched lake systems. Our results suggest that consideration of DOM composition can strengthen the identification of links between environmental factors and bacterial community composition and interspecific interactions, especially under resource-rich conditions.

Cyanobacterial bloom accumulation and dissipation frequently occur in Lake Taihu, a typically shallow, eutrophic lake due to wind wave disturbance. However, knowledge of the driving mechanisms of cyanobacterial blooms on underwater light attenuation is still limited. In this study, we collected a high-frequency in situ monitoring of the wind field, underwater light environment, and surface water quality to elucidate how cyanobacterial bloom accumulation and dissipation affect the variations in underwater light attenuation in the littoral zone of Lake Taihu. Results showed that cyanobacterial blooms significantly increased the diffuse attenuation coefficient of ultraviolet-B (K

Large reservoirs are hotspots for carbon emissions, and the continued input and decomposition of terrestrial dissolved organic matter (DOM) from upstream catchments is an important source of carbon emissions. Rainstorm events can cause a surge in DOM input; however, periodic sampling often fails to fully capture the impact of these discrete rainstorm events on carbon emissions. We conducted a set of frequent observations prior to and following a rainstorm event in a major reservoir Lake Qiandao (China; 580 km2) from June to July 2021 to investigate how rainstorms alter water chemistry and CO2 and CH4 emissions. We found that the mean CO2 efflux (FCO2) (13.2 ± 9.3 mmol m-2 d-1) and CH4 efflux (FCH4) (0.12 ± 0.02 mmol m-2 d-1) in the postrainstorm campaign were significantly higher than those in the prerainstorm campaign (-3.8 ± 3.0 and +0.06 ± 0.02 mmol m-2 d-1, respectively). FCO2 and FCH4 increased with increasing nitrogen and phosphorus levels, elevated DOM absorption (a350), specific UV absorbance SUVA254, and terrestrial humic-like fluorescence. Furthermore, FCO2 and FCH4 decreased with increasing chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), dissolved oxygen (DO), and pH. A five-day laboratory anoxic bioincubation experiment further revealed a depletion of terrestrial-DOM concurrent with increased CO2 and CH4 production. We conclude that rainstorms boost the emission of CO2 and CH4 fueled by the surge and decomposition of fresh terrestrially derived biolabile DOM in this and likely many other reservoir's major inflowing river mouths.

Water clarity (generally quantified as the Secchi disk depth: SDD) is a key variable for assessing environmental changes in lakes. Using remote sensing we calculated and elucidated the SDD dynamics in lakes in the Inner Mongolia-Xinjiang Lake Zone (IMXL) from 1986 to 2018 in response to variations in temperature, rainfall, lake area, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and Palmer's drought severity index (PDSI). The results showed that the lakes with high SDD values are primarily located in the Xinjiang region at longitudes of 75 degrees- 93 degrees E. In contrast, the lakes in Inner Mongolia at longitudes of 93 degrees-118 degrees E generally have low SDD values. In total, 205 lakes show significant increasing SDD trends (P < 0.05), with a mean rate of 0.15 m per decade. In con -trast, 75 lakes, most of which are located in Inner Mongolia, exhibited significant decreasing trends with a mean rate of 0.08 m per decade (P < 0.05). Pooled together, an overall increase is found with a mean rate of 0.14 m per decade. Multiple linear regression reveals that among the five variables selected to explain the variations in SDD, lake area accounts for the highest proportion of variance (25%), while temperature and rainfall account for 12% and 10%, respectively. In addition, rainfall accounts for 52% of the variation in humidity, 8% of the variation in lake area and 7% of the variation in NDVI. Temperature accounts for 27% of the variation in NDVI, 39% of the variation in lake area and 22% of the variation in PDSI. Warming and wetting conditions in IMXL thus promote the growth of vegetation and cause melting of glaciers and expansion of lake area, which eventually leads to improved water quality in the lakes in terms of higher SDD. In contrast, lakes facing more severe drought conditions, became more turbid. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Elucidation of the linkages between the bacterial community composition and chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in lake ecosystems is critical for the understanding of the inland water carbon cycling. Despite substantial research into the relationship between the bacteria community and the bulk DOM pool, knowledge of the specific relationship between the optical dynamics of DOM and the bacterioplankton community in lake ecosystems is still poor. We investigated the linkages between the optical dynamics of DOM and bacteria composition in shallow eutrophic Lake Taihu, China. Redundancy Analysis (RDA) indicated that besides water temperature and phytoplankton biomass, also CDOM was an important factor determining the composition of the bacterial community. Generalized Additive Models (GAM) showed that terrestrial humic-like C1 and tyrosine-like C4 were the key factors explaining the abundance of the main bacterial clades. C1 was closely correlated with Verrucomicrobia, Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria and Planctomycetes, and C4 was closely related to the latter two and to Bacteroidetes. At family level, the dominant families – Pelagibacteraceae (Alphaproteobacteria) and Gemmataceae (Planctomycetes) – were related to both allochthonous and autochthonous CDOM fluorophores but responded differently to the various CDOM components. Tryptophan-like C2 was significantly and positively correlated with Gemmataceae and Ellin6075 (Acidobacteria). Additionally, we found that the biomasses of Cyanophyta, terrestrial humic-like C1, tryptophan-like C4 and C5 were significantly related to the richness of heterotrophic bacterioplankton. Our results provide new insight into the relationship between bacteria and DOM optical dynamics although the mechanisms leading to these relationships need further experimental investigations.

Light climate is of key importance for the growth, community composition of submerged macrophytes in lakes and, they, in turn, are affected by lake depth and the degree of eutrophication. To test the relationships between submerged macrophyte presence and the ratio of Secchi disk depth (SDD) to water depth, i.e. SDD/depth, nutrients and wind, we conducted an extensive sampling campaign in a macrophyte-dominated area of the eastern region (n = 36) in 2016 in Lake Taihu, China, and combined the data gathered with results from extensive physico-chemical monitoring data from the entire lake. We confirmed that SDD/Depth is the primary factor controlling the community composition of macrophytes and showed that plant abundance increased with increasing SDD/Depth ratio (p < 0.01), but that only SDD/Depth > 0.4 ensured growth of submerged macrophytes. Total phosphorus and total nitrogen also influenced the growth and community composition of macrophytes (p < 0.01), while Chla was an indirectly affecting factor by reducing underwater light penetration. Wave height significantly influenced plant abundance (p < 0.01), whereas it had little effect on the biomass (p > 0.05). The key to restore the macrophyte beds in the lake is to reduce the nutrient loading. A decrease of the water level may contribute as well in the shallow bays but will not bring plants back in the main part of the lake. As the tolerance of shade and nutrients varied among the species studied, this should be taken into account in the restoration of lakes by addition of plants. (C) 2020 The Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Interactions between dissolved organic matter (DOM) and bacteria are central in the biogeochemical cycles of aquatic ecosystems; however, the relative importance of biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) compared with other environmental variables in structuring the bacterial communities needs further investigation. Here, we investigated bacterial communities, chromophoric DOM (CDOM) characteristics and physico-chemical parameters as well as examined BDOC via bioassay incubations in large eutrophic Lake Taihu, China, to explore the importance of BDOC for shaping bacterial community structures and co-occurrence patterns. We found that the proportion of BDOC (%BDOC) correlated significantly and positively with the DOC concentration and the index of the contribution of recent produced autochthonous CDOM (BIX). %BDOC, further correlated positively with the relative abundance of the tryptophan-like component and negatively with CDOM aromaticity, indicating that autochthonous production of protein-like CDOM was an important source of BDOC. The richness of the bacterial communities correlated negatively with %BDOC, indicating an enhanced number of species in the refractory DOC environments. %BDOC was identified as a significant stronger factor than DOC in shaping bacterial community composition and the co-occurrence network, suggesting that substrate biodegradability is more significant than DOC quantity determining the bacterial communities in a eutrophic lake. Environmental factors explained a larger proportion of the variation in the conditionally rare and abundant subcommunity than for the abundant and the rare bacterial subcommunities. Our findings emphasize the importance of considering bacteria with different abundance patterns and DOC biodegradability when studying the interactions between DOM and bacteria in eutrophic lakes. (c) 2021 The Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Microbe-mediated transformation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) contributes substantially to the carbon dynamics and energy flow of aquatic ecosystems; yet, the temporal dynamics of bacterial communities in response to diverse DOM sources are scarcely known. Here, we supplied four distinct sources of DOM (algae-derived, macrophyte-derived, sewage-derived, and soil-derived) to the same bacterial community to track the effects of these DOM sources on the carbon processing and successional dynamics of bacterial communities. Although by the end of the incubation the proportion of bio-degraded DOM was significantly lower in the soil-derived DOM treatment than for the other sources, rapid initial metabolism of protein-like and aliphatic compounds and increasing aromaticity and humification degree of DOM during the incubation period were observed for all sources. The role of stochastic processes in governing the community assembly decreased substantially from 61.4% on the first day to 16.7% at the end of the incubation. Moreover, stronger deterministic selection and lower temporal turnover rate were observed for the soil-derived than the other DOM sources, indicating stronger environmental filtering by the more aromatic DOM. Significant correlations were also observed between the humification index (HIX) of DOM and bacterial community diversities, co-occurrence patterns, habitat niche breadths, and the contribution of deterministic ecological processes. In addition, we demonstrated that taxa with different abundance patterns all play crucial but different roles in the response to DOM variation. Our results indicate the importance of DOM aromaticity as a predictor of the outcome of different DOM sources on bacterial community dynamics. (c) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) plays an important role in the biogeochemical cycle and energy flow of aquatic ecosystems. Thus, systematic and comprehensive understanding of CDOM dynamics is critically important for aquatic ecosystem management. CDOM spans multiple study fields, including analytical chemistry, biogeochemistry, water color remote sensing, and global environmental change. Here, we thoroughly summarize the progresses of recent studies focusing on the characterization, distribution, sources, composition, and fate of CDOM in inland waters. Characterization methods, remote sensing estimation, and biogeochemistry cycle processes were the hotspots of CDOM studies. Specifically, optical, isotope, and mass spectrometric techniques have been widely used to characterize CDOM abundance, composition, and sources. Remote sensing is an effective tool to map CDOM distribution with high temporal and spatial resolutions. CDOM dynamics are mainly determined by watershed-related processes, including rainfall discharge, groundwater, wastewater discharges/effluents, and biogeochemical cycling occurring in soil and water bodies. We highlight the underlying mechanisms of the photochemical degradation and microbial decomposition of CDOM, and emphasize that photochemical and microbial processes of CDOM in inland waters accelerate nutrient cycling and regeneration in the water column and also exacerbate global warming by releasing greenhouse gases. Future study directions to improve the understanding of CDOM dynamics in inland waters are proposed. This review provides an interdisciplinary view and new insights on CDOM dynamics in inland waters.

Rainstorm events can flush large amounts of terrestrial organic-rich material into lakes that are used for drinking water. To date, few studies have been carried out to investigate how rainstorm events change the molecular composition, bio-lability, and flux of upstream-imported dissolved organic matter (DOM), which can impact the odor and taste of drinking water as well as the efficiency of wastewater treatment. We undertook high-frequency buoy monitoring and point sample collection (n = 495), during high, moderate, and low inflow discharge, in Lake Qiandao, a key drinking water source for about 10 million people. Data from two online fluorescent DOM sensors deployed and field samples collected at the river site, Jiekou, and the lake site, Xiaojinshan, showed that rainstorm events increased the specific UV absorbance (SUVA254), humification index (HIX), humic-like components (C1-C2), and FT-ICR MS derived condensed aromatic and polyphenolic compounds (p < 0.001) and decreased the spectral slope of DOM (S275–295), spectral slope ratio (SR), biological index (BIX), and highly bio-degradable peptide-like and aliphatic substances (p < 0.001). Our results suggest that rainstorm events enhanced the export to the lake of colored, hydrophobic, and aromatic DOM. Upstream-derived dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentrations decreased (p < 0.001), while DOC bio-availability (BDOC) increased only slightly (p < 0.05) during rainstorm events. The loss rate of DOC in Lake Qiandao is 0.82 × 104 t C yr−1, of which 0.30 × 104 t C yr−1 is highly bio-labile, and higher occurrences of both ≥ 25 mm d − 1 and ≥ 50 mm d − 1 rainfall events are anticipated by linear fittings for this region in the future. The application of in situ fluorescence sensors provides an early warning of DOC surge incidents caused by rainstorm events and may be useful in advising drinking water treatment plant managers of changes in raw water DOM quality and treatability.

Lakes actively transform nitrogen (N) and emit disproportionately large amounts of N2O relative to their surface area. Studies have investigated the relative importance of denitrification or nitrification on N2O emissions; however, the linkage between N2O efflux and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and carbon (DOC) remains largely unknown. Long-term (2012–2017) seasonal field observations and a series of degradation experiments were used to unravel how DON composition impacts N2O emissions from Lake Taihu, China. In the northwestern part of the lake, large riverine inflow and high N2O emissions occur in all seasons (24.6 ± 25.2 μmol m−2 d−1), coincident with high levels of terrestrial DON and DOC here. The degradation of labile DON and DOC likely enhanced ammonification as supported by the correlations between NH4 +-N and DON, DOC, a(350), and terrestrial humic-like C3. The area with large riverine inputs in the northwestern part of the lake was characterized by low DO which may enhance incomplete aerobic nitrification and incomplete denitrification, both leading to N2O production. Twenty days laboratory experiments indicated greater N2O production in the northwest inflow samples (N2O on day 20: 120.9 nmol L−1 and 17.3 nmol L−1 for bio- and photo-degradation samples, respectively) compared with the central lake samples (N2O on day 20: 20.3 nmol L−1 and 12.3 nmol L−1 for bio- and photo-degradation samples, respectively), despite both having low Chl-a. Our DON and DOC degradation experiments confirmed the occurrence of ammonification along with consumption of NH4 +-N and thereafter NO3 −-N. Our results collectively suggest that terrestrial DON fueled ammonification, enhanced nitrification and incomplete denitrification, and thereby became an important contributor to the N2O efflux from Lake Taihu.

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) released from permafrost thaw greatly influences the biogeochemical cycles of, among others, downstream carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles; yet, knowledge of the linkages between bacterial communities with permafrost DOM heterogeneity is limited. Here, we aim at unravelling the responses of bacterial diversities and metabolic profiles to DOM quantity and composition across permafrost thawing gradients by coupling an extensive field investigation with bio-incubation experiments. Richness, evenness and dissimilarities of the whole and rare communities decreased from thermokarst pits to headstreams and to downstream rivers. The assemblages of the abundant subcommunities were mainly determined by ecological drift-driven stochastic processes. Both the optical and the molecular composition of DOM were significantly related to the changes of the whole (rare) bacterial communities (Mantel’s correlation > 0.5, p

Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) accounts for a significant fraction of the dissolved nitrogen (N) pool in eutrophic lakes, and substantial components of DON are available for phytoplankton. However, long-term changes in DON concentrations in eutrophic lakes have been poorly documented, and the particulate-related internal cycling of DON at the molecular level remains unclear. In this study, changes in the concentration of DON during the past 14 years of Lake Taihu, China were analyzed. Algae and sediment suspensions were incubated under summer sunlight to examine transformations of DON (e.g., photodissolution) at the bulk concentration and molecular level. Concentrations of DON in Lake Taihu ranged from 0 to 4.59 mg L−1, with a mean of 0.82 ± 0.60 mg L−1 (n = 3360). Although annual averages of the concentration of DON (n = 240) showed no significant linear variation from 2005 to 2018, the percentage of DON in total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) increased linearly (p 50% after 2015. Seasonally, DON concentrations were highest in spring (1.10 ± 0.56 mg L−1), followed by winter (0.87 ± 0.58 mg L−1) and summer (0.54 ± 0.37 mg L−1) concentrations, and lowest in autumn (0.44 ± 0.38 mg L−1). Outdoor incubation experiments suggest that both algae and sediment suspensions contribute to significant increases of DON concentrations but contribute to decreases of inorganic N concentrations at the end of incubations. Moreover, the production of DON by algae suspensions differed from that of sediment suspensions, with more labile components released from algae (e.g., proteins and amino acids), while more refractory components were released from sediment suspensions (e.g., lignin with low H/C and O/C). Taken together, these results emphasize the increasing percentage of DON in TDN during 2009–2018 and the different patterns of algae- and sediment-dominated internal DON transformations in Lake Taihu.

Shallow lakes are hotspots for carbon processing and important natural sources of methane (CH4) emission. Ebullitive CH4 flux may constitute the overwhelming majority of total CH4 flux, but the episodic nature of ebullition events makes determining both quantity and the controlling factors challenging. Here we used the world's longest running shallow-lake mesocosm facility, where the experimental treatments are low and high nutrients crossed with three temperatures, to investigate the quantity and drivers of CH4 ebullition. The mean CH4 ebullition flux in the high nutrient treatment (41.5 ± 52.3 mg CH4–C m−2 d−1) mesocosms was significantly larger than in the low nutrient treatment (3.6 ± 5.4 mg CH4–C m−2 d−1) mesocosms, varying with temperature scenarios. Over eight weeks from June to August covered here warming resulted in a weak, but insignificant enhancement of CH4 ebullition. We found significant positive relationships between ebullition and chlorophyll-a, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), biodegradable DOC, δ2H, δ18O and δ13C-DOC, autochthonous dissolved organic matter (DOM) fluorescent components, and a fraction of lipids, proteins, and lignins revealed using ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry, and a negative relationship between ebullitive CH4 flux and the percentage volume inhabited of macrophytes. A 24 h laboratory bio-incubation experiment performed at room temperature (20 ± 2 °C) in the dark further revealed a rapid depletion of algal-DOM concurrent with a massive increased CH4 production, whereas soil-derived DOM had a limited effect on CH4 production. We conclude that eutrophication likely induced the loss of macrophytes and increase in algal biomass, and the resultant accumulation algal derived bio-labile DOM potentially drives enhanced outgassing of ebullitive CH4 from the shallow-lake mesocosms.

Inland waters play an important role for the storage of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) and outgassing of methane (CH4). However, to date, linkages between the optical dynamics of CDOM and dissolved CH4 levels remain largely unknown. We used multi-year (2012-2014) seasonal data series collected from Lake Taihu and 51 connecting channels to investigate how CDOM optical dynamics may impact dissolved CH4 levels in the lake. High dissolved CH4 in the northwestern inflowing river mouths coincided with high underwater UV-vis light availability, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), chemical oxygen demand (COD), DOM aromaticity, terrestrial humic-rich fluorescence, in situ measured terrestrial CDOM, depleted dissolved oxygen (DO), stable isotopic delta H-2, and delta O-18 compared with other lake regions. Our results further revealed positive relationships between dissolved CH4 and CDOM absorption at 350 nm, i.e. a(350), COD, DOC, terrestrial humic-rich fluorophores, and DOM aromaticity, and negative relationships between dissolved CH4 and DO, delta H-2, and delta O-18. The central lake samples showed a major contribution of terrestrial-sourced molecular formulas to the ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry data, suggesting the presence of allochthonous DOM sources even here. We conclude that an elevated terrestrial CDOM input likely enhances dissolved CH4 levels in Lake Taihu.

Nutrient enrichment is a major cause of water eutrophication, and variations in nutrient enrichment are influenced by environmental changes and anthropogenic activities. Accurately estimating nutrient concentrations and understanding their relationships with environmental factors are vital to develop nutrient management strategies to mitigate eutrophication. Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) data is used to estimate nutrient concentrations and analyze their responses to hydrological and meteorological conditions. Two well-accepted empirical models are developed and validated to estimate the total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations (CTN and CTP) in the Xin'anjiang Reservoir using Landsat 8 OLI data from 2013 to 2016. Spatially, CTN decreased from the transition zone to the riverine zone and the lacustrine zone. On the other hand, CTP decreased from the riverine zone to the transition zone and the lacustrine zone. Temporally, CTN displayed elevated values during the late fall and winter and had lower values during the summer and early fall, whereas CTP was higher during the spring and lower during the winter. Among the environmental factors, the rainfall and the inflow rate have strong positive correlations with the nutrient concentrations. TN is more sensitive to meteorological factors (wind speed, temperature, sunshine duration), and the spatial driving forces vary among the different sections of the reservoir. However, TP is more easily influenced by human activities, such as fishery and agricultural activities. Current results would improve our understanding of the drivers of nutrients spatiotemporal variability and the approach in this study can be applicable to other similar reservoir to develop related strategies to mitigate eutrophication.

Multicolor luminescent carbon dots (Cdots) are of immense importance nowadays, while it still a challenge to construction of full-color light-emitting Cdots and their efficient solid-state materials. Here in, we fabricated a facile method to synthesize multicolor Cdots by adjustment of the reaction temperature. Although all samples showed uniform distribution of particles size and similar graphite structure, the surface chemical composition gradually varied among Cdots, especially the oxygen contents and nitrogen contents. Detailed material characterization has revealed that this tunable emission is results from the changes of the chemical composition. It is believed that the surface oxidation become more severe at high temperature, resulting in the formation of higher oxygen and nitrogen, which are responsible for the long-wavelength emission. Meanwhile, flexible solid-state materials were successfully created by combination of organosilane (OSi) and Cdots, which can be used to prevent the aggregation-induced solid-state fluorescence quenching. Finally, red Cdots/OSi was stacked on the Y 3 Al 5 O 12 :Ce 3+ (Ce 3+ : YAG) phosphor-in-glass (Ce-PiG) via tape-casting technology. Then, warm white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) were constructed by these materials and GaN chips. As the Cdots increases, the correlated color temperature (CCT) decreases while the color rendering index (CRI) increases, and the color coordinates shift towards the red region. The resulting color converting material produced a warm white by adjusting red Cdots content, which will be a promising candidate for applications in the warm WLED.

Perturbations of rainwater chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) fluorescence induced by changes in rainfall intensity and pH were investigated by field observations and laboratory pH titrations. Microbial humic-like fluorophores dominated the rainwater CDOM pool, followed by tryptophan-like and tyrosine-like substances. Increased rainfall intensity had notable dilution effects on all six fluorescent components (C1-C6) identified using parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis, the effect being especially pronounced for the microbial humic-like C1, tryptophan-like C3, and tyrosine-like C5. The results also indicated that increasing pH from 7 to 9 led to decreased fluorescence intensity (Fmax) of all the six components, while a pH increase from 5 to 7, resulted in increasing Fmax of terrestrial humic-like C2, tyrosine-like C5, and tryptophan-like C6 and decreasing microbial humic-like C1, tryptophan-like C3, and fulvic-like C4. Two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS) demonstrated that synchronous fluorescence responded first to pH modifications at fulvic-like wavelength (λEx/λEm = ∼316/416 nm), followed by tyrosine-like wavelength (λEx/λEm = ∼204/304 nm), tryptophan-like wavelength (λEx/λEm = ∼226/326 nm), microbial humic-like wavelength (∼295/395 nm), and finally terrestrial humic-like wavelength (∼360/460 nm). Our results suggest that a decrease in areas affected by acid rain in South China occurring at present may possibly result in apparent compositional changes of CDOM fluorescence. The decreased rainfall in South-West China and increased rainfall in North-West China during the past five decades may possibly accordingly result in increased and decreased Fmax of all the six components identified in South-West and North-West China, respectively.

The present study demonstrates that the ratio of fluorescence integration of peak C to peak T (IC:IT) can be used as an indicator tracing the compositional dynamics of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM). CDOM absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy and stable isotope δ13C were determined on a seasonal basis in seventeen Chinese inland waters as well as in a series of mixing and photodegradation experiments in the lab. A strong positive linear correlation was recorded between IC:IT and the ratio of terrestrial humic-like C1 to tryptophan-like C4 (C1:C4) derived by parallel factor analysis. The r2 for the linear fitting between IC:IT and C1:C4 (r2=0.80) was notably higher than between C1:C4 and other indices tested, including the ratio of CDOM absorption at 250nm to 365nm, i.e. a(250):a(365) (r2=0.09), spectral slope (S275-295) (r2=0.26), spectral slope ratio (SR) (r2=0.31), the humification index (HIX) (r2=0.47), the recent autochthonous biological contribution index (BIX) (r2=0.27), and a fluorescence index (FI370) (r2=0.07). IC:IT exhibited larger variability than the remaining six indices and a closer correlation with stable isotope δ13C than that observed for a(250):a(365), S275-295, SR, FI370, and BIX during field campaigns. Confirming our field observations, significant correlations were recorded between IC:IT and the remaining six indices, and IC:IT also demonstrated notably larger variability than the six other indices during our wastewater addition experiment. Compared with HIX, eutrophic water addition and photobleaching substantially decreased IC:IT but had no pronounced effect on a(250):a(365), S275-297, SR, FI370, and BIX, further suggesting that IC:IT is the most efficient indicator of the CDOM compositional dynamics.

Multiple spectroscopic technologies and chemometric analyses were combined to explore the compositional characteristics and Cu binding performance of biochar-derived dissolved organic matter (DOM). The DOM samples were extracted from biochars produced from lignocellulose-rich rapeseed cake (RSC) by pyrolysis at 300, 500, and 700 °C (i.e., RSC300, RSC500, RSC700). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and carbon K-edge near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (NEXAFS) analyses were combined to elucidate the molecular-level C species in the DOM. With the increasing pyrolysis temperature, DOM aromaticity increased, whereas the proportion of metal complexing sites (e.g., carboxyl and phenolic groups) decreased. Fluorescence excitation-emission matrix (EEM) spectroscopy with parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) indicated that biochar DOM, irrespective of pyrolysis temperature, was mostly composed of three types of humic-like components (C1–C3), and a small amount of a protein-like component (C4). As charring temperature increased, DOM concentrations decreased substantially, but the humic-like C3 with abundant aromatic structures became predominant. Fluorescence quenching experiment and two-dimensional correlation spectroscopy (2D-COS) analysis suggested that the preferential Cu(II) binding fractions of the DOM were the humic-like substances. Moreover, the quenching curve fitting results for individual components indicated that despite the Cu(II) binding affinity was slightly enhanced as the pyrolysis temperature increased, the binding capacities of the four components decreased. In general, the DOM components from RSC biochar exhibited limited Cu(II) binding capacities (2.18–17.7 μmol L−1). Results from this study improved understanding of the mechanisms by which biochar DOM interacts with Cu, and provided tools for fast screening of biochars to reduce their environmental risks.

The concentration, source and composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in aquatic ecosystems are associated with land use and hydrological connectivity between terrestrial and aquatic systems. However, direct evidence of the effects of rainfall and land use on the variability of DOM in aquatic ecosystems is very limited. In this study, chromophoric DOM (CDOM) absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy were used to elucidate how rainfall and land use affect the variability of CDOM in the watershed of Lake Tianmu, a key drinking water reservoir in the Yangtze River Delta. The mean values of the fluorescence intensity (Fmax) of parallel factor analysis-derived humic-like components (C1, C3, C6) and tryptophan-like components C5 were higher in the southeastern inflowing river mouths than those downstream of the lake outlet regions. The upstream tributaries were mainly dominated by humic-like materials, while the lake was mainly dominated by protein-like materials. The Fmax values of four humic-like components and two tryptophan-like components all increased significantly as the %woodland decreased, but %anthropogenic land use (%cropland + %urban construction area) increased. The Fmax of the humic-like components at the inflowing tributaries and the lake increased with increasing rainfall during storm events, and the value was especially pronounced at the inflowing river mouths. We concluded that land use and hydrological conditions play an important role in influencing the CDOM source and optical composition, and these findings provide insights for the understanding of aquatic ecosystem metabolism and reservoir water quality management.

Phytoplankton phenology critically affects elements biogeochemical cycles, ecosystem structure, and productivity. However, our understanding about the phenological process and driving mechanism is still very limited due to the shortage of long-term observation data. We used all available daily MODIS-Aqua data from 2003 to 2017 to determine bloom start dates (BSDs) in a typical trophic lake (Lake Taihu) and investigate how phytoplankton BSDs respond to climate change and environmental factors. The results indicate that BSDs have advanced 29.9 days for the entire Lake Taihu from 2003 to 2017. Spatially, an earlier phytoplankton bloom was recorded in the northern bays and the littoral regions than in the center of open water. Air temperature, wind speed, and N/P ratio (N, total nitrogen; P, total phosphorus) were three important factors affecting phytoplankton phenology. Multiple linear correlation showed that air temperature, wind speed, and N/P ratio in Spring could explain 59.9% variability of BSDs for Lake Taihu. This study provides a quantitative assessment of phytoplankton phenological shifts and elucidates the inter-relationship between phenology parameters and environmental factors, thus improving our understanding on the potential impact of climate change and eutrophication on lake ecosystems. The starting earlier and lasting longer of phytoplankton are consistent with the expected effects of climate warming on aquatic ecosystem in recent decades, which will bring new challenges for algal bloom management in eutrophic Lake Taihu.

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) from alpine glaciers is highly biolabile and plays a vital role in the biogeochemical cycle of meltwater-impacted environments. To unravel the composition and interactions of DOM with the bacterial community in glacier and glacier meltwater, we conducted sampling of two different Tibetan Plateau glaciers and carried out laboratory bio-incubation experiments. The field data revealed that four protein-like components accounted for 86.0 ± 11.9% of the total variability of all six fluorescence components, which suggests a predominantly microbial source of glacial chromophoric DOM (CDOM). The ice and meltwater samples displayed major contributions of molecular formulae associated with lipids and proteins (i.e. high H/C) as revealed by ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry. Multiple linear regression models revealed that the abundant phyla explain 64.2%, 61.3%, and 65.0% of the variability of microbial and terrestrial humic-like, and protein-like components, respectively. Correlation-based network analysis determined the metabolic niches of the bacterial community members associated with different fluorescence types in biogeochemical processes. Furthermore, laboratory DOM bio-incubation experiments confirmed that sub-components of the CDOM pool differentially participate in bacterial metabolism. We therefore conclude that the bacterial community interacted closely with the compositional variability of DOM in the investigated alpine glacial environments by both producing and consuming of DOM.

Globally, alpine glaciers hold a large quantity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and are headwaters of numerous rivers supporting downstream heterotrophic metabolism. However, it remains unclear how glacial coverage and distance from the glacial terminus affect the fate of DOM. Here, we elucidate DOM variability in glacial-fed streams on the Tibetan Plateau using field sampling and bioincubation experiments and compare our findings with the existing literature. We found that dissolved organic carbon, DOM absorption a(254), DOM aromaticity, and the relative abundance of lignin compounds in glacial-fed streams and rivers all increased with increasing distance from the glacial terminus and with decreasing glacial coverage. We also found that contribution of protein-like components, the relative abundance of aliphatic compounds, and DOM biolability increased with increasing glacial coverage and with decreasing distance from the glacial terminus. The ratio of glacial coverage to the logarithmic transformed distance from the glacial terminus was better than that of actual glacial coverage and distance from the glacial terminus in tracing the variability of glacial-fed stream DOM. Microbes in surface ice can produce biolabile DOM that is exported downstream with meltwater. This glacial-fed stream and river DOM is an important source of the highly bioavailable material fueling downstream heterotrophic activity.

Biological activity in lakes is strongly influenced by hydrodynamic conditions, not least turbulence intensity; which increases the encounter rate between plankter and nutrient patches. To investigate whether enhanced turbulence in shallow and eutrophic lakes may result in elevated biological production of autochthonous chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM), a combination of field campaigns and mesocosm experiments was used. Parallel factor analysis identified seven components: four protein-like, one microbial humic-like and two terrestrial humic-like components. During our field campaigns, elevated production of autochthonous CDOM was recorded in open water with higher wind speed and wave height than in inner bays, implying that elevated turbulence resulted in increased production of autochthonous CDOM. Confirming the field campaign results, in the mesocosm experiment enhanced turbulence resulted in a remarkably higher microbial humic-like C1 and tryptophan-like C3 (p

Field campaigns and an incubation experiment were conducted to evaluate the sources of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in black water spots in highly polluted regions of the Chinese Lake Taihu. A significant positive correlation (p

Underwater light attenuation plays an important role in modulating aquatic ecosystems and is considered a sentinel of climate change and human activity. However, knowledge of the long-term exposure of underwater ultraviolet radiation (UVR) in aquatic ecosystem is still very limited. We carried out extensive UVR measurements in different seasons in five lakes at different altitudes, collected long-term Secchi disk depth (SDD) data, developed the models between UVR diffuse attenuation coefficient (Kd) and SDD, and further assessed the long-term underwater UVR exposure. Observation results from five lakes including 259 samples showed large spatial variabilities of Kd(313) (UVB) from 0.83 to 5.91 m−1 and Kd(340) (UVA) from 0.51 to 4.67 m−1. Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorption coefficients were significantly correlated with Kd(313) and Kd(340). Thus, the effects of climate change and human activity on CDOM abundance, source and composition may significantly alter UVR attenuation in aquatic environments. The long-term underwater UVR exposure, which was estimated from significant positive correlations between 1/SDD and Kd(313) and Kd(340), and incident UVR, significantly decreased in Lake Fuxianhu, Lake Erhai, and Lake Qiandaohu. The regime shift from clear water state to turbid state in Lake Erhai around 2001–2003 dramatically decreased underwater UVR exposure. In conclusion, increasing UVR attenuation played a more important role in determining underwater UVR exposure than decreasing incident UVR with the relative contributions of 89.9% and 87.7% in Lake Fuxianhu, 98.0% and 97.7% in Lake Erhai, 94.4% and 92.5% in Lake Qiandaohu for UVB and UVA exposure, respectively. This is the first study to elucidate the long-term trend of underwater UVR exposure considering both increasing UVR attenuation and decreasing incident UVR.

Estuaries support the livelihood of ~75% of the world's population and maintain high primary production in coastal waters, which are often subjected to strong tides and anthropogenic disturbances. There is a paucity of information on how the optical composition and bioavailability of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) are influenced by tidal oscillations in estuaries with highly urbanized surrounding areas. We examined the semi-diurnal Qiantang Bore, one of the Earth's three most predominant tide bores, and found that dissolved organic carbon (DOC), CDOM absorption a(254) and terrestrial humic-like C1, tryptophan-like C2 and C5, fulvic-like C3, and microbial humic-like C4 decreased markedly with increasing salinity. This suggests that physical mixing of riverine freshwater and saltwater can shape the optical composition of CDOM in the estuary. This was supported by the semi-diurnally and hourly observations at Zhijiang (salinity ~0.1‰ upstream of the estuary) that DOC, bioavailable DOC (BDOC), C1–C2, and C4–C5 increased markedly with decreasing tidal level, while DOC and C1–C5 increased notably with increasing salinity. We further found δ 18 O was enriched with increasing tidal level, while tryptophan-like C2 and C5, and fulvic-like C3 decreased significantly with increasing tidal level at Zhapu (salinity ~7‰ downstream of the estuary). Furthermore, DOC, BDOC, C1, and C4 decreased, while δ 18 O and C3 increased markedly with increasing salinity. Further evidences come from the notably lower mean first principal component (PC1) scores at Zhijiang and Zhapu, both positively associated with anthropogenic tryptophan-like inputs, were observed during ebb than during flood tides, and PC1 at Zhijiang increased notably with increasing salinity. We conclude that anthropogenic inputs contributed primarily to the CDOM pool in the estuary and are mediated by the physical mixing of riverine freshwater and seawater, and ebb tides are often associated with enhanced anthropogenic CDOM with relatively high bioavailability.

The valley reservoirs service as a critical resource for society by providing drinking water, power generation, recreation, and maintaining biodiversity. Management and assessment of the water environment in valley reservoirs are urgent due to the recent eutrophication and water quality deterioration. As an essential component of the water body, total suspended matter (TSM) hinder the light availability to underwater and then affect the photosynthesis of aquatic ecosystem. We used long-term HJ-1A/B dataset to track TSM variation and elucidating the driving mechanism of valley reservoirs. Taking a typical deep-valley reservoir (Xin’anjing Reservoir) as our case study, we constructed a TSM model with satisfactory performance (R2, NRMSE, and MRE values are 0.85, 18.57%, and 20%) and further derived the spatial-temporal variation from 2009 to 2017. On an intra-annual scale, the TSM concentration exhibited a significant increase from 2.13 ± 1.10 mg L−1 in 2009 to 3.94 ± 0.82 mg L−1 in 2017. On a seasonal scale, the TSM concentration in the entire reservoir was higher in the summer (3.36 ± 1.54 mg L−1) and autumn (2.74 ± 0.82 mg L−1) than in the spring (1.84 ± 1.27 mg L−1) and winter (1.44 ± 2.12 mg L−1). On a monthly scale, the highest and lowest mean TSM value occurred in June (4.66 ± 0.45 mg L−1) and January (0.67 ± 1.50 mg L−1), and the monthly mean TSM value increased from January to June, then dropped from June to December. Combing HJ-1A/B-derived TSM, climatological data, basin dynamic, and morphology of the reservoir, we elucidated the driving mechanism of TSM variation. The annual increase of TSM from long-term HJ-1A/B data indicated that the water quality of Xin’anjiang Reservoir was decreasing. The annual increase of phytoplankton jointed with an increase of built-up land and decrease of forest land in the basin may partially be responsible for the increasing trend in TSM. This study suggested that combining the long-term remote sensing data and in situ data could provide insight into the driving mechanism of water quality dynamic and improve current management efforts for local environmental management.

Fluvial plain lake watersheds are usually highly urbanized and have high concentrations of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM). CDOM derived from the connecting urban channels usually share strong terrestrial and anthropogenic signals and net inflow runoff (Qnet) to the lake serves as a proxy of residential household sewage input. We investigate how Qnet controls the optical characteristics of CDOM in fluvial plain Lake Taihu and the connecting channels. CDOM absorption coefficient a(350), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), the fluorescence intensity (Fmax) of seven PARAFAC components C1-C7, and δ15N-TDN were higher in the northwestern relative to the other lake regions, and a(250)/a(365), spectral slope S275–295, and δ13C-DOM relative low in the northwestern lake, all indicating strong terrestrial and anthropogenic effects. Conversely, the urban land cover (%Cities), gross domestic product (GDP), and population density were relatively low in the western sub-watersheds and high in the eastern sub-watersheds. This apparent paradox reflects variations in Qnet from different sub-watersheds. Thus, significant positive relationships were found between Qnet and a(350), DOC, chemical oxygen demand (COD), chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), Fmax of C1-C3 and C6-C7, and %C2-%C3 in the five hydraulic sub-watersheds. We revealed significant positive relationships between mean a(350), DOC, COD, Chl-a, C1-C3 and C6, %C2-%C3, and the products of Qnet × %Cities, Qnet × GDP, and Qnet × population density. We further found dominant contribution of lignin to the total number of assigned formulas for the samples collected from the channels in the Huxi watershed and the central lake using high resolution mass spectroscopy. We conclude that Qnet is of key importance for the optical properties of CDOM molecules in the various regions of Lake Taihu and the connecting channels.

Lake Bosten is the largest oligosaline lake in arid northwestern China, and water from its tributaries and evaporation control the water balance of the lake. In this study, water quality and chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorption and fluorescence were investigated in different seasons to elucidate how hydraulic connectivity and evaporation may affect the water quality and variability of CDOM in the lake. Mean suspended solids and turbidity were significantly higher in the upstream tributaries than in the lake, the difference being notably more pronounced in the wet than in the dry season. A markedly higher mean first principal component (PC1) score, which was significantly positively related to protein-like components, and a considerably lower fluorescence peak integration ratio -I-C:I-T, indicative, of the terrestrial humic-like CDOM contribution percentage, were observed in the lake than in the upstream tributaries. Correspondingly, notably higher contribution percentages of terrestrial humiclike components were observed in the river mouth areas than in the remaining lake regions. Furthermore, significantly higher mean turbidity, and notably lower mean conductivity and salinity, were recorded in the southwestern Kaidu river mouth than. in the remaining lake regions in the wet season. Notably higher mean salinity is recorded in Lake Bosten than in upstream tributaries. Autochthonous protein-like associated amino-acids and also PC1 scores increased significantly with increasing salinity. We conclude that the dynamics of water quality and CDOM composition in remote arid Lake Bosten are strongly driven by evaporation and also the hydraulic connectivity between the upstream tributaries and the downstream lake. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Photochemical reactions and microbial activity often result in chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) being lost to downstream cycles. The role of a specific lake ecosystem serving as a sink for CDOM was elucidated in Lake Taihu, China. The lake was divided into CDOM-enriched and CDOM-depleted regions based on principal component analysis (PCA) results. The spatial distribution of molecular size ( M ), spectral slope ratio ( S R ) and humification index (HIX) of CDOM suggested that CDOM in Lake Taihu was mainly from exogenous sources. Parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) identified four components, including a microbially humic-like component (C1), two protein-like components (C2 and C3) and a terrestrial humic-like component (C4). Strong conservative mixing behaviors of C4 and C1 were observed in the lake, and River Yincun is likely responsible for high CDOM concentration in Zhushan Bay. Compared with C2, C3 seemed to be more independent of the terrestrial humic-like CDOM. HIX decreased and S R increased significantly from the CDOM-enriched region to the CDOM-depleted region ( t -test, p a (350), dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and summed fluorescence intensity of the four components in the CDOM-enriched region were significantly higher than in the CDOM-depleted region ( t -test, p 9 m 3 m − 1 yr − 1 and 16.91 × 10 3 t yr − 1 , respectively.

We characterized the composition and sources of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in rainwater, and assessed the relative contribution of rainwater CDOM to lake water in Lake Taihu based on rainwater collected during 35 rainfall events in 2012. Chemical analysis, ultraviolet–visible absorbance, and three-dimensional fluorescence spectroscopy were used to characterize CDOM. The CDOM absorption coefficient at 254 nm (a254) had a significant seasonal variation, with a mean of 3.67 ± 1.69 m−1 in the wet season (from April to early August), which was significantly lower than the means in the two dry seasons (8.26 ± 2.94 m−1 from January to March, and 7.60 ± 3.80 m−1 from late August to December). The mean humification index and the mean index of recent autochthonous contribution were 0.74 ± 0.48 and 1.31 ± 0.35, respectively, indicating that rainwater CDOM was dominated by an atmospheric microbial origin component. We identified four fluorescence components using parallel factor analysis modeling in the rainwater CDOM, i.e., two protein-like components (C1 and C2) and two fulvic-like components (C3 and C4), which had characteristics similar to those of protein and humic-like substances, respectively. The a254 was significantly and positively (p

Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is an important optically active substance in aquatic environments and plays a key role in light attenuation and in the carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus biogeochemical cycles. Although the optical properties, abundance, sources, cycles, compositions and remote sensing estimations of CDOM have been widely reported in different aquatic environments, little is known about the optical properties and composition changes in CDOM along trophic gradients. Therefore, we collected 821 samples from 22 lakes along a trophic gradient (oligotrophic to eutrophic) in China from 2004 to 2015 and determined the CDOM spectral absorption and nutrient concentrations. The total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and chlorophyll a (Chla) concentrations and the Secchi disk depth (SDD) ranged from 0.02 to 24.75 mg/L, 0.002–3.471 mg/L, 0.03–882.66 μg/L, and 0.05–17.30 m, respectively. The trophic state index (TSI) ranged from 1.55 to 98.91 and covered different trophic states, from oligotrophic to hyper-eutrophic. The CDOM absorption coefficient at 254 nm (a(254)) ranged from 1.68 to 92.65 m-1. Additionally, the CDOM sources and composition parameters, including the spectral slope and relative molecular size value, exhibited a substantial variability from the oligotrophic level to other trophic levels. The natural logarithm value of the CDOM absorption, lna(254), is highly linearly correlated with the TSI (r2 = 0.92, p 10 m−1, respectively. The results suggested that the CDOM absorption coefficient a(254) might be a more sensitive single indicator of the trophic state than TN, TP, Chla and SDD. Therefore, we proposed a CDOM absorption coefficient and determined the threshold for defining the trophic state of a lake. Several advantages of measuring and estimating CDOM, including rapid experimental measurements, potential in situ optical sensor measurements and large-spatial-scale remote sensing estimations, make it superior to traditional TSI techniques for the rapid monitoring and assessment of lake trophic states.

Chlorophyll-a (Chla) is an important indicator of water quality and eutrophication status. Monitoring Chla concentration (C Chla ) and understanding the interactions between C Chla and related environmental factors (hydrological and meteorological conditions, nutrients enrichment, etc.) are necessary for assessing and managing water quality and eutrophication. An acceptable Landsat 8 OLI-based empirical algorithm for C Chla has been developed and validated, with a mean absolute percentage error of 14.05% and a root mean square error of 1.10 μg L-1. A time series of remotely estimated C Chla was developed from 2013 to 2015 and examined the relationship of C Chla to inflow rate, rainfall, temperature, and sunshine duration. Spatially, C Chla values in the riverine zone were higher than in the transition and lacustrine zones. Temporally, mean C Chla value were ranked as spring > summer > autumn > winter. A significant positive correlation [Pearson correlation coefficient (r) = 0.88, p

Natural surface drinking water sources with the increasing chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) have profound influences on the aquatic environment and drinking water safety. Here, this study investigated the spatiotemporal variations of CDOM in Fengshuba Reservoir and its catchments in China. Twenty-four surface water samples, 45 water samples (including surface water, middle water, and bottom water), and 15 pore water samples were collected from rivers, reservoir, and sediment of the reservoir, respectively. Then, three fluorescent components, namely two humic-like components (C1 and C2) and a tryptophan-like component (C3), were identified from the excitation-emission matrix coupled with parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC) for all samples. For spatial distributions, the levels of CDOM and two humic-like components in the reservoir were significantly lower than those in the upstream rivers (p

This study presents results from field surveys performed over various seasons in a large, eutrophic, shallow lake (Lake Taihu, China) using an in situ chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) fluorescence sensor as a surrogate for other water quality parameters. These measurements identified highly significant empirical relationships between CDOM concentration measured using the in situ fluorescence sensor and CDOM absorption, fluorescence, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total phosphorus (TP) concentrations. CDOM concentration expressed in quinine sulfate equivalent units, was highly correlated with the CDOM absorption coefficient (r2 = 0.80, p < 0.001), fluorescence intensities (Ex./Em. 370/460 nm) (r2 = 0.91, p < 0.001), the fluorescence index (r2 = 0.88, p < 0.001) and the humification index (r2 = 0.78, p < 0.001), suggesting that CDOM concentration measured using the in situ fluorescence sensor could act as a substitute for the CDOM absorption coefficient and fluorescence measured in the laboratory. Similarly, CDOM concentration was highly correlated with DOC concentration (r2 = 0.68, p < 0.001), indicating that in situ CDOM fluorescence sensor measurements could be a proxy for DOC concentration. In addition, significant positive correlations were found between laboratory CDOM absorption coefficients and COD (r2 = 0.83, p < 0.001), TP (r2 = 0.82, p < 0.001) concentrations, suggesting a potential further application for the real-time monitoring of water quality using an in situ CDOM fluorescence sensor.

The global application of nitrogen is far greater than phosphorus, and it is widely involved in the eutrophication of lakes and reservoirs. We used a bibliometric method to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate nitrogen research in eutrophic lakes and reservoirs to reveal research developments, current research hotspots, and emerging trends in this area. A total of 2695 articles in the past 25years from the online database of the Scientific Citation Index Expended (SCI-Expanded) were analyzed. Articles in this area increased exponentially from 1991 to 2015. Although the USA was the most productive country over the past 25years, China achieved the top position in terms of yearly publications after 2010. The most active keywords related to nitrogen in the past 25years included phosphorus, nutrients, sediment, chlorophyll-a, carbon, phytoplankton, cyanobacteria, water quality, modeling, and stable isotopes, based on analysis within 5-year intervals from 1991 to 2015 as well as the entire past 25years. In addition, researchers have drawn increasing attention to denitrification, climate change, and internal loading. Future trends in this area should focus on: (1) nutrient amounts, ratios, and major nitrogen sources leading to eutrophication; (2) nitrogen transformation and the bioavailability of different nitrogen forms; (3) nitrogen budget, mass balance model, control, and management; (4) ecosystem responses to nitrogen enrichment and reduction, as well as the relationships between these responses; and (5) interactions between nitrogen and other stressors (e.g., light intensity, carbon, phosphorus, toxic contaminants, climate change, and hydrological variations) in terms of eutrophication.

Microcystins (MCs) produced by cyanobacteria pose a serious threat to public health. Intelligence on MCs distributions in freshwater is therefore critical for environmental agencies, water authorities, and public health organizations. We developed and validated an empirical model to quantify MCs in Lake Taihu during cyanobacterial bloom periods using the atmospherically Rayleigh-corrected moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS-Aqua) (Rrc) products and in situ data by means of chlorophyll a concentrations (Chla). First, robust relationships were constructed between MCs and Chla (r = 0.91; p < 0.001; t-test) and between Chla and a spectral index derived from Rrc (r = -0.86; p < 0.05; t-test). Then, a regional algorithm to analyze MCs in Lake Taihu was constructed by combining the two relationships. The model was validated and then applied to an 11-year series of MODIS-Aqua data to investigate the spatial and temporal distributions of MCs. MCs in the lake were markedly variable both spatially and temporally. Cyanobacterial bloom scums, temperature, wind, and light conditions probably affected the temporal and spatial distribution of MCs in Lake Taihu. The findings demonstrate that remote sensing reconnaissance in conjunction with in situ monitoring can greatly aid MCs assessment in freshwater.

Surface drinking water sources have been threatened globally and there have been few attempts to detect point-source contamination in these waters using chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) fluorescence. To determine the optimal wavelength derived from CDOM fluorescence as an indicator of point-source contamination in drinking waters, a combination of field campaigns in Lake Qiandao and a laboratory wastewater addition experiment was used. Parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis identified six components, including three humic-like, two tryptophan-like, and one tyrosine-like component. All metrics showed strong correlation with wastewater addition (r(2) > 0.90, p

High concentrations of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) are terrestrially derived from upstream tributaries to Lake Taihu, China, and are influenced by hydrological conditions of the upstream watershed. To investigate how the dynamics of CDOM in Lake Taihu are influenced by upstream inflow runoff, four sampling cruises, differing in hydrological conditions, were undertaken in the lake and its three major tributaries, rivers Yincun, Dapu, and Changdou. CDOM absorption, fluorescence spectroscopy, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and stable isotope δ13C and δ15N measurements were conducted to characterize the dynamics of CDOM. The mean absorption coefficient a(350) collected from the three river profiles (5.15 ± 1.92 m−1) was significantly higher than that of the lake (2.95 ± 1.88 m−1), indicating that the upstream rivers carried a substantial load of CDOM to the lake. This finding was substantiated by the exclusively terrestrial signal exhibited by the level of δ13C (−26.23 ± 0.49‰) of CDOM samples collected from the rivers. Mean a(350) and COD in Lake Taihu were significantly higher in the wet season than in the dry season (t test, p

CDOM biogeochemical cycle is driven by several physical and biological processes such as river input, biogeneration and photobleaching that act as primary sinks and sources of CDOM. Watershed-derived allochthonous (WDA) and phytoplankton-derived autochthonous (PDA) CDOM were exposed to 9 days of natural solar radiation to assess the photobleaching response of different CDOM sources, using absorption and fluorescence (excitation-emission matrix) spectroscopy. Our results showed a marked decrease in total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) concentration under natural sunlight exposure for both WDA and PDA CDOM, indicating photoproduction of ammonium from TDN. In contrast, photobleaching caused a marked increase in total dissolved phosphorus (TDP) concentration for both WDA and PDA CDOM. Thus TDN:TDP ratios decreased significantly both for WDA and PDA CDOM, which partially explained the seasonal dynamic of TDN:TDP ratio in Lake Taihu. Photobleaching rate of CDOM absorption a(254), was 0.032 m/MJ for WDA CDOM and 0.051 m/MJ for PDA CDOM from days 0-9, indicating that phototransformations were initially more rapid for the newly produced CDOM from phytoplankton than for the river CDOM. Extrapolation of these values to the field indicated that 3.9%-5.1% CDOM at the water surface was photobleached and mineralized every day in summer in Lake Taihu. Photobleaching caused the increase of spectral slope, spectral slope ratio and molecular size, indicating the CDOM mean molecular weight decrease which was favorable to further microbial degradation of mineralization. Three fluorescent components were validated in parallel factor analysis models calculated separately for WDA and PDA CDOM. Our study suggests that the humic-like fluorescence materials could be rapidly and easily photobleached for WDA and PDA CDOM, but the protein-like fluorescence materials was not photobleached and even increased from the transformation of the humic-like fluorescence substance to the protein-like fluorescence substance. Photobleaching was an important driver of CDOM and nutrients biogeochemistry in lake water.