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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Effect of fluctuating oxygen concentration on iron oxidation at the pelagic ferrocline of a meromictic lake

Jenny Bravidor A C , Julika Kreling B , Andreas Lorke B and Matthias Koschorreck A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A UFZ – Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Department of Lake Research, Brückstraße 3a, D-39114 Magdeburg, Germany.

B University of Koblenz–Landau, Institute for Environmental Sciences, Fortstraße 7, D-76829 Landau, Germany.

C Corresponding author. Email: jenny.bravidor@ufz.de

Environmental Chemistry 12(6) 723-730 https://doi.org/10.1071/EN14215
Submitted: 6 October 2014  Accepted: 8 February 2015   Published: 20 May 2015

Environmental context. The cycling of iron plays an important role in pelagic boundary zones such as the oxic–anoxic interface where physical and chemical gradients occur. The turnover of iron in this zone depends on oxygen fluctuation and the duration of the fluctuation event. This study increases the understanding of biogeochemical iron transformation in such hotspots.

Abstract. In stratified iron-rich lakes, the interface between oxic and anoxic water bodies, the oxycline, is accompanied by a steep gradient of dissolved iron, the ferrocline. It is a hotspot of biogeochemical transformations, namely the cycling of iron (Fe). The rate of iron oxidation, both chemical and microbial, depends on pH, iron and oxygen concentration, and microbial activity. We investigated the ferrocline of the meromictic Lake Waldsee to find out how the ferrocline is influenced by fluctuating oxygen concentrations. We measured diurnal fluctuations of Fe2+, O2 and pH along vertical profiles during two campaigns in July and September 2011 as well as rates of iron oxidation in laboratory incubations. The oxygen content of the water column varied both between the campaigns and diurnally. We observed a diurnal intrusion of O2 into the ferrocline. The diurnal signal was visible in the iron profile in July but not in September. Iron oxidation rates determined in the laboratory demonstrate the importance of microbial iron reduction and the strong pH dependency. We related the reaction timescales for iron oxidation to the characteristic timescale of oxygen fluctuations by calculating non-dimensional numbers. This analysis showed that an oxygenation event had to last at least 10 h in order to affect the depth and vertical extent of the ferrocline, which was the case in July but not in September. Our results show that the duration of events can be an important parameter regulating biogeochemical interactions in pelagic redoxclines.

Additional keywords: ferrous iron, ferrous oxidation, oxycline, pelagic water.


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