Alteration of the Copper-Binding Capacity of Iron ... - ACS Publications

Feb 20, 2017 - To investigate the variations in quantity and quality of these exports, adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry (CSV) was used to cha...
0 downloads 0 Views 1MB Size
Subscriber access provided by Fudan University

Article

Alteration of the copper-binding capacity of iron-rich humic colloids during transport from peatland to marine waters Francois Muller, and Marco Cuscov Environ. Sci. Technol., Just Accepted Manuscript • DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.6b05303 • Publication Date (Web): 20 Feb 2017 Downloaded from http://pubs.acs.org on February 21, 2017

Just Accepted “Just Accepted” manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication. They are posted online prior to technical editing, formatting for publication and author proofing. The American Chemical Society provides “Just Accepted” as a free service to the research community to expedite the dissemination of scientific material as soon as possible after acceptance. “Just Accepted” manuscripts appear in full in PDF format accompanied by an HTML abstract. “Just Accepted” manuscripts have been fully peer reviewed, but should not be considered the official version of record. They are accessible to all readers and citable by the Digital Object Identifier (DOI®). “Just Accepted” is an optional service offered to authors. Therefore, the “Just Accepted” Web site may not include all articles that will be published in the journal. After a manuscript is technically edited and formatted, it will be removed from the “Just Accepted” Web site and published as an ASAP article. Note that technical editing may introduce minor changes to the manuscript text and/or graphics which could affect content, and all legal disclaimers and ethical guidelines that apply to the journal pertain. ACS cannot be held responsible for errors or consequences arising from the use of information contained in these “Just Accepted” manuscripts.

Environmental Science & Technology is published by the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street N.W., Washington, DC 20036 Published by American Chemical Society. Copyright © American Chemical Society. However, no copyright claim is made to original U.S. Government works, or works produced by employees of any Commonwealth realm Crown government in the course of their duties.

Page 1 of 33

Environmental Science & Technology

Abstract Art 338x190mm (96 x 96 DPI)

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Environmental Science & Technology

1 2

Alteration of the copper-binding capacity of iron-rich humic colloids during transport from peatland to marine waters

3 4

François L. L. Muller*† and Marco Cuscov†

5 6 7 8

† Environmental Research Institute, University of the Highlands and Islands, Castle Street, Thurso KW14 7JD, United Kingdom

9 10 11

Corresponding author: *Dr François Muller

12

E-mail: [email protected]

13

Tel: +44 1837 893575

1 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 2 of 33

Page 3 of 33

Environmental Science & Technology

14

ABSTRACT

15

Blanket bogs contain vast amounts of Sphagnum-derived organic substances which can act as

16

powerful chelators for dissolved iron and thus enhance its export to the coastal ocean. To

17

investigate the variations in quantity and quality of these exports, adsorptive cathodic stripping

18

voltammetry (CSV) was used to characterise the metal binding properties of molecular weight-

19

fractionated dissolved organic matter (MW-fractionated DOM) in the catchment and coastal

20

plume of a small peat-draining river over a seasonal cycle. Within the plume, both iron- and

21

copper-binding organic ligands showed a linear, conservative distribution with increasing

22

salinity, illustrating the high stability of peatland-derived humic substances (HS). Within the

23

catchment, humic colloids lost up to 50% of their copper-binding capacity, expressed as a molar

24

ratio to organic carbon, after residing for 1 week or more in the main reservoir of the catchment.

25

Immediately downstream of the reservoir, the molar ratio [L2]/[Corg], where L2 was the second

26

strongest copper-binding ligand, was 0.75 × 10-4 when the reservoir residence time was 5 hours

27

but 0.34 × 10-4 when it was 25 days. Residence time did not affect the carbon specific iron-

28

binding capacity of the humic substances which was [L]/[Corg] = (0.80 ± 0.20) × 10-2. Our

29

results suggest that the loss of copper-binding capacity with increasing residence time is caused

30

by intra-colloidal interactions between iron and HS during transit from peat soil to river mouth.

2 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Environmental Science & Technology

31

INTRODUCTION

32

Iron is an essential yet often growth limiting trace element for all marine organisms.1 Until now,

33

the most important external source of dissolved iron to the ocean has been thought to be

34

dissolution from aeolian dust.2 Additional sources include reductive and non-reductive release

35

from sediments,3,4 hydrothermal venting,5,6 iceberg inputs7 and riverine inputs.8−10 The latter

36

have conventionally been regarded as an almost negligible source of iron to the open ocean on

37

account of the well documented pattern of iron colloid aggregation taking place in the

38

freshwater-seawater mixing zone.11,12 However, new evidence has emerged to the effect that

39

iron associated with humic (and fulvic) acids can survive aggregation processes and possibly

40

reach the open ocean.9,13 This hitherto unsuspected behaviour has led a number of authors to

41

hypothesize that peatland runoff contributes significantly to the standing stock of iron and iron-

42

binding ligands in the global ocean, especially in the < 1 kDa MW fraction13,14. Both Sphagnum-

43

derived humic substances (HS)14 and vascular plant degradation products such as lignin

44

oligomers15 may play an important role as iron-binding ligands. Given some types of peatlands

45

such as blanket bogs have close connections to coastal seas, it is clear that large quantities of

46

soluble iron leaching from these landscapes might be delivered to the coastal ocean.

47

One aspect of the aquatic transport of carbon and iron which has received relatively little

48

attention concerns the fluvial processing of the humic-bound iron. There is little understanding

49

of how and when DOM is transformed along the headstream to sea continuum, and what

50

consequences this has for iron and trace element transport.

51

Here we report on the results of an intensive field and laboratory study conducted from

52

the headwater stream to the coastal plume of River Thurso, a humic-rich, iron-rich river linking

53

the peatlands of the Flow Country, North Scotland, to the NE Atlantic Ocean. We examined

54

simultaneously the seasonal variations of organic carbon (Corg), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), iron

55

ligands (L) and copper ligands (L1, L2, L3) along the aquatic continuum between the headwater 3 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 4 of 33

Page 5 of 33

Environmental Science & Technology

56

stream and the leading edge of the coastal plume. We chose our sampling dates to represent very

57

different flow conditions ranging from very low (exceeded for 99% of the 40-year flow record)

58

to very high (exceeded only 0.5% of the time). Our aim was then to address the following

59

questions: (1) How does peatland hydrology influence the concentration and MW distribution of

60

iron and iron-binding ligands associated with humic material? (2) How is this source material

61

altered during its transfer from peat soils to river mouth? (3) Does the high content of humic-

62

bound Fe have a competitive effect on Cu complexation by HS and, if so, can that effect be

63

described in terms of changing Cu-binding parameters with time? The river-ocean system we

64

chose was ideally suited to answering these questions. Indeed, the river-borne material was

65

dominated by soluble or colloidal HS known to be highly resistant to flocculation10,16,17 and also

66

not susceptible to co-precipitation on account of the very low concentrations of suspended

67

particulate matter. In addition, the river discharge regime exhibited large seasonal variations

68

which allowed us to examine a range of water transfer times spanning two orders of magnitude.

69

Organic carbon was measured together with organic binding parameters for iron and

70

copper in each of four MW fractions referred to as ‘low molecular weight’ (LMW < 1 kDa),

71

small colloids (1−5 kDa), medium size colloids (5−30 kDa) and larger colloids or ‘higher

72

molecular weight’ (HMW > 30 kDa). A separate but complementary study was conducted to

73

determine if it was possible to visualise humic colloids in river water and seawater by scanning

74

electron microscopy (SEM) using the WetSEM technology. Energy dispersive X-ray analyses

75

of individual colloids confirmed our assumption that iron did not occur as an inorganic solid

76

phase but instead was entirely bound to organic substances.

77

78

MATERIALS AND METHODS

4 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Environmental Science & Technology

79

Materials and reagents. Materials used in sampling, sample processing and analysis

80

should neither absorb nor release the target analyte (Corg, Fe or Cu) or any substance that

81

interferes with the analysis of the metal binding ligands. This was explicitly and rigorously

82

tested in the processing of the samples by ultrafiltration, as described in the Supporting

83

Information (S4−S7; Table S2).

84

Study area, sample collection and filtration. The study area was chosen to include a

85

continuum of HS transformations during water transfer from a small peat draining stream

86

(transporter) to a lake (receptor zone), a river (transporter), and finally the river’s coastal plume

87

(mixing zone) which underwent advection and mixing with surrounding ocean waters. Details of

88

the study area, sampling and filtration procedures are summarised in the Supporting

89

Information. At each site (Figure S1), 4 litres of surface water were collected in a pre-cleaned 4-

90

L low density polyethylene (LDPE) bottle for same-day filtration through 0.45-µm filters.

91

Sampling took place on 1 February, 25 May, 10 September and 3 November 2013,

92

corresponding to river flows (measured halfway between Sites 2 and 3) of 23, 6, 0.8 and 141 m3

93

s-1, respectively. An approximate residence time of water in the lake (Loch More) was

94

calculated as the time it would take to empty the lake, i.e. summing up the daily river flows from

95

day 0 (sampling date) and going back through time until the volume of Loch More was

96

accounted for (data source: Scottish Environment Protection Agency).

97 98

Determination of pH, TA, DOC and freshwater cations. These water quality variables were measured according to methods described in the Supporting Information (S7).

99

Ultrafiltration. Separation of the colloids into three size classes (> 30 kDa, 5−30 kDa

100

and 1−5 kDa) was performed using a Sartoflow CFF system (Sartorius) equipped with two

101

membrane cartridges of 0.1 m2 surface area each. Ultrafiltration was carried out in cascade,

102

starting with the 30-kDa ultrafiltration of 1 L of 0.4 µm filtered sample, using the permeate as

103

the feed solution for the 5-kDa ultrafiltration, and so on until a final volume of about 0.8 L of 5 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 6 of 33

Page 7 of 33

Environmental Science & Technology

104

the 1-kDa permeate was collected. Each fractionation was stopped when the retentate volume in

105

the reservoir reached 50 ml. The colloids were then ‘washed’ of unwanted solutes by

106

exchanging the solution with 150 ml of UV-irradiated (90 min), Chelex batch equilibrated (48

107

h), ionic-strength adjusted seawater, while keeping the solution volume constant at 50 ml.

108

Freshwater colloids (Sites 1−3) were exchanged with purified seawater of salinity 5 (ionic

109

strength 0.1 M): this value facilitated direct comparison of the freshwater and estuarine data

110

without inducing any significant aggregation of either individual macromolecules (to form

111

dimers, trimers and tetramers) or small colloids which have been shown to form larger colloids

112

in response to a salinity increase from 4 to 12 in this system16. A further 450 ml of the dilute

113

clean seawater medium was then added to generate 500 ml of retentate fraction which was

114

collected in a 500-ml FEP bottle and kept in the dark at 4°C pending analysis. Details of the full

115

operating conditions and validation procedures are given in the Supporting Information (S4−S7,

116

Tables S1 and S2). The isolation of colloidal matter for SEM imaging and EDX analysis was

117

carried out with a 5-kDa Hydrosart membrane in the continuous diafiltration mode according

118

to methods described in the Supporting Information. A relatively low ionic strength (0.01 M),

119

pH 8.4 ultrapure chloride-ammonium buffer was used as the exchange medium in order to

120

enhance the negative charge and thus the adsorption of the humic colloids on the Quantomix

121

membrane.

122

Total metal determinations. Total Fe and Cu concentrations in the bulk samples (
30 kDa; 5−30 kDa; 1−5 kDa; < 1 kDa) were determined by

124

competitive ligand equilibration cathodic stripping voltammetry (CLE-CSV) after storage for at

125

least two weeks at pH 1.9 followed by either microwave digestion (which has been

126

demonstrated to lead to quantitative recovery of total Fe) 9 or UV digestion (for Cu). Detailed

127

information on the analysis can be found in the Supporting Information.

6 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Environmental Science & Technology

128

Titration of Fe-binding ligands. Each sample fraction was distributed between ten

129

Teflon vials (Bohlender) holding a 10-ml aliquot buffered with 10 nM borate buffer. These were

130

equilibrated with Fe3+ additions to give a range of 0−50 nM Fe for the seawater samples (Site 7)

131

and a range of 0−1000 nM for freshwater samples (Sites 1, 2 and 3; diluted with 0.1 M seawater

132

solution). The added Fe3+ was allowed to equilibrate with the natural Fe-binding ligands for 2 h,

133

at which point 2, 5, 15, 50 or 100 µM of salicylaldoxime (SA) was added to each aliquot and

134

allowed to equilibrate for 12 h. Each of the ten aliquots was then analysed for labile Fe by CSV

135

18,19

136

the equation describing the titration curve,20 as described in the Supporting Information

137

(S8−S9). This data treatment produced the Fe-binding ligand concentration, [L], and the

138

conditional stability constant of the Fe-L complex, K’Fe’L, where Fe’ denotes the sum of all

139

inorganic complexes of Fe3+.

in the voltammetric cell. The titration data were interpreted using a nonlinear regression to

140

Titration of Cu-binding ligands. Ten 10-ml aliquots were pipetted into Teflon vials

141

and each was buffered with a final concentration of borate-ammonium buffer of 10 mM and a

142

final pH of 8.2. The aliquots were spiked with Cu2+ concentrations in the range of 0−5 or 0−15

143

nM (depending on the initial total Cu concentration). After an equilibration time of 2 h, 2.5 µM

144

SA was added to each vial and the vials were left to equilibrate for 12 h. Labile Cu was

145

measured in each vial by CSV.21,22 In order to widen the detection window of Cu complexes,

146

high-affinity Cu ligands were also determined in a separate, so-called ‘reverse’ titration:23 this

147

titration was carried out with incremental additions of the competing ligand SA, at the natural

148

concentration level of Cu. By combining the results of the forward and reverse titrations, we

149

obtained two sets of Cu-binding parameters denoted ([L1], K1’) and ([L2], K2’), as described in

150

the Supporting Information (S10−S12). It is important to note that unlike K’Fe’L, which is relative

151

to [Fe’], K1’ and K2’ are the conditional stability constants expressed in terms of [Cu2+].

7 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 8 of 33

Page 9 of 33

Environmental Science & Technology

152

Observation of aquatic colloids with a new analytical procedure and imaging by

153

SEM. We developed a procedure to visualise individual aquatic humic colloids for the first time

154

in natural waters. The main objective was to find out whether Fe was homogeneously distributed

155

within the organic matrix or whether small Fe oxide entities were also present. The procedure is

156

described on page S13 of Supporting Information.

157

158

RESULTS

159

The full dataset is presented in Tables S3−S10. In these tables and the following

160

sections, the < 1 kDa MW fraction is the ‘truly dissolved’ or LMW fraction while the > 30 kDa

161

MW fraction is referred to as the HMW fraction. The sum of the 1−5, 5−30 and > 30 kDa

162

fractions is referred to as the ‘colloidal fraction’. Sample collection sites (Figure S1) are

163

categorised as ‘headwater’ (Site 1), ‘river water’ (Sites 2−3) and ‘coastal’ or ‘river plume

164

waters’ (Sites 4−7).

165

Size distributions of Corg, Fe and Cu. These are represented as histograms in Figure 1

166

Sites 1, 3 and 7 were chosen to illustrate peatland water, river water and seawater, respectively.

167

Irrespective of season, Corg, Fe and Cu showed distinct size distributions. Organic carbon

168

distributions among the four MW fractions showed a good deal of seasonal variability in

169

freshwater samples whereas a slight maximum was evident in the 1−5 kDa range in seawater

170

irrespective of season. Iron showed a local maximum between 1 and 5 kDa superimposed on a

171

general increase with increasing MW. Copper was preferentially associated with the LMW

172

fraction and decreased with increasing MW, except at the marine site where its distribution

173

became featureless (Figure 1). These general patterns were reproducible across the four

174

sampling seasons. The proportions of Corg, Fe and Cu associated with the HMW fraction were at

175

their highest in February and November (high river flow). For each MW fraction, one-way 8 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Environmental Science & Technology

176

ANOVA was carried out to study the effect of rainfall (as quantified by river flow) on the

177

relative abundance of Corg, Fe, Cu and their ligands in that fraction. Proportions of Fe, Cu, L1

178

and L2 decreased significantly (p < 0.05) with increasing river flow in the LMW fraction;

179

proportions of Fe and L decreased significantly with increasing river flow in the 1−5 kDa

180

fraction; proportions of Corg, Cu, L1 and L2 increased significantly with increasing river flow in

181

the 5−30 kDa fraction; proportions of Corg, Fe and L increased significantly with increasing river

182

flow in the HMW fraction (Tables S11 and S12). To summarise, whenever ANOVA detected

183

differences linked with increasing river flow, these differences always corresponded to relative

184

decreases of the < 1 kDa and 1−5 kDa fractions, and relative increases of the 5−30 kDa and > 30

185

kDa fractions.

186

Fe speciation in the bulk and size-fractionated samples. Iron concentrations, Fe-

187

binding ligand concentrations (expressed as molar Fe equivalents) and conditional stability

188

constants of Fe complexes with organic ligands are presented in Tables S7-S10. One ligand

189

class was detected throughout, referred to simply as L. Iron and Fe-binding ligand

190

concentrations, denoted [FeT] and [L] respectively, co-varied along the freshwater-seawater

191

continuum, ranging from 5000−20,000 nM in the peatland stream to 80−200 nM in the far-field

192

plume. Previous studies19,23 had led us to expect an insignificant effect of ionic strength on K’

193

over the range 0.1−0.7 M, as was indeed the case. The degree of association of L with LMW

194

components generally increased from freshwater (7−22%) to seawater (18−34%), except in the

195

November survey where it was 7−11% throughout. The relative importance of the LMW

196

fraction recorded at any given point downstream of Loch More increased with decreasing river

197

flow. This trend was most pronounced at Site 2, near the outlet of Loch More, where the

198

proportion of iron-binding ligands associated with the LMW fraction was 25% on 10 Sep (base

199

flow), 17% on 25 May (near average flow) and 10−11% on 1 Feb and 3 Nov (high flow).

200

Finally, a significant negative relationship (r2 = 0.49, p < 0.05, n = 12) was found between the 9 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 10 of 33

Page 11 of 33

Environmental Science & Technology

201

percentage of LMW ligands in river samples and the value log K’ for the complex formation

202

between Fe and the total ligand pool (Figure S2). This dependence of log K’ on %[L]LMW

203

suggested a stronger association of Fe to the HMW than to the LMW components of HS.

204

However, speciation analyses of the isolated fractions could not validate this theory. Instead, log

205

K’ values measured on the isolated fractions showed no significant dependence on the MW cut-

206

off of the ultrafiltration membranes: log K’ = 10.93 ± 0.34 (< 1 kDa), log K’ = 10.90 ± 0.27

207

(1−5 kDa), log K’ = 11.01 ± 0.27 (5−30 kDa) and log K’ = 11.05 ± 0.24 (> 30 kDa).

208

Cu speciation in the bulk and size-fractionated samples. Copper speciation results are

209

presented in Tables S7-S10. Up to three ligands falling into distinct log K’ classes were detected

210

in the headwater stream (Site 1): these ligands were denoted L1 (15.1 < log K1’< 15.7), L2 (12.2

211

< log K2’< 13.0) and L3 (10.2 < log K1’< 11.0). Two ligands were detected in the plume waters

212

(Sites 4−7); their log K’ values were aligned with the above Class 1 and Class 2 and as such

213

these ligands are also referred to as L1 and L2. In all the surveys, L1 decreased linearly from [L1]

214

= 4−12 nM at S = 0 to [L1] = 0.7−1.3 at S = 35 throughout the coastal plume. By contrast,

215

variations of L2 showed non-linearity in the plot between S = 0 and S = 35, except in the

216

September survey (Figure S3). Concerning the distribution of Cu-binding ligands among the

217

different size classes, a relative shift towards LMW with decreasing river flow was recorded at

218

Sites 1−3. All sites combined, the proportion of L1 associated with the LMW fraction was

219

54−64% on 10 Sep (base flow), 42−62% on 25 May (near average flow), 24−39% on 1 Feb

220

(high flow) and 19−23% on 3 Nov (very high flow). The proportion of L2 associated with the

221

LMW fraction was 47−62% on 10 Sep (base flow), 42−58% on 25 May (near average flow),

222

33−59% on 1 Feb (high flow) and 33−44% on 3 Nov (very high flow). Finally, there was no

223

significant dependence of log K’ values measured on isolated fractions on the MW cut-off.

224

Morphology, size and composition of isolated aquatic colloids. SEM images of

225

colloidal matter isolated from Site 3 (Figure S4a, 1 Feb; Figure S4c, 3 Nov) and Site 6 (Figure 10 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Environmental Science & Technology

226

S4b, 1 Feb; Figure S4d, 3 Nov) revealed a disperse population of very similar, almost spherical

227

particles with diameter between 100 and 400 nm. No significant degree of aggregation to

228

produce particles larger than 0.45 µm could therefore be inferred from these images, despite the

229

lengthy CFF processing which had resulted in retentate colloidal concentrations 10 times (Site

230

3) or 80 times (Site 6) greater than ambient concentrations. Conversely, colloids smaller than

231

100 nm, expected to be very abundant, could not be seen on these images because the SEM

232

resolution of low-contrast material such as DOM was in the region of 100 nm. With this

233

observation in mind, and also bearing in mind that DOM preconcentration must have induced

234

agglomeration of some of the LMW species, it must be stressed that the images in Fig. S4 do not

235

reflect the ‘true’ DOM size distribution. EDX analyses produced spectra (Figure S4) which

236

were indistinguishable from those of complexes formed between humic substances and Fe.24

237

238

DISCUSSION

239

Positioning the freshwaters of this study in terms of their [Fe]/[Corg] molar ratio

240

with respect to other boreal bog-draining surface waters. To put this work in a broader

241

perspective, it is worth comparing the range of [Fe]/[Corg] values recorded in the 0.45-µm

242

filtered samples throughout our catchment (0.5−2.0 × 10-2) with those reported in other peatland

243

streams and ponds of the northern hemisphere, i.e. Alaska (0.3−1.8 × 10-2),25 Canada (0.2−3.3 ×

244

10-2),26 Austria (1.4−2.8 × 10-2),27 southern Sweden (2.6−5.1 × 10-2),28 Finland (3.4 × 10-2)29 and

245

NW Russia (0.3−6.2 × 10-2).30,31 It is interesting to note that our range overlaps with those of

246

studies where filterable Fe occurred in part as (oxyhydr)oxide nanoparticles and nanoparticulate

247

aggregates. Even so, our Fe speciation results or SEM images (discussed below) produced no

248

evidence that Fe (oxyhydroxide) minerals were present.

11 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 12 of 33

Page 13 of 33

Environmental Science & Technology

249

Season- and hydrology-dependent changes in the size distribution and metal

250

binding properties of headstream DOM. In natural waters where both organic carbon and iron

251

are abundant, Fe-rich nano-oxides may be coprecipitated with organic matter or organic matter

252

may be adsorbed on the mineral surfaces.32−34 Either way, the surface charge density of the

253

colloids is likely to be dictated by the presence of humic and fulvic acid groups.35 Therefore,

254

organic-Fe colloids would be expected to develop a negative surface charge at the pH (8.4) used

255

in our medium exchange treatment. As such they would be expected to attach to the poly-l

256

lysine coated membrane and thus be wet-imaged by SEM. However, EDX analyses of the

257

membrane-adsorbed colloids (Figure S4) never suggested that solid inorganic phases of Fe were

258

present in the colloids. Although their existence in the inner core of the colloids cannot be

259

totally ruled out,36 we believe it much more likely that Fe was homogeneously distributed inside

260

the organic matter matrix. This assumption is supported by the similarity of the mean size and

261

composition of our isolated colloids to the sizes and compositions reported for ‘blended’

262

organic-Fe colloids known to comprise organically complexed Fe 37−39 (and possibly Fe-bridged

263

entities)40,41 rather than organic-coated Fe oxides. It is further supported by the fact that the

264

partitioning of Fe into colloidal and soluble pools corresponded closely to the partitioning of

265

ligands (r2 = 0.95, n = 16, freshwater samples only; r2 = 0.89, n = 28, all samples): a discrepancy

266

between the two would have been detected if part of the colloidal Fe had been a solid inorganic

267

phase.42

268

In order to successfully describe fluvial reprocessing of the Fe-rich DOM, we need a

269

quantitative understanding of what influences the quality of the source DOM exported from

270

peatland soils. The quantity of DOM released is not, in itself, a good indicator of its size

271

distribution or metal binding properties. Indeed, several authors have investigated the influence

272

of DOC concentration in experiments performed with aquatic NOM. They observed no

273

significant concentration-dependent changes in the size distribution of UV-absorbing DOM 26,43

12 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Environmental Science & Technology

274

or that of metals (Fe, Cu, Zn).44 In our catchment, variations in MW fractionation appear to be

275

mainly driven by hydrological conditions. Figure 1 shows that at each site, the concentrations of

276

Corg and Fe in the highest MW fraction (> 30 kDa) were higher in Feb and Nov than in May or

277

Sep, whereas Corg and Fe measured in the other fractions do not show this trend. This is

278

consistent with a rise in the water table under wetter conditions (Figure 2) since recently fixed

279

HMW organic carbon is more abundant in the top layer of the peat soil,45,46.

280

Decrease in the Cu-binding capacity of DOM brought about by fluvial processing.

281

Some of the abovementioned differences in the binding of Fe and Cu with aquatic HS were

282

expected. For example, it was likely that the triple-charged Fe(III) ions would form stronger

283

complexes with the more acidic hydrophilic fulvic acids than with the less acidic and more

284

hydrophobic humic acids.40,41 Since the large concentration of ionised groups in fulvic acids

285

favours the formation of intermolecular bridges,41 it follows that Fe tends to be present in larger-

286

size aggregates than Cu. Conversely, Cu(II) is known to form stronger complexes with humic

287

than with fulvic acids, including aromatic structures of humic acids; 47 these are stabilised by

288

only weak hydrophobic interactions and thus end up as smaller entities than the Fe-bridged

289

fulvic aggregates. In addition, a recent study has revealed that Fe binding in humic samples is

290

entirely dependent on oxygen-containing HS functional groups, such as carboxyl and phenolic,39

291

which is not the case for Cu.

292

Notwithstanding the different distributions of Fe and Cu (Figure 1) and their respective

293

ligands (Figure 2) among the size classes, it nevertheless remains the case that both elements

294

(and their respective ligands) were distributed across the full size spectrum. Such a broad

295

distribution is consistent with our established knowledge about humic colloids consisting of

296

supramolecular associations of relatively small molecules loosely bound together by hydrogen

297

bonds, cation bridges (e.g. with Ca2+, Fe3+ or Al3+), and weak hydrophobic interactions.16,41,43,48

298

It is also consistent with our previous observations that the vast majority of Fe- and Cu-binding 13 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 14 of 33

Page 15 of 33

Environmental Science & Technology

299

ligands in this catchment are humic. A recent study showed that Fe and Cu occurring in similar

300

concentrations competed for the same HS binding ligands so that the ligand concentrations for

301

Fe and Cu were the same.23 In the present study, the concentration of Fe-binding ligands, [L],

302

was of a similar magnitude to that of the Cu-binding ligands, [L1] + [L2], at the marine site only:

303

[L] = 1−4 × ([L1] + [L2]) throughout the year. At the freshwater sites, [L] was up to two orders

304

of magnitude higher than [L1] + [L2]. The explanation for the diverging values in freshwater

305

must be related to the fact that Fe was a main component of the freshwater samples whereas Cu

306

was a trace component. Indeed, the molar ration FeT/CuT was in the range 750−5000 at Sites 1

307

to 3, compared to 36−65 at the marine site. Therefore, the most likely explanation for changes in

308

Cu-binding properties is that Fe originating from the mineral subsoil of the peatlands 32,43,46 was

309

able to modify the properties of aquatic organic colloids as they were carried along the

310

stream.48,49 A second possibility, i.e. that Cu-binding ligands were selectively broken down by

311

biological or photochemical transformations is very unlikely because of (i) the scarcity of

312

biologically-produced ligands in this catchment and (ii) the relative uniformity of log K1’ and

313

log K2’ values between Site 1 and Site 3. The log K1’ and/or log K2’ values would be expected to

314

shift in response to a decrease in the proportion of Cu-selective, biologically produced ligands.

315

Since organic carbon is a passive tracer throughout the river catchment and estuary,16

316

variations in binding site density ([L]/[Corg], [L1]/[Corg] or [L2]/[Corg]) with time or with distance

317

from the source are likely to provide information about internal transformations of the DOM. At

318

Site 1, the Fe-binding ligand content (mol L/mol Corg) of the freshly formed Fe-OM material

319

(Site 1) was 0.3−0.7 × 10-2 in the < 1 kDa fraction but 2−8 × 10-2 in the > 30 kDa fraction.

320

Conversely, the Cu-binding ligand contents of the DOM sampled at Site 1 were [L1]/[Corg] =

321

0.6−2.0 × 10-5 and [L2]/[Corg] = 1.0−1.2 × 10-4 in the < 1 kDa fraction, but [L1]/[Corg] = 0.4−1.8

322

× 10-5 and [L2]/[Corg] = 0.2−0.5 × 10-4 in the > 30 kDa fraction. Downstream of Loch More

323

(Sites 2 and 3), a further distinction can be made for Cu (but not Fe) ligands between high flow 14 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Environmental Science & Technology

Page 16 of 33

324

and low flow conditions: at high flow, the carbon specific Cu-binding capacity of the DOM was

325

unchanged from that measured upstream of Loch More whereas it declined significantly at low

326

flow conditions. This is clearly visible in Figure 3, where metal binding capacities of each size

327

fraction recorded at Site 2 and 3 are plotted against the calculated residence time of water in

328

Loch More. It can be seen from Figure 3 that (i) an increase in residence time leads to a loss of

329

Cu-binding (but not Fe-binding) site density and (ii) the loss from any colloidal fraction is

330

proportionally greater than that from the soluble fraction. Thus, colloids lost up to 50% of their

331

L2 site density after residing for 1 week or more in Loch More while the truly dissolved material

332

lost only 28%. Taking into account previous work on the Fe and Cu binding properties of

333

HS,23,51,52 it can be concluded that a kinetic process involving colloidal Fe and Corg must be

334

responsible for the gradual inhibition of Cu-HS complexation.

335

Iron-rich humic substances are formed underground upon reaction of Fe with HS and 46

336

subsequently transported to the stream via either surface runoff or groundwater seepage

337

Given the transient conditions they experience, it is therefore not surprising that they should

338

undergo changes with time. The nature of these changes is likely dependent on the

339

physicochemical forms of Fe and organic matter and their mutual interactions.30,32,34 In turn,

340

these depend on the [Fe]/[Corg] molar ratio.33,34,53 Natural and synthetic Fe-HS colloids formed

341

from Fe(II) titration of HS are generally modelled as agglomerates of HS molecular units of

342

hydrodynamic diameter 1.5−3.0 nm, interspersed with Fe2+, Fe3+ or Fe oxide entities depending

343

on the [Fe]/[Corg] ratio.54,55 In this study, the [Fe]/[Corg] ratio measured in bulk samples at Sites 1

344

to 3 was in the range 0.7−2.3 × 10

345

formation of Fe-HS coprecipitates 32,34,56 but large enough to allow the possibility that Fe oxide

346

nanoparticles or small polynuclear structures of hydrolysed Fe(III) may be distributed inside the

347

humic matrix. At the [Fe]/[Corg] ratio prevailing in this study, such polynuclear Fe species would

348

be typically 1 nm diameter in size.54 The existence of such small polynuclear Fe species may

-2

.

mol/mol. These values are too small to allow for the

15 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 17 of 33

Environmental Science & Technology

349

explain why we were unable to detect any Fe-bearing mineral phases by SEM/EDXA. The slow

350

decomposition of these hypothetical polynuclear Fe species and their subsequent dispersion

351

throughout the humic colloids may have led to Fe outcompeting any trace metals for

352

complexation with humic ligands.49 Such a mechanism has been shown to halve the

353

complexation capacity of humic colloids towards Eu(III) over a timescale of 2 days.50 Indeed we

354

found that about one half of the original Cu-binding ligand concentration [L2] has been excluded

355

from humic complexation over a similar timescale (Figure 3). However, caution should be

356

exercised in attributing our results to this mechanism, not least because it was established in the

357

presence of 100 µM Fe, i.e. 10 times our [FeT] values, as well as 10 times our [Fe]/[Corg] values.

358

An alternative mechanism to explain the in-stream alteration of Cu-binding properties is that

359

they were influenced by the molecular architecture of the HS, which in turn was governed by

360

their Fe content and the time they spent in the aquatic system.

361

Fe and Cu speciation in riverine versus marine waters. A linear relationship was

362

generally found between each chemical variable and salinity, which corroborates previous

363

observations that physical mixing is the main driver in this plume environment.9,16,51 The only

364

exception to conservative mixing was for Cu (Figure S5) and L2 (Figure S3) in the > 5 kDa

365

fractions at times of high river flow. Most of the time, coagulation was not a factor as Fe and Cu

366

species travelled into coastal waters. In the absence of any significant estuarine or coastal

367

processing, our objective is to compare riverine (Site 3) and marine samples (Site 7).

368

Comparing the carbon specific Fe and Cu contents of the DOM pool reveals some

369

striking differences. The molar ratio [Fe]/[Corg] in coastal ocean waters (0.05−0.10 × 10-2) was

370

systematically 10 ± 4 times lower than in the freshwater outflow (0.53−0.85 × 10-2). By contrast,

371

the molar ratio [Cu]/[Corg] in marine waters (0.10−0.23 × 10-4) was systematically 1.7 ± 0.4

372

times higher than in the freshwater outflow (0.07−0.16 × 10-4). The same argument can be made

373

for their respective ligands. These findings clearly support the view that peatland-derived Fe16 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Environmental Science & Technology

374

rich humic substances transported by River Thurso are responsible for a significant flux of Fe

375

and Fe-binding ligands to marine waters but not a significant flux of Cu or Cu-binding ligands.

376

Finally, the MW distributions of Corg, Fe and Cu in freshwater were strikingly different

377

from one another although the differences were not so great in seawater (Figure 1). Taking the

378

LMW fraction as an example, it comprised 23−32% of the total dissolved Corg (Tables S3−S6;

379

Figure 1), 10−20% of Fe and 42−68% of Cu (Tables S7−S10; Figure 1) measured at Site 3, the

380

exact value depending on time of year. By contrast, the percentages of Corg, Fe and Cu

381

associated with the LMW fraction at Site 7 were 17−28%, 13−30% and 14−36%, respectively.

382

As already mentioned, two factors contributed to the large percentage of Cu found in the LMW

383

fraction at Site 3. The first was the affinity of Cu for the smaller, more hydrophobic components

384

of HS. The second was the partial exclusion of Cu from the larger, more hydrophilic

385

components of HS to which Fe was strongly and extensively associated. Such fractionation of

386

Cu towards the LMW fraction was not observed in marine waters (Figure 1). The explanation

387

can be found in Figure 4, which clearly points to a marine, probably biological source51,57−59 of

388

L2 type ligands. These L2 ligands are associated here with the 5−30 and > 30 kDa colloidal

389

fractions (Figure 4), hence the dramatic shift in the size distribution of Cu from riverine to

390

marine waters. We conclude that the peatland-derived, Fe-rich humic colloids that are

391

responsible for transporting significant amounts of Fe and Fe-binding ligands to the coastal

392

ocean do not necessarily play this role for Cu and other trace metals. Instead, the degree of Cu

393

complexation by Fe-rich humic colloids may be limited as a result of (i) direct competitive

394

effects of Fe(III) or (ii) structural changes induced by Fe(III) within the humic colloids. It

395

remains to be seen whether the blocking effect of Fe on Cu complexation by terrestrial HS is

396

directly responsible for triggering in situ biological production of Cu-binding ligands in coastal

397

waters.

398 17 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 18 of 33

Page 19 of 33

Environmental Science & Technology

399

ASSOCIATED CONTENT

400

Supporting Information

401

Detailed descriptions of (i) the study area and sampling methods, (ii) CFF procedures, cleaning

402

procedures, calibrations and mass balance calculations, (iii) determination of water quality

403

variables, (iv) Fe speciation calculations, (v) Cu speciation calculations, and (vi) SEM imaging

404

of large colloids: pages S2−S13. Retention coefficients of standard macromolecules (Table S1)

405

and recovery of elements through the successive CFF stages (Table S2): pages S6−S7. Water

406

quality and metal speciation dataset (Tables 3−10): pages S15−S22. Proportions of Corg, Fe, Cu

407

and ligands present in each of the four size fractions of DOM: page S23. Figures S1−S5: pages

408

S24−S28.

409

410

AUTHOR INFORMATION

411

Corresponding Author

412

*Email: [email protected]

413

Note

414

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

415

416

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

417

We thank Sophie Tankéré-Muller (Caithness Kayak Club) for collecting water samples in

418

Thurso Bay, Andrew Skinner and Graham Thompson (Royal Society for the Protection of

419

Birds) for providing us with water table information, Ian Reynard (Scottish Environmental

420

Protection Agency) for providing the daily mean flow dataset for River Thurso, and Russell 18 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Environmental Science & Technology

421

Garvie (ISS Group Services Ltd) for patiently resolving our SEM technical problems. We

422

acknowledge a Small Grant (SG88) from MASTS and financial support from the European

423

Regional Development Fund under the MaREE Project.

19 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 20 of 33

Page 21 of 33

424

425 426

Environmental Science & Technology

REFERENCES (1) Boyd, P. W.; Ellwood, M. J. The biogeochemical cycle of iron in the ocean. Nature Geosci. 2010, 3, 675−682; DOI 10.1038/ngeo964.

427

(2) Jickells, T. D.; An, Z. S.; Andersen, K. K.; Baker, A. R.; Bergametti, G.; Brooks, N.;

428

Cao, J. J.; Boyd, P. W.; Duce, R. A.; Hunter, K. A.; Kawahata, H.; Kubilay, N.; LaRoche, J.;

429

Liss, P. S.; Mahowald, N.; Prospero, J. M.; Ridgwell, A. J.; Tegen, I.; Torres, R. Global iron

430

connections between desert dust, ocean biogeochemistry, and climate. Science 2005, 308,

431

67−71; DOI 10.1126/science.1105959.

432

(3) Elrod, V. A.; Berelson, W. M.; Coale, K. H.; Johnson, K. S. The flux of iron from

433

continental shelf sediments: a missing source for global budgets. Geophys. Res. Lett. 2004, 31,

434

L12307; DOI 10.1029/2004GL020216.

435 436

(4) Conway, T. M.; John, S. G. Quantification of dissolved iron sources to the North Atlantic Ocean. Nature 2014, 511, 212−215; DOI 10.1038/nature13482.

437

(5) Bennett, S. A.; Achterberg, E. P.; Connelly, D. P.; Statham, P. J.; Fones, G. R.; German,

438

C. R. The distribution and stabilisation of dissolved iron in deep-sea hydrothermal plumes.

439

Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 2008, 270, 157−167; DOI 10.1016/j.epsl.2008.01.048.

440

(6) Tagliabue, A.; Bopp, L.; Dutay, J.-C.; Bowie, A. R.; Chever, A. R. ; Jean-Baptiste, P. ;

441

Bucciarelli, E. ; Lannuzel, D. ; Remeny, T. ; Sarthou, G. ; Aumont, A. ; Gehlen, M. ; Jeandel, C.

442

Hydrothermal contribution to the oceanic dissolved iron inventory. Nature Geosci. 2010, 3,

443

251−256; DOI 10.1038/ngeo818.

444

(7) Hawkings, J. R.; Wadham, J. L.; Tranter, M.; Raiswell, R.; Benning, L. G.; Statham, P.

445

J.; Tedstone, A.; Nienow, P.; Lee, K.; Telling, J. Ice sheets as a significant source of highly

446

reactive

447

10.1038/ncomms4929.

nanoparticulate

iron

to

the

ocean.

Nature

Comm.

20 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

2014,

5:3924;

DOI

Environmental Science & Technology

448

Page 22 of 33

(8) Dai, A.; Qian, T.; Trenberth, K. E.; Milliman, J. D. Change in continental freshwater

449

discharge

from

1948

450

10.1175/2008JCLI2592.1.

to

2004.

Int.

J.

Climatol.

2009,

22,

2773−2791;

DOI

451

(9) Batchelli, S.; Muller, F. L. L.; Chang, K.-C.; Lee, C.-L. Evidence for strong but dynamic

452

iron−humic colloidal associations in humic-rich coastal waters. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2010, 44,

453

8485−8490; DOI 10.1021/es101081c.

454

(10) Krachler, R.; Krachler, R. F.; von der Kammer, F.; Süphandag, A. ; Jirsa, F. ;

455

Ayromlou, S. ; Hofmann, T.; Keppler, B. K.; Relevance of peat-draining rivers for the riverine

456

input of dissolved iron into the ocean. Sci. Total Environ. 2010, 408, 2402−2408; DOI

457

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2010.02.018.

458

(11) Sholkovitz, E. R. Flocculation of dissolved organic and inorganic matter during mixing

459

of river water and seawater. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 1976, 40, 831−845; DOI

460

10.1016/0016-7037(76)90035-1.

461

(12) Dai, M.; Martin, J.-M. First data on trace metal level and behaviour in two major Arctic

462

river-estuarine systems (Ob and Yenisey) and in the adjacent Kara Sea. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett.

463

1995, 131, 127−141; DOI 10.1016/0012-821X(95)00021-4.

464

(13) Krachler, R.; Krachler, R. F.; Wallner, G.; Hann, S.; Laux, M.; Cervantes Recalde, M.

465

F.; Jirsa, F.; Neubauer, E.; von der Kammer, F.; Hofmann, T. ; Keppler, B. K. River-derived

466

humic substances as iron chelators in seawater. Mar. Chem. 2015, 174, 85−93; DOI

467

10.1016/j.marchem.2015.05.009.

468

(14) Krachler, R.; Krachler, R. F.; Wallner, G.; Steier, P.; El Abiead, Y.; Wiesinger, H.;

469

Jirsa, F.; Keppler, B. K. Sphagnum-dominated bog systems are highly effective yet variable

470

sources of bio-available iron to marine waters. Mar. Chem. 2016, 556, 53−62; DOI

471

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.03.012.

21 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 23 of 33

Environmental Science & Technology

472

(15) Krachler, R.; von der Kammer, F.; Jirsa, F.; Suphandag, A. ; Krachler, R. F. ; Plessl, C. ;

473

Vogt, M. ; Keppler, B. K. ; Hofmann, T. Nanoscale lignin particles as sources of dissolved iron

474

to the ocean. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles 2012, 26, GB3024; DOI 10.1029/2012GB004294.

475

(16) Batchelli, S.; Muller, F. L. L.; Baalousha, M.; Lead, J. R. Size fractionation and optical

476

properties of colloids in and organic-rich estuary (Thurso, UK). Mar. Chem. 2009, 113,

477

227−237; DOI 10.1016/j.marchem.2009.02.006.

478

(17) Cuscov, M.; Muller, F. L. L. Differentiating humic and algal surface active substances

479

in coastal waters by their pH-dependent adsorption behaviour. Mar. Chem. 2015, 174, 35−45;

480

DOI 10.1016/j.marchem.2015.05.002.

481

(18) Abualhaija, M. M.; van den Berg, C. M. G. Chemical speciation of iron in seawater

482

using catalytic cathodic stripping voltammetry with ligand competition against salicylaldoxime.

483

Mar. Chem. 2014, 164, 60−74; DOI 10.1016/j.marchem.2014.06.005.

484

(19) Bundy, R. M.; Abdulla, H. A. N.; Hatcher, P. G.; Biller, D. V.; Buck, K. N.; Barbeau,

485

K. A. Iron-binding ligands and humic substances in the San Francisco bay estuary and estuarine-

486

influenced shelf regions of coastal California. Mar. Chem. 2015, 173, 183−194; DOI

487

10.1016/j.marchem.2014.11.005.

488

(20) Gerringa, L. J. A.; Herman, P. M. J.; Poortvliet, T. C. W. Comparison of the linear van

489

den Berg/Ružić transformation and a non-linear fit of the Langmuir isotherm applied to Cu

490

speciation data in the estuarine environment. Mar. Chem. 1995, 48, 131−142; DOI

491

10.1016/0304-4203(94)00041-B.

492

(21) Lucia, M.; Campos, A. M.; van den Berg, C. M. G. Determination of copper

493

complexation in seawater by cathodic stripping voltammetry and ligand competition with

494

salicylaldoxime. Anal. Chim. Acta 1994, 284, 481−496; DOI 10.1016/0003-2670(94)85055-0.

495 496

(22) Nuester, J.; van den Berg, C. M. G. Determination of metal speciation by reverse titrations. Anal. Chem. 2005, 77, 11−19; DOI 10.1021/ac049078e.

22 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Environmental Science & Technology

497

(23) Abualhaija, M. M.; Whitby, H.; van den Berg, C. M. G. Competition between copper

498

and iron for humic ligands in estuarine waters. Mar. Chem. 2015, 172, 46−56; DOI

499

10.1016/j.marchem.2015.03.010.

500

(24) Rahman, M. A.; Hasan, M. A.; Rahim, A.; Alam, A. M. S. Characterization of humic

501

acid from the river bottom sediment of Burigonga: complexation studies of metals with humic

502

acid. Pak. J. Anal. Environ. Chem. 2010, 11, 42−52.

503

(25) Stolpe, B.; Guo, L.; Shiller, A. M.; Aiken, G. R. Abundance, size distribution and trace-

504

element binding of organic and iron-rich nanocolloids in Alaskan rivers, as revealed by field-

505

flow fractionation and ICP-MS. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 2013, 105, 221−239; DOI

506

10.1016/j.gca.2012.11.018.

507

(26) Cuss, C. W.; Guéguen, C.; Hill, E.; Dillon, P. J. Spatio-temporal variation in the

508

characteristics of dissolved organic matter in the streams of boreal forests: impacts on modelled

509

copper speciation. Chemosphere 2010, 80, 764−770; DOI 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2010.05.012.

510

(27) Jirsa, F.; Neubauer, E.; Kittinger, R.; Hofmann, T.; Krachler, R.; von der Kammer, F.;

511

Keppler, B. K. Natural organic matter and iron export from the Tanner Moor, Austria.

512

Limnologica 2013, 43, 239−244; DOI 10.1016/j.limno.2012.09.006.

513

(28) Kritzberg, E. S.; Bedmar Villanueva, A.; Jung, M.; Reader, H. E. Importance of boreal

514

rivers in providing iron to marine waters. PLOS ONE 2014, 9(9), e107500; DOI

515

10.1371/journal.pone.0107500.

516

(29) Heikkinen, K. Organic matter, iron and nutrient transport and nature of dissolved

517

organic matter in the drainage basin of a boreal humic river in northern Finland. Sci. Total

518

Environ. 1994, 152, 81−89; DOI 10.1016/0048-9697(94)90553-3.

519

(30) Ilina, S. M.; Lapitskiy, S. A.; Alekhin, Y. V.; Viers, J.; Benedetti, M.; Pokrovsky, O. S.

520

Speciation, size fractionation and transport of trace elements in the continuum soil

23 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 24 of 33

Page 25 of 33

Environmental Science & Technology

521

water−mire−humic lake−river−large oligotrophic lake of a subarctic watershed. Aquat.

522

Geochem. 2016, 22(1), 65−95; DOI 10.1007/s10498-015-9277-8.

523

(31) Pokrovsky, O. S.; Shirokova, L. S.; Viers, J.; Gordeev, V. V.; Shevchenko, V. P.;

524

Chupakov, A. V.; Vorobieva, T. Y.; Candaudap, F.; Causserand, C.; Lanzanova, A.; Zouiten, C.

525

Fate of colloids during estuarine mixing in the Arctic. Ocean Sci. 2014, 10, 107−125; DOI

526

10.5194/os-10-107-2014.

527

(32) Fritzsche, A.; Schröder, C.; Wieczorek, A. K.; Händel, M.; Ritschel, T.; Totsche, K. U.

528

Structure and composition of Fe−OM co-precipitates that form in soil-derived solutions.

529

Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 2015, 169, 167−183; DOI 10.1016/j.gca.2015.07.041.

530

(33) Seda, N. N.; Koenigsmark, F.; Vadas, T. M. Sorption and coprecipitation of copper to

531

ferrihydrite and humic acid organomineral complexes and controls on copper availability.

532

Chemosphere 2016, 147, 272−278; DOI 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.12.106.

533

(34) Pokrovsky, O. S.; Manasypov, R. M.; Loiko, S. V.; Shirokova, L. S. Organic and

534

organo-mineral colloids in discontinuous permafrost zone. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 2016,

535

188, 1−20; DOI 10.1016/j.gca.2016.05.035.

536

(35) Muller, F. L. L. Measurement of electrokinetic and size characteristics of estuarine

537

colloids by dynamic light scattering spectroscopy. Anal. Chim. Acta 1996, 331, 1−15; DOI

538

10.1016/0003-2670(96)00190-0.

539

(36) Von der Heyden, B. P.; Hauser, E. J.; Mishra, B.; Martinez, G. A.; Bowie, A. R.;

540

Tyliszczak, T.; Mtshali, T. N.; Roychoudhury, A. N.; Mynemi, S. C. B. Ubiquitous presence of

541

Fe(II) in aquatic colloids and its association with organic carbon. Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett.

542

2014, 1, 387−392; DOI 10.1021/ez500164v.

543

(37) Fujii, M.; Imaoka, A.; Yoshimura, C.; Waite, T. D. Effects of molecular composition of

544

natural organic matter on ferric iron complexation at circumneutral pH. Environ. Sci. Technol.

545

2014, 48, 4414−4424; DOI 10.1021/es405496b. 24 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Environmental Science & Technology

Page 26 of 33

546

(38) Ito, I.; Fujii, M.; Massago, Y.; Waite, T. D.; Omura, T. Effect of ionic strength on ligand

547

exchange kinetics between a mononuclear ferric citrate complex and siderophore

548

desferrioxamine

549

10.1016/j.gca.2015.01.020.

B.

Geochim.

Cosmochim.

Acta

2015,

154,

81−97;

DOI

550

(39) Blazevic, A.; Orlowska, E.; Kandioller, W.; Jirsa, F.; Keppler, B. K.; Tafili-Kryeziu,

551

M.; Linert, W.; Krachler, R. F.; Krachler, R.; Rompel, A. Photoreduction of terrigenous Fe-

552

humic substances leads to bioavailable iron in oceans. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55,

553

6417−6422; DOI 10.1002/anie.201600852.

554

(40) Mikutta, C.; Kretzschmar, R. Spectroscopic evidence for ternary complex formation

555

between arsenate and ferric iron complexes of humic substances. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2011,

556

45, 9550−9557; DOI 10.1021/es202300w.

557

(41) Nuzzo, A.; Sánchez, A.; Fontaine, B.; Piccolo, A. Conformational changes of dissolved

558

humic and fulvic superstructures with progressive iron complexation. J. Geochem. Explo. 2013,

559

129, 1−5; DOI 10.1016/j.gexplo.2013.01.010.

560

(42) Fitzsimmons, J. N.; Bundy, R. M.; Al-Subiai, S. N.; Barbeau, K. A.; Boyle, E. A. The

561

composition of dissolved iron in the dusty surface ocean: an exploration using size-fractionated

562

iron-binding ligands. Mar. Chem. 2015, 173, 125−135; DOI 10.1016/j.marchem.2014.09.002.

563

(43) Cuss, C. W.; Guéguen, C. Relationships between molecular weight and fluorescence

564

properties for size-fractionated dissolved organic matter from fresh and aged sources. Water

565

Res. 2015, 68, 487−497; DOI 10.1016/j.watres.2014.10.013.

566

(44) Rathgeb, A.; Causon, T.; Krachler, R.; Hann, S. Determination of size-dependent metal

567

distribution in dissolved organic matter by SEC-UV/VIS-ICP-MS with special focus on changes

568

in seawater. Electrophoresis 2016, 37, 1063−1071.

25 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 27 of 33

Environmental Science & Technology

569

(45) Kiikkilä, O.; Smolander, A.; Ukonmaanaho, L. Properties of dissolved organic matter in

570

peatland: implications for water quality after harvest. Vadose Zone J. 2014, July 10, 13(7), 1−9;

571

DOI 10.2136/vzj2013.08.0155.

572

(46) Muller, F. L. L.; Chang, K.-C. ; Lee, C.-L. ; Chapman, S. J. Effects of temperature,

573

rainfall and conifer felling practices on the surface water chemistry of northern peatlands.

574

Biogeochem. 2015, 126, 343−362; DOI 10.1007/s10533-015-0162-8.

575

(47) McElmurry, S. P.; Long, D. T.; Voice, T. C. Simultaneous quantification of dissolved

576

organic carbon fractions and copper complexation using solid-phase extraction. Appl. Geochem.

577

2010, 25(5), 650−660; DOI 10.1016/j.apgeochem.2010.01.018.

578 579

(48) Gledhill, M.; Buck, K. N. The organic complexation of iron in the marine environment: a review. Frontiers in Microbiol. 2012, 3, Article 69; DOI 10.3389/fmicb.2012.00069.

580

(49) Lippold, H.; Evans, N. D. M.; Warwick, P.; Kupsch, H. Competitive effect of iron(III)

581

on metal complexation by humic substances: characterisation of ageing processes. Chemosphere

582

2007, 67, 1050−1056; DOI 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2006.10.045.

583

(50) Lippold, H.; Eidner, S.; Kumke, M. U.; Lippmann-Pipke, J. Diffusion, degradation or

584

on-site stabilisation − Identifying causes of kinetic processes involved in metal−humate

585

complexation. App. Geochem. 2012, 27, 250−256; DOI 10.1016/j.apgeochem.2011.11.001.

586

(51) Muller, F. L. L.; Batchelli, S. Copper binding by terrestrial versus marine organic

587

ligands in the coastal plume of River Thurso, North Scotland. Est. Coast. Shelf Sci. 2013, 133,

588

137−146; DOI 10.1016/j.ecss.2013.08.024.

589

(52) Waeles, M.; Tanguy, V.; Riso, R. D. On the control of copper colloidal distribution by

590

humic substances in the Penzé estuary. Chemosphere 2015, 119, 1176−1184; DOI

591

10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.09.107.

26 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Environmental Science & Technology

592

(53) Fang, K.; Yuan, D.; Zhang, L.; Feng, L. ; Chen, Y. ; Wang, Y. Effect of environmental

593

factors on the complexation of iron and humic acids. J. Environ. Sci. 2015, 27, 188−196; DOI

594

10.1016/j.jes.2014.06.039.

595

(54) Seida, N. N. Iron oxide-organic matter coprecipitates and controls on copper

596

availability. MSc Dissertation, Paper 653, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, 2014;

597

http://digitalcommons.uconn.edu/gs_theses/653.

598

(55) Guenet, H.; Davranche, M.; Vantelon, D.; Jestin, J. Conformation and size evolution of

599

iron/organic matter colloids during their synthesis: impact on their metal binding properties.

600

Abstract, JMC15, 15èmes Journées de la Matière Condensée, Bordeaux, France, 22−26 Aug

601

2016.

602

(56) Eusterhues, K. ; Wagner, F. ; Häusler, W. ; Hanzlik, M.; Knicker, H.; Totsche, K. U.;

603

Kögel-Knabner, I.; Schwertmann, U. Characterization of ferrihydrite-soil organic matter

604

coprecipitates by X-ray diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2008,

605

42, 7891−7897; DOI 10.1021/es800881w.

606

(57) Leal, M. F. C.; Vasconcelos, M. T. S. D.; van den Berg, C. M. G. Copper induced

607

released of complexing ligands similar to thiols by Emiliania huxleyi in seawater cultures.

608

Limnol. Oceanogr. 1999, 44, 1750−1762; DOI 10.4319/lo.1999.44.7.1750.

609

(58) Croot, P. L.; Moffett, J. W.; Brand, L.E. Production of extracellular Cu complexing

610

ligands by eukaryotic phytoplankton in response to Cu stress. Limnol. Oceanogr. 2000, 45,

611

619−627; DOI 10.4319/lo.2000.45.3.0619.

612

(59) Murray, H.; Meunier, G.; van den Berg, C. M. G.; Cave, R. R.; Stengel, D.

613

Voltammetric characterization of macroalgae-exuded organic ligands (L) in response to Cu and

614

Zn: a source and stimuli for L. Environ. Chem. 2014, 11, 100−113; DOI 10.1071/EN13085.

615

27 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 28 of 33

Page 29 of 33

Environmental Science & Technology

616

Figure 1. Distribution of dissolved organic carbon, Fe and Cu among the four isolated size

617

fractions at Sites 1, 3 and 7 on 1 Feb, 25 May, 10 Sep and 3 Nov 2013.

618

Figure 2. Relationships between water table levels monitored at a site situated 1.5 km NNW of

619

Site 1 and corresponding percentages of DOC and ligand concentrations measured in the HMW

620

fraction (> 30 kDa) of DOM at Site 1.

621

Figure 3. Carbon-normalised concentrations of (a) Fe-binding ligands, (b) stronger Cu-binding

622

ligands and (c) weaker Cu-binding ligands detected at Sites 2 and 3, plotted as a function of the

623

residence time of water in Loch More.

624

Figure 4. Carbon-normalised concentrations of (a) Fe-binding ligands, (b) stronger Cu-binding

625

ligands and (c) weaker Cu-binding ligands detected at Sites 3 to 7, plotted as a function of

626

salinity.

627

28 ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Environmental Science & Technology

Distribution of dissolved organic carbon, Fe and Cu among the four isolated size fractions at Sites 1, 3 and 7 on 1 Feb, 25 May, 10 Sep and 3 Nov 2013. 177x146mm (300 x 300 DPI)

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 30 of 33

Page 31 of 33

Environmental Science & Technology

Figure 2. Relationships between water table levels monitored at a site situated 1.5 km NNW of Site 1 and corresponding percentages of DOC and ligand concentrations measured in the HMW fraction (MW > 30 kDa) at Site 1. 89x124mm (300 x 300 DPI)

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Environmental Science & Technology

Figure 3. Carbon-normalised concentrations of (a) Fe-binding ligands, (b) stronger Cu-binding ligands, and (c) weaker Cu-binding ligands detected at Sites 2 and 3, plotted as a function of the residence time of water in Loch More. 87x159mm (300 x 300 DPI)

ACS Paragon Plus Environment

Page 32 of 33

Page 33 of 33

Environmental Science & Technology

Figure 4. Carbon-normalised concentrations of (a) Fe-binding ligands, (b) stronger Cu-binding ligands, and (c) weaker Cu-binding ligands detected at Sites 3 to 7, plotted as a function of salinity. 88x159mm (300 x 300 DPI)

ACS Paragon Plus Environment