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Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Quantification of Heavy Metals and Other Inorganic Contaminants on the Productivity of Microalgae
Published on: July 10, 2015
[Environment effects of algae-caused black spots: impacts on Fe-Mn-S cycles in water-sediment interface]
Guo-Feng Liu1, Jun He, Cheng-Xin Fan
1State Key Laboratory of Lake & Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography & Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China. gfliu@niglas.ac.cn
Abstract:
The driving effects of algal cells settlement in the water-sediment interface on Fe, Mn, S biogeochemistry in laboratory through static cultivation device. Results showed that dissolved oxygen would be exhausted by algae cells in 50 min after the cyanobacteria cells settled to the sediment surface. Soon the water-sediment interface formed the severe anoxia and Fe-Mn oxides and sulfides were deoxidized quickly in the strong reducing environment. The Fe2+, Mn2+ content in interface increased to the summit at the 4th day and their concentrations were 4.40 mg/L and 2.35 mg/L, respectively. When it comes to the end of the experiment, the Fe2+ content had a little reduction and Mn2+ reduced quickly, their concentrations were 3.37 mg/L and 0.97 mg/L at the end of experiment. However, S2- concentration in interface reached the highest at the 2nd day and its content was 0.63 mg/L, and its concentration was only 0.12 mg/L at the end since it has been reduced. The ORP was--150 mV in the sediment surface and indicated that the sediment environment was a strong reducing environment. Phenomenon of algal cells induced black spots in water bodies was the main driving factors on Fe/Mn oxides and sulfides biogeochemistry cycle, and also the extreme anoxia environment would have great harm on the water body's ecology.
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