Modeling sediment oxygen demand in a highly productive lake under various trophic scenarios.

Hypolimnetic oxygen depletion in lakes is a widespread problem and is mainly controlled by the sediment oxygen uptake (SOU) and flux of reduced substances out of the sediments (Fred). Especially in eutrophic lakes, Fred may constitute a major fraction of the areal hypolimnetic mineralization rate, but its size and source is often poorly understood. Using a diagenetic reaction-transport model supported by a large data set of sediment porewater concentrations, bulk sediment core data and lake monitoring data, the behavior of Fred was simulated in eutrophic Lake Baldegg. Transient boundary conditions for the gross sedimentation of total organic carbon and for hypolimnetic O2 concentrations were applied to simulate the eutrophication and re-oligotrophication history of the lake. According to the model, Fred is dominated by methanogenesis, where up to70% to the total CH4 is produced from sediments older than 20 years deposited during the time of permanent anoxia between 1890 and 1982. An implementation of simplified seasonal variations of the upper boundary conditions showed that their consideration is not necessary for the assessment of annual average fluxes in long-term simulations. Four lake management scenarios were then implemented to investigate the future development of Fred and SOU until 2050 under different boundary conditions. A comparison of three trophic scenarios showed that further reduction of the lake productivity to at least a mesotrophic state is required to significantly decrease Fred and SOU from the present state. Conversely, a termination of artificial aeration at the present trophic state would result in high rates of organic matter deposition and a long-term increase of Fred from the sediments of Lake Baldegg.

Benthic nitrite exchanges in the Seine River (France): An early diagenetic modeling analysis.

Nitrite is a toxic intermediate compound in the nitrogen (N) cycle. Elevated concentrations of nitrite have been observed in the Seine River, raising questions about its sources and fate. Here, we assess the role of bottom sediments as potential sources or sinks of nitrite along the river continuum. Sediment cores were collected from two depocenters, one located upstream, the other downstream, from the largest wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) servicing the conurbation of Paris. Pore water profiles of oxygen, nitrate, nitrite and ammonium were measured. Ammonium, nitrate and nitrite fluxes across the sediment-water interface (SWI) were determined in separate core incubation experiments. The data were interpreted with a one-dimensional, multi-component reactive transport model, which accounts for the production and consumption of nitrite through nitrification, denitrification, anammox and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA). In all core incubation experiments, nitrate uptake by the sediments was observed, indicative of high rates of denitrification. In contrast, for both sampling locations, the sediments in cores collected in August 2012 acted as sinks for nitrite, but those collected in October 2013 released nitrite to the overlying water. The model results suggest that the first step of nitrification generated most pore water nitrite at the two locations. While nitrification was also the main pathway consuming nitrite in the sediments upstream of the WWTP, anammox dominated nitrite removal at the downstream site. Sensitivity analyses indicated that the magnitude and direction of the benthic nitrite fluxes most strongly depend on bottom water oxygenation and the deposition flux of labile organic matter.

Chromosome aberrations after high-dose 131I and 99mTc-MIBI administration using a micronucleus assay.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the potential detrimental cytogenetic effects of Tc-methoxyisobutyl isonitrile (MIBI) and I on patients who were exposed to the radiopharmaceutics for cardiac imaging or thyroid cancer therapy, respectively. METHODS: Mononuclear leukocytes were isolated both before and after radiopharmaceutical administration and subsequently cultured. Micronuclei frequency was then assessed and microscopic evaluation of apoptosis was conducted. RESULTS: Small statistically insignificant augmentation in the percentage of micronuclei from 10.9+/-3.8 to 11.3+/-2.4% was observed in the Tc-MIBI group. In contrast, I elicited a notable augmentation of micronuclei from 6.3+/-2.2 to 9.6+/-3.1 at 3.7 GBq, and 6+/-1.5 to 9.2+/-2.7 at 5.55 GBq (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Our results showed that there were no remarkable alterations either in the micronuclei incidence or in the percentage of apoptotic lymphocytes after in-vivo exposure to radiopharmaceutical imaging, which provides evidence to reduce the growing concern about the safety issue of cardiac imaging with Tc-MIBI, whereas the deleterious effects of I must be considered when it is applied to thyroid cancer treatment.

Non-steady state modeling of arsenic diagenesis in lake sediments.

A one-dimensional reactive transport model describing the coupled biogeochemical cycling of As, C, O, Fe, and S was used to interpret an extensive geochemical sediment (As, Fe, S, (210)Pb, (137)Cs, C(org)) and pore water (As, Fe, SO(4)(2-), SigmaS(-II) and pH) data set collected in the perennially oxygenated basin of an oligotrophic lake. Historical variations in atmospheric deposition of As and SO(4)(2-) were explicitly included as upper boundary conditions in the model calculations. The results show that the depth profile of sediment-bound As reflects both the past changes in As deposition and the diagenetic redistribution of As among the Fe(III) oxyhydroxide and Fe(II) sulfide pools. The model-predicted benthic release of dissolved As to the water column peaks 26 years after the maximum anthropogenic As input to the lake, which occurred around 1950. Two major environmental forcings of the benthic recycling of As are the organic matter degradation in the sediment and the atmospheric sulfate deposition to the lake. More oxidizing conditions associated with lower organic matter degradation rates yield a greater abundance of Fe(III) oxyhydroxides in the topmost sediment, which act as a barrier to pore water As. Variations in sulfate availability have more complex effects on benthic As remobilization, since sulfide produced by sulfate reduction may enhance both the uptake of dissolved As through the precipitation of Fe(II) sulfides and the release of dissolved As through the reductive dissolution of Fe(III) oxyhydroxides.