Abstract
The copper complexing capacity (CC) of seawater was determined by a bioassay method using marine phytoplankton. Among the 4 species of phytoplankton tested for copper sensitivity, Thalassiosira decipiens was the most sensitive and was therefore selected for the bioassay.CC of 17 seawater samples collected from Tokyo Bay, Sagami Bay, off Sanriku and East China Sea ranged from 15 to 210nM. Eutrophicated Tokyo Bay (St-1 and 2) had higher CC values compared to the other sea areas. Carbon normalized CC values (CC/DOC) showed a high positive correlation with both DOC (r=0.84) and chlorophyll a (r=0.81). UV-irradiation of the water samples resulted in a marked decline in the CC as well as DOC. These findings suggested that the CC of seawater may be mostly attributable to the easily decomposable organic matter originating from the phytoplankton. Laboratory experiment using artificial seawater showed that EDTA had the highest CC followed by NTA and histidine in decreasing order. These results suggested that CC depends on the stability constant rather than on the molecular weight of the chelator.
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