Phytoplankton-mediated redox cycle of iron in the epilimnion of Lake Kinneret.

Abstract

The biological-mediated redox cycle of Fe was studied in the epilimnion of Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), a mesotrophic lake in Israel. Multi-annual lake water sampling and incubation experiments were carried out to study Fe(III) reduction by natural phytoplankton populations and their possible role in inhibiting Fe(II) oxidation. The reduction characteristics of the dinoflagellate Peridinium gatunense, the dominant lake alga, were further examined in the laboratory. The steady-state concentration of Fe(II) calculated from the assessed reduction and oxidation rates was compared with Fe(II) measured in the lake in order to evaluate the significance of these processes to the lake Fe redox cycle. Nanomolar concentrations of Fe(II) were measured in the oxygenated, high pH, upper water layer of the lake throughout the year. Reduction rates of Fe by natural phytoplankton assemblages ranged between 0.1 and 10 nM/h. The highest reduction rates, determined in dinoflagellate-dominated lake waters, coincided with the highest concentrations of Fe(II) measured simultaneously in the lake. Iron(II) oxidation rates calculated from the measured lake Fe(II) and the obtained reduction rates were significantly slower than published abiotic Fe(II) oxidation rates. Indeed, Fe(II) oxidation rates measured in algal-enriched lake water were 30-fold slowerthan Fe(II) oxidation rates in natural water, demonstrating the potential for Fe(II) stabilization by the lake phytoplankton.