Speciation of organic carbon, Cu and Mn in the River Marne (France): the role of colloids

Abstract

The distribution of organic carbon (OC) and of some metals (Cu, Mn) amongst the particulate (>0·2 μm), colloidal (10 kDa–0·2 μm) and the truly dissolved (<10 kDa) fractions of the River Marne was investigated during the phytoplankton spring bloom. A tangential ultrafiltration (UF) device was utilized to separate the colloidal fraction. On average, 22% of the OC, 31% of the Cu and 53% of the Mn, usually assigned to the so-called dissolved fraction, were found in the colloidal fraction. The colloidal fraction exhibited a behaviour different from that of the particulate and truly dissolved fractions. Autochthonous production led to enrichment in the colloidal and particulate OC pools: up to 47% of the total dissolved OC was in the colloidal fraction. An increase in the colloidal metal fraction, concomitant with a fall in the truly dissolved fraction, coincided with peaks in phytoplankton during the bloom. These phenomena might be related either to an increase in pH associated with photosynthetic activity, resulting in the precipitation of truly dissolved forms into the colloidal fraction, or to scavenging of the truly dissolved metals by the algal species of colloidal size. The interaction between the colloidal and the truly dissolved phases was very important. The partition coefficients of the Cu and Mn between the colloidal and truly dissolved fractions were higher than between the particulate and the truly dissolved fractions. This pattern is consistent with a greater specific surface area of colloids than macroparticles. Consequently, the adsorption and complexation capacities are enhanced in the colloidal fraction of the particulate matter. The extraction of hydrophobic complexes with Cu using C18 Sep-Pak columns, showed that the Cu occurring in colloidal, total dissolved or truly dissolved forms was significantly complexed by the organic matter. The truly dissolved fraction might be complexed up to 100% during a phytoplankton bloom. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.