Surface Microlayer Water Research Articles

Transport of butyltins at the water‐air interface and the adsorptive behavior of tributyltin in the surface microlayer

The transfer dynamics and enrichment phenomena of monobutyltin chloride(MBT), dibutyltin chloride(DBT) and tributyltin chloride(TBT) at the water‐surface microlayer (SM) interface were studied. The transport processes of the three compounds at the interface are very fast in the estuarine environment. The mass transfer coefficients are 1.54 m/h for MBT, 2.16 m/h for DBT, 1.56 m/h for TBT. The effect of various factors, including pH, salinity, suspended particulate and temperature, on the adsorptive behavior of TBT in the water's surface microlayer was also studied.

Bacterial Enrichment in the Surface Microlayer of an Anopheles quadrimaculatus (Diptera: Culicidae) Larval Habitat

Sampling of the surface microlayer of water in a marsh habitat of Anopheles quadrimaculatus Say in Michigan revealed it to be enriched with bacteria compared with subsurface water samples. Concentrations of total numbers of bacteria ranged from 18.8 x 10(6)/ml to 65.4 x 10(6)/ml (mean, 35.9 x 10(6)/ml; n = 13) in surface microlayer samples, and from 3.8 x 10(6)/ml to 14.3 x 10(6)/ml, (mean, 7.8 x 10(6)/ml; n = 13) in subsurface samples. Specifically, the surface microlayer had higher concentrations of three morphotypes of bacteria (cocci, rods, and rods attached to detritus particles). Given that bacteria are an important food of mosquito larvae, we suggest that the interfacial feeding behavior of An. quadrimaculatus larvae allows them to exploit the surface microlayer, a food-rich zone.

Measurement of Water Surface Microlayer by Properties of Capillary Wave

Measurement of Water Surface Microlayer by Properties of Capillary Wave

Quantitative and qualitative bacteriology of the marine water surface microlayer in a sewage-polluted area

The thin microlayer constituted of organic matter which is present at the seaair interface has been shown to accumulate bacteria and, therefore, represents a phenomenon of sanitary significance. The enrichment of indicator bacteria observed within the neuston, in relation to subsurface water contamination, has been followed in three stations presenting different contamination levels and various types of pollution. The bacterial enrichment in the neuston has been estimated to range from 24- to 720-fold in comparison with subsurface water. For a given sampling station the enrichment observed for the four bacterial groups considered is rather homogeneous. In contrast, clear differences appear between the stations. The value of the enrichment factor seems to be influenced by the organic contamination in the surface film. A qualitative analysis of bacteria isolated from surface and subsurface water has pointed out some differences between these two groups of samples.

The recovery of high numbers of bdellovibrios from the surface water microlayer

Bdellovibrios lytic against the bacterium Vibrio parahaemolyticus have been recovered in the surface water microlayer. The organisms were recovered at numbers several 100-fold higher than the number recovered from subsurface waters, the aquatic area where most quantitative studies for bdellovibrios have been conducted. The number of total cultivable bacteria recovered in the surface water microlayer exceeded by several logs the number of cultivable bacteria recovered from subsurface waters. The results of this study reveal that bdellovibrios can be recovered in the aquatic environment at higher numbers than some previous studies have indicated. The high numbers of bdellovibrios and other bacteria recovered from the surface water microlayer makes this an attractive ecosystem in which to study the ecology of bdellovibrios in the aquatic environment.

Spatial heterogeneity of phytoplankton populations in estuarine surface microlayers

Phytoplankton populations are concentrated in surface microlayer waters of the York River and Mobjack Bay, Virginia, USA. The degree of vertical heterogeneity was variable and seemed most dependent on weather conditions (vertical mixing) and total phytoplankton cell densities. Vertical stratification also exhibited some taxocoenotic dependency. Structurally, the phytoplankton communities of the surface microlayer were less diverse than subsurface communities. In general, values of informational diversity (H'), evenness (J), and richness (S and r) are lowest in the surface microlayer and increase with depth (to 3.0 m). Mechanisms which structure and maintain vertical heterogeneity are discussed.