Issue 4, 2014

Evidence for dissolved organic matter as the primary source and sink of photochemically produced hydroxyl radical in arctic surface waters

Abstract

Hydroxyl radical (˙OH) is an indiscriminate oxidant that reacts at near-diffusion-controlled rates with organic carbon. Thus, while ˙OH is expected to be an important oxidant of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and other recalcitrant compounds, the role of ˙OH in the oxidation of these compounds in aquatic ecosystems is not well known due to the poorly constrained sources and sinks of ˙OH, especially in pristine (unpolluted) natural waters. We measured the rates of ˙OH formation and quenching across a range of surface waters in the Arctic varying in concentrations of expected sources and sinks of ˙OH. Photochemical formation of ˙OH was observed in all waters tested, with rates of formation ranging from 2.6 ± 0.6 to 900 ± 100 × 10−12 M s−1. Steady-state concentrations ranged from 2 ± 1 to 290 ± 60 × 10−17 M, and overlapped with previously reported values in surface waters. While iron-mediated photo-Fenton reactions likely contributed to the observed ˙OH production, several lines of evidence suggest that DOM was the primary source and sink of photochemically produced ˙OH in pristine arctic surface waters. DOM from first-order or headwater streams was more efficient in producing ˙OH than what has previously been reported for DOM, and ˙OH formation decreased with increasing residence time of DOM in sunlit surface waters. Despite the ubiquitous formation of ˙OH in arctic surface waters observed in this study, photochemical ˙OH formation was estimated to contribute ≤4% to the observed photo-oxidation of DOM; however, key uncertainties in this estimate must be addressed before ruling out the role of ˙OH in the oxidation of DOM in these waters.

Graphical abstract: Evidence for dissolved organic matter as the primary source and sink of photochemically produced hydroxyl radical in arctic surface waters

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
08 nóv. 2013
Accepted
22 jan. 2014
First published
22 jan. 2014

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2014,16, 807-822

Author version available

Evidence for dissolved organic matter as the primary source and sink of photochemically produced hydroxyl radical in arctic surface waters

S. E. Page, J. R. Logan, R. M. Cory and K. McNeill, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2014, 16, 807 DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00596H

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements