Temporal and spatial variations of low-molecular-weight organic acids in Dianchi Lake, China

Low-molecular-weight organic acids (LMWOAs) in eutrophic lake water of Dianchi, Southwestern China Plateau were investigated diurnally and vertically using ion chromatography. Two profiles (PI and P2) were studied due to the difference of hydrochemical features. Lactic, formic, pyruvic and oxalic acid were detected as major components at PI and P2 which were on average 7.98 and 6.53 μmol/L, respectively, corresponding to their proportions of 2.68% and 2.48% relative to DOC. Pyruvic acid was regarded as the uppermost species at PI and P2, reaching up to 3.82 and 3.35 μmol/L and accounting for 47.9% and 51.3%, respectively, in individual TOA. Although humus were of biogenetic production at both sites, the significant negative correlation between diurnal variations of TOAs, fluorescence intensity (FI) of protein-like components and humic-like components at PI indicated LMWOAs were greatly originated from bacterioplankton excretion and degradation. However, correlations between diurnal variations of humic-like FI and physicochemical parameters demonstrated algal origination of LMWOAs at P2. Although content of humus was high, TOA at P2 was 1.45 μmol/L lower than that at PI, due to the co-influence of more intense photo-oxidation and aggregation at P2. Therefore, TOAs exhibited quite opposite diurnal variation trends of increasing-decreasing and decreasing-increasing at PI and P2, respectively. Except for impact of solar radiation, bacterial decomposition and assimilation rendered shifts of maximal LMWOAs along water column at PL Covering with massive algae, UV rays penetrated shallower depth that LMWOAs assembled in surface layer water before 18:00 at P2 and represented decreasing profiles.