Biologically labile photoproducts from riverine non-labile dissolved organic carbon in the coastal waters

Abstract

In order to assess the production of biologically labile photoproducts (BLPs) from non-labile riverine dissolved organic carbon (DOC), we collected water samples from ten major rivers, removed labile DOC and mixed the residual non-labile DOC with artificial seawater for microbial and photochemical experiments. Bacteria grew on non-labile DOC with a growth efficiency of 11.5% (mean; range from 3.6 to 15.3%). Simulated solar radiation transformed a part of non-labile DOC into BLPs, which stimulated bacterial respiration and production, but did not change bacterial growth efficiency (BGE) compared to the non-irradiated dark controls. In the irradiated water samples, the amount of BLPs stimulating bacterial production depended on the photochemical bleaching of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM). The apparent quantum yields for BLPs supporting bacterial production ranged from 9.5 to 76 (mean 39) (μmol C mol photons −1) at 330 nm. The corresponding values for BLPs supporting bacterial respiration ranged from 57 to 1204 (mean 320) (μmol C mol photons −1). According to the calculations based on spectral apparent quantum yields and local solar radiation, the annual production of BLPs ranged from 21 (St. Lawrence) to 584 (Yangtze) mmol C m −2 yr −1 in the plumes of the examined rivers. Complete photobleaching of riverine CDOM in the coastal ocean was estimated to produce 10.7 Mt C BLPs yr −1 from the rivers examined in this study and globally 38 Mt yr −1 (15% of riverine DOC flux from all rivers), which support 4.1 Mt yr −1 of bacterial production and 33.9 Mt yr −1 bacterial respiration.