Transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) are ubiquitous in marine and freshwater environments. For the past two decades, the distribution and ecological roles of these polysaccharide microgels in aquatic systems were extensively investigated. More recent studies have implicated TEP as an active agent in biofilm formation and membrane fouling. Since biofouling is one of the main hurdles for efficient operation of membrane-based technologies, there is a heightened interest in understanding the role of TEP in engineered water systems. In this review, we describe relevant TEP terminologies while critically discussing TEP biological origin, biochemical and physical characteristics, and occurrence and distributions in aquatic systems. Moreover, we examine the contribution of TEP to biofouling of various membrane technologies used in the desalination and water/wastewater treatment industry. Emphasis is given to the link between TEP physicochemical and biological properties and the underlying biofouling mechanisms....

Transparent exopolymer particles: from aquatic environments and engineered systems to membrane biofouling.

Observations along 10 shelf transects in 2012 near 10°N in the southeastern Arabian Sea revealed the usual warm oligotrophic conditions during the winter monsoon and upwelling of oxygen-deficient, nutrient-rich cool water during the summer monsoon (SM). By changing an oligotrophic to a nutrient-replete condition, the upwelling is the major process that regulates the biogeochemistry of this shelf. Its onset is perceptible at 100m depth between January and March. The upwelling reaches the surface layer in May and intensifies during June–July but withdraws completely and abruptly by October. Despite the nutrient injection, the primary production during SM, integrated for euphotic zone, is comparable to that during the preceding spring intermonsoon (SIM). Again, as usual, the high oxygen demand coupled with low concentration in the upwelled subsurface waters causes severe oxygen depletion below the shallow pycnocline. The oxygen concentrations/saturations of 2012 on the midshelf are similar from those of mid-1958 to early 1960, except for marginally higher values during the peak upwelling period due to relatively weak upwelling in 2012. This implies little anthropogenic influence on coastal hypoxia unlike many other coastal regions. In 2012, the inner shelf system shifted from net autotrophy in SIM to net heterotrophy in SM but on an annual basis it was net autotrophic (gross primary production to community respiration ratio, GPP/R:1.11 ± 0.84) as organic production exceeded consumption.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/2015JG003163

Evolution to decay of upwelling and associated biogeochemistry over the southeastern Arabian Sea shelf

[1] Estuaries have been under sampled to establish them as sources or sinks of the atmospheric carbon dioxide. Such poor coverage is well known for tropical, particularly monsoon driven, estuaries. In an attempt to study the variability in CO2 in a tropical monsoon estuary we made systematic time-series observations in the Gautami Godavari estuarine system in the east coast of India. Our 18 month-long extensive monitoring in the tropical Godavari estuarine system revealed pH >7.8 during dry period that decreased by 1.5 ± 0.01 during peak discharge period. The decrease in pH was associated with high nutrients and bacterial activities suggesting significant organic carbon decomposition. High bacterial respiration (20.6 ± 7.2 μMC l−1 d−1) in the estuary resulted in very high pCO2 of ∼30,000 μatm during peak discharge period, which otherwise were <500 μatm during dry period. Such high pCO2 levels were unknown to occur in any aquatic region. Several major and minor estuaries flow into the northern Indian Ocean from the Indian subcontinent and the monsoon associated processes make these systems chimney for emitting CO2 to atmosphere unrealized hitherto.

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High CO2 emissions from the tropical Godavari estuary (India) associated with monsoon river discharges

Daily variations in nutrients were monitored for 15 months (September 2007–November 2008) in the Godavari estuary, Andhra Pradesh, India, at two fixed locations. River discharge has significant influence on nutrients loading to the estuary, which peaks during June–August (peak discharge period; monsoon) whereas exchanges at the sediment–water interface, groundwater and rainwater contribute significantly during other period. Despite significant amount of nutrients brought by discharge to the study region, phytoplankton biomass, in terms of chlorophyll- a (Chl a ), did not increase significantly due to high suspended load and shallow photic depth. Nutrients showed downward gradient towards downstream of the estuary from upstream due to dilution by nutrient poor seawater and biological uptake. The N:P ratios were higher than Redfield ratio in both upstream and downstream of the estuary during no discharge period suggesting PO 4 to be a limiting nutrient for phytoplankton production, at levels −1 . On the other hand, Si:N ratios were always more than unity during entire study period at both the stations indicating that Si(OH) 4 is not a limiting nutrient. Our results suggest that suspended matter limits phytoplankton biomass during peak discharge period whereas PO 4 during no discharge period.

Intra-annual variability in nutrients in the Godavari Estuary, India

Estuaries are known to be strong source for atmospheric CO2, however, little information is available from Indian estuaries. In order to quantify CO2 emissions from the Indian estuaries, samples were collected at 27 estuaries all along the Indian coast during discharge (wet) period. The emissions of CO2 to the atmosphere from Indian estuaries were 4-5 times higher during wet than dry period. The pCO2 ranged between ~300 and 18492 μatm which are within the range of world estuaries. The mean pCO2 and particulate organic carbon (POC) showed positive relation with rate of discharge suggesting availability of high quantities of organic matter that led to enhanced microbial decomposition. The annual CO2 fluxes from the Indian estuaries, together with dry period data available in the literature, amounts to 1.92 TgC which is >10 times less than that from the European estuaries. The low CO2 fluxes from the Indian estuaries are attributed to low flushing rates and less human settlements along the banks of the Indian estuaries.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1029/2011GL050709

Carbon dioxide emissions from Indian monsoonal estuaries

To examine the influence of river discharge on plankton metabolic balance in a monsoon driven tropical estuary, daily variations in physico-chemical and nutrients characteristics were studied over a period of 15 months (September 2007 to November 2008) at a fixed location (Yanam) in the Godavari estuary, India. River discharge was at its peak during July to September with a sharp decrease in the middle of December and complete cessation thereafter. Significant amount of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN, of 22–26 μmol l−1) and dissolved inorganic phosphate (DIP, of 3–4 μmol l−1) along with suspended materials (0.2–0.5 g l−1) were found at the study region during the peak discharge period. A net heterotrophy with low gross primary production (GPP) occurred during the peak discharge period. The Chlorophyll a (Chl a) varied between 4 and 18 mg m−3 that reached maximum levels when river discharge and suspended loads decreased by >75% compared to that during peak period. High productivity was sustained for about one and half months during October to November when net community production (NCP) turned from net heterotrophy to autotrophy in the photic zone. Rapid decrease in nutrients (DIN and DIP by ∼15 and 1.4 μmol l−1, respectively) was observed during the peak Chl a period of two weeks. Chl a in the post monsoon (October–November) was negatively related to river discharge. Another peak in Chl a in January to February was associated with higher nutrient concentrations and high DIN:DIP ratios suggest possible external supply of nitrogen into the system. The mean photic zone productivity to respiration ratio (P:R) was 2.38 ± 0.24 for the entire study period (September 2007–November 2008). Nevertheless, the ratio of GPP to the entire water column respiration was only 0.14 ± 0.02 revealing that primary production was not enough to support water column heterotrophic activity. The excess carbon demand by the heterotrophs could be met from the allochthonous inputs of mainly terrestrial origin. Assuming that the entire phytoplankton produced organic material was utilized, the additional terrestrial organic carbon supported the total bacterial activity (97–99%) during peak discharge period and 40–75% during dry period. Therefore, large amount of terrestrial organic carbon is getting decomposed in the Godavari estuarine system.

P. V. R. Babu

Papers

Influence of river discharge on plankton metabolic rates in the tropical monsoon driven Godavari estuary, India