Drivers analysis and future scenario-based predictions of nutrient loads in key lakes and reservoirs of the Yangtze River Catchment.

The excessive nutrient loading in lakes and reservoirs poses significant threats to water quality and ecological health, especially under the influence of global climate change and intensified human activities. This study focuses on the long-term trends in nutrient content and ratios, as well as their driving factors in six major lakes and reservoirs (Chaohu Lake, Danjiangkou Reservoir, Dianchi Lake, Dongtinghu Lake, Poyanghu Lake, and Taihu Lake) within the Yangtze River Catchment from 2002 to 2021. Utilizing Redundancy Analysis, Random Forest and Generalized Additive Model, we identify the shifts in natural and socio-economic factors influencing nutrient concentrations and predict future trends under various scenarios.

Pollution characterization and multi-index ecological risk assessment of microplastics in urban rivers from a Chinese megacity.

Currently, a comprehensive understanding of the pollution risks of microplastics (MPs) in urban river ecosystems is still lacking. This study investigated the spatial distribution and morphological characteristics of MPs in surface waters of major rivers in Shenzhen, a megacity in China, using laser direct infrared (LDIR) imaging. A promisingly comprehensive risk assessment method, MultiMP, was first proposed in this study, taking into account the multidimensional characteristics of MPs including abundance, size, shapes, and polymer types.

Assessment of occurrence, partitioning and ecological risk for 144 steroid hormones in Taihu Lake using UPLC-MS/MS with machine learning model.

Steroid hormones (SHs) have attracted mounting attention due to their endocrine-disrupting effects on humans and aquatic organisms. However, the lack of analytical methods and toxicity data for a large number of SHs has limited the effective management of SH contamination in the water-sediment systems. In this study, we developed a highly sensitive analytical method for the simultaneous quantification of 144 SHs to investigate their occurrence, spatial distribution and partitioning in the water and sediment in Taihu Lake.

Characteristics of the presence and migration patterns of DOM between ice and water in the cold and arid Daihai Lake.

Seasonal ice cover plays a crucial role in shaping the physical characteristics of lakes in cold and arid regions. Moreover, the ice significantly affects the level and quality of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the water column. We utilized spectroscopy and mass spectrometry to analyze the molecular composition and distribution of DOM in ice cores and under-ice water in Daihai Lake.

Spatiotemporal distributions and ecological risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the surface seawater of Laizhou Bay, China.

The spatial-temporal distribution, source, and potential ecological risk of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface seawater from Laizhou Bay were investigated. The total PAH (ΣPAH) concentrations ranged from 277 to 4393 ng/L with an average of 1178 ng/L, thereby suggesting a relatively moderate to high PAH exposure level in Laizhou Bay in comparison to other bays in the world. The composition patterns and source apportionment results revealed that the coal, biomass burning, diesel emissions, and petroleum combustion as well as the combination of these processes were the dominant sources of PAHs in the surface water, which were closely associated with sail process and sewage effluents.

Global scale identification of catchments phosphorus source shifts with urbanization: A phosphate oxygen isotope and Bayesian mixing model approach.

Different scenarios of urban expansion can influence the dynamic characteristics of catchments in terms of phosphorus (P). It is important to identify the changes in P sources that occur during the process of urbanization to develop targeted policies for managing P in catchments. However, there is a knowledge gap in quantifying the variations of potential P sources associated with urbanization.

Source partitioning using phosphate oxygen isotopes and multiple models in a large catchment.

Excessive phosphorus (P) loadings cause major pollution concerns in large catchments. Quantifying the point and nonpoint P sources of large catchments is essential for catchment P management. Although phosphate oxygen isotopes (δO) can reveal P sources and P cycling in catchments, quantifying multiple P sources in a whole catchment should be a research focus.

The pollution of microplastics in sediments of the Yangtze River Basin: Occurrence, distribution characteristics, and basin-scale multilevel ecological risk assessment.

Microplastics (MPs) pollution in the Yangtze River Basin (YRB) of China has grown to be a serious issue, yet there is a lack of understanding of the environmental risks of MPs in the sediment of the entire basin. This work revealed the spatial distribution characteristics of MPs in YRB sediments, and it methodically assessed the ecological risks of MPs by taking into consideration their abundance, toxic effects, and polymer types. The results showed a high heterogeneity in the abundance of MPs in YRB sediments, with an average of 611 particles/kg dry weight (DW) sediment.

Distribution, abundance, and risks posed by microplastics in surface waters of the Yangtze River Basin, China.

Microplastic (MP) pollution in the Yangtze River Basin, China, has become an environmental issue of great concern. However, most studies on MPs have focused on a part of the Yangtze River Basin, and still lack knowledge on the risk of MPs exposure in surface waters of the whole basin. This study overviews the differences in abundance and spatial distribution of MPs in surface waters basin-wide and comprehensively assesses the ecological risk of MPs exposure in surface waters of the Yangtze River Basin by considering the abundance and toxicity effects.

Multiple Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Surface Water and Sediment in Taihu Lake, China.

Taihu Lake is the third-largest freshwater lake in eastern China. The contamination of heavy metals (HMs) in Taihu Lake resulting from rapid economic development and population growth has raised significant concerns in recent years. In this study, the contents and spatial distributions of eight typical HMs (Hg, Cr(VI), As, Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in the fresh surface water and sediments from Taihu Lake were investigated.

Pollution levels and risk assessment of thallium in Chinese surface water and sediments.

Thallium (Tl) is one of the most toxic metals and can cause chronic and acute damage to humans. Due to occurrences of incidents involving Tl pollution in China, its potential environmental impacts are receiving increased attention. However, there is still limited information on Tl concentrations in the environment and their risks to human health and wildlife.

Derivation of water quality criteria of zinc to protect aquatic life in Taihu Lake and the associated risk assessment.

Zinc is a widely distributed environmental pollutants and has been listed as priority heavy metal pollutant in China. Similar as other heavy metals, toxicity of zinc to aquatic organisms affects by environmental factors such as water hardness. It is necessary to develop regional water quality criteria (WQC) to protect native aquatic life against zinc due to the diversity of aquatic organisms' variability across different water systems, as a concretization and supplement for national zinc WQC.

Development of regional water quality criteria of lead for protecting aquatic organism in Taihu Lake, China.

Lead is a widely distributed priority controlled heavy metals in aquatic system, its toxicity to aquatic organisms affected by water quality parameters. This study investigated the acute toxicity of lead (Pb) to the aquatic organisms in Taihu Lake under various water hardness, corresponding regional water quality criteria were derived. The acute toxicity experimental results revealed that the toxicity of Pb to aquatic organisms increased with water hardness.

Evaluation of toxicological responses and promising biomarkers of topmouth gudgeon (Pseudorasbora parva) exposed to fipronil at environmentally relevant levels.

Fipronil is an insecticide commonly used in agriculture. We report here on the sublethal and sub-chronic effects of fipronil on non-target topmouth gudgeon (Pseudorasbora parva) at environmentally relevant levels. The results showed that fipronil did not cause significant changes in brain acetylcholinesterase activities, glutathione S-transferase (GST) activities in the intestine, and GST, glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT), and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) activities in the liver tissues at environmentally relevant levels for 96-h exposure.

Occurrence and mass balance of sixty-two progestins in a municipal sewage treatment plant.

Progestins (PGs) are a group of steroid hormones known to have endocrine-disrupting effects. These compounds can enter the aquatic environment via the discharge of treated or untreated wastewater and the disposal of sludge from sewage treatment plants (STPs); thus, their removal in STPs are of great importance. The present study simultaneously investigated the occurrences and fates of 62 PGs in a municipal STP in Beijing, China.

Microplastics contamination in different trophic state lakes along the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River Basin.

Microplastics can enter freshwater lakes through many sources. They can act as carriers to adsorb bacteria, virus, or pollutants (e.g.

Spatial and Temporal Distributions of Short-, Medium-, and Long-Chain Chlorinated Paraffins in Sediment Cores from Nine Lakes in China.

The spatial and temporal distributions of short-, medium-, and long-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs, MCCPs, and LCCPs) were studied in sediment cores and surface sediment from nine lakes in China. The highest total CP concentrations in surface sediment were found in the plateau lakes of southwest China, followed by lakes in the northeast, east, and remote northwest. The concentrations of three CP groups in cores showed an increasing trend from the 1970s to 2014, with the most rapid increase occurring from the late 2000s to 2014, consistent with the statistics on historical production of CPs in China.

Acid deposition induced base cation loss and different responses of soils and sediments in Taihu Lake watershed, China.

Acid deposition and algae blooms have resulted in great changes in the water chemistry of Taihu Lake; however, there have been few calculated results to describe these processes. Here we used a mass balance model to estimate base cation losses and evaluate the model applicability in this intensively human-impacted watershed based on a long-term database (1985-2015). The results showed that carbonate weathering induced Ca and Mg losses in the watershed were responsible for the increased ion net reaction (INR) of Caand Mg in the lake.

Temporal variation in zooplankton and phytoplankton community species composition and the affecting factors in Lake Taihu-a large freshwater lake in China.

Monitoring diverse components of aquatic ecosystems is vital for elucidation of diversity dynamics and processes, which alter freshwater ecosystems, but such studies are seldom conducted. Phytoplankton and zooplankton are integral components which play indispensable parts in the structure and ecological service function of water bodies. However, few studies were made on how zooplankton and phytoplankton community may respond simultaneously to change of circumstance and their mutual relationship.

Model for Predicting Toxicities of Metals and Metalloids in Coastal Marine Environments Worldwide.

Metals can pose hazards to marine species and can adversely affect structures and functions of communities of marine species. However, little is known about how structural properties of metal atoms combined with current geographical and climatic conditions affect their toxic potencies. A mathematical model, based on quantitative structure-activity relationships and species sensitivity distributions (QSAR-SSD) was developed by use of acute toxicities of six metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, and Zn) to eight marine species and accessory environmental conditions.

δN and nutrient stoichiometry of water, aquatic organisms and environmental implications in Taihu lake, China.

Nitrogen pollution has become a worldwide problem and the source identification is important for the development of pertinent control measures. In this study, isotope end members (rain, nitrogen fertilizer, untreated/treated sewage), and samples (river water discharging to Taihu lake, lake water, aquatic organisms of different trophic levels) were taken during 2010-2015 to examine their δN values and nutrient stoichiometry. Results indicated that phytoplankton (primary producers), which directly take up and incorporate N from the lake water, had a similar δN value (14.

Cation-induced coagulation of aquatic plant-derived dissolved organic matter: Investigation by EEM-PARAFAC and FT-IR spectroscopy.

Complexation and coagulation of plant-derived dissolved organic matter (DOM) by metal cations are important biogeochemical processes of organic matter in aquatic systems. Thus, coagulation and fractionation of DOM derived from aquatic plants by Ca(II), Al(III), and Fe(III) ions were investigated. Metal ion-induced removal of DOM was determined by analyzing dissolved organic carbon in supernatants after addition of these metal cations individually.

Simulated bioavailability of phosphorus from aquatic macrophytes and phytoplankton by aqueous suspension and incubation with alkaline phosphatase.

Bioavailability of phosphorus (P) in biomass of aquatic macrophytes and phytoplankton and its possible relationship with eutrophication were explored by evaluation of forms and quantities of P in aqueous extracts of dried macrophytes. Specifically, effects of hydrolysis of organically-bound P by the enzyme alkaline phosphatase were studied by use of solution P-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Laboratory suspensions and incubations with enzymes were used to simulate natural releases of P from plant debris.

Predicting criteria continuous concentrations of metals or metalloids for protecting marine life by use of quantitative ion characteristic-activity relationships-species sensitivity distributions (QICAR-SSD).

Marine pollution by metals has been a major challenge for ecological systems; however, water quality criteria (WQC) for metals in saltwater is still lacking. Especially from a regulatory perspective, chronic effects of metals on marine organisms should receive more attention. A quantitative ion characteristic-activity relationships-species sensitivity distributions (QICAR-SSD) model, based on chronic toxicities for eight marine organisms, was established to predict the criteria continuous concentrations (CCCs) of 21 metals.