Algal nutrient limitation and metal uptake experiment in the Åkerberg pit lake, northern Sweden

• A microcosm nutrient limitation experiment was conducted in the Åkerberg pit lake, located in Västerbotten, northern Sweden, in the summer of 2018. The microcosms were fertilized with N, P and N and P in combination. Chlorophyll-a concentrations were used to estimate algal growth. Filtered and suspended metal concentrations of the microcosms were compared to see if an increase in algal growth would lead to higher metal uptake. The results show that the microcosms fertilized with N and P had the highest chlorophyll-a concentrations (3–3.4 μg/l). This corresponds to an increase of 9.5–11 times compared to the initial chlorophyll-a concentrations, suggesting that the lake is nutrient poor with regards to both N and P. An increase of the metal concentration in the suspended particulate samples (>0.2 μm) of the microcosms fertilized with both N and P could be observed particularly for the mining-related metals Cd, Co, Ni, and Zn. The uptake of these metals amounted to 2.5–20% (Cd), 2.6–14% (Co), 0.87–1.8% (Ni), and 19–64% (Zn) of their filtered concentrations (<0.2 μm).

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Geokemi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Geochemistry (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Pit lake

Subarctic

Algal growth

Metal uptake

Nutrient limitation

Tillämpad geokemi

Applied Geochemistry

Centrumbildning - Centrum för avancerad gruvteknik och metallurgi (CAMM)

Centre - Centre for Advanced Mining & Metallurgy (CAMM)

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