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Py-GC/MS analysis of sediments from Lake Biwa, Japan: characterization and sources of humic acids

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Abstract

Humic substances extracted and purified from bottom sediments of northern Lake Biwa, Japan, in November 2012 and 2013 were characterized using elemental analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, hydrogen-1 nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) analysis, and pyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). The infrared (IR) bands in the spectra of humic acids showed the presence of amide linkages and polysaccharides. Results of 1H NMR analysis showed that the humic acids contained approximately twice the number of aliphatic protons as those in the Japanese soil standards used for comparison. Results of the Py-GC/MS analysis, which evaluates pyrolysis temperature dependency of the amount of pyrolysis products, showed that the generation of pyrolysis products in humic acids also differed from that in Japanese soil standards but was similar to that of phytoplankton in Lake Biwa. This analysis method is the first to provide extensive information about the chemical structure of humic substances; conventional Py-GC/MS provides limited information for a single temperature. Data suggest that humic acids in lake sediments are related to chemical characteristics of phytoplankton. Results shed new light on the origins of humic substances in deep-water-lake sediments and provide insights into material recycling in such sediments.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (KAKENHI; Grant Nos. 26340004 and 26340050).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Environmental Science, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8585, Japan

    Yasuro Fuse & Etsu Yamada

  2. Lake Biwa Environmental Research Institute, 5-34 Yanagasaki, Otsu, Shiga, 520-0022, Japan

    Takahiro Okamoto & Kazuhide Hayakawa

  3. Faculty of Molecular Chemistry and Engineering, Kyoto Institute of Technology, Matsugasaki, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8585, Japan

    Hajime Karatani

Authors
  1. Yasuro Fuse
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  2. Takahiro Okamoto
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  3. Kazuhide Hayakawa
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  4. Hajime Karatani
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  5. Etsu Yamada
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Correspondence to Yasuro Fuse.

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Handling Editor: Youhei Yamashita.

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Fuse, Y., Okamoto, T., Hayakawa, K. et al. Py-GC/MS analysis of sediments from Lake Biwa, Japan: characterization and sources of humic acids. Limnology 17, 207–221 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10201-015-0470-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10201-015-0470-7

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