Oxygen-isotope variations in sulfate ions in the water of some Italian lakes |
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| Authors: | Gianni Cortecci |
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| Institution: | Laboratorio di Geologia Nucleare, Pisa, Italy |
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| Abstract: | The results obtained by measuring the sulfate content and its ratios through time in some volcanic, tectonic and dam Italian lakes are reported here. The variations with time of the oxygen isotopic composition of the lake waters are also reported. The measurements refer mainly to surface water; however, a few deep samples were also studied.In the case of all the lakes examined, the variations with time of the oxygen isotopic composition and of the concentration of the dissolved sulfate cannot be explained in terms of the addition and of seasonal variations of the O18 content of rainwater sulfate. Biological redox processes involving bacterial reduction of sulfate and sulfide oxidation can reasonably account for the results obtained.According to Lloyd (1967), when sulfate is formed by bacterial sulfide oxidation, 68 per cent of the sulfate oxygen is water oxygen, while 32 per cent is dissolved molecular oxygen. The isotopic enrichment of the dissolved molecular oxygen in the lake waters relative to the isotope content of the atmospheric oxygen is mainly related to the biological activity in the waters.Assuming that a stagnation period takes place during summer and fall while a period of strong bio-respiratory activity takes place during winter and spring, it follows that a small isotope fractionation effect on molecular dissolved oxygen can be expected during stagnation while a high isotope fractionation can be expected during winter and spring. The O18 content of the sulfate dissolved in volcanic and tectonic lakes varies according to this hypothesis. The fact that similar O18 contents of the dissolved sulfate are or are not found in the same period of different years is probably related to similarities or differences in the climatic conditions.The bio-physical behaviour of the Corbara dam lake is different from that of other lakes. However, because of the continuous feeding by the Tiber River, variations of the sulfate concentration and its oxygen isotopic composition can be caused by the contribution of polluted water. |
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