Publications
Following publications have been announced by our department Aquatic Nutrient Cycles. For further information please contact Dr. Tina Sanders, co-author of the publications:
Hommel, E., König, M., Braun, G., Krauss, M., Kamjunke, N., Brack, W., Matousu, A., Sanders, T., Bussmann, I., Achterberg, E.P., Raupers, B., & Escher, B.I. (2025): Following the Mixtures of Organic Micropollutants with In Vitro Bioassays in a Large Lowland River from Source to Sea. ACS Environmental Au, doi:10.1021/acsenvironau.4c00059
Abstract:
Human-impacted rivers often contain a complex mixture of organic micropollutants, including pesticides, pharmaceuticals and industrial compounds, along with their transformation products. Combining chemical target analysis for exposure with in vitro bioassays for effect assessment offers a holistic view of water quality. This study targeted the River Elbe in Central Europe, known for its anthropogenic pollution exposure, to obtain an inventory of micropollutant contamination during base flow and to identify hotspots of contamination. We identified tributaries as sources of chemicals activating the aryl hydrocarbon receptor quantified with the AhR-CALUX assay, including historically contaminated tributaries and a newly identified Czech tributary. Increased neurotoxicity, detected by differentiated SH-SY5Y neurons’ cytotoxicity and shortened neurite length, was noted in some Czech tributaries. A hotspot for chemicals activating the oxidative stress response in the AREc32 assay was found in the middle Elbe in Germany. An increase in oxidative stress inducing chemicals was observed in the lower Elbe. While effect-based trigger values (EBT) for oxidative stress response, xenobiotic metabolism and neurotoxicity were not exceeded, estrogenicity levels surpassed the EBT in 14% of surface water samples, posing a potential threat to fish reproduction. Target analysis of 713 chemicals resulted in the quantification of 487 micropollutants, of which 133 were active in at least one bioassay. Despite this large number of bioactive quantified chemicals, the mixture effects predicted by the concentrations of the quantified bioactive chemicals and their relative effect potency explained only 0.002–1.2% of the effects observed in the surface water extracts, highlighting a significant unknown fraction in the chemical mixtures. This case study established a baseline for understanding pollution dynamics and spatial variations in the Elbe River, offering a comprehensive view of potential chemical effects in the water and guiding further water quality monitoring in European rivers.
Juhls, B., Morgenstern, A., Hölemann, J., Eulenburg, A., Heim, B., Miesner, F., Grotheer, H., Mollenhauer, G., Meyer, H., Erkens, E., Gehde, F.Y., Antonova, S., Chalov, S., Tereshina, M., Erina, O., Fingert, E., Abramova, E., Sanders, T., Lebedeva, L., Torgovkin, N., Maksimov, G., Povazhnyi, V., Gonçalves-Araujo, R., Wünsch, U., Chetverova, A., Opfergelt, S., & Overduin, P. P. (2025): Lena River biogeochemistry captured by a 4.5-year high-frequency sampling program. Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 1–28, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1-2025
Abstract:
The Siberian Arctic is warming rapidly, causing permafrost to thaw and altering the biogeochemistry of aquatic environments, with cascading effects on the coastal and shelf ecosystems of the Arctic Ocean. The Lena River, one of the largest Arctic rivers, drains a catchment dominated by permafrost. Baseline discharge biogeochemistry data are necessary to understand present and future changes in land-to-ocean fluxes. Here, we present a high-frequency 4.5-year-long dataset from a sampling program of the Lena River’s biogeochemistry, spanning April 2018 to August 2022. The dataset comprises 587 sampling events and measurements of various parameters, including water temperature, electrical conductivity, stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes, dissolved organic carbon concentration and 14C, colored and fluorescent dissolved organic matter, dissolved inorganic and total nutrients, and dissolved elemental and ion concentrations. Sampling consistency and continuity and data quality were ensured through simple sampling protocols, real-time communication, and collaboration with local and international partners. The data are available as a collection of datasets separated by parameter groups and periods at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.913197 (Juhls et al., 2020b). To our knowledge, this dataset provides an unprecedented temporal resolution of an Arctic river’s biogeochemistry. This makes it a unique baseline on which future environmental changes, including changes in river hydrology, at temporal scales from precipitation event to seasonal to interannual can be detected.
