Spatial and Temporal Variations of Taste and Odor Compounds in Surface Water, Overlying Water and Sediment of the Western Lake Chaohu, China

Abstract

The seasonal variations of taste and odor (T&O) compounds in western Lake Chaohu were evaluated from July to December 2013. High values were detected in particulate fractions, with peak values 28.25 ng/L for geosmin (GEO), 45.18 ng/L for dimethyltrisulfide (DMTS), 714.77 ng/L for β-cyclocitral, 11.23 ng/L for β-ionone in surface water, and 14.21 ng/L for GEO, 103.68 ng/L for DMTS, 11.97 ng/L for β-ionone in overlying water, all exceeding their odor thresholds. The maximum off-flavor concentrations in sediment ranged from 2010.76 ng/kg for GEO to 1.7 ng/kg for β-ionone. Positive correlations could be found not only between Anabaena and particulate GEO (r = 0.813, p < 0.01), but also between Microcystis and total β-cyclocitral (r = 0.652, p < 0.01) or β-ionone (r = 0.560, p < 0.01) in surface water. TP, TN, PO4-P, Chl-a and organic matter contributed significantly to the variations of T&O compounds in water or sediment. The cause of the variations of T&O compounds was the accumulation and degradation of cyanobacteria in water rather than nutrient-rich sediment.

Occurrence of earthy–musty taste and odors in the Taihu Lake, China: spatial and seasonal patterns

“…2(A) and (B)) as many results report peak concentrations of T&O in this month. [17][18][19] In September 2009, the concentration of b-ionone (58.62-1932.73 ng L À1 ) was the highest among all the investigated T&O compounds, which is a major off-avor metabolite of M. aeruginosa 15,24 and a product of carotene (also an important metabolite of Microcystis aeruginosa) oxidation when it is exposed to oxygen gas. 25 An earlier study also identied it as a T&O compound in lake water.…”

“…This result is partly consistent with the correlation analysis results (Table 2) and other observed data. 18 Moreover, other authors also found that geosmin and UV254 were part of the same group using PCA to analyze the occurrence of T&O. 15 Group 2 was made of IPMP, IBMP, 2-MIB, b-ionone and bcyclocitral, which indicate that T&O compounds were one of the major components in all the water parameters.…”

“…Taihu Lake (30 56 0 -31 33 0 N, 119 54 0 -120 36 0 E), which is the third largest freshwater lake in China, is located in the eastern part of the country. Many earlier publications indicate that samples collected in January show a lower T&O concentration; however, the dead algal cells release T&O compounds during the hibernation period, thus samples collected in September show the highest concentrations in the Taihu Lake, 17 Chaohu Lake 18 and Beijing Miyun Reservoir. 19 Therefore, 40 sampling sites over the entire Taihu Lake were selected in September 2009 and 2010.…”

“…In general, phosphorus is an important nutrient factor for algae growth. 18 As a result of algal growth, the TP concentration decreases and chlorophyll-a increases. In this study, both IPMP and IBMP showed a negative correlation with TP, which indicates that TP is the limiting factor for IPMP/IBMP formation.…”

A Remote Sensing Algorithm of Column-Integrated Algal Biomass Covering Algal Bloom Conditions in a Shallow Eutrophic Lake

“…The lake has been heavily polluted and suffered from increasing harmful algal blooms since the 1990s. Although several algae species have been observed, cyanobacterial blooms commonly occur from May to November of each year throughout the lake [63,64]. The lake is commonly divided into three parts based on their eutrophication levels; the western part is in severely eutrophic status while the central and eastern parts are considered to be mesotrophic.…”