The Quantification of Sulfate Reduction in Sulfate-Rich Freshwater Lakes - A Means for Predicting the Eutrophication Process of Acidic Mining Lakes?

A comparison of neutral freshwater lakes and acidic coal mining lakes with respect to both, in-lake alkalinity generation and P mobilization, has been made to predict the extent of the possibility of P remobilisation in acidic mining lakes creating eutrophication. It is hypothesized that the maturing process of an acid mining lake is comparable to the recent history of the increasing productivity observed in SO42--rich freshwater lakes. This hypothesis is based on the observation that (1) with rising pH over time the atomic S:Fe ratio in the acidic waters is increasing because only a fraction of the SO42--S but nearly all Fe is usually buried in the sediment; (2) the potential of their sediments to immobilize P is at present linked to its continuous accumulation at the sediment together with the stock of its binding partners, mainly Fe(III) compounds; (3) the input of organic matter stimulating the SO42- reduction and the formation of insoluble complexes of sulfide with ferrous Fe will enhance not only the generation of alkalinity, but will also increase the mobility and release of P.