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Phosphine (PH3) is a natural constituent in phosphorus (P) chemical cycles. The discovery of phosphine will shed new light on the mechanisms of P supplement and biogeochemical cycles. Since phosphine is converted to phosphate after complex oxidation via hypophosphite and phosphite, if it were present in the water column, understanding its production and emission could enhance our understanding of P speciation. Assuming that phosphine in the gas phase is an ideal gas and at equilibrium between water and gas interface, phosphine in water solution can be quantified from the equilibrated concentration in gas phase using the Henry's Law. Application of this approach to Lake Taihu, China, phosphine in unfiltered and filtered water samples (0.45 μm) was analysed. Results showed that phosphine was universally present in Lake Taihu water. Phosphine concentration in unfiltered water ranged from 0.16 to 1.11 pg L-1, and was much less (0.01 to 0.04 pg L-1) in filtered samples. Over 90% of phosphine was adsorbed onto or incorporated into suspended materials with <10% dissolved in the water. Higher phosphine concentrations could be observed in warm seasons. Positive relationships were found between PH3 and TP (average R2 = 0.59 ± 0.22) and TSP (average R2 = 0.37 ± 0.13). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphine (PH3) was monitored in the Taihu Lake in China by a GC/NPD method, coupled with cryo-trapping enrichment technology. Results showed that PH3 was universally detected in sediments, lake water and atmosphere of the Taihu Lake area. Total phosphorus (TPs) and fractions of different phosphorus species in lake sediments were separately measured as dissolved phosphate (DP), phosphorus bound to aluminum (Al-P), iron (Fe-P) and calcium (Ca-P), occluded phosphorus (OP), and organic phosphorus (Org-P) by sequential chemical extraction. High PH3 levels were correlated with high TPs values in sediments and with eutrophication at different sites. In addition, a positive linear correlation equation was obtained between the concentrations of PH3 in lake sediments and of the phosphorus fractions. The resulting multiple linear regression equation is PH3 = −165 + 63.3 DP + 0.736 Al-P + 2.33 Ca-P + 2.29 Org-P. The flux of PH3 across the sediment–water interface was estimated from sediment core incubation in May and October 2002. The annual average sediment–water flux of PH3 was estimated at ca. 0.0138±0.005 pg dm−2 h−1, the average yearly emission value of PH3 from Taihu Lake sediments to water was calculated to be 28.3±10.2 g year−1, which causes a water PH3 concentration of up to 0.178±0.064 pmol dm−3. The real importance of PH3 could be higher, because PH3 could be consumed in the oxic sediment–water boundary layer and in the water column. Spatial and temporal distributions of total phosphorus (TPw) and chlorophyll a (Chl- a) in the water column of Taihu Lake were measured over the study period. Higher water PH3 has also been found where the TPw content was high. Similarly, high Chl- a was consistent with higher water PH3. Positive relationships between PH3 and TPw (average R 2 = 0.47±0.26) and Chl- a (average R 2 = 0.23±0.31) were observed in Taihu Lake water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphine is a natural gaseous carrier of phosphorus in its geochemical cycles, and it might be of importance to the phosphorus balance of eutrophic lakes. Phosphine concentration levels in Taihu Lake, a typical shallow eutrophic lake in China, were intensely investigated in this work. Results show that in the period of 2002 the variation of phosphine concentration in the atmosphere near Taihu Lake is significant, with a maximum value 2.85 pg/l. Concurrent sampling of phosphine in surface and bottom water of the lake had no distinct change. The mean concentration of phosphine in the water ranged from 1.92 to 3.01 pg/l. Approximately 84–90% of the phosphine was removed from lake water during passage of the sample through a 0.45 μm pore size filter, i.e. the average phosphine concentrations of filtered lake water in all sampling locations were from 0.37 to 0.40 pg/l with the highest value 0.73 pg/l and the lowest 0.08 pg/l, whereas phosphine concentrations in unfiltered samples were 5–9 times higher. Phosphine levels in lake sediments were positively correlated with different contamination of the samples. The concentration levels of phosphine were also higher in severe polluted sites. The local average values of the phosphine concentrations were from 21 550 to 563 100 pg/kg. Its highest value was 919 238 pg/kg at 6# site (Zhihu harbor), a severely polluted sampling site. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]