Pollution of Coastal Sea Water and Sulfate Reducing Bacteria
1976 Volume 30 Issue 3 Pages 133-141
Details
1976 Volume 30 Issue 3 Pages 133-141
As the result of the analysis conducted on the sea water and the sea-bottom sediments at the several points of Tokyo Bay affected by the polluted rivers flowing into it, and of the incubation tests of the sediments, the following were made clear concerning sulfate reducing bacteria.
1. The concentrations of organic matter and nutrient salts were higher in the surface portion of the sea than in the bottom portion. This fact indicated that the polluted water from the rivers spreaded widely in the surface of the sea water without having mingled with the sea water because of the difference between the sea water and polluted water densities. Especially, quite a number of sulfate reducing bacteria was observed in the surface of the sea water where the polluted water flew into directly. This was because the sulfate reducing bacteria having grown in the bottom sediments near the estuaries were carried by the flowing water.
2. In such an area as the inner part of Tokyo Bay, sulfate reducing bacteria may grow even in the sea water. In that case, the concentration of organic matter and the temperature affect the number of bacteria.
3. The sulfate reducing bacteria found in the sea seemed to have originated from fresh water, because they were more active to a fresh-water medium than to a sea-water medium.
4. Sulfate reducing bacteria grow actively in the bottom sediment. The concentration of organic matter had little influence on the number of bacteria in the bottom sediment, but the temperature had an influence because the number of bacteria increased in summer and decreased in winter.
5. There was a good correlation between the concentration of sulfide and the concentration of organic matter (ignition loss) in the bottom sediment.
6 The anaerobic incubation tests of the bottom sediment controlled at 37°C and pH7, resulted in a new generation of hydrogen sulfide. The generation rate in case hydrogen gas was bubbled was 20 times more than that in case of nitrogen gas.
