Authors
Gesa A Weyhenmeyer, Jens Hartmann, Dag O Hessen, Jiří Kopáček, Josef Hejzlar, Stéphan Jacquet, Stephen K Hamilton, Piet Verburg, Taylor H Leach, Martin Schmid, Giovanna Flaim, Tiina Nõges, Peeter Nõges, Valerie C Wentzky, Michela Rogora, James A Rusak, Sarian Kosten, Andrew M Paterson, Katrin Teubner, Scott N Higgins, Gregory Lawrence, Külli Kangur, Ilga Kokorite, Leonardo Cerasino, Clara Funk, Rebecca Harvey, Florentina Moatar, Heleen A de Wit, Thomas Zechmeister
Publication date
2019/7/18
Journal
Scientific Reports
Volume
9
Issue
1
Pages
10450
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group UK
Description
Calcium (Ca) is an essential element for almost all living organisms. Here, we examined global variation and controls of freshwater Ca concentrations, using 440 599 water samples from 43 184 inland water sites in 57 countries. We found that the global median Ca concentration was 4.0 mg L−1 with 20.7% of the water samples showing Ca concentrations ≤ 1.5 mg L−1, a threshold considered critical for the survival of many Ca-demanding organisms. Spatially, freshwater Ca concentrations were strongly and proportionally linked to carbonate alkalinity, with the highest Ca and carbonate alkalinity in waters with a pH around 8.0 and decreasing in concentrations towards lower pH. However, on a temporal scale, by analyzing decadal trends in >200 water bodies since the 1980s, we observed a frequent decoupling between carbonate alkalinity and Ca concentrations, which we attributed mainly to the influence …
Scholar articles
GA Weyhenmeyer, J Hartmann, DO Hessen, J Kopáček… - Scientific Reports, 2019