The role of low molecular weight organic acids on controlling pH in coastal sea water

Abstract:

Series investigation of the Jiaozhou Bay, China, observed existences of three low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOAs), including lactic acid, acetic acid and formic acid, with high concentration in the sea water. Generally, their amount accounted for about 20% of DOC in the sea water of the bay. Human activities around the bay were considered as the major source of the LMWOAs. Also, long term detection showed that the pH value in the Jiaozhou Bay was lower than that in the adjacent Yellow Sea. On average, the difference of pH values between the bay and the Yellow was about 0.2. Due to higher concentrations of the LMWOAs, their contribution to lower pH value of the bay should not be ignored. To validate the effect of LMWOAs on the pH value of the bay, a new software was developed to calculate the pH value in the sea water samples based on alkalinity by adding three items of the three organic acids in the expression. Compared to the traditional pH calculating software, the new software could improve the calculating results significantly. Our results confirmed that LMWOAs was an important control factor to adjust pH values in coastal area.