Evidence for microbiological manganese oxidation in the river Tamar Estuary, South West England

Water samples from the Tamar Estuary oxidized manganese when supplemented with Mn2+ (2 mgl−1). The rates of oxidation were depressed in the presence of various metabolic inhibitors. The effect of Mn2+ and temperature on the rate of manganese oxidation suggested that a biological process was largely responsible for converting Mn2+ to Mn4+. Rates of manganese oxidation were much higher in freshwater (3·32 μgl−1 h−1 in water containing 30 mgl−1 of suspended matter) than in saline water (0·7 μgl−1 h−1 in water of salinity 32‰) containing the same amount of particulate matter. The rate of manganese oxidation was proportional to the particulate load (up to 100 mgl−1 particulates).