Distribution and spectral characteristics of chromophoric dissolved organic matter in a coastal bay in northern China

The absorption spectra of chromophoric dissolved organic matter(CDOM),along with general physical,chemical and biological variables,were determined in the Bohai Bay,China,in the springs of 2011 and 2012. The absorption coefficient of CDOM at 350 nm(a350) in surface water ranged from 1.00 to 1.83 m-1(mean: 1.35 m-1) in May 2011 and from 0.78 to 1.92 m-1(mean:1.19 m-1) in April 2012. Little surface-bottom difference was observed due to strong vertical mixing. The a350 was weakly anti-correlated to salinity but positively correlated to chlorophyll a(Chl-a) concentration. A shoulder over 260–290 nm,suggestive of biogenic molecules,superimposed the overall pattern of exponentially decreasing CDOM absorption with wavelength. The wavelength distribution of the absorption spectral slope manifested a pronounced peak at ca. 300 nm characteristic of algal-derived CDOM. All a250/a365 ratios exceeded 6,corresponding to CDOM molecular weights(Mw) of less than 1 kDa. Spectroscopically,CDOM in the Bohai Bay differed substantively from that in the Haihe River,the bay's dominant source of land runoff; photobleaching of the riverine CDOM enlarged the difference.Results point to marine biological production being the principal source of CDOM in the Bohai Bay during the sampling seasons. Relatively low runoff,fast dilution,and selective photodegradation are postulated to be among the overarching elements responsible for the lack of terrigenous CDOM signature in the bay water.     

Removal of chromophoric dissolved organic matter under combined photochemical and microbial degradation as a response to different irradiation intensities

Throughout the freshwater continuum, Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC) and the colored fraction, Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Material (CDOM), are continuously being added, removed, and transformed, resulting in changes in the chromophoricity and lability of organic matter over time. We examined, experimentally, the effect of increasing irradiation-intensities on the combined photochemical and microbial degradation of CDOM and DOC. This was done by using a simulated mixed water column: aged water from a humic lake was exposed to four irradiation-intensities – representing winter, early and late spring, and summer conditions (0.10, 0.16, 0.36, and 0.58 W/m²) – and compared with dark controls over 37 days. We found a linear relationship between CDOM degradation and irradiation-intensities up to 0.36 W/m²; the degradation rate saturated at higher intensities, both at specific wavelengths and for broader intervals. After 37 days at high irradiation-intensity, CDOM absorption of irradiation at 340 nm had been reduced by 41%; 48% of DOC had been removed and DOC degradation continued to increase. Aromaticity (SUVA₂₅₄) declined significantly over 37 days at the two lowest but not at the two highest UV- intensities; levels in unexposed control water remained constant. Direct observations of the humic lake showed that CDOM absorption of irradiation (340 nm) declined by 27% from winter to summer. A model based on hydrological CDOM input and CDOM degradation calculated from field measurements of UV-radiation and experimental CDOM degradation with UV-exposure from sunlight accurately predicted the annual course as observed in the lake. With no external CDOM input, 92% of the CDOM could be degraded in a year. The results support the notion that combined photochemical and microbial CDOM degradation can be remarkably higher in lakes than previously thought and that humic lakes retain their color due to light absorption by ongoing CDOM input.