You are here:
PHOTOCHEMICAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF DISSOLVED ORGANIC MATTER IN A BLACKWATER RIVER
Citation:
Opsahl, S. P. PHOTOCHEMICAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF DISSOLVED ORGANIC MATTER IN A BLACKWATER RIVER. Presented at American Geophysical Union Ocean Sciences Meeting, San Antonio, TX, January 24-28, 2000.
Description:
We examined photochemical alterations of dissolved organic matter (DOM) from the Satilla River, a high DOC (10-40 mg/liter) blackwater river of southeast Georgia. Water samples were filtered to remove most organisms, placed in quartz tubes, and incubated under natural sunlight at ambient temperature or 5 degrees Celsius for a period of three weeks. We measured changes in UV/visible absorbance, dissolved oxygen, dissolved inorganic carbon (carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide), dissolved organic carbon, amino acids, and stable carbon isotopes. The DOM was degraded by both sunlight and microorganisms under these conditions and significant changes were observed in all measured parameters. These data will be presented with particular emphasis on the implications for biogeochemical cycling of riverine DOM.