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Spectroscopic characterization and molecular weight distribution of dissolved organic matter in sediment porewaters from Lake Erhai, Southwest China

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Abstract

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in sediment porewaters from Lake Erhai, Southwest China was investigated using dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration, UV absorbance, fluorescence and molecular weight distribution. DOC exhibited a high concentration at the sediment–water interface with a rapid decrease to the oxic–anoxic interface at approximately 7 cm, and then increased with depth. Similar trends were also found for the UV absorption coefficients at 254 and 280 nm in the porewaters. DNA in the sediment was also measured, which confirmed the high abundance of aerobic bacteria in the upper layer of the sediment. Both humic-like (peaks A and C) and protein-like (peaks B and D) fluorescence were observed in the porewater DOM, and their fluorescence intensities exhibited a similar porewater profile as DOC concentration. A strong correlation was found between the peak fluorescence intensity ratio r(A, C) and r(D, B). Both the fluorescence index and UV absorption coefficient at 254 nm suggested a dramatic increase in aromaticity of porewater DOM across the oxic–anoxic interface. Porewater DOM exhibited a multimodal distribution of molecular weight with a relatively low polydispersity. The results of this study offer significant insight into the nature and properties of DOM in freshwater ecosystems.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40525011, 40403011) and CAS International Partnership Project. We would like to thank Dr. Feiyue Wang (University of Manitoba, Canada) for his helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. Two anonymous referees are thanked for their constructive comments, which greatly improved the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, Guizhou, 550002, China

    Pingqing Fu, Fengchang Wu, Cong-Qiang Liu, Zhongqing Wei, Yingchen Bai & Haiqing Liao

  2. Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039, China

    Zhongqing Wei, Yingchen Bai & Haiqing Liao

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  1. Pingqing Fu
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  2. Fengchang Wu
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Correspondence to Pingqing Fu or Cong-Qiang Liu.

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Fu, P., Wu, F., Liu, CQ. et al. Spectroscopic characterization and molecular weight distribution of dissolved organic matter in sediment porewaters from Lake Erhai, Southwest China. Biogeochemistry 81, 179–189 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-006-9035-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-006-9035-5

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