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Aquatic Humic Matter: from Molecular Structure to Ecosystem Stability

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Aquatic Humic Substances

Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 133))

Abstract

Identification, Delimitation and Chemical Properties of Humic Substances. The most straightforward way to solve a problem is to first define the agents of interest. However, this is not a trivial matter when it comes to humic substances (HS). First of all, the definition of HS per se is not trivial, since the distinction between aquatic humus and other types of dissolved, colloidal or particulate matter is not unifying. Being composed of a multitude of complex molecules of different origin, structure, molecular size and age, HS also possess a number of different properties. Hence, at best, one can only hope to infer average structure and functionality from average properties (Perdue, this Vol.).Yet some basic features can be identified; the most obvious would be the presence of chromophores, typically giving from yellow to reddish or brownish colour owing to a pronounced light absorption in the UV, blue and green parts of the spectrum.

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Authors
  1. Dag O. Hessen
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  2. Lars J. Tranvik
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Div. Limnology, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1027, Blindern, 0315, Oslo, Norway

    Dag O. Hessen

  2. Department of Water and Environmental Studies, Linköping University, 58183, Linköping, Sweden

    Lars J. Tranvik

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© 1998 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Hessen, D.O., Tranvik, L.J. (1998). Aquatic Humic Matter: from Molecular Structure to Ecosystem Stability. In: Hessen, D.O., Tranvik, L.J. (eds) Aquatic Humic Substances. Ecological Studies, vol 133. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-03736-2_14

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-03736-2_14

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-08362-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-662-03736-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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