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Correlation between molecular absorption spectral slope ratios and fluorescence humification indices in characterizing CDOM

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Abstract

Ultraviolet–visible absorption spectral slope ratios SR (slope in 275–295 nm divided by slope in 350–400 nm) and humification index (HIX, integrated fluorescence emission in 435–480 nm divided by that in 435–480 and 300–345 nm) were compared when characterizing chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) in three humic acids and 44 whole water samples. HIX increased with increasing pH for humic acids, while their SR showed much more complicated dependencies on pH. There was a negative correlation between SR and HIX. SR increased in the order terrestrial coal/peat < terrestrial soil/river < seawater, while HIX increased in the order seawater < terrestrial soil/river < terrestrial coal/peat. The comparative study in this work indicates that terrestrially derived CDOM has higher HIX and lower SR than marine CDOM. Investigators may potentially use these two indices to compare qualitatively the character of CDOM in different sources (e.g., terrestrial vs. marine).

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Acknowledgments

We thank the two anonymous reviewers and Yu-ping Chin at the Ohio State University for their insightful comments and suggestions. This work was sponsored by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, grant No. 2007CB407306).

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  1. State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Estuary and Coastal Environment, Institute of Water Environment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Beijing, 100012, China

    Hao Chen, Binghui Zheng, Yonghui Song & Yanwen Qin

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  1. Hao Chen
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Correspondence to Hao Chen.

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Chen, H., Zheng, B., Song, Y. et al. Correlation between molecular absorption spectral slope ratios and fluorescence humification indices in characterizing CDOM. Aquat Sci 73, 103–112 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00027-010-0164-5

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