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Non‐conservative mixing behavior of colored dissolved organic matter in a humic‐rich, turbid estuary
Author(s) -
Uher Günther,
Hughes Claire,
Henry Gordon,
UpstillGoddard Robert C.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2000gl012509
Subject(s) - colored dissolved organic matter , estuary , dissolved organic carbon , absorbance , turbidity , transect , environmental science , salinity , spectral slope , organic matter , sediment , oceanography , seawater , environmental chemistry , hydrology (agriculture) , geology , chemistry , nutrient , phytoplankton , spectral line , geomorphology , physics , organic chemistry , geotechnical engineering , chromatography , astronomy
The estuarine mixing behavior of colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorbance was investigated in combined field and laboratory studies. From February to October 1998, surface water samples were collected along 9 transects in the Tyne estuary, Northeast England, from the tidal limit into the coastal North Sea. In 8 of these transects, mixing plots of absorbance vs. salinity indicated substantial removal of CDOM absorbance (average: 32%) in the upper estuary. Results from laboratory studies under simulated estuarine conditions suggest that an average of 21% (range: 9–39%) of riverine CDOM may be removed by adsorption onto suspended sediment, while CDOM flocculation accounted for an average removal of only 6% (range: 0–18%). We propose that adsorptive removal exerts a major control on CDOM in estuaries with elevated turbidity levels.