CDOM fluorescence as a proxy of DOC concentration in natural waters: a comparison of four contrasting tropical systems

• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-013-3401-2
• Publication Date: 2013-09-26T05:55:53Z
• Authors: E. Rochelle-Newall; F. D. Hulot; J. L. Janeau; A. Merroune
• Keywords: 0106 biological sciences; Tropical Climate; 550; [SDE.MCG]Environmental Sciences/Global Changes; Fluorometer; Fresh Water; 551; [SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environmental and Society; 01 natural sciences; Carbon; Fluorescence; 6. Clean water; [SDE.BE] Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; [SDE.MCG] Environmental Sciences/Global Changes; Chromophoric dissolved organic matter; [SDE.ES] Environmental Sciences/Environment and Society; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; Dissolved organic carbon; [SDE.ES]Environmental Sciences/Environment and Society; Ecosystem; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Environmental Monitoring

Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) fluorescence or absorption is often proposed as a rapid alternative to chemical methods for the estimation of bulk dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration in natural waters. However, the robustness of this method across a wide range of systems remains to be shown. We measured CDOM fluorescence and DOC concentration in four tropical freshwater and coastal environments (estuary and coastal, tropical shallow lakes, water from the freshwater lens of two small islands, and soil leachates). We found that although this method can provide an estimation of DOC concentration in sites with low variability in DOC and CDOM sources in systems where the variability of DOC and CDOM sources are high, this method should not be used as it will lead to errors in the estimation of the bulk DOC concentration.