Editorial: Linking Optical and Chemical Properties of Dissolved Organic Matter in Natural Waters

摘要

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) represents the largest reservoir of exchangeable reduced carbon in the ocean.The dynamics of this reservoir are partly due to riverine and coastal inputs but also due to primary production in the sea surface and export to depth (e.g., Bauer and Bianchi, 2011).Forming the basis of the microbial loop, DOM is an active and integral part of marine ecosystems and a critical component of the Earth’s carbon cycle.The fraction of DOM that absorb light is termedchromophoricorcoloredDOM:CDOM.Firstdescribedas“gelbsto?”ortheyellowcolorin coastalwaters,CDOMplaysakeyroleintheocean’scarboncyclethroughitsabsorptionofsunlight, which results in an alteration of the underwater light ?eld via contributing to light attenuation in the water column as well the potential for a variety of photochemical reactions to occur which can in?uence the redox chemistry of seawater and—via photooxidation—lead to the generation of carbon dioxide (CO2) from DOM (Coble, 2007).The latter constitutes and important feedback loop for Earth’s climate.