Absorption and Fluorescence Properties of Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter Produced by Algae

Four kinds of diatom (Chaetoceros curvisetus, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Nitzschia closterium f. minutissima and Navicula halophile) and two kinds of dinoflagellates (Prorocentrum donghaiense and Gymnodinium) were cultured under laboratory conditions. Variations of optical properties of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) were studied with absorption and fluorescence excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy(EEM) during growth of marine microalgae in incubation experiment. Absorption spectrum revealed absorption coefficient a(355) (CDOM absorption coefficients at 355 nm) of 6 kinds of marine microalgae above increased by 64.8%, 242.3%, 535.1%, 903.2%, 836% and 196.4%, respectively. Simultaneously, the absorption spectral slope (Sg), determined between 270 and 350 nm, representing the size of molecular weight of CDOM and humic-like composition, decreased by 8.7%, 34.6%, 39.4%, 53.1%, 46.7%, and 35.7%, respectively. Applying parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) together with EEM got four components of CDOM: C1(Ex/Em=350(260) nm/450 nm), C2 (Ex/Em=260(430) nm/525 nm), C3 (Ex/Em=325 nm/400 nm) and C4(Ex/Em=275 nm/325 nm), which were relative to three humic-like and one protein-like fluorescent components of Nitzschia closterium f. minutissima and Navicula halophile. In incubation experiment, fluorescence intensity of these four components during growth of Nitzschia closterium f. minutissima increased by, respectively, 8.68, 24.9, 7.19 and 39.8 times, and those of Navicula halophile increased by 2.64, 0.07, 4.39 and 12.4 times, respectively. Significant relationships were found between the fluorescence intensity of four components of CDOM, a(355) and Sg. All results demonstrated that both content and molecular weight of CDOM produced by diatom and dinoflagellate studied in incubation experiment increased, but these two parameters changed more obviously of the diatom than those of dinoflagellate; the proportion of humic-like components in the composition of CDOM also increased clearly with the growth of marine microalgae, but protein-like fluorescent component had only a slow growth. Furthermore, the absorption spectrum of CDOM produced by different species of algae changed obviously and the relative composition fluorescence intensity of CDOM produced by different microalgae were found to vary among different composition from EEM, which suggested CDOM produced by different microalgae make quite different contributions to CDOM in natural seawater.