Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 4, 2025
Combining Fluidic Devices with Microscopy and Flow Cytometry to Study Microbial Transport in Porous Media Across Spatial Scales
Published on: November 25, 2020
Combining in-situ fluorometry and distributed rainfall data provides new insights into natural organic matter
Danny Croghan1, Kieran Khamis2, Chris Bradley2
1School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, University of Oulu, Oulu, FI-90014, Finland.
Abstract:
Urbanization alters the quality and quantity of Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) fluxes to rivers potentially leading to water quality problems and impaired ecosystem function. Traditional synoptic and point sampling approaches are generally inadequate for monitoring DOM source dynamics. To identify links between spatial heterogeneity in precipitation and DOM dynamics, we used a unique approach combining high spatial and temporal resolution precipitation datasets featuring point, catchment, and land-cover weighted precipitation to characterise catchment transport dynamics. These datasets were linked to fluorescence records from an urban stream (Bourn Brook, Birmingham, UK). Humic-like fluorescence (HLF: Ex. 365 nm, Em. 490 nm) and Tryptophan-like fluorescence (TLF: Ex. 285 nm, Em. 340 nm) were measured, (plus river flow and turbidity) at 5 min intervals for 10 weeks during Autumn 2017. The relationship between discharge (Q) and concentration (C) for TLF and HLF were strongly chemodynamic at low Q (
