Molecular dissolved organic matter composition in lakes across Sweden as relative intensities of FT-ICR-MS peaks and PARAFAC components and optical indices

Whether intrinsic molecular properties or extrinsic factors such as environmental conditions control the decomposition of natural organic matter across soil, marine and freshwater systems has been subject to debate. Comprehensive evaluations of the controls that molecular structure exerts on organic matter's persistence in the environment have been precluded by organic matter's extreme complexity. Here we examine dissolved organic matter from 109 Swedish lakes using ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry and optical spectroscopy to investigate the constraints on its persistence in the environment. We find that degradation processes preferentially remove oxidized, aromatic compounds, whereas reduced, aliphatic and N-containing compounds are either resistant to degradation or tightly cycled and thus persist in aquatic systems. The patterns we observe for individual molecules are consistent with our measurements of emergent bulk characteristics of organic matter at wide geographic and temporal scales, as reflected by optical properties. We conclude that intrinsic molecular properties are an important control of overall organic matter reactivity.

A compilation of global bio-optical in situ data for ocean-colour satellite applications

A compiled set of in situ data is important to evaluate the quality of ocean-colour satellite-data records. Here we describe the data compiled for the validation of the ocean-colour products from the ESA Ocean Colour Climate Change Initiative (OC-CCI). The data were acquired from several sources (MOBY, BOUSSOLE, AERONET-OC, SeaBASS, NOMAD, MERMAID, AMT, ICES, HOT, GeP&CO), span between 1997 and 2012, and have a global distribution. Observations of the following variables were compiled: spectral remote-sensing reflectances, concentrations of chlorophyll a, spectral inherent optical properties and spectral diffuse attenuation coefficients. The data were from multi-project archives acquired via the open internet services or from individual projects, acquired directly from data providers. Methodologies were implemented for homogenisation, quality control and merging of all data. No changes were made to the original data, other than averaging of observations that were close in time and space, elimination of some points after quality control and conversion to a standard format. The final result is a merged table designed for validation of satellite-derived ocean-colour products and available in text format. Metadata of each in situ measurement (original source, cruise or experiment, principal investigator) were preserved throughout the work and made available in the final table. Using all the data in a validation exercise increases the number of matchups and enhances the representativeness of different marine regimes. By making available the metadata, it is also possible to analyse each set of data separately.