Measurement and Characterization of DOM Pools Using EEM Spectroscopy and HPLC

海洋中的主要溶解有机碳(DOC)池比颗粒有机碳(POC)池大一个数量级，是大气中CO2池的两倍，但多达90%的DOC仍未确定具体的化学特性。这种未知物质的一种成分被称为“腐殖质”或“凝胶物质”，这是两个非特定的术语，指的是具有黄色和蓝色荧光的复杂混合物。过去对这些化合物的定义和分析方式导致了许多混乱，对它们的性质、分布和在海洋中的循环缺乏了解。荧光光谱分析和高效液相色谱在海水中格列布斯托夫的研究中显示出良好的应用前景。首次对非浓缩样品的三维激发发射矩阵(EEM)分析表明，海水中存在四个不同的荧光团，每个荧光团都具有各自的特征性质和分布。这些荧光团中的一个可能是一种类似蛋白质的生物活性物质。离子对高效液相色谱可将Gelbstoff分解为多达20个单独的组分。将这些新技术应用于海水中溶解有机物的分析，可以用来追踪DOC的不同成分，从而提高对海洋碳循环的理解。

The major pool of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the ocean is an order of magnitude larger than the particulate organic carbon (POC) pool, and twice as large as the atmospheric pool of CO2, yet as much as 90% of DOC remains uncharacterized as to specific chemical identity. One component of this uncharacterized pool is known as "humic substance" or "gelbstoff", two non-specific terms for a complex mixture of compounds having a yellow color and a blue fluorescence. The way in which these compounds have been defined and analyzed in the past has resulted in much confusion and a lack of insight regarding their nature, distribution, and cycling in the ocean. Recent developments in fluorescent spectroscopy and high performance liquid chromatography show promising results when applied to the study of gelbstoff in seawater. Three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix (EEM) analysis of unconcentrated samples has shown for the first time the existence of four different fluorophores in seawater, each of which exhibits characteristic properties and distributions. One of these fluorophores may be indicative of a protein-like, bioreactive substance. Ion-pairing HPLC can resolve gelbstoff into up to twenty individual components. Application of these new technologies in tandem to the analysis of dissolved organic matter in seawater can be used to trace different components of the DOC, thereby leading to an improved understanding of the oceanic carbon cycle.