Sources, fluxes, and behaviors of fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM) in the Nakdong River Estuary, Korea

Abstract

Abstract. We monitored seasonal variations in dissolved organic carbon (DOC), the stable carbon isotope of DOC (δ13C-DOC), and fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM) in water samples from a fixed station in the Nakdong River Estuary, Korea. Sampling was performed every hour during spring tide once a month from October 2014 to August 2015. The concentrations of DOC and humic-like FDOM showed significant negative correlations against salinity (r2= 0.42–0.98, p < 0.0001), indicating that the river-originated DOM components were the major source and behave conservatively in the estuarine mixing zone. The extrapolated δ13C-DOC values (−27.5 to −24.5 ‰) in fresh water confirm that both components are mainly of terrestrial origin. The slopes of humic-like FDOM against salinity were 60–80 % higher in the summer and fall due to higher terrestrial production of humic-like FDOM. The slopes of protein-like FDOM against salinity, however, were 70–80 % higher in spring due to higher biological production in river water. Our results suggest that there are large seasonal changes in riverine fluxes of humic- and protein-like FDOM to the ocean.