DOM Molecular Diversity, Identification Method and Driving Factors

Dear Colleagues,

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a heterogeneous mixture of organic molecules of various origins and compositions, including sugars, fatty acids and alkanes, and complex polymeric molecules. It is an abundant and mobile part of the aquatic carbon pool, and serves as a fundamental link between terrestrial, freshwater, and oceanic carbon cycles. Hence, aquatic DOM plays important roles in the aquatic biogeochemical cycle and the global carbon cycle. However, due to the complexity of its structure and the limits of technology, 70% of organic compounds in DOM are still unknown. Thus, high-resolution identification methods such as FT-ICR-MS are urgently needed. In fact, the molecular composition of DOM varies greatly in terms of spatial and temporal scales and can be influenced by various factors. In the past decades, research has increasingly suggested that land use, climate, hydrology, anthropogenic disturbance, and the microbial community could all affect the molecular composition of DOM. DOM dynamics could also be traced by effective methods.

This Special Issue focuses on the molecular diversity, identification, molecular dynamics and driving mechanisms of DOM by using diverse technologies in freshwater settings. New research papers, reviews, case reports, and conference papers are welcome in this Special Issue. Papers dealing with new approaches to identify DOM formulas or source quantification are especially welcome.

Dr. Shasha Liu
Dr. Zhaokui Ni
Guest Editors

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• dissolved organic matter
• molecular characterization
• identification
• FT-ICR-MS
• dynamics
• driving factors