Chemical characterization of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in seawater : structure, cycling, and the role of biology

The goal of this thesis is to investigate three different areas relating to the characterization of dissolved organic matter (DOM): further determination of the chemical compounds present in high molecular weight DOM (HMWDOM), the cycling of individual compounds within the HMWDOM pool, and the biological controls on DOM release. The first section of this thesis provided additional molecular level characterization of HMWDOM. While some individual components have been identified, the total yield of compounds isolated is much smaller than the amount expected by spectroscopic analysis by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Since the majority of the as-yet unidentified carbon was inferred to be carbohydrate, periodate over-oxidation was used to analyze this fraction. Analysis of both surface and deep water HMWDOM samples indicated that the majority of the carbon present was periodate over-oxidizable, including 70% of the aliphatic NMR signal. Comparison of the periodate demand for HMWDOM versus that for linear glucopolysaccharide standards indicated that HMWDOM had a greater degree of branching. Based on the changes in the H NMR spectra during the reaction, it was concluded that 6-deoxysugars were the primary compounds in the unidentified fraction of HMWDOM. Compound specific radiocarbon analysis can provide information about the cycling and relative ages for individual HMWDOM components. In the second section of this thesis, a new method was presented for the purification of individual underivatized amino acids hydrolyzed from HMWDOM.

Department dc:contributor.department

Joint Program in Oceanography

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Quan, Tracy M. (Tracy Michelle), 1977-

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Daniel J. Repeta.

• Joint Program in Oceanography.
• Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39806

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/39806