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Organic Matter Spectroscopy Lab

Image: Boulder Reservoir by Richard Saxon

We measure the amount and character of dissolved organic matter from diverse ecosystems, especially aquatic ones. We often combine our lab data with field-scale experiments and modeling to understand of the interactions between hydrologic, chemical and biological processes in controlling the dynamics of these systems.

Diane McKnight
Director

Natalie Aranda
Grad student

Jared Collins
Grad student

Lauren Magliozzi
Grad student

Tanya Petach
Grad student

Mia Vanderwilt
Grad student

Alumni

Nayoung Hur, MS 2022
Garrett Rue, PhD 2019
Alia Lauren Khan, NSF Graduate Research Fellow
Maggie Burns, MA 2014 in Geography; now Hydrologist
Rachel Gabor, PhD 2013 in Environmental Studies
Jessica Ebert, MS 2012

Contact & services

Diane McKnight

Major equipment includes

Shimadzu TOC analyzer
Antec 9000 DON analyzer
Agilent 8453 spectrophotometer
FluroMax2 fluorometer
fractionation columns
Ulter-filtration

Josh Darling kneels to sample algal mats from a rocky meltwater stream in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica

Josh Darling kneels to sample algal mats from a rocky meltwater stream near Canada Glacier in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica

Researcher in shorts and a backpack stands on the grassy shore of an alpine lake within a rocky catchment

Researcher on the grassy shoreline of an alpine lake in the Rocky Mountains.

News

Two mountain streams come together, one with rusty red acid rock drainage

More metals found in Summit County river due to climate change, scientists say (9NEWS)

A first-of-its-kind study by Garrett Rue and Diane McKnight suggests that warmer weather and less snowpack are causing higher concentrations of rare earth elements in the river. Read more

Water exiting a mountain mine, with rust colored streambed

Climate change Is acidifying and contaminating drinking water and alpine ecosystems (Scientific American)

Hotter, drier mountains leach more metal into streams from abandoned mines and natural deposits, finds a study by INSTAARs Garrett Rue and Diane McKnight. Read more

CU Boulder campus building with fall tree colors

Six CU Boulder faculty members become distinguished professors (CU Boulder Today)

Diane McKnight and Giff Miller are among those added to the roster of distinguished professors, the highest honor bestowed by the CU System. The award recognizes faculty who demonstrate exemplary performance in research or creative work; a record of excellence in promoting learning and student attainment of knowledge and skills; and outstanding service to the profession, the university and its affiliates. Read more

More institute news for the Organic Matter Spectroscopy Lab

Publications

Publications for McKnight are shown below

Click to view publications

Microbial formation of labile organic carbon in Antarctic glacial environments

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: Smith HJ; Foster RA; McKnight DM; Lisle JT; Littmann S; Kuypers MMM; Foreman CM

Published in: Nature Geoscience
Publication Date: 2017-05-01
Type: Journal Article

Concentration-discharge relationships during the recession of an extreme flood in the Boulder Creek Watershed: Patterns of lithologic solute concentrations contrast with decreases in concentration and changes in chemical quality of dissolved organic material

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: Rue G; McKnight D; Rock N; Gabor R; Tfaily M

Published in: ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts
Publication Date: 2017-04-02
Type: Conference Proceeding

From the Antarctic to the Arctic: An expeditionary approach to the environmental chemistry and reactivity of dissolved organic matter

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: McKnight D

Published in: ACS National Meeting Book of Abstracts
Publication Date: 2017-04-02
Type: Conference Proceeding

DebatesHypothesis testing in hydrology: A view from the field: The value of hydrologic hypotheses in designing field studies and interpreting the results to advance hydrology

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: McKnight DM

Published in: Water Resources Research
Publication Date: 2017-03-01
Type: Journal Article

Impacts of coal dust from an active mine on the spectral reflectance of Arctic surface snow in Svalbard, Norway

CU Boulder Authors: Khan, Alia Lauren; McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: Khan AL; Dierssen H; Schwarz JP; Schmitt C; Chlus A; Hermanson M; Painter TH; McKnight DM

Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
Publication Date: 2017-02-16
Type: Journal Article

Biogeophysical properties of an expansive Antarctic supraglacial stream

CU Boulder Authors: SanClements, Michael; McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: Sanclements MD; Smith HJ; Foreman CM; Tedesco M; Chin Y-P; Jaros C; Mcknight DM

Published in: Antarctic Science
Publication Date: 2017-02-01
Type: Journal Article

Hydrologic connectivity and implications for ecosystem processes - Lessons from naked watersheds

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie; Gooseff, Michael N

All Authors: Gooseff MN; Wlostowski A; McKnight DM; Jaros C

Published in: Geomorphology
Publication Date: 2017-01-15
Type: Journal Article

Evidence for dispersal and habitat controls on pond diatom communities from the McMurdo Sound Region of Antarctica (vol 39, pg 2457, 2016)

CU Boulder Authors: Sokol, Eric Robert; Spaulding, Sarah A; Welch, Kathleen Ann; McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors:

Sakaeva A; Sokol ER; Kohler TJ; Stanish LF; Spaulding SA; Howkins A; Welch KA; Lyons WB; Barrett JE; McKnight DM...

Sakaeva A
Sokol ER
Kohler TJ
Stanish LF
Spaulding SA
Howkins A
Welch KA
Lyons WB
Barrett JE
McKnight DM

Published in: Polar Biology
Publication Date: 2016-12-01
Type: Journal Article

Evidence for dispersal and habitat controls on pond diatom communities from the McMurdo Sound Region of Antarctica

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie; Sokol, Eric Robert; Spaulding, Sarah A; Welch, Kathleen Ann

All Authors:

Sakaeva A; Sokol ER; Kohler TJ; Stanish LF; Spaulding SA; Howkins A; Welch KA; Lyons WB; Barrett JE; McKnight DM...

Sakaeva A
Sokol ER
Kohler TJ
Stanish LF
Spaulding SA
Howkins A
Welch KA
Lyons WB
Barrett JE
McKnight DM

Published in: Polar Biology
Publication Date: 2016-12-01
Type: Journal Article

Variation of organic matter quantity and quality in streams at Critical Zone Observatory watersheds

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors:

Miller MP; Boyer EW; McKnight DM; Brown MG; Gabor RS; Hunsaker CT; Iavorivska L; Inamdar S; Johnson DW; Kaplan LA...

Miller MP
Boyer EW
McKnight DM
Brown MG
Gabor RS
Hunsaker CT
Iavorivska L
Inamdar S
Johnson DW
Kaplan LA

Published in: Water Resources Research
Publication Date: 2016-10-01
Type: Journal Article

Patterns of bacterial biodiversity in the glacial meltwater streams of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors:

Van Horn DJ; Wolf CR; Colman DR; Jiang X; Kohler TJ; McKnight DM; Stanish LF; Yazzie T; Takacs-Vesbach CD...

Van Horn DJ
Wolf CR
Colman DR
Jiang X
Kohler TJ
McKnight DM
Stanish LF
Yazzie T
Takacs-Vesbach CD

Published in: FEMS Microbiology Ecology
Publication Date: 2016-10-01
Type: Journal Article

Patterns of hydrologic connectivity in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: a synthesis of 20years of hydrologic data

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie; Gooseff, Michael N

All Authors: Wlostowski AN; Gooseff MN; McKnight DM; Jaros C; Lyons WB

Published in: Hydrological Processes
Publication Date: 2016-08-15
Type: Journal Article

Hydrological Controls on Ecosystem Dynamics in Lake Fryxell, Antarctica

CU Boulder Authors: Gooseff, Michael N; McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: Herbei R; Rytel AL; Lyons WB; McKnight DM; Jaros C; Gooseff MN; Priscu JC

Published in: PLoS One
Publication Date: 2016-07-21
Type: Journal Article

Dissolved black carbon in Antarctic lakes: Chemical signatures of past and present sources

CU Boulder Authors: Khan, Alia Lauren; McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: Khan AL; Jaffe R; Ding Y; McKnight DM

Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
Publication Date: 2016-06-16
Type: Journal Article

Characterization of dissolved organic material in the interstitial brine of Lake Vida, Antarctica

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: Cawley KM; Murray AE; Doran PT; Kenig F; Stubbins A; Chen H; Hatcher PG; McKnight DM

Published in: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
Publication Date: 2016-06-15
Type: Journal Article

Dissolved organic matter transport reflects hillslope to stream connectivity during snowmelt in a montane catchment

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie; Barnard, Holly Rene

All Authors: Burns MA; Barnard HR; Gabor RS; McKnight DM; Brooks PD

Published in: Water Resources Research
Publication Date: 2016-06-01
Type: Journal Article

Climate regulates alpine lake ice cover phenology and aquatic ecosystem structure

CU Boulder Authors: Williams, Mark W; Johnson, Pieter; McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: Preston DL; Caine N; McKnight DM; Williams MW; Hell K; Miller MP; Hart SJ; Johnson PTJ

Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
Publication Date: 2016-05-28
Type: Journal Article

Nutrient treatments alter microbial mat colonization in two glacial meltwater streams from the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

CU Boulder Authors: McKnight, Diane Marie

All Authors: Kohler TJ; Van Horn DJ; Darling JP; Takacs-Vesbach CD; McKnight DM

Published in: FEMS Microbiology Ecology
Publication Date: 2016-04-01
Type: Journal Article