Breadcrumb
Organic Matter Spectroscopy Lab
Breadcrumb
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
- 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
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 near Canada Glacier in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica
Researcher on the grassy shoreline of an alpine lake in the Rocky Mountains.
News
More metals found in Summit County river due to climate change, scientists say (9NEWS)
Climate change Is acidifying and contaminating drinking water and alpine ecosystems (Scientific American)
Six CU Boulder faculty members become distinguished professors (CU Boulder Today)
Publications
Publications for McKnight are shown below
Microbial formation of labile organic carbon in Antarctic glacial environments
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
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
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
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
Publication Date: 2017-02-16
Type: Journal Article
Biogeophysical properties of an expansive Antarctic supraglacial stream
Publication Date: 2017-02-01
Type: Journal Article
Hydrologic connectivity and implications for ecosystem processes - Lessons from naked watersheds
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)
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
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
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
Publication Date: 2016-12-01
Type: Journal Article
Variation of organic matter quantity and quality in streams at Critical Zone Observatory watersheds
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
Publication Date: 2016-10-01
Type: Journal Article
Patterns of bacterial biodiversity in the glacial meltwater streams of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
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
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
Publication Date: 2016-08-15
Type: Journal Article
Hydrological Controls on Ecosystem Dynamics in Lake Fryxell, Antarctica
Publication Date: 2016-07-21
Type: Journal Article
Dissolved black carbon in Antarctic lakes: Chemical signatures of past and present sources
Publication Date: 2016-06-16
Type: Journal Article
Characterization of dissolved organic material in the interstitial brine of Lake Vida, Antarctica
Publication Date: 2016-06-15
Type: Journal Article
Dissolved organic matter transport reflects hillslope to stream connectivity during snowmelt in a montane catchment
Publication Date: 2016-06-01
Type: Journal Article
Climate regulates alpine lake ice cover phenology and aquatic ecosystem structure
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
Publication Date: 2016-04-01
Type: Journal Article
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