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
Lane Allen
PhD student
Natalie Aranda
Grad student
Jared Collins
Grad student
Lauren Magliozzi
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
News
Art and climate science converge in new exhibit at the Colorado Capitol (KUNC)
An exhibit that just opened in the Colorado capitol building's rotunda features artwork made in the process of partnerships between artists from around Colorado, their communities, and CU Boulder scientists. Called “Coloradans and our Shared Environment in Times of Challenge and Change,” the art grapples with the climate and environmental challenges that are part of Coloradoans' lives: drought, decreasing groundwater, acid mine drainage, wildfire, pine beetle tree mortality, and more. Read more
Coloradoans and our shared environment in times of challenge and change (CU OOE)
A collaborative exhibition tells the story of how Coloradans are experiencing interrelated challenges of fire, drought, and water and air quality in their communities. Artists (the CASE Fellows) partnered with scientists and communities to make visible the connections between Coloradans and their environment. Several INSTAARs acted as scientist partners. This website showcases the artwork, as well as quotes from the partners, explorations of the issues, and what you can do to act. Read more
Announcing the Colorado Art Science Environment Fellows and Colorado State Capitol Exhibition (CU Boulder Community Outreach and Engagement)
The Office for Outreach and Engagement announces the CASE Fellows program. The program pairs Colorado artists with CU Boulder scientists to produce art that will be exhibited at the Colorado State Capitol in an exhibition about how Coloradans are experiencing interrelated challenges of fire, drought, and water and air quality. Lisa Schwartz from OOE is leading the program in partnership with Shelly Sommer at INSTAAR, Boulder County Arts Alliance and with exhibition and curatorial support from Amy Hoagland. Read more
Publications
Publications for McKnight are shown below
Oligotrophic wetland sediments susceptible to shifts in microbiomes and mercury cycling with dissolved organic matter addition
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Graham EB; Gabor RS; Schooler S; McKnight DM; Nemergut DR; Knelman JE
Published in: PeerJPublication Date: 2018-04-03
Type: Journal Article
Near-Surface Refractory Black Carbon Observations in the Atmosphere and Snow in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, and Potential Impacts of Foehn Winds
CU Boulder Authors:
Welch, Kathleen Ann; McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Khan AL; McMeeking GR; Schwarz JP; Xian P; Welch KA; Lyons WB; McKnight DM
Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: AtmospheresPublication Date: 2018-03-16
Type: Journal Article
Long-Term Experimental Acidification Drives Watershed Scale Shift in Dissolved Organic Matter Composition and Flux
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie; SanClements, Michael
All Authors:
SanClements MD; Fernandez IJ; Lee RH; Roberti JA; Adams MB; Rue GA; McKnight DM
Published in: Environmental Science and Technology (Washington)Publication Date: 2018-03-06
Type: Journal Article
Dissolved fulvic acids from a high arsenic aquifer shuttle electrons to enhance microbial iron reduction
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Kulkarni HV; Mladenov N; McKnight DM; Zheng Y; Kirk MF; Nemergut DR
Published in: Science of the Total EnvironmentPublication Date: 2018-02-15
Type: Journal Article
High Pressure Size Exclusion Chromatography (HPSEC) Determination of Dissolved Organic Matter Molecular Weight Revisited: Accounting for Changes in Stationary Phases, Analytical Standards, and Isolation Methods
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
McAdams BC; Aiken GR; McKnight DM; Arnold WA; Chin Y-P
Published in: Environmental Science and Technology (Washington)Publication Date: 2018-01-16
Type: Journal Article
Thermal autecology describes the occurrence patterns of four benthic diatoms in McMurdo Dry Valley streams
CU Boulder Authors:
Sokol, Eric Robert; McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Darling JP; Garland DD; Stanish LF; Esposito RMM; Sokol ER; McKnight DM
Published in: Polar BiologyPublication Date: 2017-12-01
Type: Journal Article
Decadal ecosystem response to an anomalous melt season in a polar desert in Antarctica
All Authors:
Published in: Nature Ecology and EvolutionGooseff MN; Barrett JE; Adams BJ; Doran PT; Fountain AG; Lyons WB; McKnight DM; Priscu JC; Sokol ER; Takacs-Vesbach C...
- Gooseff MN
- Barrett JE
- Adams BJ
- Doran PT
- Fountain AG
- Lyons WB
- McKnight DM
- Priscu JC
- Sokol ER
- Takacs-Vesbach C
Publication Date: 2017-09-01
Type: Journal Article
Concentration-discharge relationships during an extreme event: Contrasting behavior of solutes and changes to chemical quality of dissolved organic material in the Boulder Creek Watershed during the September 2013 flood
CU Boulder Authors:
Pitlick, John; McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Rue GP; Rock ND; Gabor RS; Pitlick J; Tfaily M; McKnight DM
Published in: Water Resources ResearchPublication Date: 2017-07-01
Type: Journal Article
Dissolved black carbon in the global cryosphere: Concentrations and chemical signatures
CU Boulder Authors:
Khan, Alia Lauren; McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Khan AL; Wagner S; Jaffe R; Xian P; Williams M; Armstrong R; McKnight D
Published in: Geophysical Research LettersPublication Date: 2017-06-28
Type: Journal Article
Freshwater diatom biogeography and the genus Luticola: an extreme case of endemism in Antarctica
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie; Kociolek, John Patrick
All Authors:
Kociolek JP; Kopalova K; Hamsher SE; Kohler TJ; Van de Vijver B; Convey P; McKnight DM
Published in: Polar BiologyPublication Date: 2017-06-01
Type: Journal Article
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 GeosciencePublication 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 AbstractsPublication 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 AbstractsPublication 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 ResearchPublication 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: AtmospheresPublication Date: 2017-02-16
Type: Journal Article
Biogeophysical properties of an expansive Antarctic supraglacial stream
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie; SanClements, Michael
All Authors:
Sanclements MD; Smith HJ; Foreman CM; Tedesco M; Chin Y-P; Jaros C; Mcknight DM
Published in: Antarctic SciencePublication Date: 2017-02-01
Type: Journal Article
Hydrologic connectivity and implications for ecosystem processes - Lessons from naked watersheds
CU Boulder Authors:
Gooseff, Mike; McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Gooseff MN; Wlostowski A; McKnight DM; Jaros C
Published in: GeomorphologyPublication 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; McKnight, Diane Marie; Welch, Kathleen Ann; Spaulding, Sarah A
All Authors:
Published in: Polar BiologySakaeva 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
CU Boulder Authors:
Spaulding, Sarah A; Welch, Kathleen Ann; Sokol, Eric Robert; McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Published in: Polar BiologySakaeva 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
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Published in: Water Resources ResearchMiller 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
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Published in: FEMS Microbiology EcologyVan 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
Trends in dissolved organic matter cycling, sediment microbiomes, and methylmercury production across vegetation heterogeneity in a Great Lakes wetland
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Graham EB; Knelman JE; Gabor RS; Schooler S; McKnight DM; Nemergut DR
Publication Date: 2016-08-29Type: Journal Article
Patterns of hydrologic connectivity in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: a synthesis of 20years of hydrologic data
CU Boulder Authors:
Gooseff, Mike; McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Wlostowski AN; Gooseff MN; McKnight DM; Jaros C; Lyons WB
Published in: Hydrological ProcessesPublication Date: 2016-08-15
Type: Journal Article
Hydrological Controls on Ecosystem Dynamics in Lake Fryxell, Antarctica
CU Boulder Authors:
Gooseff, Mike; McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Herbei R; Rytel AL; Lyons WB; McKnight DM; Jaros C; Gooseff MN; Priscu JC
Published in: PLoS OnePublication 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 LettersPublication Date: 2016-06-16
Type: Journal Article