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.
- 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.
Publications
Publications for McKnight are shown below
Physicochemical and biological dynamics in a coastal Antarctic lake as it transitions from frozen to open water
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Published in: Antarctic ScienceDieser M; Foreman CM; Jaros C; Lisle JT; Greenwood M; Laybourn-Parry J; Miller PL; Chin Y-P; McKnight DM...
- Dieser M
- Foreman CM
- Jaros C
- Lisle JT
- Greenwood M
- Laybourn-Parry J
- Miller PL
- Chin Y-P
- McKnight DM
Publication Date: 2013-10-01
Type: Journal Article
Characterization of fulvic acid fractions of dissolved organic matter during ice-out in a hyper-eutrophic, coastal pond in Antarctica
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Published in: Environmental Research LettersCawley KM; McKnight DM; Miller P; Cory R; Fimmen RL; Guerard J; Dieser M; Jaros C; Chin Y-P; Foreman C...
- Cawley KM
- McKnight DM
- Miller P
- Cory R
- Fimmen RL
- Guerard J
- Dieser M
- Jaros C
- Chin Y-P
- Foreman C
Publication Date: 2013-10-01
Type: Journal Article
Environmental factors influencing diatom communities in Antarctic cryoconite holes
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Stanish LF; Bagshaw EA; McKnight DM; Fountain AG; Tranter M
Published in: Environmental Research LettersPublication Date: 2013-10-01
Type: Journal Article
The influence of stream thermal regimes and preferential flow paths on hyporheic exchange in a glacial meltwater stream
CU Boulder Authors:
Gooseff, Michael N; McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Cozzetto KD; Bencala KE; Gooseff MN; McKnight DM
Published in: Water Resources ResearchPublication Date: 2013-09-01
Type: Journal Article
Increasing ARD and rare earth metal concentrations in an alpine watershed
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Rue G; Crouch C; McKnight D
Publication Date: 2013-08-06Type: Conference Proceeding
Wetland Photochemistry as a Major Control on the Transport of Metals in an Acid Mine Drainage Impacted Watershed
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Duren SM; McKnight DM
Publication Date: 2013-08-06Type: Conference Proceeding
Microbial growth under humic-free conditions in a supraglacial stream system on the Cotton Glacier, Antarctica
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie; SanClements, Michael
All Authors:
Published in: Environmental Research LettersForeman CM; Cory RM; Morris CE; SanClements MD; Smith HJ; Lisle JT; Miller PL; Chin Y-P; McKnight DM...
- Foreman CM
- Cory RM
- Morris CE
- SanClements MD
- Smith HJ
- Lisle JT
- Miller PL
- Chin Y-P
- McKnight DM
Publication Date: 2013-07-01
Type: Journal Article
The role of dissolved organic matter (DOM) quality in the growth enhancement of Alexandrium fundyense (Dinophyceae) in laboratory culture
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Cawley KM; Koerfer V; McKnight DM
Published in: Journal of Phycology: an international journal of algal researchPublication Date: 2013-06-01
Type: Journal Article
Hydrologic controls on the transport and cycling of carbon and nitrogen in a boreal catchment underlain by continuous permafrost
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Koch JC; Runkel RL; Striegl R; McKnight DM
Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: BiogeosciencesPublication Date: 2013-06-01
Type: Journal Article
The carbon stable isotope biogeochemistry of streams, Taylor Valley, Antarctica
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie; Welch, Kathleen Ann
All Authors:
Lyons WB; Leslie DL; Harmon RS; Neumann K; Welch KA; Bisson KM; McKnight DM
Published in: Applied GeochemistryPublication Date: 2013-05-01
Type: Journal Article
Redox reactivity of humic substances in aquatic ecosystems: Multiple lines of evidence and the potential for understanding natural systems using fluorescence spectroscopy
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
McKnight DM
Published in: ACS National Meeting Book of AbstractsPublication Date: 2013-04-07
Type: Journal Article
Spectral evaluation of watershed DOM and DBP precursors
CU Boulder Authors:
Summers, R Scott; Korak, Julie Ann; McKnight, Diane Marie; Rosario-Ortiz, Fernando L.
All Authors:
Beggs KMH; Billica JA; Korak JA; Rosario-Ortiz FL; McKnight DM; Summers RS
Published in: Journal American Water Works AssociationPublication Date: 2013-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Bacteria and diatom co-occurrence patterns in microbial mats from polar desert streams
All Authors:
Stanish LF; O'Neill SP; Gonzalez A; Legg TM; Knelman J; McKnight DM; Spaulding S; Nemergut DR
Published in: Environmental MicrobiologyPublication Date: 2013-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Quantifying sources of increasing zinc from acid rock drainage in an alpine catchment under a changing hydrologic regime
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Crouch CM; McKnight DM; Todd AS
Published in: Hydrological ProcessesPublication Date: 2013-02-28
Type: Journal Article
Hydrodynamic shear removal of the nuisance stalk-forming diatomDidymosphenia geminata
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie; Crimaldi, John
All Authors:
Cullis JDS; Crimaldi JP; McKnight DM
Published in: Limnology and Oceanography: Fluids and EnvironmentsPublication Date: 2013-02-01
Type: Journal Article
Rapid runoff via shallow throughflow and deeper preferential flow in a boreal catchment underlain by frozen silt (Alaska, USA)
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Koch JC; Ewing SA; Striegl R; McKnight DM
Published in: Hydrogeology JournalPublication Date: 2013-02-01
Type: Journal Article
Microbial life at -13 degrees C in the brine of an ice-sealed Antarctic lake
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USAMurray AE; Kenig F; Fritsen CH; McKay CP; Cawley KM; Edwards R; Kuhn E; McKnight DM; Ostrom NE; Peng V...
- Murray AE
- Kenig F
- Fritsen CH
- McKay CP
- Cawley KM
- Edwards R
- Kuhn E
- McKnight DM
- Ostrom NE
- Peng V
Publication Date: 2012-12-11
Type: Journal Article
Automated measurement of diatom size
CU Boulder Authors:
Spaulding, Sarah A; McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Spaulding SA; Jewson DH; Bixby RJ; Nelson H; McKnight DM
Published in: Limnology and Oceanography: MethodsPublication Date: 2012-11-01
Type: Journal Article
Climate-Change-Driven Deterioration of Water Quality in a Mineralized Watershed
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Todd AS; Manning AH; Verplanck PL; Crouch C; McKnight DM; Dunham R
Published in: Environmental Science and Technology (Washington)Publication Date: 2012-09-04
Type: Journal Article
Identifying fluorescent pulp mill effluent in the Gulf of Maine and its watershed
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Cawley KM; Butler KD; Aiken GR; Larsen LG; Huntington TG; McKnight DM
Published in: Marine Pollution BulletinPublication Date: 2012-08-01
Type: Journal Article
Extreme streams: flow intermittency as a control on diatom communities in meltwater streams in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Stanish LF; Kohler TJ; Esposito RMM; Simmons BL; Nielsen UN; Wall DH; Nemergut DR; McKnight DM
Published in: Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic SciencesPublication Date: 2012-08-01
Type: Journal Article
New Insights into the Source of Decadal Increases of Dissolved Organic Matter in Acid-Sensitive Lakes of the Northeastern United States
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie; SanClements, Michael
All Authors:
SanClements MD; Oelsner GP; McKnight DM; Stoddard JL; Nelson SJ
Published in: Environmental Science and Technology (Washington)Publication Date: 2012-03-20
Type: Journal Article
The ecology of pulse events: insights from an extreme climatic event in a polar desert ecosystem
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie; Gooseff, Michael N
All Authors:
Nielsen UN; Wall DH; Adams BJ; Virginia RA; Ball BA; Gooseff MN; McKnight DM
Published in: EcospherePublication Date: 2012-02-01
Type: Journal Article
The role of dissolved organic matter in arctic surface waters in the photolysis of hexachlorobenzene and lindane
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Grannas AM; Cory RM; Miller PL; Chin Y-P; McKnight DM
Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: BiogeosciencesPublication Date: 2012-01-18
Type: Journal Article
Carbon, metals, and grain size correlate with bacterial community structure in sediments of a high arsenic aquifer
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie; Bilinski, Teresa
All Authors:
Published in: Frontiers in MicrobiologyLegg TM; Zheng Y; Simone B; Radloff KA; Mladenov N; Gonzalez A; Knights D; Siu HC; Rahman MM; Ahmed KM...
- Legg TM
- Zheng Y
- Simone B
- Radloff KA
- Mladenov N
- Gonzalez A
- Knights D
- Siu HC
- Rahman MM
- Ahmed KM
Publication Date: 2012-01-01
Type: Journal Article
