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
Rare earth elements and old mines spell trouble for Western water supplies
Publications
Publications for McKnight are shown below
Microbial life at -13 degrees C in the brine of an ice-sealed Antarctic lake
Murray 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
Publication Date: 2012-11-01
Type: Journal Article
Climate-Change-Driven Deterioration of Water Quality in a Mineralized Watershed
Publication Date: 2012-09-04
Type: Journal Article
Identifying fluorescent pulp mill effluent in the Gulf of Maine and its watershed
Publication 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
Publication 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
Publication Date: 2012-03-20
Type: Journal Article
The ecology of pulse events: insights from an extreme climatic event in a polar desert ecosystem
Publication Date: 2012-02-01
Type: Journal Article
The role of dissolved organic matter in arctic surface waters in the photolysis of hexachlorobenzene and lindane
Publication Date: 2012-01-18
Type: Journal Article
Carbon, metals, and grain size correlate with bacterial community structure in sediments of a high arsenic aquifer
Legg 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
15N and 13C{14N} NMR investigation of the major nitrogen-containing segment in an aquatic fulvic acid: Evidence for a hydantoin derivative
Publication Date: 2011-12-01
Type: Journal Article
Hydrologic processes influence diatom community composition in Dry Valley streams
Publication Date: 2011-12-01
Type: Journal Article
Hydrological Connectivity of the Landscape of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
Publication Date: 2011-09-01
Type: Journal Article
Redox character of soil humic material suggests a role in microbial weathering of bedrock surfaces
Publication Date: 2011-08-28
Type: Journal Article
When a habitat freezes solid: microorganisms over-winter within the ice column of a coastal Antarctic lake
Foreman CM; Dieser M; Greenwood M; Cory RM; Laybourn-Parry J; Lisle JT; Jaros C; Miller PL; Chin Y-P; McKnight DM...
- Foreman CM
- Dieser M
- Greenwood M
- Cory RM
- Laybourn-Parry J
- Lisle JT
- Jaros C
- Miller PL
- Chin Y-P
- McKnight DM
Publication Date: 2011-06-01
Type: Journal Article
Simulating unsteady flow, anabranching, and hyporheic dynamics in a glacial meltwater stream using a coupled surface water routing and groundwater flow model
Publication Date: 2011-05-21
Type: Journal Article
Evaluating the link between nutrient loadings, algal activity, and formation of disinfection byproducts in watersheds
Publication Date: 2011-03-27
Type: Journal Article
Spectral Methods to Advance Understanding of Dissolved Organic Carbon Dynamics in Forested Catchments
Publication Date: 2011-01-01
Type: Chapter
Spatial variations in the geochemistry of glacial meltwater streams in the Taylor Valley, Antarctica
Publication Date: 2010-12-01
Type: Journal Article
Effects of short-term drying and irrigation on CO2 and CH4 production and emission from mesocosms of a northern bog and an alpine fen
Publication Date: 2010-09-01
Type: Journal Article
Communicating with the public: opportunities and rewards for individual ecologists
Pace ML; Hampton SE; Limburg KE; Bennett EM; Cook EM; Davis AE; Grove JM; Kaneshiro KY; LaDeau SL; Likens GE...
- Pace ML
- Hampton SE
- Limburg KE
- Bennett EM
- Cook EM
- Davis AE
- Grove JM
- Kaneshiro KY
- LaDeau SL
- Likens GE
Publication Date: 2010-08-01
Type: Journal Article
Overcoming "ecophobia": fostering environmental empathy through narrative in children's science literature
Publication Date: 2010-08-01
Type: Journal Article
New light on a dark subject: comment
Publication Date: 2010-06-01
Type: Journal Article
Antarctic McMurdo Dry Valley stream ecosystems as analogue to fluvial systems on Mars
Type: Chapter
Life in Antarctic Deserts and other Cold Dry Environments
Type: Book
Physiochemical properties influencing biomass abundance and primary production in Lake Hoare, Antarctica
Publication Date: 2010-04-24
Type: Journal Article