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
News
Rare Earth Water (The Poetry of Science)
An original poem and science podcast episode of The Poetry of Science, by Sam Illingworth, inspired by Garrett Rue and Diane McKnight's new paper reporting on climate change as a driver of acid rock drainage and rare earth element contamination of the Snake River, Colorado. Read more
Rare earth elements and old mines spell trouble for Western water supplies
Acid rock and mine drainage into Western streams is a problem. Climate change is making it worse. Read more
Publications
Publications for McKnight are shown below
Spectral evaluation of watershed DOM and DBP precursors
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie; Korak, Julie Ann; Summers, R Scott; 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
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 diatom Didymosphenia geminata
CU Boulder Authors:
Crimaldi, John; McKnight, Diane Marie
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 °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:
McKnight, Diane Marie; Spaulding, Sarah A
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:
SanClements, Michael; McKnight, Diane Marie
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, Mike
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:
Bilinski, Teresa; McKnight, Diane Marie
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
15N and 13C{14N} NMR investigation of the major nitrogen-containing segment in an aquatic fulvic acid: Evidence for a hydantoin derivative
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Fang X; Mao J; Cory RM; McKnight DM; Schmidt-Rohr K
Published in: Magnetic Resonance in ChemistryPublication Date: 2011-12-01
Type: Journal Article
Hydrologic processes influence diatom community composition in Dry Valley streams
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Stanish LF; Nemergut DR; McKnight DM
Published in: Journal of the North American Benthological SocietyPublication Date: 2011-12-01
Type: Journal Article
Hydrological Connectivity of the Landscape of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie; Gooseff, Mike
All Authors:
Gooseff MN; McKnight DM; Doran P; Fountain AG; Lyons WB
Published in: Geography CompassPublication Date: 2011-09-01
Type: Journal Article
Redox character of soil humic material suggests a role in microbial weathering of bedrock surfaces
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Gabor RS; McKnight DM
Published in: ACS National Meeting Book of AbstractsPublication Date: 2011-08-28
Type: Journal Article
When a habitat freezes solid: microorganisms over-winter within the ice column of a coastal Antarctic lake
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Published in: FEMS Microbiology EcologyForeman 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
CU Boulder Authors:
Neupauer, Roseanna M.; McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Koch JC; McKnight DM; Neupauer RM
Published in: Water Resources ResearchPublication Date: 2011-05-21
Type: Journal Article
Evaluating the link between nutrient loadings, algal activity, and formation of disinfection byproducts in watersheds
All Authors:
Hohner AK; Khan A; McKnight D; Summers RS; Rosario-Ortiz FL
Published in: ACS National Meeting Book of AbstractsPublication Date: 2011-03-27
Type: Journal Article
Spectral Methods to Advance Understanding of Dissolved Organic Carbon Dynamics in Forested Catchments
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Cory RM; Boyer EW; McKnight DM
Published in: Ecological StudiesPublication Date: 2011-01-01
Type: Chapter
Spatial variations in the geochemistry of glacial meltwater streams in the Taylor Valley, Antarctica
All Authors:
Welch KA; Lyons WB; Whisner C; Gardner CB; Gooseff MN; McKnight DM; Priscu JC
Published in: Antarctic SciencePublication 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
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Deppe M; Knorr K-H; McKnight DM; Blodau C
Published in: Biogeochemistry: an international journalPublication Date: 2010-09-01
Type: Journal Article
Communicating with the public: opportunities and rewards for individual ecologists
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Published in: Frontiers in Ecology and the EnvironmentPace 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
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
McKnight DM
Published in: Frontiers in Ecology and the EnvironmentPublication Date: 2010-08-01
Type: Journal Article