Spatial and seasonal patterns of fluorescent organic matter in Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) and its catchment basin

Authors: Mikhail Borisovera,*, Yael Laorb, Arkady Paraparovc, Nadezhda Bukhanovskya, Marcos Ladod
aInstitute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcanic Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
bInstitute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Newe Ya’ar Research Center, P.O. Box 1021, Ramat Yishay 30095, Israel
cIsrael Oceanographic and Limnological Research, The Yigal Allon Limnological Laboratory, P.O. Box 447, Migdal 14950, Israel
dArea of Soil Science, Faculty of Sciences, University of A Coruna, A Zapateira s/n, 15071 A Coruna, Spain

Summary
Samples were collected from two different stations. 107 samples were collected from station A from different depths (m). 10 water samples were collected from station H. At the end of May, 28 samples were collected from metalimnion strata. Water samples were analyzed using a spectrophotometer to obtain EEMs. PARAFAC model was used to model the EEMs to identify organic fluorophores.
A three component model was found suitable based on residual sum of squares (RSS) and core consistency (CC) value. The model was validated by split half analysis.
Since water samples were collected from varying depths, so, a vertical profile of concentration was obtained shown in figure 1 below. Concentration scores were tested for relation with water quality parameters like chlorophyll, POC, DOC, and BOD5. Moreover, concentration of humic substances decreased with increasing depth. At a depth of 38m, the concentration dropped to zero. Concentration of protein like compounds was found to follow an opposite trend which is reported because of bacterial activity on protein like matter.
 
Figure 1.
Reviewer: Aamir Alaud-din
aamiralauddin@gist.ac.kr