Co-Authors:
Borisover, M., Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan, 50250, Israel
Laor, Y., Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, Newe Ya'ar Research Center, P.O. Box 1021, Ramat Yishay, 30095, Israel
Parparov, A., Israel Oceanographic and Limnological Research, The Yigal Allon Limnological Laboratory, P.O. Box 447, Migdal, 14950, Israel
Bukhanovsky, N., Institute of Soil, Water and Environmental Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan, 50250, Israel
Lado, M., Area of Soil Science, Faculty of Sciences, University of A Coruña, A Zapateira s/n, 15071 A Coruña, Spain
Abstract:
Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) is one of the major water resources in Israel. The origin and characteristics of natural organic matter (NOM) in the lake and its tributary rivers were studied using fluorescence excitation emission matrices (EEM) and parallel factor analysis. Two humic-like and one proteinous components were sufficient to describe EEM variability among 167 water samples collected between 2/2005 and 9/2006. The two humic-like components showed different relations in lake and riverine samples. Their vertical distribution in the lake was affected by seasonal stratification and distance from water surface, presumably reflecting the release of humic-like matter from sediments, its production via NOM transformation in the bottom layers, and its photodegradation in the upper layers. Vertical distribution of the proteinous component, indicating biological activity at upper water layers, did not correlate with that of the humic-like components. Dissolved organic carbon concentrations did not show any vertical stratification, emphasizing the power of EEM to explore NOM dynamics. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.