Functional Ecology Group
Staff          Research        Awards
 
 
           Environmental Chemistry

         Natural organic matter (NOM)

         NOM is a complex mixture of compounds formed in the soil
         environment as a result of the breakdown of animal and plant
         material that highly influence on the drainage water, e.g. the
         brown colours of aromatic compounds. A substantial fraction
         is in carboxylic acid functional groups which endow these
         molecules with the ability to bind metals and organic
         substances with negative biological roles and facilitate the
         bioavailability of these.
 

The browning of surface waters
 
Lake Terjevann, a limestone treated lake
 

     
     

      Research on these complex compounds is challenging
      and includes fieldwork and laboratory activity. The Lake
      Terjevann watershed about 8 km from Kristiansand is
      used as field site.
          
           Besides, reverse osmosis (RO) isolates from several locations in the Nordic countries are available and used among
           others to study the effects of UV light on NOM.
 



Isolation of NOM by reverse osmosis and freeze drying
 
RO-isolates from the Nordic countries
               Ultrafiltration, spectroscopy and chromatography are methods used to characterize the samples.

               Observations show a recent increased browning of surface waters across eastern North America and eastern and northern
               Europe that could be invoked by mechanisms related to climate change. Research on this topic is in progress.




(logo)
 University of Agder
Faculty of Engineering and Science
Functional Ecology Group
Servicebox 422, NO-4604, Kristiansand, Norway
Phone + 47 38 14 10 70,  Fax + 47 38 14 10 71