Spatiotemporal Distribution, Sources, and Photobleaching Imprint of Dissolved Organic Matter in the Yangtze Estuary and Its Adjacent Sea Using Fluorescence and Parallel Factor Analysis

To investigate the seasonal and interannual dynamics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the Yangtze Estuary, surface and bottom water samples in the Yangtze Estuary and its adjacent sea were collected and characterized using fluorescence excitation-emission matrices (EEMs) and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) in both dry and wet seasons in 2012 and 2013. Two protein-like components and three humic-like components were identified. Three humic-like components decreased linearly with increasing salinity (r>0.90, pmax) of humic-like components and chromophoric DOM (CDOM) absorption coefficient (a355) along the salinity gradient. This study demonstrates the abundance and composition of DOM in estuaries are controlled not only by hydrological conditions, but also by its sources, characteristics and related estuarine biogeochemical processes.