Fundamental and holistic investigation of aquatic organic matter fractions for an innovative early warning method to improve ecosystem functioning

The specific purpose of this project is to develop an innovative method for continuous monitoring of surface water quality using fluorescence spectroscopy, which will enable fundamental investigation of DOM character and concentration and facilitate a better understanding of ecosystem processes.

Phase 1. Identification of spectral fingerprints for different surface water systems, with both natural DOM inputs and diverse sources of pollution, enabling DOM characterization and detection of contaminants (10.2011 – 12.2011)

• T1.1 Construction of a database with fluorescence spectra for different types of water bodies.
• T1.2 Analysis of the correlations between several spectral indicators and standard water quality parameters for specific water bodies.
• T1.3 Dissemination of result (1 published paper, 1 database, round table).

Phase 2. Holistic assessment of the aquatic components, at high frequency scale by identifying the characteristics of these components in response to various environments and factors         (12.2011 – 12.2012)

• T2.1 Setting up the experimental protocol.
• T2.2 Continuous monitoring of urban aquatic systems.
• T2.3 Continuous monitoring of human modified ecosystems.
• T2.4 Analysis of the aquatic components fluorescence specificities, at daily scale, as well as the impact of precipitation, surface runoff and accidental contaminations on the DOM composition and character.
• T2.5 Dissemination of results (2 published papers, 2 conferences, 1 round table).

Phase 3. Determination of the proper multivariate method for data processing to facilitate pattern recognition and to identify the most relevant spectral properties in surface water systems (12.2012 –    12.2013)

• T3.1 Testing the most common multivariate methods, in fluorescence spectra analysis, on the available data.
• T3.2 Choosing the optimum multivariate method capable to identify the most pertinent information.
• T3.3 Dissemination of results (2 published papers, 2 conferences).

Phase 4. Establish the experimental and multivariate model for continuous fluorescence monitoring and early warning system         (01.2014 – 09.2014)

• T4.1 Refine the details of the experimental and multivariate protocol, based on the available results.
• T4.2 Elaboration of the patent proposal.
• T4.3 Dissemination of results (1 paper, 1 conference, 1 patent proposal).

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