Project: Collaborative Research: Phlorotannins - An Important Source of Marine Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter?

NSF Award Abstract:

Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM), the sunlight absorbing components in filtered water, is important in the study of marine and freshwater ecosystems as it can be used to trace the mixing of surface waters, as a proxy for carbon cycles, and other biogeochemical processes. Although its importance in ocean studies has been firmly established over the last several decades, sources and structural composition of CDOM within the oceans remains unclear and continues to be a subject of debate. Sargassum, a brown alga, is widely distributed in temperate and subtropical marine waters and may be important source of CDOM to the Sargasso Sea and Gulf of Mexico where Sargassum is abundant. This project will investigate the contribution of macro brown algae-derived compounds to the marine CDOM pool. Results from this study will have implications for the marine carbon cycle and satellite remote sensing of ocean color to assess mixing of surface water masses and biogeochemical processes. The project will provide educational opportunities for a postdoctoral scholar, summertime undergraduate internships (through a local NSF-sponsored Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program), and workshop and research opportunities for local high schools students.

Sources of marine CDOM remain debatable and a comprehensive understanding of its origins, distribution and fate have been difficult. Marine CDOM, and in particular the "humic-like" component, have been suggested to originate from terrestrial sources, primarily lignins. However, recent evidence indicates that the exudation of phlorotannins produced by macro brown algae may contribute significantly to the marine CDOM pool. Phlorotannins, a class of polyphenols that are only found in, and continuously exuded by macro brown algae such as Sargassum, strongly absorb ultraviolet light and may have been underestimated in their contribution to the marine CDOM pool within certain geographic locales. Upon partial oxidation, light absorption by these specific compounds extends into longer wavelengths in the visible creating an absorption spectrum similar to that of lignin. These phlorotannins and their transformation products absorb light that might explain in part the "humic-like" signatures observed in open ocean environments. This study aims to characterize the optical properties and molecular composition of Sargassum-derived CDOM including its aerobic oxidation and photochemical behavior, as well as quantify Sargassum-derived CDOM to better estimate its possible contribution to the CDOM pool in the Sargasso Sea and Gulf of Mexico.