Organic matter concentration and characteristic dynamics in surface waters post-bushfires and cyclones: fDOM sensors for environmental monitoring and control

This study presents the findings of an investigation on the dynamics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) concentration and characteristics of four Australian rivers and reservoirs after their catchments had been severely burned by bushfires (wildfires) or impacted by a tropical cyclone. Dissolved orga...

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Main Authors: Daraei, Hiua, Bertone, Edoardo, Stewart, Rodney A, Awad, John, Leavesley, Adam, Gale, Matthew, Jones, Eriita, Cinque, Kathy, Agnew, Mark, Burger, Hugh A, Van Leeuwen, John
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2024
Online Access:http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP160100217
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/96323
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author Daraei, Hiua
Bertone, Edoardo
Stewart, Rodney A
Awad, John
Leavesley, Adam
Gale, Matthew
Jones, Eriita
Cinque, Kathy
Agnew, Mark
Burger, Hugh A
Van Leeuwen, John
author_facet Daraei, Hiua
Bertone, Edoardo
Stewart, Rodney A
Awad, John
Leavesley, Adam
Gale, Matthew
Jones, Eriita
Cinque, Kathy
Agnew, Mark
Burger, Hugh A
Van Leeuwen, John
author_sort Daraei, Hiua
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This study presents the findings of an investigation on the dynamics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) concentration and characteristics of four Australian rivers and reservoirs after their catchments had been severely burned by bushfires (wildfires) or impacted by a tropical cyclone. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) increased immediately following the events, and subsequently decreased. The findings indicate rapid stabilisation of water quality, based on the measured parameters, following the commencement of the first winter after the events (which occurred in mid/end summer). In the fire-affected Middle River catchment, DOC decreased from 30.7 mg L−1 to 10.2 mg L−1 over approximately seven months. In the case of the Herring Lagoon catchment, which was affected by cyclone Uesi, DOC decreased from 15.6 mg L−1 to 1.2 mg L−1 over approximately ten months. However, the DOM present in the surface water exposed to the cyclone showed higher molecular weight, coagulability and UV-vis absorbance than the DOM present in the surface water of fire-affected catchments. The observed rapid increase and then reduction in DOM concentrations after extreme climate events indicates the need for short-term and rapid responses for drinking water treatment. The fluorescence signal of a field-deployable fluorescent DOM (fDOM) sensor showed potential as an online monitoring tool for assessing DOM concentration in surface waters, including under extreme conditions. The rapid identification of high DOM loadings in surface waters following extreme climate events (e.g. using a field deployed fDOM sensor) along with its coagulability characteristics could assist in catchment management and drinking water treatment by enabling timely control decisions in response to the impacts of such events.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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last_indexed 2025-11-14T11:46:21Z
publishDate 2024
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-963232025-01-09T02:07:08Z Organic matter concentration and characteristic dynamics in surface waters post-bushfires and cyclones: fDOM sensors for environmental monitoring and control Daraei, Hiua Bertone, Edoardo Stewart, Rodney A Awad, John Leavesley, Adam Gale, Matthew Jones, Eriita Cinque, Kathy Agnew, Mark Burger, Hugh A Van Leeuwen, John This study presents the findings of an investigation on the dynamics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) concentration and characteristics of four Australian rivers and reservoirs after their catchments had been severely burned by bushfires (wildfires) or impacted by a tropical cyclone. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) increased immediately following the events, and subsequently decreased. The findings indicate rapid stabilisation of water quality, based on the measured parameters, following the commencement of the first winter after the events (which occurred in mid/end summer). In the fire-affected Middle River catchment, DOC decreased from 30.7 mg L−1 to 10.2 mg L−1 over approximately seven months. In the case of the Herring Lagoon catchment, which was affected by cyclone Uesi, DOC decreased from 15.6 mg L−1 to 1.2 mg L−1 over approximately ten months. However, the DOM present in the surface water exposed to the cyclone showed higher molecular weight, coagulability and UV-vis absorbance than the DOM present in the surface water of fire-affected catchments. The observed rapid increase and then reduction in DOM concentrations after extreme climate events indicates the need for short-term and rapid responses for drinking water treatment. The fluorescence signal of a field-deployable fluorescent DOM (fDOM) sensor showed potential as an online monitoring tool for assessing DOM concentration in surface waters, including under extreme conditions. The rapid identification of high DOM loadings in surface waters following extreme climate events (e.g. using a field deployed fDOM sensor) along with its coagulability characteristics could assist in catchment management and drinking water treatment by enabling timely control decisions in response to the impacts of such events. 2024 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/96323 10.1039/D4VA00036F http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP160100217 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ fulltext
spellingShingle Daraei, Hiua
Bertone, Edoardo
Stewart, Rodney A
Awad, John
Leavesley, Adam
Gale, Matthew
Jones, Eriita
Cinque, Kathy
Agnew, Mark
Burger, Hugh A
Van Leeuwen, John
Organic matter concentration and characteristic dynamics in surface waters post-bushfires and cyclones: fDOM sensors for environmental monitoring and control
title Organic matter concentration and characteristic dynamics in surface waters post-bushfires and cyclones: fDOM sensors for environmental monitoring and control
title_full Organic matter concentration and characteristic dynamics in surface waters post-bushfires and cyclones: fDOM sensors for environmental monitoring and control
title_fullStr Organic matter concentration and characteristic dynamics in surface waters post-bushfires and cyclones: fDOM sensors for environmental monitoring and control
title_full_unstemmed Organic matter concentration and characteristic dynamics in surface waters post-bushfires and cyclones: fDOM sensors for environmental monitoring and control
title_short Organic matter concentration and characteristic dynamics in surface waters post-bushfires and cyclones: fDOM sensors for environmental monitoring and control
title_sort organic matter concentration and characteristic dynamics in surface waters post-bushfires and cyclones: fdom sensors for environmental monitoring and control
url http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP160100217
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/96323