Measurement of Dissolved Organic Matter Fluorescence in Aquatic Environments: An Interlaboratory Comparison

The fluorescent properties of dissolved organic matter (DOM) are often studied in order to infer DOM characteristics in aquatic environments, including source, quantity, composition, and behavior. While a potentially powerful technique, a single widely implemented standard method for correcting and presenting fluorescence measurements is lacking, leading to difficulties when comparing data collected by different research groups. This paper reports on a large-scale interlaboratory comparison in which natural samples and well-characterized fluorophores were analyzed in 20 laboratories in the U.S., Europe, and Australia. Shortcomings were evident in several areas, including data quality-assurance, the accuracy of…

• NA
  National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• NI
  National Institute of Standards and Technology
• UG
  U.S. Geological Survey