Characterizing Dissolved Organic Matter fractions using spectral fluorescent signatures and post processing by principal component analysis

Using modern computer enhanced control and acquisition systems, it is possible to process and analyze the entire usable portion of a spectral region in a reasonable amount of time. This paper describes the creation of a three dimensional fluorescent spectral library of dissolved organic matter (DOM) fractions in water obtained by solid phase adsorption. Although analysis of the response surface and the emission characteristics can be documented manually, this process is subjective in nature and prone to errors. A more efficient method is to conduct post processing using multi-variate analysis of the response surface to identify specific characteristics of the sub-fraction of DOM in water.