PNNL

Abstract

Riverine dissolved organic matter (DOM) is crucial to global carbon cycling and aquatic ecosystems. However, the geographical patterns and environmental correlates of DOM chemodiversity remain elusive especially in surface waters and sediments of global rivers. Here, we systematically analyzed DOM molecular diversity and composition in surface waters and sediments across 97 globally distributed rivers using data from the Worldwide Hydrobiogeochemistry Observation Network for Dynamic River Systems (WHONDRS) consortium. We further examined the associations of molecular richness and composition with geographical, climatic, physicochemical variables, as well as the watershed characteristics. We found that molecular richness significantly decreased toward higher latitudes, but only in sediments (r = -0.24, P