ECTS credits: 3

 

Course parameters:

Language: English

Level of course: PhD course

Time of year: 12 to 15 May 2025

No. of contact hours/hours in total incl. preparation, assignment(s) or the like: 25 contact hours; 48 preparation hours.

Capacity limits: 8 participants

 

Objectives of the course:

Importance and roles of DOM in the environment

Correct sampling, storage, and measurement of absorbance and fluorescence of DOM freshwater samples with Horiba Aqualog

Description and interpretation of common absorbance and fluorescence indexes for DOM composition

Description of excitation-emission matrices (EEMs) and parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) for DOM composition

Interpretation of PARAFAC results

 

Learning outcomes and competences:

At the end of the course, the student should be able to:

- Sample and prepare DOM freshwater samples for measurements

- Measure DOM composition in freshwater utilizing the Horiba Aqualog

- Analyse and interpret common absorbance and fluorescence indexes of DOM composition

- Analyse and interpret EEM data utilizing PARAFAC in staRdom and with online databases (OpenFluor)

- Have a basic understanding of the basic roles of DOM in freshwaters

 

Compulsory programme:

Active participation in lectures, hands on analysis in the field, laboratory and analysis of data in R (StaRdom package).

 

Course contents:

Lectures about importance of DOM in the environment (streams: Graeber, wetlands: Zak)

Lecture about typical DOM components and indexes in freshwater (Graeber)

Hands on with sampling and laboratory analysis of DOM in water utilizing the Horiba Aqualog in the laboratory (Graeber)

Hands on with analysis of DOM components in R with StaRdom package, and interpretation via the OpenFluor database

 

Prerequisites:

Experience with use of R for data analysis

 

Name of lecturers:

Daniel Graeber, UFZ, Magdeburg, Germany (Main course lecturer: Lecture on DOM components in freshwater environments and Hands on with EEM and PARAFAC)

Professor Dominik Zak, Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Denmark (Lecture on DOM in Wetlands)

Senior researcher Jim Rasmussen, Agroecology, Aarhus University, Denmark (Lecture on DOM in soils)

Professor Brian Kronvang, Aarhus University, Denmark (Course lead)

 

Type of course/teaching methods:

Mixture of lectures, hands on with the DOM analysis instrument (Horiba Aqualog) and exercises with the PARAFAC method to analyse DOM in R (StaRdom).

 

Literature:

Pucher, M., Wünsch, U., Weigelhofer, G., Murphy, K., Hein, T., Graeber, D., 2019. staRdom: Versatile Software for Analyzing Spectroscopic Data of Dissolved Organic Matter in R. Water 11, 2366. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11112366

Fellman, J.B., Hood, E., Spencer, R.G.M., 2010. Fluorescence spectroscopy opens new windows into dissolved organic matter dynamics in freshwater ecosystems: A review. Limnol. Oceanogr. 55, 2452–2462. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2010.55.6.2452

Murphy, K.R., Stedmon, C.A., Graeber, D., Bro, R., 2013. Fluorescence spectroscopy and multi-way techniques: PARAFAC. Analytical Methods 5, 6557–6566. https://doi.org/10.1039/C3AY41160E

 

Course homepage:

None

 

Course assessment:

An oral presentation of the results from each participants laboratory analysis and analysis of DOM components in StaRdom in given example water samples from different compartments. The oral presentation will be held on a seminar on the last day of the course. 

 

Provider:

Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, C.F. Møllers Allé 3, DK-8000, Aarhus C, Denmark

 

Special comments on this course:

 

Time:

12 to 15 May 2025

 

Place:

Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University Campus, C.F. Møllers Allé 3, DK-8000, Aarhus, Denmark

 

Course fee:

Course fee for is free for PhD students enrolled at Danish Universities but comes with a fee for non-Danish university on 3,600 DKK excluding materials, accommodation, meals, etc. for all participants.

 

Registration:

Please sign up for the course via this link: https://events.au.dk/dom-course2025 , the registration deadline is 1 April 2025.

Information regarding admission will be sent out no later than 15 April 2025.

If you have any questions, please contact Brian Kronvang, e-mail: BKR@ECOS.AU.DK