Monitoring Water Quality in the Northern Adriatic Sea

Dissolved organic matter (DOM), is one of the largest pools of organic carbon in the biosphere and is equivalent in magnitude to terrestrially fixed carbon. In the 300 - 800 nm wavelength range, DOM in surface waters can be divided into transparent and light absorbing groups. The absorbing-fraction, chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM), historically referred to as gelbstoff, humic matter, or yellow substances, is the primary absorber of sunlight and a major factor that determines the optical properties of natural waters and directly affects both the availability and the spectral quality of light.