Breadcrumb
Organic Matter Spectroscopy Lab
Breadcrumb
Image: Boulder Reservoir by Richard Saxon
We measure the amount and character of dissolved organic matter from diverse ecosystems, especially aquatic ones. We often combine our lab data with field-scale experiments and modeling to understand of the interactions between hydrologic, chemical and biological processes in controlling the dynamics of these systems.
Diane McKnight
Director
Natalie Aranda
Grad student
Jared Collins
Grad student
Lauren Magliozzi
Grad student
Tanya Petach
Grad student
Mia Vanderwilt
Grad student
- Nayoung Hur, MS 2022
- Garrett Rue, PhD 2019
- Alia Lauren Khan, NSF Graduate Research Fellow
- Maggie Burns, MA 2014 in Geography; now Hydrologist
- Rachel Gabor, PhD 2013 in Environmental Studies
- Jessica Ebert, MS 2012
Contact & services
Major equipment includes
- Shimadzu TOC analyzer
- Antec 9000 DON analyzer
- Agilent 8453 spectrophotometer
- FluroMax2 fluorometer
- fractionation columns
- Ulter-filtration
News
Warming climate is putting more metals into Colorado’s mountain streams
Warming temperatures are causing a steady rise in copper, zinc and sulfate in the waters of Colorado mountain streams affected by acid rock drainage. Concentrations of these metals have roughly doubled in these alpine streams over the past 30 years, a new study finds, presenting a concern for ecosystems, downstream water quality and mining remediation. Read more
Research in the aftermath of the Camp Fire reveals the threat of wildfires on water quality (Chico State)
A groundbreaking multi-year research initiative launched at Chico State in the aftermath of the Camp Fire examined the presence of contaminants, including metals, in nearby watersheds. Joined by researchers from CU Boulder and the USGS, the research, recently published in the prestigious Journal of Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts, sheds light on the alarming impact of wildfires on stormwater runoff. Read more
Diane McKnight reflects on the LTER (LTER Network)
Diane McKnight has been an integral figure in the Long-Term Ecological Research Program for decades. She was instrumental in launching the McMurdo LTER, spearheaded restructuring network coordination, and served as Chair of the LTER Network Executive Board. She’s mentored dozens of students and developed too many projects to count. The LTER Network Office sat down with Diane to chat about her life in the Network and her dreams for the LTER moving forward. Read more
Publications
Publications for McKnight are shown below
Climate‐Driven Increases in Stream Metal Concentrations in Mineralized Watersheds Throughout the Colorado Rocky Mountains, USA
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Manning AH; Petach TN; Runkel RL; McKnight DM
Published in: Water Resources ResearchPublication Date: 2024-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Wildland-urban interface wildfire increases metal contributions to stormwater runoff in Paradise, California
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie; Ryan, Joseph N.
All Authors:
Published in: Environmental Science Processes and ImpactsMagliozzi LJ; Matiasek SJ; Alpers CN; Korak JA; Mcknight D; Foster AL; Ryan JN; Roth DA; Ku P; Tsui MT-K...
- Magliozzi LJ
- Matiasek SJ
- Alpers CN
- Korak JA
- Mcknight D
- Foster AL
- Ryan JN
- Roth DA
- Ku P
- Tsui MT-K
Publication Date: 2024-02-05
Type: Journal Article
Establishing fluvial silicon regimes and their stability across the Northern Hemisphere
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Published in: Limnology and Oceanography LettersJohnson K; Jankowski KJ; Carey J; Lyon NJ; Mcdowell WH; Shogren A; Wymore A; Sethna L; Wollheim WM; Poste AE...
- Johnson K
- Jankowski KJ
- Carey J
- Lyon NJ
- Mcdowell WH
- Shogren A
- Wymore A
- Sethna L
- Wollheim WM
- Poste AE
Publication Date: 2024-01-13
Type: Journal Article
Nitrogen fixation facilitates stream microbial mat biomass across the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Kohler TJ; Singley JG; Wlostowski AN; McKnight DM
Published in: Biogeochemistry: an international journalPublication Date: 2023-12-01
Type: Journal Article
Differentiating physical and biological storage of N along an intermittent Antarctic stream corridor
All Authors:
Singley JG; Salvatore MR; Gooseff MN; McKnight DM; Hinckley E-LS
Published in: Freshwater SciencePublication Date: 2023-09-01
Type: Journal Article
To Remediate or Not? Source Identification in an Acid Mine Drainage Stream, Warden Gulch, Colorado
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Jones MM; Runkel RL; Mcknight DM
Published in: Mine Water and the EnvironmentPublication Date: 2023-09-01
Type: Journal Article
Long-Term Changes in Concentration and Yield of Riverine Dissolved Silicon From the Poles to the Tropics
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Published in: Global Biogeochemical Cycles: an international journal of global changeJankowski KJ; Johnson K; Sethna L; Julian P; Wymore AS; Shogren AJ; Thomas PK; Sullivan PL; Mcknight DM; Mcdowell WH...
- Jankowski KJ
- Johnson K
- Sethna L
- Julian P
- Wymore AS
- Shogren AJ
- Thomas PK
- Sullivan PL
- Mcknight DM
- Mcdowell WH
Publication Date: 2023-09-01
Type: Journal Article
Riparian Bird Occupancy in a Mountain Watershed in the Colorado Mineral Belt Appears Resilient to Climate-Change-Driven Increases in Metals and Rare Earth Elements in Water and Aquatic Macroinvertebrates
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Watson KE; McKnight DM
Published in: DiversityPublication Date: 2023-06-01
Type: Journal Article
Identifying photochemical alterations of dissolved pyrogenic organic matter using fluorescence spectroscopy
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Egan JK; McKnight DM; Bowman MM; SanClements MD; Gallo AC; Hatten JA; Matosziuk LM
Published in: Aquatic Sciences: research across boundariesPublication Date: 2023-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Dominant source areas shift seasonally from longitudinal to lateral contributions in a montane headwater stream
CU Boulder Authors:
Gooseff, Mike; McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Bush SA; Birch AL; Warix SR; Sullivan PL; Gooseff MN; McKnight DM; Barnard HR
Published in: Journal of HydrologyPublication Date: 2023-01-28
Type: Journal Article
Impact of meltwater flow intensity on the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of microbial mats in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Published in: ISME CommunicationsZoumplis A; Kolody B; Kaul D; Zheng H; Venepally P; McKnight DM; Takacs-Vesbach C; DeVries A; Allen AE...
- Zoumplis A
- Kolody B
- Kaul D
- Zheng H
- Venepally P
- McKnight DM
- Takacs-Vesbach C
- DeVries A
- Allen AE
Publication Date: 2023-01-23
Type: Journal Article
Identification of next-generation International Humic Substances Society reference materials for advancing the understanding of the role of natural organic matter in the Anthropocene
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Published in: Aquatic Sciences: research across boundariesChin Y-P; McKnight DM; D'Andrilli J; Brooks N; Cawley K; Guerard J; Perdue EM; Stedmon CA; Tratnyek PG; Westerhoff P...
- Chin Y-P
- McKnight DM
- D'Andrilli J
- Brooks N
- Cawley K
- Guerard J
- Perdue EM
- Stedmon CA
- Tratnyek PG
- Westerhoff P
Publication Date: 2023-01-01
Type: Journal Article
Antarctic lake phytoplankton and bacteria from near-surface waters exhibit high sensitivity to climate-driven disturbance
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Sherwell S; Kalra I; Li W; McKnight DM; Priscu JC; Morgan-Kiss RM
Published in: Environmental MicrobiologyPublication Date: 2022-12-01
Type: Journal Article
Dissolved Organic Carbon Chemostasis in Antarctic Polar Desert Streams
CU Boulder Authors:
Gooseff, Mike; McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Torrens CL; Gooseff MN; McKnight DM
Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: BiogeosciencesPublication Date: 2022-07-01
Type: Journal Article
Long-term stream hydrology and meteorology of a Polar Desert, the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
CU Boulder Authors:
Gooseff, Mike; McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Gooseff MN; McKnight DM; Doran PT; Fountain A
Published in: Hydrological ProcessesPublication Date: 2022-06-01
Type: Journal Article
Whither Winter: The Altered Role of Winter for Freshwaters as the Climate Changes
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Cotner JB; Powers SM; Sadro S; McKnight D
Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: BiogeosciencesPublication Date: 2022-06-01
Type: Journal Article
Long-term ecological research and the COVID-19 anthropause: A window to understanding social-ecological disturbance
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie; Molotch, Noah Paul
All Authors:
Published in: EcosphereGaiser EE; Kominoski JS; McKnight DM; Bahlai CA; Cheng C; Record S; Wollheim WM; Christianson KR; Downs MR; Hawman PA...
- Gaiser EE
- Kominoski JS
- McKnight DM
- Bahlai CA
- Cheng C
- Record S
- Wollheim WM
- Christianson KR
- Downs MR
- Hawman PA
Publication Date: 2022-04-01
Type: Journal Article
Blowin' in the wind: Dispersal, structure, and metacommunity dynamics of aeolian diatoms in the McMurdo Sound region, Antarctica
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Schulte NO; Khan AL; Smith EW; Zoumplis A; Kaul D; Allen AE; Adams BJ; McKnight DM
Published in: Journal of Phycology: an international journal of algal researchPublication Date: 2022-02-01
Type: Journal Article
From the Heroic Age to today: What diatoms from Shackleton's Nimrod expedition can tell us about the ecological trajectory of Antarctic ponds
All Authors:
Kohler TJ; Howkins A; Sokol ER; Kopalova K; Cox A; Darling JP; Gooseff MN; McKnight DM
Published in: Limnology and Oceanography LettersPublication Date: 2021-12-01
Type: Journal Article
Spatiotemporal patterns in hydrologic connectivity within a semi-arid montane headwater catchment in central Colorado
All Authors:
Bush S; Barnard H; Birch A; Gooseff M; McKnight D
Publication Date: 2021-11-04Type: Journal Article
Effects of hydrologic variability and remedial actions on first flush and metal loading from streams draining the Silverton caldera, 1992-2014
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Petach TN; Runkel RL; Cowie RM; McKnight DM
Published in: Hydrological ProcessesPublication Date: 2021-11-01
Type: Journal Article
Dissolved Organic Carbon Chemostasis in Antarctic Polar Desert Streams
CU Boulder Authors:
Gooseff, Mike; McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Torrens CL; Gooseff MN; McKnight DM
Publication Date: 2021-10-02Type: Journal Article
Using an unmanned aerial vehicle water sampler to gather data in a pit-lake mining environment to assess closure and monitoring
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Straight BJ; Castendyk DN; McKnight DM; Newman CP; Filiatreault P; Pino A
Published in: Environmental Monitoring and AssessmentPublication Date: 2021-09-01
Type: Journal Article
Supporting Simultaneous Air Revitalization and Thermal Control in a Crewed Habitat With Temperate Chlorella vulgaris and Eurythermic Antarctic Chlorophyta
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie; Nabity, James A.
All Authors:
Matula EE; Nabity JA; McKnight DM
Published in: Frontiers in MicrobiologyPublication Date: 2021-08-24
Type: Journal Article
Enhanced Rare Earth Element Mobilization in a Mountain Watershed of the Colorado Mineral Belt with Concomitant Detection in Aquatic Biota: Increasing Climate Change-Driven Degradation to Water Quality
CU Boulder Authors:
McKnight, Diane Marie
All Authors:
Rue GP; McKnight DM
Published in: Environmental Science and Technology (Washington)Publication Date: 2021-08-04
Type: Journal Article