| Abstract: | This paper reports changes in dissolved organic carbon concentration β(DOC) and the relation between UV-active and non-UV-active components determined for Elbe river water and river bank infiltrate in the Torgau river basin between 1992 and 1994. Using an ultrafiltration method, the fractionation of the DOC content was obtained for the fractions > 10 000 g/mol, 1 000…10 000 g/mol, and < 1 000 g/mol. The spectral absorption coefficient at 254 nm a254 of the molecular-weight fractions was also measured. The mean total DOC concentration of Elbe river water decreased from 6.0 mg/L to below 3.9 mg/L along two investigated flowpaths. Two thirds of the decrease occurred within the first few metres of the river bed and one third along the 350 m length of the groundwater flowpaths. The a254 values showed a significant decrease from 14.8 1/m in Elbe river water to 7.8 1/m in the aquifer. Along a flowpath, the proportion of low-molecular weight fraction of DOC increased, the proportion of high-molecular weight fraction decreased, and the proportion of the 1 000…10 000 g/mol molecular-weight fraction remained relatively stable. The Elbe river water contained the main portion of UV-active compounds in the fraction 1 000…10 000 g/mol, and this was also the case for samples of river infiltrate. For the high-molecular weight fraction, mainly non-UV-active compounds were attenuated in the river bed sediment. |
