Studying dissolved organic carbon in tropical rivers of Malaysia using in-situ and satellite observations

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Justus Notholt; Privatdozent Dr. Tim Rixen; Professor Dr. Thorsten Warneke
• Subject Area: Hydrogeology, Hydrology, Limnology, Urban Water Management, Water Chemistry, Integrated Water Resources Management ; Atmospheric Science ; Oceanography
• Term: from 2018 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 407264719

• Final Report Year: 2024

Final Report Abstract

As part of the project, Prof. Moritz Müller visited the University of Bremen for three months in summer 2018. As part of discussions with the group of Prof. Notholt one further measurement campaign in Malaysian rivers was planned and executed. As part of the cooperation with Tim Rixen from ZMT water samples, taken in the Malaysian rivers, were analysed at ZMT. Discussions with Prof. Astrid Bracher helped to investigate the possibility to use satellite data for the analysis of DOC in rivers. A visit to Geomar in Kiel facilitated valuable discussions with Profs. Birgit Quack and Hermann Bange regarding ongoing methane research in Borneo. A UV-Vis spectrometersonde, measuring DOC in the water was purchased, and installed for continuous measurements in a river on Borneo.

Publications

• Dissolved inorganic nitrogen in a tropical estuary in Malaysia: transport and transformation. Biogeosciences, 16(14), 2821-2836.
  Jiang, Shan; Müller, Moritz; Jin, Jie; Wu, Ying; Zhu, Kun; Zhang, Guosen; Mujahid, Aazani; Rixen, Tim; Muhamad, Mohd Fakharuddin; Sia, Edwin Sien Aun; Jang, Faddrine Holt Ajon & Zhang, Jing
  
• Impact of peatlands on carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from the Rajang River and Estuary, Malaysia. Biogeosciences, 16(1), 17-32.
  Müller-Dum, Denise; Warneke, Thorsten; Rixen, Tim; Müller, Moritz; Baum, Antje; Christodoulou, Aliki; Oakes, Joanne; Eyre, Bradley D. & Notholt, Justus
  
• A New Remote Sensing Method to Estimate River to Ocean DOC Flux in Peatland Dominated Sarawak Coastal Regions, Borneo. Remote Sensing, 12(20), 3380.
  ChunHock, Sim; Cherukuru, Nagur; Mujahid, Aazani; Martin, Patrick; Sanwlani, Nivedita; Warneke, Thorsten; Rixen, Tim; Notholt, Justus & Müller, Moritz
  
• CO 2 emissions from peat-draining rivers regulated by water pH. Biogeosciences, 19(11), 2855-2880.
  Klemme, Alexandra; Rixen, Tim; Müller-Dum, Denise; Müller, Moritz; Notholt, Justus & Warneke, Thorsten
  
• Destabilization of carbon in tropical peatlands by enhanced weathering. Communications Earth & Environment, 3(1).
  Klemme, Alexandra; Rixen, Tim; Müller, Moritz; Notholt, Justus & Warneke, Thorsten