Aplicabilidad de las determinaciones de absorción en el UV-visible para la caracterización de las sustancias húmicas en ambientes acuáticos

Abstract

The applicability of UV-visible absorption measurements was analyzed as a rapid and easy way for the determination and characterization of humic substances in aquatic environments taking into account their ecological meaning. Samples for these studies were taken from Río Samborombón, Arroyo Vitel and Laguna de Chascomús (Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina). In spite of the different absorption of humic and fulvic acids at the wavelengths employed, the method proved to be useful to account for the relative proportion of them, to make comparisons betwcen different ecosystems and to give the possibility of using it to follow the dinamycs of these substances in a given water body. In an attempt to use absorbance determinations as a measure of soluble organic matter content, correlation between Chemical oxygen demand and absorbance at 250 nm and at 365 nm was analyzed. Good results were obtained for Río Samborombón at both wavelengths, while in the other cases correlation was more significative at 365 nm.