Studies of humic substances from sediments in Galway Bay, Ireland

Abstract

The aim of the research is to provide more detailed information about the nature and the associations of the organic matter (OM) in estuarine sediments from Galway Bay, Ireland. The work will help to determine the extents to which sediments are sinks for carbon (C) and also the effect the River Corrib (which flows into the estuary) is having on the OM present. Humic substances (HS) will be extracted and fractionated followed by spectroscopic analysis. The main focus will be on solid and liquid state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy which will give insights into the chemical compositions of the matter.