The last two decades have brought a major technological advancement in collection of water quality and biogeochemical data in rivers, lakes and engineered systems using automated in situ wet-chemistry analysers, optical sensors and lab-on-a-chip instruments. Furthermore, our ability to characterise different fractions of natural organic matter has increased thanks to a range of analytical methods e.g. fluorescence and absorbance spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and chromatography combined with new data mining tools (Self-organising maps, PARAFAC analysis). Matching the water quality measurement interval with the timescales of hydrological responses (from minutes to hours) led to discovery of new hydrochemical and biogeochemical patterns in streams along with improved understanding of the underlying processes e.g. concentration-discharge hysteresis and diurnal cycling. We are now at the frontier of further advancing this understanding for a wide range of solutes and particulates in streams, rivers and lakes using rapidly developing technology of wet-chemistry analysers, optical sensors and lab-on-the-chip instruments. We need to understand better how organic matter links with other biogeochemical cycles (e.g. phosphorus, nitrogen, sulphur and iron) and processes in aquatic systems. In particular there is a growing need to monitor the advances in application of novel organic matter characterisation tools, understanding the origins, pathways, transformations and environmental fate of organic matter in aquatic environments and identification of robust numerical and statistical tools for data processing and modelling. This is an exciting opportunity to gain new knowledge of hydrochemical and ecological functioning of freshwater and engineered systems.

Previously in this session:
EGU 2018:
https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2018/session/26401

EGU 2017:
http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2017/session/24958

EGU 2016:
http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2016/session/20013

EGU 2015:
http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2015/session/17101
Keynote lecture: Diane McKnight

EGU 2014:
http://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2014/session/15261
Keynote lecture: Darren Reynolds