On the potentiality of using the fluorescence of humic substances for the determination of hydrological structures in coastal sea waters and in inland water basins

This paper describes the potentialities of the characteristics of the fluorescence of humic substances (HS), namely, their intensity normalized to the Raman band intensity of water and the shape of their fluorescence band, as indications of the hydrological structures of the surface water layer in marine coastal areas (using the example of the North Sea region near the East Frisian Islands and the estuary zone of the Weser River) and in inland water basins (using the example of the Rybinsk Reservoir). We demonstrate that the HS fluorescence band??s shape parameters allow stricter discrimination of the dominant water masses as compared to the admixtures?? concentration-related indicators (the salinity, electric conductivity, and HS fluorescence intensity).