Benthic fluxes of fluorescent dissolved organic material, salt and heat measured by multiple-sensor aquatic eddy covariance

Aquatic eddy covariance (AEC) is an in situ technique for measuring fluxes in marine and freshwater systems based on the covariance of velocity and concentration measurements. Here, development of a fast multiple-channel sensor (FACT) enables the use of AEC for measurement of benthic fluxes of fluorescent dissolved organic material, salt, and heat at three distinct sites in Massachusetts, USA, including the Connecticut River, the Concord River, and Upper Mystic Lake. Simultaneous measurement of several fluxes expands the utility of AEC as a biogeochemical tool while enabling checks for mutual consistency among data channels.