ABSTRACXTwelve species of benthic algae from the northeast coast of the United States, three species of planktonic algae grown in the laboratory, a pelagic alga, a sample of mixed phytoplankton and zooplankton, and a recent marine sediment were analyzed for their normal paraffin distribution from CI,Hm to CXH,,. Normal paraffins occurred in all samples. Benthic and planktonic algae and the mixed plankton sample exhibited only a slight odd-carbon predominance.
Soils and recent marine sediments contain a complex polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon assemblage. There is a high degree of similarity in the molecular weight distribution of the many series of alkyl homologs of these aromatic hydrocarbons, and this distribution varies little over a wide range of depositional environments. The evidence suggests that these hydrocarbons are formed in natural fires, are dispersed and mixed by air transport, and are eventually deposited into surface sediments. The analytical, geochemical, and environmental implications of these findings are discussed.
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