Carbon sources and cycle in the western Mediterranean—the use of molecular markers to determine the origin of organic matter

Bouloubassi, Ioanna; Lipiatou, Elisabeth; Saliot, A.; Tolosa, Imma; Bayona, Josep M.; Albaigés, Joan

doi:10.1016/s0967-0645(96)00094-x

Cited by 74 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…These values are comparable to those reported for the open northwestern Mediterranean Sea (0.38-1.47 %, Bouloubassi et al, 1997;0.23-1.85 %, Roussiez et al, 2006;0.7-1.5 %, Tolosa et al, 1996) and the open Cretan Sea (0.30-0.82 %; Gogou et al, 2000). Maximum values are found off the Gulf of Taranto (station H07), followed by deep Ionian Sea basins (stations H04 and H03), while minimum values are found in the northeastern Ionian Sea (station H12).…”

Section: Organic Carbonsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…Although they may derive from natural sources, both marine and terrestrial, a large proportion of hydrocarbons is related to various anthropogenic activities that result in the formation and release of hazardous organic pollutants. On account of their wide variety of sources, hydrocarbons occur as complex mixtures in the marine environment (Bouloubassi et al, 1997;Gogou et al, 2000;Prahl and Carpenter, 1984;Tolosa et al, 1996;Yunker et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Occurrence, sources and transport pathways of natural and anthropogenic hydrocarbons in deep-sea sediments of the eastern Mediterranean Sea

et al. 2013

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Abstract. Surface sediments collected from deep basins (1018-4087 m depth) of the eastern Mediterranean Sea (Ionian Sea, southern Aegean Sea and northwestern Levantine Sea) were analyzed for aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as tracers of natural and anthropogenic inputs. Concentrations of total aliphatic hydrocarbons, n-alkanes and the unresolved complex mixture (UCM) of aliphatic hydrocarbons varied significantly, ranging from 1.34 to 49.2 µg g −1 , 145 to 4810 ng g −1 and 0.73 to 36.7 µg g −1 , respectively, while concentrations of total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) ranged between 11.6 and 223 ng g −1 . Molecular profiles of determined hydrocarbons reflect a mixed contribution from both natural and anthropogenic sources in deep-sea sediments of the eastern Mediterranean Sea, i.e., terrestrial plant waxes, degraded petroleum products, unburned fossil fuels and combustion of grass, wood and coal. Hydrocarbon mixtures display significant variability amongst sub-regions, reflecting differences in the relative importance of inputs from various sources and phase associations/transport pathways of individual hydrocarbons that impact on their overall distribution and fate. Hydrocarbon concentrations correlated significantly with the organic carbon content of sediments, indicating that the latter exerts an important control on their transport and ultimate accumulation in deep basins. Additionally, water masses' circulation characteristics also seem to influence the regional features and distribution patterns of hydrocarbons. Our findings highlight the role of deep basins/canyons as repositories of both natural and anthropogenic chemical species.

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Section: Organic Carbonsupporting

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occurrence, sources and transport pathways of natural and anthropogenic hydrocarbons in deep-sea sediments of the eastern Mediterranean Sea

et al. 2013

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“…The percentage of allochthonous carbon (% C-terr) in marine sediments may be obtained from the ratio of an allochthonous biomarker (normalized to TOC) between marine sediments and the river mouth water (Bouloubassi et al, 1997;Saliot et al, 2002). This approach assumes that the allochthonous biomarkers are conservative and that the only factor affecting the ratio between allochthonous biomarkers and terrestrial organic carbon in sediments is dilution with the marine organic carbon.…”

Section: Estimation Of Allochthonous Organic Carbon Content In Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies from the 1980s have partially characterized the Mackenzie-Beaufort sea system using specific molecular compounds (Yunker et al, 1995(Yunker et al, , 2002(Yunker et al, , 2011Belicka et al, 2004;Goñi et al, 2000Goñi et al, , 2005Drenzek et al, 2007). In particular, these studies all reported data on lipid biomarkers, which are well suited to evaluate the supply of terrigenous organic matter (Bouloubassi et al, 1997;Saliot et al, 2002), but only a few have combined these analyses with compound-specific isotope determinations (Drenzek et al, 2007;Goñi et al, 2005). The approach using the δ 13 C values of individual compounds is relevant since the isotope data provide additional evidence supporting the proposed origins of the biomarkers, and in certain cases this combination is essential for an accurate determination of the origin of the biomarkers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon sources in suspended particles and surface sediments from the Beaufort Sea revealed by molecular lipid biomarkers and compound-specific isotope analysis

et al. 2013

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Molecular lipid biomarkers (hydrocarbons, alcohols, sterols and fatty acids) and compound-specific isotope analysis of suspended particulate organic matter (SPM) and surface sediments of the Mackenzie Shelf and slope (southeast Beaufort Sea, Arctic Ocean) were studied in summer 2009. The concentrations of the molecular lipid markers, characteristic of known organic matter sources, were grouped and used as proxies to evaluate the relative importance of fresh algal, detrital algal, fossil, C₃ terrestrial plants, bacterial and zooplankton material in the organic matter (OM) of this area. Fossil and detrital algal contributions were the major fractions of the freshwater SPM from the Mackenzie River with ~34% each of the total molecular biomarkers. Fresh algal, C₃ terrestrial, bacterial and zooplanktonic components represented much lower percentages, 17, 10, 4 and <1%, respectively. In marine SPM from the Mackenzie slope, the major contributions were fresh and detrital algal components (>80%), with a minor contribution of fossil and C₃ terrestrial biomarkers. Characterization of the sediments revealed a major sink of refractory algal material mixed with some fresh algal material, fossil hydrocarbons and a small input of C₃ terrestrial sources. In particular, the sediments from the shelf and at the mouth of the Amundsen Gulf presented the highest contribution of detrital algal material (60–75%), whereas those from the slope contained the highest proportion of fossil (40%) and C₃ terrestrial plant material (10%). Overall, considering that the detrital algal material is marine derived, autochthonous sources contributed more than allochthonous sources to the OM lipid pool. Using the ratio of an allochthonous biomarker (normalized to total organic carbon, TOC) found in the sediments to those measured at the river mouth water, we estimated that the fraction of terrestrial material preserved in the sediments accounted for 30–40% of the total carbon in the inner shelf sediments, 17% in the outer shelf and Amundsen Gulf and up to 25% in the slope sediments. These estimates are low compared to other studies conducted 5–20 yr earlier, and they support the increase in primary production during the last decade mainly because of the increase in the number of ice-free days and due to the strength and persistence of winds favouring upwelling

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“…CPI values between 5 and 7 indicate a predominance of odd chains and can be related to fresh terrestrial material. 71 Values close to 5 were found only for stations P6, P7 and P8, located in the innermost region of the bay. Significantly higher values of the terrigenous/aquatic ratio (TAR) were found for these stations, especially for P7 and P8, stations nearby the environmental protection area of the bay.…”

Section: Aliphatic Hydrocarbonsmentioning

confidence: 88%

Compound-Specific δ13C of n-Alkanes: Clean-Up Methods Appraisal and Application to Recent Sediments of a Highly Contaminated Bay

Ceccopieri

Scofield

Almeida

et al. 2018

J. Braz. Chem. Soc.

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Different clean-up methods to determine isotopic composition of n-alkanes were tested. Sources of organic matter in Guanabara Bay were re-examined through the δ 13 C of individual n-alkanes in surface sediment samples. The n-alkanes were efficiently isolated without significant losses of the compounds of interest. The δ 13 C of n-alkanes (n-C 17 to n-C 35 ) ranged between -34.0 and -26.4‰. More depleted δ 13 C values associated to higher carbon preference index (CPI > 4) suggest prevalence of biogenic n-alkanes from terrestrial origin in the inner stations influenced by inputs from mangrove areas. Small isotopic differences between odd and even-numbered chains and 13 C-enrichment in long-chain homologues indicate a petrogenic hydrocarbons contribution. Higher concentrations of short-chain compounds associated to a more 13 C-enriched total organic carbon (TOC) were found near the most intense sewage discharges. Results show that δ 13 C of n-alkanes can be applied to a highly degraded system as the Guanabara Bay and help improve the characterization of the organic matter. Keywords: GC-C-IRMS, UCM, urea adduction, organic matter, Guanabara Bay IntroductionThe composition and distribution of hydrocarbons in sediment samples provide information about the organic matter sources and transformation processes occurring in the environment. 1 Studies on n-alkanes have often been conducted to assess the origin of hydrocarbons, such as biogenic (marine or terrestrial) or petrogenic, found in the marine environment. The assessment makes use of the difference in the n-alkane chain length to draw conclusions on the sources of organic matter. In higher plants, for example, n-alkanes from epicuticular waxes show long chains and an odd over even-numbered carbon chain predominance. 2 Algae are characterized by shorter chain lengths with no expressive odd-over-even preference. 3 In contrast, n-alkanes in fossil fuels have a wide composition range, without predominance of odd or even-numbered chains. 4 However, despite these typical fingerprints, there are cases in which n-alkane profile of different classes of organisms overlap, resulting in ambiguous interpretations of the organic material sources. 5 Given this multiplicity of origins, an interpretation of the different sources exclusively by the concentrations of n-alkanes is very limited in more complex environments. 6 During the last decades, the carbon isotopic analysis of some biomarkers have been widely used as a valuable tool to better distinguish the sources of organic matter in marine environments. 5,[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] The carbon isotope composition in the biosynthesized organic material depends on both the isotopic composition of the carbon source used by organisms and the isotope discrimination that occurs during carbon fixation, which includes the steps of absorption and intracellular diffusion, and also the biosynthesis of the cell components. 15 Thus, when two classes of organisms present an overlap in the n-alkane distribution, additional information can b...

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Carbon sources and cycle in the western Mediterranean—the use of molecular markers to determine the origin of organic matter

Cited by 74 publications

References 45 publications

Occurrence, sources and transport pathways of natural and anthropogenic hydrocarbons in deep-sea sediments of the eastern Mediterranean Sea

Occurrence, sources and transport pathways of natural and anthropogenic hydrocarbons in deep-sea sediments of the eastern Mediterranean Sea

Carbon sources in suspended particles and surface sediments from the Beaufort Sea revealed by molecular lipid biomarkers and compound-specific isotope analysis

Compound-Specific δ13C of n-Alkanes: Clean-Up Methods Appraisal and Application to Recent Sediments of a Highly Contaminated Bay

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