DISTRIBUTION OF n‐PARAFFINS IN MARINE ORGANISMS AND SEDIMENT1

Abstract

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.

Volatile organic compounds in seawater

“…Possibly, unexamined species of phytoplankton contain much more pentadecane than those studied by Clark and Blumer (1967), and these algae may be the source of this volatile compound.…”

“…Benthic algae in this region are known to be rich in these compounds (Clark and Blumer, 1967;Youngblood et al, 1971;Youngblood and Blumer, 1973). The July peak demonstrated a nCl7/pristane ratio of about 120 suggesting a green algal source (Clark and Blumer, 1969).…”

“…The partition coefficient (Schwarzenbach et al, 1978) In situ biological production is another potential source. Some phytoplankton have been shown to produce pentadecane (Clark and Blumer, 1967;Blumer et al, 1971). Clark and Blumer (1967) reported lOO ng nC1S/gm dry algae for three phytoplankters.…”

“…Some phytoplankton have been shown to produce pentadecane (Clark and Blumer, 1967;Blumer et al, 1971). Clark and Blumer (1967) reported lOO ng nC1S/gm dry algae for three phytoplankters. Blumer et al (1971) also found that an older dinoflagellate culture (i.e.…”

Sedimentary lipid biogeochemistry of an hypereutrophic alkaline lagoon

“…4 and 5. Peak identifications and concentration ranges are given in Tables 3 and 4. n-Heptadecane is the dominant hydrocarbon in both sediment and water particulates, a compound that usually represents algal contributions (CLARK and BLUMER, 1967;HAN et al, 1968). Another important component in the sediments is n-octadecane, the most abundant hydrocarbon in many yeast and bacterial species (HAN and CALVIN, 1969;BIRD and LYNCH, 1974;HAN et al, 1968).…”