Comparison of lipid character of sediments from the Great Lakes and the Northwestern Atlantic

Geolipid compositions of surficial sediments from Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and from three locations in the Northwestern Atlantic were determined to compare source inputs and alteration processes in different sedimentary environments. Fatty acids, sterols, fatty alcohols, and alkanes were examined in both unbound and bound extracts of these samples. Significant amounts of long chain fatty acids, alcohols, and hydrocarbons are present in the deep ocean station, yet this location contains a proportionally larger amount of short chain geolipids than do marine stations closer to shore. Larger proportions of long chain lipids present in the Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, and Gulf of Maine samples relative to the open ocean samples reflect larger inputs of land-derived lipids to sediments closer to terrigenous sources. Marine samples contain a more complex mixture of sterols than is found in lake sediments, suggesting that sterol inputs and alteration processes in the marine environment are more complex than in lacustrine settings. Ratios of 16:1/16:0 and 18:1/18:0 fatty acids decrease with increasing distance from land, which suggests that fatty acid degradation before and during deposition becomes more extensive in the open deeper ocean stations.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/24970/1/0000397.pd

Organic geochemistry of suspended and settling particulate matter in Lake Michigan

Organic matter contained in particulate matter in Lake Michigan waters and sediments has been characterized by C/N ratios and by distributions of biomarker fatty acids, alkanols, sterols, and aliphatic hydrocarbons. Differences in organic constituents of particulate matter from various depths and distances from shore indicate a complex interaction of production, transformation, and destruction of the organic matter contained in sinking particles. Near-surface material contains important contributions of landderived organic matter, presumably of eolian input. Midwater particles have predominantly aquatic organic material of algal origin. At the sediment-water interface, selective suspension of the finer fractions of surficial sediments enriches bottom nepheloid layers with these sediment size classes. As a result, near-bottom particulate matter has an aquatic biomarker character. Organic matter associated with sinking particles undergoes substantial degradation during passage to the bottom of Lake Michigan, and aquatic components are selectively destroyed relative to terrigenous components.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/24895/1/0000322.pd

Changes In Spruce Composition Following Burial In Lake-sediments For 10,000 Yr

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62582/1/287534a0.pd

Diagenesis of vascular plant organic matter components during burial in lake sediments

Diagenetic changes are difficult to distinguish from variations in sources of organic matter to sediments. Organic geochemical comparisons of samples of wood, bark, and needles from a white spruce ( Picea glauca ) living today and one buried for 10,000 years in lake sediments have been used to identify the effects of diagenesis on vascular plant matter. Important biogeochemical changes are evident in the aged spruce components, even though the cellular structures of the samples are well preserved. Concentrations of total fatty acids dramatically diminish; unsaturated and shorter chainlength components are preferentially lost from the molecular distributions. Concentrations of total alcohols are similar in the modern and 10,000-year-old wood and bark but markedly lowered in the aged needles. Hydrocarbon concentrations and distributions show little diagenetic change in the 10,000-year-old plant materials. Cellulose components in the wood decrease relative to lignin components, although both types of materials remain in high concentration in comparison to other organic components. Aromatization of abietic acid proceeds more rapidly in buried spruce wood than in bark; retene is the dominant polyaromatic hydrocarbon in the aged wood. In contrast to the variety of changes evident in molecular compositions, neither σ 13 C values nor C/N ratios differ significantly in the bulk organic matter of modern and aged spruce components.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/41810/1/10498_2004_Article_BF01025230.pd