Compound-Specific Radiocarbon Analyses of Phospholipid Fatty Acids and n-Alkanes in Ocean Sediments
Citation
Druffel, E. R. M., Zhang, D., Xu, X., Ziolkowski, L. A., Southon, J. R., dos Santos, G. M., & Trumbore, S. E. (2010). Compound-specific radiocarbon analyses of phospholipid fatty acids and n-alkanes in ocean sediments. Radiocarbon, 52(3), 1215-1223.Journal
RadiocarbonDescription
From the 20th International Radiocarbon Conference held in Kona, Hawaii, USA, May 31-June 3, 2009.Additional Links
http://radiocarbon.webhost.uits.arizona.edu/Abstract
We report compound-specific radiocarbon analyses of organic matter in ocean sediments from the northeast Pacific Ocean. Chemical extractions and a preparative capillary gas chromatograph (PCGC) were used to isolate phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) and n-alkanes from 3 cores collected off the coast of California, USA. Mass of samples for accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C analysis ranged from 13-100 g C. PLFA extracted from anaerobic sediments in the Santa Barbara Basin (595 m depth) had modern ∆14C values (-20 to +54), indicating bacterial utilization of surface-produced, post-bomb organic matter. Lower ∆14C values were obtained for n-alkanes and PLFA from coast (92 m depth) and continental slope (1866 m) sediments, which reflect sources of old organic matter and bioturbation. We present a brief analysis of the blank carbon introduced to samples during chemical processing and PCGC isolation.Type
Proceedingstext