Organic Matters and Lipid Biomarkers in Surface Sediments from the Northern South China Sea:Origins and Transport

In this study, content and distribution of organic matters （OM） and lipid biomarkers in surface sediments from northern South China Sea （SCS） were identified to reveal the sources and transport of fine-grained sediments. Organic matters and lipid biomarkers exhibited distinct spatial variation in northern SCS. Terrestrial discharge from the Pearl River and some mountainous rivers in southwestern Taiwan may contribute to the relatively high organic matters in the corresponding sea areas. The detection of unsaturated fatty acid homologues suggested the algal and/or bacterial OM contribution to surface sediments. The composites and distribution of lipid biomarkers indicate their mixed sources from terrestrial plants, marine algae and bacterial. Together with the proof of clay min- eral composites in the sediments, the results suggested that the currents, including the Guangdong Coastal Current and Kuroshio Current, control the transport and distribution of terrestrial sediment and the sedimentary environment in the northern SCS.

Carbon isotope ratios of n-alkanoic acids: new organic proxies for paleo-productivity in Antarctic ponds

Primary productivity in the Antarctic aquatic environment with simple ecosystems is sensitive to climate and environmental fluctuations.We investigatedδ13C values for n-alkanoic acids derived from phototrophic organisms in a lacustrine sediment core(IIL3)to indicate primary productivity in ponds on Inexpressible Island in the western Ross Sea,Antarctica.Short-chain n-alkanoic acids(C14–C18)were abundant in the IIL3 sediment profile.The carbon isotope ratios of short-chain n-alkanoic acids in the sediment samples and floating microbial mats were similar,indicating that the short-chain n-alkanoic acids in the IIL3 sediment profile predominantly originated from phototrophic organisms.Theδ13C values for the short-chain n-alkanoic acids varied widely through the sediment profile,and 13C-enrichment of n-alkanoic acids was most likely related to high productivity due to carbon-limited conditions caused by enhanced photosynthetic efficiency.Theδ13C values for the n-alkanoic acids changed over the past 3200 years in similar ways to organic proxies for aquatic productivity(n-alkanoic acid and sterol sedimentary fluxes).C16 n-alkanoic acid was enriched in 13C in periods of high aquatic productivity~750–1650 and 3000–3200 a BP but depleted in 13C in periods of relatively low productivity~150–600 and 2500–3000 a BP.The results indicated that carbon isotope ratios of lipids from phototrophic organisms could be used as new proxies to reconstruct paleo-productivity in Antarctic lakes and ponds and therefore improve our understanding of past climate changes.

Molecular Records of Primary Producers and Sedimentary Environmental Conditions of Late Permian Rocks in Northeast Sichuan,China

A series of biomarkers were identified in the aliphafic and aromatic fractions of the extracts from Late Permian Dalong （大隆） and Wujiaping （吴家坪） formations in Shangsi （上寺） Section, Northeast Sichuan （四川）, South China, on the basis of the analysis of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry （GC-MC）. The dominance of lower-molecular-weight n-alkanes throughout the profile suggests the dominant contribution of algae and bacteria to the organics preserved in the marine section. Wujiaping Formation is characterized by the elevated contribution from algae as well as other photoautotrophs such as photosynthetic bacteria as shown by the molecular ratios of hopanes to steranes or tricyclic terpanes as well as the ratio of pristane （Pr） and phytane （Ph） to C17 and C18 n-alkanes. This is in accord with the data from the microscopic measurement on the calcareous algae. In contrast, Dalong Formation is featured by enhanced contribution from bacteria and probably terrestrial organics indicated by the enhanced C24 tetracyclic terpanes relative to tricyclic terpanes. The two formations also show a distinct discrimination in sedimentary environmental conditions including redox condition and salinity. The anoxic condition was only found in the middle of the Dalong Formation as shown by the ratios of Pr/Ph and dibenzothiophene to phenanthrene, consistent with the reported data of Mo and U. An enhanced salinity indicated by the homohopane index is observed at the shallow Wujiaping Formation. On the basis of the composition of primary productivity and the redox condition, Dalong Formation is proposed, herein, to be potential hydrocarbon source rocks in the study site. It is notable that the topmost end-Permian is characterized by a large perturbauce in both the redox condition and salinity, with oxic conditions being frequently interrupted by short-term anoxia, likely showing a causal relationship with the episodic biotic crisis across the Permian-Triassic boundary.

The Variation of Microbial(Methanotroph)Communities in Marine Sediments Due to Aerobic Oxidation of Hydrocarbons

Methanotrophs in marine sediments and overlying water attenuate the emissions of methane into the atmosphere and thus play an important role for the global cycle of this greenhouse gas.However,gas released from natural hydrocarbon seeps are not pure methane but commonly mixed hydrocarbons.Currently,how methanotrophic bacteria behave in the co-presence of methane and heavier hydrocarbons remains unknown.In this paper,the bacteria were cultured aerobically in fresh sediment samples(collected from Bohai Bay in eastern China)at 28℃under the atmospheres of pure methane and methane+ethane+propane mixed gas,respec-tively.The prevailing terrigenous n-alkanes and fatty acids in the original sediment samples varied consistently after incubations,confirming the proceeding of aerobic bacterial activities.The real-time quantitative PCR assay and sequencing of the 16S rRNA and particulate methane monooxygenase(pmoA)genes revealed the changes of microbe communities to a methanotroph-dominating structure after incubations.Particularly,after incubations the family Methylococcaceae(typeⅠmethanotrophs)became dominant with proportions higher than 40%,whereas Methylocystaceae(typeⅡmethanotrophs)nearly disappeared in all incubated samples.More-over,the species of methanotrophs from the samples treated with pure methane were dominated by Methylobacter luteus,whereas Methylobacter whittenburyi took the predominant proportion in the samples treated with mixed gas.The phenomenon suggests that some methanotrophs may also utilize ethane and propane.Collectively,this study may help to gain a better understanding of the ef-fects and contributions of microbial activities in marine hydrocarbon seep ecosystems.

Variation in Solvent-Extractable Lipids and n-Alkane Compound-Specific Carbon Isotopic Compositions with Depth in a Southern China Karst Area Soil

Because literatures about the lipid compositions of modern soils in karst areas are scarce, we have studied the soil horizons overlying the Heshang （和尚） Cave that has provided paleoclimate records from speleothem lipid contents. Our analysis reveals a series of n-alkanes, free fatty acids, n-alkanols and n-alkan-2-ones distribution and relative abundance changing with the depth, and in which the ratios of the lower molecular weight to higher molecular weight n-alkanes, free fatty acids, n-alkanols and n-alkan-2-ones have a peak at a subsurface depth of 5 to 10 cm. An accompanying peakin 17β（H）, 21β（H）-hop-22（29）-ene （diploptene） and a shift to less negative n-alkane carbon isotopic values also identify this layer in the karst soil. This pattern indicates the existence of a subsurface soil layer in which the microorgan- isms that produce these compounds are espe- cially abundant. The carbon isotopic values of individual plant wax n-alkanes are about 3%0 greater at the base of the 30- to 40-cm soil profile than in the surface layer, probably as a result ofselective microbial degradation of n-alkanes from different primary sources. The lipids and carbon iso- topic values of individual plant wax n-alkanes study of the overlying soil show a strong microbial activity in this karst soil and help in interpreting the lipid compositions and specific carbon isotopic value of n-alkanes of the stalagmites of the Heshang Cave for paleoenvironmental reconstructions.