Summary: Deep-Sea Research II 49 (2002) 4421­4437
Chemical composition and cycling of dissolved organic matter
in the Mid-Atlantic Bight
Lihini I. Aluwiharea,
*, Daniel J. Repetab
, Robert F. Chenc
a
Geosciences Research Division, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0244, USA
b
Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
c
Department of Environmental, Coastal, and Ocean Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Boulevard,
Boston, MA 02125-3393, USA
Abstract
This study focuses on the chemical characterization of high molecular-weight dissolved organic matter (HMW
DOM) isolated from the Middle Atlantic Bight in April 1994 and March 1996. Using proton nuclear magnetic
resonance spectroscopy (1
HNMR) and monosaccharide analysis we compared both spatial and temporal variations in
the chemical structure of HMW DOM across this region. Our analyses support the presence of at least two
compositionally distinct components to HMW DOM. The major component is acyl polysaccharide (APS), a

Source: Aluwihare, Lihini - Geosciences Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Collections: Geosciences