Diphytanyl glycerol ether distributions in sediments of the Orca Basin

Journal Article · Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1992 · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(92)90391-U· OSTI ID:6893678

Pease, T K; VanVleet, E S; Barre, J S ^[1]

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1. Univ. of South Florida, St. Petersburg (United States)

Archaebacterially produced diphytanyl glycerol ether (DPGE) was examined in core sediments from the Orca Basin, an anoxic hypersaline basin in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, to observe its spatial variability and potential origin. A differential extraction protocol was employed to quantify the isopranyl glycerol ethers associated with unbound, intermediate-bound, and kerogen-bound lipid fractions. Archaebacterial lipids were evident at all depths for the unbound and intermediate-bound fractions. Concentrations of DPGE ranged from 0.51 to 2.91 [mu]g/g dry sediment at the surface and showed secondary maxima deeper in basin sediments. Intermediate-bound DPGE concentrations exhibited an inverse relationship to unbound DPGE concentrations. Kerogen-bound DPGE concentrations were normally below detection limits. Earlier studies describing the general homogeneity of lipid components within the overlying brine and at the brine/seawater interface suggest that the large-scale sedimentary DPGE variations observed in this study result from spatial and temporal variations in in-situ production by methanogenic or extremely halophilic archaebacteria.

• OSTI ID: 6893678
• Journal Information: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (United States), Vol. 56:9; ISSN 0016-7037
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

58 GEOSCIENCES
ETHERS
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
SEDIMENTS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
ANAEROBIC CONDITIONS
BACTERIA
BIOGEOCHEMISTRY
BIOLOGICAL MARKERS
GEOCHEMISTRY
GULF OF MEXICO
LIPIDS
QUANTITY RATIO
SEDIMENT-WATER INTERFACES
SEDIMENTARY BASINS
ATLANTIC OCEAN
CARIBBEAN SEA
CHEMISTRY
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
INTERFACES
MICROORGANISMS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
SEAS
SURFACE WATERS
580000* - Geosciences