Record Details

Diploptene : an indicator of terrigenous organic carbon in Washington coastal sediments

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Title Diploptene : an indicator of terrigenous organic carbon in Washington coastal sediments
Names Prahl, Fredrick (creator)
Hayes, J. M. (creator)
Xie, T.-M. (creator)
Date Issued 1992 (iso8601)
Abstract The pentacyclic tritcrpene
17β(H), 21β(H)-hop-22(29)-ene (diploptence) occurs
in sediments throughout the Columbia River
drainage basin and off the southern coast of
Washington state in concentrations comparable
to long-chain plantwax n-alkanes. The same relationship
is evident for diploptene and long-chain
n-alkanes in soils from the Willamette Valley.
Microorganisms indigenous to soils and soil erosion
are indicated as the biological source and
physical process, respectively, for diploptene in
coastal sediments. Similarity between the stable
carbon isotopic composition (δ¹³CPDB) of diploptene
isolated from soil in the Willamette Valley
(- 31.2 ±0.3%₀) and from sediments deposited
throughout the Washington coastal environment
(- 31.2 ± 0.5%₀) supports this argument. Values
of 6 for diploptene in river sediments are variable
and 8-l7% lighter, indicating that an additional
biological source such as methane-oxidizing bacteria
makes a significant contribution to the diploptene
record in river sediments. Selective biodegradation
resulting from a difference in the
physicochemical association within eroded particles
can explain the absence of the more ¹³C-depleted
form of diploptene in Washington coastal
sediments, but this mechanism remains unproven.
Genre Article
Identifier Prahl, F., Hayes J. M., Xie, T. M. (1992). Diploptene: an indicator of terrigenous organic carbon in Washington coastal sediments. Limnology and oceanography, 67(6), 1290-1300.

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