Natural abundances of carbon isotopes in acetate from a coastal marine sediment
Blair NE, Matthes CS, Des Marais DJ. 1987. Natural abundances of carbon isotopes in acetate from a coastal marine sediment. Science. 236(4797):66-68
Measurements of the natural abundances of carbon isotopes were made in acetate samples isolated from the anoxic marine sediment of Cape Lookout Bight, North Carolina. The typical value of the total acetate carbon isotope ratio (delta carbon-13) was -16.1 +/- 0.2 per mil. The methyl and carboxyl groups were determined to be -26.4 +/- 0.3 and -6.0 +/- 0.3 per mil, respectively, for one sample. The isotopic compositon of the acetate is thought to have resulted from isotopic discriminations that occured during the cycling of that molecule. Measurements of this type, which have not been made previously in the natural environment, may provide information about the dominant microbial pathways in anoxic sediments as well as the processes that influence the carbon isotopic composition of biogenic methane from many sources.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Blair, Neal; Matthes, Christopher; Des Marais, David
- Units
- CALO
- Keywords
- acetate, anaerobic environment, Atlantic Ocean, Biodegradation, biogenic effects, c 12, C 13, CALO, Cape Lookout Bight, Carbon, Diagenesis, early diagenesis, Eastern U.S., geochemical cycle, Geochemistry, Geology, Hydrocarbons, Isotopes, Marine Sediments, Methane, nearshore environment, North American Atlantic, North Atlantic, North Carolina, Organic Materials, Pore water, pyrolysis, Sediments, Southeastern U.S., Stable Isotopes