Abstract
FATTY acids continue to provide insights into the origins and reactions of organic matter in Recent sediments1–4. As part of a wider baseline study1,2 we have isolated the fatty acids from a typical temperate intertidal zone sediment located at the south–west of Corner Inlet, Victoria1. The acid concentration in this core section is very low (13.4 µg per g sediment) and in contrast to most sediments the mono-unsaturated acids predominate over the saturated acids (Table 1). There are also significant quantities of poly-unsaturated acids (Table 2) which have rarely been identified in sediments5,6 and there has been no detailed study of the isomers present. The carbon number pattern taken together with the degree of unsaturation and the isomer positions are used in this report to confirm a marine diatom input to the sediment distinguishable from that of other microorganisms.
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VOLKMAN, J., JOHNS, R. The geochemical significance of positional isomers of unsaturated acids from an intertidal zone sediment. Nature 267, 693–694 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/267693a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/267693a0
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