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Fatty-acids and their δ 13C characteristics of seep carbonates from the northern continental slope of Gulf of Mexico

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  • Geochemistry
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Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

Here we reported the fatty-acids and their δ 13C values in seep carbonates collected from Green Canyon lease block 185 (GC 185; Sample GC-F) at upper continental slope (water depth: ∼540 m), and Alaminos Canyon lease block 645 (GC 645; Sample AC-E) at lower continental slope (water depth: ∼2200 m) of the Gulf of Mexico. More than thirty kinds of fatty acids were detected in both samples. These fatty acids are maximized at C16. There is a clear even-over-odd carbon number predominance in carbon number range. The fatty acids are mainly composed of n-fatty acids, iso-/anteiso-fatty acids and terminally branched odd-numbered fatty acids (iso/anteiso). The low δ 13C values (−39.99‰ to.32.36‰) of n-C12:0, n-C13:0, i-C14:0 and n-C14:0 suggest that they may relate to the chemosynthetic communities at seep sites. The unsaturated fatty acids n-C18:2 and C18:1Δ9 have the same δ 13C values, they may originate from the Beggiatoa/Thioploca. Unlike other fatty acids, the terminally branched fatty acids (iso/anteiso) show lower δ 13C values (as low as −63.95‰) suggesting a possible relationship to sulfate reducing bacteria, which is common during anaerobic oxidation of methane at seep sites.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Key Laboratory of Marginal Sea Geology, State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    HongXiang Guan, Dong Feng, NengYou Wu & DuoFu Chen

  2. CAS Key Lab of Renewable Energy and Gas Hydrate, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China

    HongXiang Guan, NengYou Wu, DuoFu Chen & DaiDai Wu

  3. Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    HongXiang Guan

  4. Coastal Studies Institute, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA

    H H Roberts

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  1. HongXiang Guan
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  2. Dong Feng
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  4. DuoFu Chen
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  5. H H Roberts
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Correspondence to DuoFu Chen.

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Guan, H., Feng, D., Wu, N. et al. Fatty-acids and their δ 13C characteristics of seep carbonates from the northern continental slope of Gulf of Mexico. Chin. Sci. Bull. 55, 730–735 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-009-0478-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-009-0478-7

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