Chemical Transformations of Lipids During Sedimentogenesis

Abstract

Lipids constitute a group of hydrophobic organic compounds easily soluble in organic solvents. A characteristic feature of the chemical composition of lipids is the presence of higher alkyl radicals in the molecules. The sources of lipids in the seas and oceans are the auto- and heterotrophic organisms inhabiting the marine environment. The community of living organisms produces annually in the world oceans 7 × 10⁹ tons of fatty substances (Bogorov 1971). A certain portion of these lipids reaches the aquatic environment with allochthonous OM; this comprises natural lipid compounds and the constituents of oil (Goldberg 1975, Cowell 1976, Nesterova and Simonov 1979, Nemirovskaya and Nesterova 1982).