Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letters to Editor
  • Published:

Fatty Acid Diagenesis in Recent Sediment from Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island

Nature Physical Science volume 230, pages 67–69 (1971)Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 24 May 1971

Abstract

THERE have been several reviews of reports of fatty acids in recent and ancient sediments1–3 and the distribution of fatty acids with depth in recent sediments has been investigated for a core from Baffin Bay, Texas4, in which the relative survivability of the fatty acids was found to be proportional to the degree of unsaturation. The object of the work reported here was to investigate further the diagenesis of fatty acids in surface sediments, and to compare two geographically different sedimentary environments. The total fatty acid concentrations in cores from recent sediments from Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island (Fig. 1), decrease with increasing depth of burial. Based on concentration gradients, the saturated fatty acids are more stable than unsaturated fatty acids, as would be expected1.

Access through your institution
Buy or subscribe

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Access through your institution

References

  1. Parker, P. L., in Organic Geochemistry (edit. by Eglinton, G., and Murphy, M. T. J.) (Springer, Berlin, 1969).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Douglas, A. C., Douraghi-Zadehk, Eglinton, G., Maxwell, J. R., and Ramsey, J. N., in Advances in Organic Geochemistry, 1966 (edit. by Hobson, G. D., and Speers, G. C.) (Pergamon, London, 1970).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Kvenvolden, K. A., Nature, 209, 573 (1966).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  4. Parker, P. L., and Leo, R. F., Science, 148, 373 (1965).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Cooper, J. E., Nature, 193, 744 (1962).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Morrison, W. R., and Smith, L. M., J. Lipid Res., 5, 600 (1964).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Brogden, W. B., thesis, Florida State Univ. (1968).

  8. McMaster, R. L., J. Sediment. Petrol., 30, 249 (1960).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island, 02881

    JOHN W. FARRINGTON & JAMES G. QUINN

Authors
  1. JOHN W. FARRINGTON
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. JAMES G. QUINN
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

FARRINGTON, J., QUINN, J. Fatty Acid Diagenesis in Recent Sediment from Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. Nature Physical Science 230, 67–69 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1038/physci230067a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/physci230067a0

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing