Sedimentary Organic Matter Analysis in Aquatic Ecosystems

Sedimentary organic matter analysis encompasses the study of carbonaceous materials preserved within lake, river and marine sediments. These organic fractions record past biological productivity, catchment inputs and environmental change over timescales ranging from seasonal to millennial. By combining geochemical proxies (for example total organic carbon, biomarkers and stable isotopes), spectroscopic methods (such as infrared or visible reflectance) and imaging techniques (including hyperspectral core scanning), researchers can reconstruct shifts in primary production, terrestrial runoff and redox conditions. Multi-proxy approaches improve the reliability of interpretations by cross-validating signals from pigments, lipid biomarkers and mineral-organic associations. Advances in non-destructive core scanning and high-resolution sampling have enabled continuous records of organic matter composition at sub-millimetre resolution. Such records are essential for understanding global carbon cycling, eutrophication trends, contamination histories and palaeoclimate variability. In turn, insights from sediment archives guide modern lake management, inform models of greenhouse-gas fluxes and enhance our understanding of long-term ecosystem resilience under changing climates.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent work has used elemental and stable isotope analyses of sedimentary organic matter alongside measurements of resting eggs to trace carbon pathways in a subarctic lake over five millennia. This study showed that, even under changing climate regimes, zooplankton are predominantly fuelled by autochthonous (in-lake) primary production. However, warmer, drier intervals with clearer water favoured benthic algal contributions, whereas cooler, wetter periods increased reliance on planktonic algae. By resolving shifts in carbon sources at high temporal resolution, the research highlights the long-term interplay between terrestrial-aquatic linkages and in-lake productivity, and underscores the value of multi-proxy isotope records for probing food-web responses to climate variability.

Sedimentary Organic Matter Analysis in Aquatic Ecosystems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in sedimentary organic matter analysis in aquatic ecosystems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Sedimentary organic matter: Organic compounds derived from aquatic and terrestrial organisms preserved in sediment layers.

Autochthonous: Organic matter produced within the aquatic ecosystem itself, typically by algae or aquatic plants.

Allochthonous: Organic matter transported into the aquatic system from surrounding terrestrial environments.

Diagenesis: Post-depositional chemical and physical alterations to sediment and its organic constituents.

Hyperspectral imaging (HSI): A scanning technique that collects continuous spectral information at each point on a core surface, enabling non-destructive biochemical mapping.

References

1. Eutrophication and contamination dynamics of Schweriner See, NE-Germany, during the past 670 years – A multi-proxy approach on lacustrine surface sediments and sediment cores. The Science of The Total Environment (2023).
2. Scanning Hyperspectral Imaging for In Situ Biogeochemical Analysis of Lake Sediment Cores: Review of Recent Developments. Journal of Imaging (2022).
3. An assessment of chlorophyll preservation in lake sediments using multiple analytical techniques applied to the annually laminated lake sediments of Nylandssjön. Journal of Paleolimnology (2020).
4. Climate-induced changes in carbon flows across the plant-consumer interface in a small subarctic lake. Scientific Reports (2019).