BG Biogeosciences BG Biogeosciences 1726-4189 Copernicus Publications Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/bg-7-4105-2010 Implications for chloro- and pheopigment synthesis and preservation from combined compound-specific &delta;<sup>13</sup>C, &delta;<sup>15</sup>N, and &Delta;<sup>14</sup>C analysis Kusch S. 1 2 Kashiyama Y. 3 6 Ogawa N. O. 3 Altabet M. 4 Butzin M. 1 5 Friedrich J. 1 Ohkouchi N. 3 Mollenhauer G. 1 2 Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany Department of Geosciences, University of Bremen, Klagenfurter Strasse, 28359 Bremen, Germany Institute of Biogeosciences, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, 2-15 Natsushima-cho, Yokosuka 237-0061, Japan School for Marine Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, 706 S Rodney French Boulevard, New Bedford, Massachusetts 02744, USA MARUM Center for Marine Environmental Research, Leobener Strasse, 28359 Bremen, Germany now at: Department of Chemistry, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8571, Japan 23 12 2010 7 12 4105 4118 Copyright: © 2010 S. Kusch et al. 2010 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This article is available from https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/7/4105/2010/bg-7-4105-2010.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://bg.copernicus.org/articles/7/4105/2010/bg-7-4105-2010.pdf

Chloropigments and their derivative pheopigments preserved in sediments can directly be linked to photosynthesis. Their carbon and nitrogen stable isotopic compositions have been shown to be a good recorder of recent and past surface ocean environmental conditions tracing the carbon and nitrogen sources and dominant assimilation processes of the phytoplanktonic community. In this study we report results from combined compound-specific radiocarbon and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis to examine the time-scales of synthesis and fate of chlorophyll-<i>a</i> and its degradation products pheophytin-<i>a</i>, pyropheophytin-<i>a</i>, and 13<sup>2</sup>,17<sup>3</sup>-cyclopheophorbide-<i>a</i>-enol until burial in Black Sea core-top sediments. The pigments are mainly of marine phytoplanktonic origin as implied by their stable isotopic compositions. Pigment &delta;<sup>15</sup>N values indicate nitrate as the major uptake substrate but <sup>15</sup>N-depletion towards the open marine setting indicates either contribution from N<sub>2</sub>-fixation or direct uptake of ammonium from deeper waters. Radiocarbon concentrations translate into minimum and maximum pigment ages of approximately 40 to 1200 years. This implies that protective mechanisms against decomposition such as association with minerals, storage in deltaic anoxic environments, or eutrophication-induced hypoxia and light limitation are much more efficient than previously thought. Moreover, seasonal variations of nutrient source, growth period, and habitat and their associated isotopic variability are likely at least as strong as long-term trends. Combined triple isotope analysis of sedimentary chlorophyll and its primary derivatives is a powerful tool to delineate biogeochemical and diagenetic processes in the surface water and sediments, and to assess their precise time-scales.

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