Abstract
Long-chain n-alkyl compounds, major components of plant leaf waxes, have been recognized as important terrestrial biomarkers. This is because molecular and stable carbon (δ13C) and hydrogen (δD)isotopic compositions of these compounds have a significant potential to reconstruct past changes in the plant growing environment and compositional changes in the source vegetation. However, delivery mechanism of terrestrial biomarkers in the atmosphere still remains unclear. This paper reviews recent studies on the δ13C and δD analyses of long-chain n-alkyl compounds in marine and bog sediments, and discusses their advantages and disadvantages for paleoenvironmental studies. In addition, this paper also reviews studies on the atmospheric transport process of these biomarkers to the Northwest Pacific based on their δ13C and δD measurements in the atmospheric aerosols from the Asian continent. The results of these studies suggest that further elucidation of the transport process of terrestrial biomarkers is necessary to increase their palaeoclimatic utility in sedimentary records, especially in which the biomarkers are long-range atmospheric transported from the continent.
