Abstract
The present knowledge on the abundance and molecular composition of organic matter and its behavior in recent marine (deep water and coastal) sediments is reviewed. It is generally recognized that the primary phytoplankton production and the length of water column where planktonic debris are sinking to the bottom play an important role in governing the abundance of organic matter in sediments. These two factors also explain the higher amounts of readily hydrolyzable organic fractions, total amino acids and total carbohydrates in coastal sediments than in deep water sediments.
A large number of organic compoun ds are now used as indicators of marine or terrestrial biological contribution to sedimentary organic matter. Many kinds of anthropogenic organic compounds, such as oilderived long-chain alkanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), alkylbenzenes, alkylphenols, bisphenol A, phthalic acid esters, PCBs, DDE, dioxins, coplanar-PCBs, have been measured in the sediment cores from Tokyo Bay. The vertical profiles of those anthropogenic compounds in the sediments are considered to reflect the changes in the input of those compounds to the area surrounding the bay.
