{"id":{"repo_id":"woods-hole","oai_identifier":"oai:darchive.mblwhoilibrary.org:1912/2073"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/woods-hole/oai:darchive.mblwhoilibrary.org:1912/2073","repository":{"repo_id":"woods-hole","name":"Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute","base_url":"https://darchive.mblwhoilibrary.org/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Transformations of carotenoids in the oceanic water column","abstract":"In an effort to understand the more general mechanisms and rates of pre-depositional reactions that transform organic matter, the types and relevant time scales of reactions that transform carotenoid pigments in the oceanic water column were studied. Suspended particulate matter collected from surface waters of Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts and the Peru upwelling system has a carotenoid distribution reflecting the phytoplanktonic source of the material. The carotenoid distribution of sediment trap samples collected in these same areas was dominated by transformation products. Fucoxanthin, the primary carotenoid of marine diatoms, typically constituted 77-100% of the total fucopigments in suspended particulate material. In sediment trap samples this pigment constituted only 4-85% of the total. The remaining 15-96% of the pigments consisted of the fucoxanthin transformations products: free alcohols (2-94%), dehydrates (0-6%), and opened epoxides (0-19%). Preliminary results suggest that carotenoid esters are hydrolyzed to free alcohols at a rate determined by the turnover of primary productivity. The dehydrated and epoxide opened intermediates of fucoxanthin represent products of transformation reactions that operate over much longer time scales (0.1-10 yrs). Dehydration and epoxide opening are not significant water column transformations, but are important in surface sediments.","abstract_html":"In an effort to understand the more general mechanisms and rates of pre-depositional reactions that transform organic matter, the types and relevant time scales of reactions that transform carotenoid pigments in the oceanic water column were studied. Suspended particulate matter collected from surface waters of Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts and the Peru upwelling system has a carotenoid distribution reflecting the phytoplanktonic source of the material. The carotenoid distribution of sediment trap samples collected in these same areas was dominated by transformation products. Fucoxanthin, the primary carotenoid of marine diatoms, typically constituted 77-100% of the total fucopigments in suspended particulate material. In sediment trap samples this pigment constituted only 4-85% of the total. The remaining 15-96% of the pigments consisted of the fucoxanthin transformations products: free alcohols (2-94%), dehydrates (0-6%), and opened epoxides (0-19%). Preliminary results suggest that carotenoid esters are hydrolyzed to free alcohols at a rate determined by the turnover of primary productivity. The dehydrated and epoxide opened intermediates of fucoxanthin represent products of transformation reactions that operate over much longer time scales (0.1-10 yrs). Dehydration and epoxide opening are not significant water column transformations, but are important in surface sediments.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Repeta, Daniel J."],"institution":"Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1982,"date_issued":"1982-08","date_published":"1982-08","updated_at":"2026-07-27T22:05:02Z","subjects":["Carotenoids","Phytoplankton","Marine sediments","Atlantis II (Ship : 1963-) Cruise AII108-3"],"languages":["en_US"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["10.1575/1912/2073"],"render_values":[{"text":"10.1575/1912/2073","href":"https://doi.org/10.1575/1912/2073","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/1912/2073","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Repeta, Daniel J."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2008-02-15T19:12:08Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2008-02-15T19:12:08Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["1982-08"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Carotenoids","Phytoplankton","Marine sediments","Atlantis II (Ship : 1963-) Cruise AII108-3"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en_US"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["10.1575/1912/2073"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/1912/2073"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution August 1982"]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In an effort to understand the more general mechanisms and rates of pre-depositional reactions that transform organic matter, the types and relevant time scales of reactions that transform carotenoid pigments in the oceanic water column were studied. Suspended particulate matter collected from surface waters of Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts and the Peru upwelling system has a carotenoid distribution reflecting the phytoplanktonic source of the material. The carotenoid distribution of sediment trap samples collected in these same areas was dominated by transformation products. Fucoxanthin, the primary carotenoid of marine diatoms, typically constituted 77-100% of the total fucopigments in suspended particulate material. In sediment trap samples this pigment constituted only 4-85% of the total. The remaining 15-96% of the pigments consisted of the fucoxanthin transformations products: free alcohols (2-94%), dehydrates (0-6%), and opened epoxides (0-19%). Preliminary results suggest that carotenoid esters are hydrolyzed to free alcohols at a rate determined by the turnover of primary productivity. The dehydrated and epoxide opened intermediates of fucoxanthin represent products of transformation reactions that operate over much longer time scales (0.1-10 yrs). Dehydration and epoxide opening are not significant water column transformations, but are important in surface sediments."]},{"key":"dc:format.mimetype","label":"Dc Format Mimetype","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Transformations of carotenoids in the oceanic water column"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Repeta, Daniel J."],"dc:date.accessioned":["2008-02-15T19:12:08Z"],"dc:date.available":["2008-02-15T19:12:08Z"],"dc:date.issued":["1982-08"],"dc:description":["Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution August 1982"],"dc:description.abstract":["In an effort to understand the more general mechanisms and rates of pre-depositional reactions that transform organic matter, the types and relevant time scales of reactions that transform carotenoid pigments in the oceanic water column were studied. Suspended particulate matter collected from surface waters of Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts and the Peru upwelling system has a carotenoid distribution reflecting the phytoplanktonic source of the material. The carotenoid distribution of sediment trap samples collected in these same areas was dominated by transformation products. Fucoxanthin, the primary carotenoid of marine diatoms, typically constituted 77-100% of the total fucopigments in suspended particulate material. In sediment trap samples this pigment constituted only 4-85% of the total. The remaining 15-96% of the pigments consisted of the fucoxanthin transformations products: free alcohols (2-94%), dehydrates (0-6%), and opened epoxides (0-19%). Preliminary results suggest that carotenoid esters are hydrolyzed to free alcohols at a rate determined by the turnover of primary productivity. The dehydrated and epoxide opened intermediates of fucoxanthin represent products of transformation reactions that operate over much longer time scales (0.1-10 yrs). Dehydration and epoxide opening are not significant water column transformations, but are important in surface sediments."],"dc:format.mimetype":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier.doi":["10.1575/1912/2073"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/1912/2073"],"dc:language.iso":["en_US"],"dc:publisher":["Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution"],"dc:subject":["Carotenoids","Phytoplankton","Marine sediments","Atlantis II (Ship : 1963-) Cruise AII108-3"],"dc:title":["Transformations of carotenoids in the oceanic water column"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T22:05:02Z"}