Abstract:

We performed organic geochemical analysis on a sediment core HN1 from Fildes Peninsula in King George Island, Western Antarctica. The results showed that the aliphatic hydrocarbons were mainly consisted of shortchain n-alkanes which likely derived from algae and bacteria and n-C₂₃ which likely derived from moss. Meanwhile, the concentration of fecal sterols and phytol which mainly came f
rom seal feces and vegetation were high in the alcohols and the fluctuations of them in the catchment core might respond to the historical of zoology changes near the sediment. Furthermore, the evencarbon fatty acids, such as n-C₁₆, n-C₁₈ and n-C₂₄, dominated alkenoic acids and they principally originated from bacteria, moss or zooplankton. However, the concentration of unsaturated fatty acids was low. And they were mainly predominated by C_16∶1and C_18∶1 acids which showed good preservation and simple sourses of the sediment . In summary, the organic geochemical compositions indicated that the organic matters of HN1 sediment were well protected and mainly derived from seal feces.And the sedimentary environment of HN1 changed in different depths with active bacteria and fungi.

Key words: seal fecal sediment, fecal sterol, fatty acid, Western Antarctica