Early diagenesis of organic matter in lacustrine sediments in terms of methane fermentation

Abstract

The amounts of organic compounds such as amino acids (proteinaceous substances), fatty acids, and sterols in lacustrine sediments were found to decrease greatly from the mud‐water interface to depths of 20 cm and less at greater core depths. The amounts of methane produced by microbial activity in subsamples incubated for 40 days at 27°C were also found to decrease with core depth, apparently limited by the exhaustion of organic substrates subject to methane fermentation. Decomposition rates of certain organic compounds added to sediment samples were determined by incubation experiments at different temperatures for 40 to 450 days. Experimental results with mixed cultures of microorganisms in lacustrine sediments indicated the following: (a) The marked decomposition of organic compounds such as amino acids, fatty acids, and sterols in the lacustrine sediments resulted mainly in the formation of methane, (b) Unsaturated compounds were more readily decomposed with the ultimate formation of methane than saturated compounds, (c) The susceptibility of saturated fatty acids to methane formation decreased in proportion to their molecular weights.