A possible terrigenous origin for perylene based on a sedimentary record of a pond (Lorraine, France)

• Published in: Organic geochemistry Vol. 58; pp. 69 - 77
• Main Authors: Bertrand, O., Montargès-Pelletier, E., Mansuy-Huault, L., Losson, B., Faure, P., Michels, R., Pernot, A., Arnaud, F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2013; Elsevier
• Subjects: Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Environmental Sciences; Exact sciences and technology; Freshwater; Geochemistry; Marine and continental quaternary; Soil and rock geochemistry; Surficial geology; Lorraine; France; Europe; Western Europe; France, Lorraine; ponds; upper Holocene; Middle Age; Quaternary; precursors; concentration; n-alkanes; sterols; upper Quaternary; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; wetlands; burial; lacustrine environment; organic materials; wood; Cenozoic; Phanerozoic; Holocene; oxygen; Fluorescence spectroscopy; Recent lake-sediments; Marine; Organic-matter sources; High-mountain lakes; Stable carbon-isotope; Fossil wood; Lacustrine sediments; Polycyclic aromatic-hydrocarbons; Hydrothermal petroleums
• ISSN: 0146-6380; 1873-5290
• DOI: 10.1016/j.orggeochem.2013.02.015

•A perylene profile was investigated through the sedimentary record of a pond.•A relationship between terrigenous OM and perylene concentration was demonstrated.•Perylene seems to be formed under reducing conditions in deepest sediments.•A high input of woody material could have led to the formation of perylene. The origin of perylene, a five-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), in sediments has been a matter of constant debate and its formation mechanisms remain unclear. A perylene record in sediment was described and could support a clear link between perylene and terrigenous organic matter (OM) input. The distributions of PAHs, the variations of organic proxies such as the ratio of terrigenous to aquatic n-alkanes (TAR(HC)) and 5α(H)-stanols/Δ5-sterols ratio in sediments have been investigated. Sediments were sampled from a pond artificially created during the Middle Ages from a swampy area. In the period prior to the pond creation, for which high contributions of terrigenous OM were evidenced, perylene was found to be the predominant PAH. Furthermore, perylene content was shown to increase in response to the establishment of more reducing conditions. This result supports the common idea that the main source of perylene is natural and derives from biogenic precursors under reducing conditions. The creation of the pond in this wetland is marked by the deposition of a wood rich level characterized both by more oxygenated conditions and higher concentrations of perylene. These high concentrations could result from the introduction of high concentrations of biogenic precursors of perylene under oxidative conditions. Subsequently, the progressive burial of the woody level could have allowed the establishment of oxygen depleted conditions and the formation of perylene. These results validate the use of perylene as a paleoenvironmental marker of terrigenous sources but it must be carefully used as a marker for syn- or post-depositional oxygen depleted conditions in lacustrine environments.