Gschwend%20thesis.pdf

CHATER I. INTRODUCTION
"No specific organic substances, defined as to their structures and molecular
formulas, have been identified with absolute certainty in seawater...."
E. K. Duursma, 1961
In order to understand the origins, interactions, transport, and fates
of organic matter in the sea, it is useful to identify the specific organic
compounds involved (Anderson, 1977). Moreover, it is important to measure
the spatio-temporal variations of the concentrations of these compounds.
Less than twenty years ago, leaders in the field of marine chemistry
lamented at our inability to study specific organic compounds in seawater.
Now, due to tremendous technological advances, this can be done. This has
allowed three important advantages. First, by focusing on defined organic
substances, our knowledge of the basic organic chemistry and biochemistry of these
compounds maybe utilized to understand their roles in the environment. Second, the
accuracy and precision of the analyses of specific compounds may be inves-
tigated. This provides a necessary background on which to interpret the
data. Finally. laboratory simulations of environmental processes may be
studied for their effects on specific organic compounds.
This thesis describes studies concerning a group of volatile organic
compounds in seawater. This introductory chapter defines the fraction of
the total volatiles to be discussed, provides background information from
other volatile-compound studies in seawater. describes what is known about
various sources of specific volatile compounds. and offers historical per-
spective on the analytical methods. The next chapter reports the results of
investigations on the spatial distributions of volatile organic compounds in
three different open-ocean regions. Then, a seasonal study of volatile organic
compounds in coastal seawater is described. Having this temporal study as
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