Gschwend%20thesis.pdf

-ZOI-
anthropogenic inputs. Work in this area must include extra precautions
to avoid spurious results derived from laboratory contamination. This
problem has made the results on toluene from the analyses reported in this
thesis difficult to evaluate,
Benzenes and naphthalenes are presistent constituents of coastal
seawater. The transport of volatile aromtic hydrocarbons to seawater
is incompletely understood. The elucidation of the role of the atmosphere
as a source or a sink of these alkylated benzenes and naphthalenes to
coastal seawater awaits the simultaneous application of more detailed
air and water measurements. Also, little is known about the affinity of
these aroma tic hydrocarbons for particles, their transport into sediments,
or their microbial degradation rates.
Additional work to confirm transformation~ oroposed in this thesis,
is necessary. Also work to ascertain the roles of catalysts, light, and
special reactants, such as elemental sulfur, is needed so that these
reactions may be extended to predict effects on more complex organic matter
in the sea.
Additional work is necessary to confirm the identification of the
unknown alkene and its source. Since this compound, which may be a
chemical signal related to the s.exual reproduction of a benthic alga, and
volatile hydrocarbon pollutants are found similtaneously in coastal
waters in Vineyard Sound and off Peru, the question arises: do these
pollutants interfere with the natural communication process?
Throughout these studies on the cycling of both natural and anthro-
pogenic compounds, it was apparent that much additional work on acquiring
basic physical chemical data, e.g. solubilities of compounds such as
aldehydes, is n.:eded.