Alkenone distributions in the North Atlantic and Nordic sea surface waters

[1] The C-37-C-39 alkenones were quantified in suspended particulate matter obtained from the surface waters of the North Atlantic, including the Nordic seas, over a temperature range of 4degrees20 C. U-37(K') values were linearly correlated to temperature over the entire range covered by our data set, i.e., 420 C (U-37(K') = 0.027T + 0.036, r(2) = 0.97). The compilation of water column data from the Atlantic, Pacific, and Southern Ocean and Mediterranean Sea suggests that the linear model may not be the best function for fitting U-37(K') and in situ temperature values. It also shows that suspended matter data from warm waters (T >20degreesC) are still needed to constrain the equation of the global curve. High abundances of C-37: 4 were found in the coldest polar waters. Around 4degreesC, %C-37:4 represented up to 35%, a value that dropped to zero at temperatures above 10degreesC. Values of %C-37:4 were linearly correlated to temperature (%C-37:4 = 3.7T + 43.7, r(2) = 0.50) and salinity (%C-37:4 = 48.1S% + 1691, r(2) = 0.78). Further investigations from other oceanic basins are necessary to confirm these findings.