Variations in organic matter bound in fluffy layer suspended matter from the Pomeranian Bay (Baltic Sea)

Fluffy layer suspended matter (FLSM) and surface sediment samples from the Pomeranian Bay were examined for fatty acid, lipid and organic matter contents. FLSM is a several-centimetre-thick layer of fairly concentrated particulate matter lying on the sea floor significantly affecting the flux of matter to depositional basins. Analyses of fatty acids were used to establish sources and decomposition rates of labile organic matter along a transect from the shallow, highly dynamic, Odra estuary to the Arkona Basin, a deep, low energy, depositional area. In FLSM and sediments respectively, the ranges of organic matter contents were 4.0–25.0% and 5.1–23.0%, those of lipids 0.1–5.4% and 0.30–1.67%, and those of fatty acids 50–991 μg g−1 dry wt. and 100–546 μg g−1 dry wt. In shallow waters, the contents of these compounds are very variable, mirroring variations in biological activity and hydrological conditions. The high percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids in shallow areas indicates the presence of fresh, undegraded, labile organic matter of autochthonous origin. Fatty acids, the most labile components, are transported as suspended matter attached to minerals and finally accumulated in the depositional area in the form of condensed organic macromolecules. The intensity of bacterial decomposition of organic matter in this system is reflected in the high percentage of branched fatty acids. The low fatty acid content in the organic matter is attributed to the high rate of decomposition of the labile organic matter. No linear correlation was found between the contents of fatty acids and lipids.