This research will continue studies of pigment geochemistry to expand current analyses to include phycobilins, and to develop and synthesize a suitable pigment internal standard for HPLC pigment analysis. Over the past three years photosynthetic pigments in suspended particulate matter and sediment trap samples collected from the Black Sea, and as part of legs 2, 3, and 4 of the US JOGOFS NASBE has been analyzed. The goal has been to determine the distribution of algal pigments in the euphotic zone and deep ocean, and to study the qualitative (transformation reactions) and quantitative aspects of the export flux to the sediment-water interface. The present effort will bring this project to a logical conclusion.
